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Martial arts: a serious choice, a crucial path

Even if we often don’t think about it, martial arts can touch some of the most serious aspects of the human being:

Life (eg. the way we build our training discipline will deeply influence our behaviors)
Freedom (eg. each time we fight outside a sport / training context, we risk legal consequences)
Death (eg. each time we fight we risk lethal consequences, for us and even for others)
Body integrity (eg. the wrong workout can damage our body)
…

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

It is therefore for these and many other reasons that we absolutely cannot give credit to the wrong person (read also Recognize a good / bad master: 5 characteristics).

How to recognize a real master

“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”

A real master must not simply know an ensemble of notions (a style, a combat system, or whatever) but also possess the right mental disposition and experience to rightly explain their:

Causes
Consequences

It is exactly to learn to recognize such a person that we wanted to share the subsequent tips: what to look for in a master worthy of this name.

How he / she lives martial arts:

He does not live in (his / her) past and he / she is able to keep abreast (both inside and outside of his / her style)
If body and age allow him / her, he / she exercises regularly
He / she always tries to improve and never feels arrived
He / she sees in students his / her continuity and not his / her audience
He / she has no preconceptions, he / she has an open mind to the comparison with other styles
…

How he / she relates with his / her students:

He / she does not give anything for granted
He / she gives importance both to the overview both to the detail
He / she listens to the demands and needs of his / her students with availability
He / she is honest and does not delude his / her students (endangering their safety)
He / she encourages students to become better day by day, to practice more and better
He / she encourages students to do the right experiences, even outside of his / her circle
He / she encourages his / her students to experience firsthand the goodness of what he / she claims
He / she does not limit the ability growth of his / her students to below himself / herself
He / she does not hide his / her students what are risks in applying what he / she teaches
He / she never belittles nor even offends his / her students
He / she is able to give trust and respect in a real way
…

How he / she teaches:

He / she focuses on making his / her students better than him / her (thus giving continuity to the style)
He / she is not selfish, he / she does not pretend secrecy and promotes the spread of what he / she teaches
He / she teaches what he / she truly knows and what he / she has experimented, first person
When he / she teaches theory that he has not mastered / tested, he / she emphasizes it
He / she teaches with his / her example, a straight way, consistent and honest
He / she does not impoverish the style he / she teaches leaving out the most difficult parts
He / she is constantly careful not to cause physical or moral harm to his / her students
He / she gives his / her best but he / she does not transform the lesson into a personal exhibition
He / she know how to convey what he / she teaches from many angles and points of view
He / she is generous, he / she teaches with passion, without looking at the clock or the money
…

To deepen this topic we can also read Is your instructor harming your martial growth? and Bad martial arts instructors: the real consequences.

His / her way of being:

He / she does not spend all his / her time talking badly about the other masters (especially his / her own)
He / she refuses violence, revenge and anger, rather it embraces dialogue, patience and peace
He / she sacrifices himself in order to be available to anyone who asks for help
He / she has no pretensions to omniscience and above all he / she is not autoreferential
He / she is not sectarian nor strutting but humble and willing to discuss
He / she never pretends to be sure about what he can not know or prove
He / she does not have money or praise as a primary goal
He / she does not behave so pettily (violence, lies, mockery, resentments, etc.)
He / she recognizes his / her limits / faults with humility and without frustration
…

Final notes

A few conclusive thoughts:

Are these parameters too strict? Yes and no, it all depends on what relevance we want to give to martial arts practice but let’s consider what we said in the beginning
Is it easy to find the type of master described? Absolutely not but it is certainly worth the time to search
If this is the kind of master that is good to follow, are all the others completely not worthy? No, we can benefit even from those who do not respect these parameters but always keeping the right distance from them and their visions
Maintaining a “distance” from the wrong teachers does not only mean addressing their teachings critically but also limiting the time we spend with them; in fact, willingly or unwillingly, if we dedicate to them all our time we will inevitably be influenced negatively (read why in Deception: the honeycomb structure)
…

In the next article of this series, we will describe instead the characteristics of the perfect student.

In-depth video courses

Core course [ from white to black belt ] – The full learning path of our school from white to black belt
Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu Exercises – The visual explanation of the basic practices of 6 Dragons Kung Fu

In-depth articles

How to become a 6 Dragons Kung Fu instructor – The path to teach 6 Dragons Kung Fu
The instructor of 6DKF and the teaching method – The way the instructors of our school teach

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

Have you ever been lucky enough to meet such a master?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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