Indiana workshop review!

[Sifu Chango]

  I would like to thank Master Meng and everyone who participated in the workshop! It was an enlightening experience! There was information shared that can be applied in many different ways!

We began with a look into why Chan Buddhist monks would study and do combat! It is clear that a combat is an excellent vehicle in experiencing the "hear and now". Combat is live and does not allow a person to live in the past or in the future but live with in the honest moment! This is a pure expression of Chan!

First hall training is the base development of a person. This hall develops the student on the base level and refines one's natural abilities. This hall includes internal and external training this develops the student’s attributes (speed, strength, flexibility, coordination etc…) and health and learning how to generate and cultivate energy (hydration, dehydration, rest and, recovery).

 The second hall methods include mechanics, basic movements. These methods can vary from very basic to quite advanced methods. This represents the mind set and training of "form".

The third hall brings the person to another level of awareness the student begins his/her training in the realities of combat. The person develops skills in the area of Tek, Da, Sui, Na (kicking, striking, trapping/throwing, and wrestling). These are skill sets and not a style. The student moves his/her training in the direction of the use of the ability to change and recognize the proper time and space. The student learns to integrate the fighting skills. He/She becomes effective in all areas of combat. The student moves away from fixed training maintaining liveliness while becoming effective! This represents the mind set and training of "formless".

The WCT hall brings the person to the level of awareness of Time, Space and Energy in a refined since. The student maintains his/her effectiveness while focusing on being efficient! At this point the student realizes specific awareness of Time, space and energy. He/she at this point brings to light another level and awareness of "Form".

As the student refines this level he/she will develop his/her awareness into a higher state of awareness returning the mind set back to the state of "formless".

*One must keep in mind that efficiency is not a style or specific look. This is often a mistake of those who cannot see beyond the illusion of style!

Master Meng used the workshop to take the group through experiences of the 1st and second hall training! He used this time to offer information in heaven fighting. Master Meng introduced the group to polymeric to support the application of long kicking and long striking tools. The students did live drills that allowed the student to recognize and utilize the proper range as well as the proper poster and facing to apply his/her long striking and long kicking tools. These drills used liveliness and real-time training to develop the student’s practical application!

During the workshop Master Meng offered an excellent internal exercise (3 circles holding the moon) this exercise works on posture, breathe control and the development of the "Yi". Each student was delighted to train this as it was a very effective way for some to have an experience with waking up the body and raise the awareness of internal energy!

The workshop was a success! Everyone came away with a deeper understanding of Martial arts! It is amazing how this approach helps us to understand the entire martial arts with out prejudice but clear seeing!!

Sifu Chango Noaks

[Benny Meng]

The Halls of Shaolin

On Saturday, September 12, 2009, Master Benny Meng presented a workshop on “The Halls of Shaolin" concept of training.  This concept is based upon the premise that is used in the Shaolin Temples.  These exercises and the subsequent mental training are to provide the student with conditioning of the Body, Mind, and Spirit. 
 
In the First Hall the student begins as formless.  The body is physically challenged in that you must build a foundation utilizing the Basic Exercises (Gei Bun Gong)  to build strength, stamina, and flexibility.
 
In the Second Hall the student will begin Basic Movements (Gei Bun Dong Jok) developing "Body Mechanics".  At this level the student will learn stances, footwork, handwork, kicks, and forms.  The use of set patterns develop structure in the student and they gain an identifiable form.

In the Third Hall the student will be trained at a deeper level in the Four Martial Arts Activities; Entertainment, Exercise, Sports, and Combat.  The student will learn the Four Ranges of Combat; Long Kicking, Long Striking, Trapping, and Grappling and the Four Combat Skills;  Ti (Kicking), Da (Striking), Suai (Throwing), and Na (controlling).  At this level the student will become a Sanshou Fighter, with the basic knowledge of Wing Chun and a complete understanding of the proper weapons to use in each of the Ranges of Combat", and will become very effective. 

Beyond the Third hall the student will become a Wing Chun practitioner, utilizing Heaven, Human, and Earth fighting and integrating all techniques and ranges relying on efficiency rather than the practical and effectiveness from the previous levels of conscientious.   The mind is challenged to begin to understand the Chan philosophies and rid itself of illusions regarding the "Here and Now", the dynamics of life, and the ability to react and adjust to all situations.  The spirit is affected by the interaction of the body and mind and caused to rise to a higher level of conscientiousness. At this level of training all illusions of "Style" will be driven out and the reality of Time, Space, and Energy, Three Dimensional Combat, and body alignment and structure will all be integrated.  The goal is to rise to a higher level of understanding in all things regarding the body, mind, and spirit and to reach a level of maximum efficiency and return to a state of formlessness.


Sifu John Lambert

[missy]

On September 12, 2009, I attended Sifu Meng workshop in Richmond, Indiana. Sifu discussed reality. The insight of Buddhism is all about reality. Combat is a method of understanding reality-the ultimate test. Reality is this moment, the here and now. In reality everything is constantly changing. If change does not occur then we are in a fixed frame of mind. Change is dynamic, it allows you to grow. If you don't change, which is in accordance with the universal laws of nature, then you become stagnate (fixed).Energy is constantly moving from formless to forms and back to formless. That is the reality of the universe. The levels of training are the levels of reality where physical, mental and spiritual dimensions are all present at the same time.

The discussion of the halls of Shaolin was very informative. The first hall is focused on basic exercise. This hall is in the formless stage because you are training your body for health in various ways using the attributes of strength, flexibility, endurance as well as rest/relaxation, nutrition and hydration. The goal is to get your body in the best health possible physically, mentally and spiritually, both internally and externally. Regulating your mind is the key to regulating your health because if your mind is weak then your training will reflect that. 2nd hall is where the essence of health has become awakened so now this hall focuses on body mechanics. Within this hall various types of training exist but are all geared towards understanding the mechanics of our body. Forms are present in this hall, as well as the 36 methods of Shaolin basic movements. This is the hall where we truly get to know and understand the why and how’s of our body mechanics through constant training of our stances, footwork, body methods, legwork, handwork and fighting postures. This is the form and fixed pattern stage. The 3rd hall is formless because by our bodies need to developed a natural expression of application in the here and now. We should no longer be relying on our mind to tell us what particular technique is needed at that moment but instead we have trained ourselves to naturally react with what is proper for that moment of time and space (here/now). Without going through the first two halls, we would not be able to apply techniques effectively. The third hall is the practical and effective hall.  Those are the halls that were discussed on that Saturday in detail. We also got to participate in some chi gong, mainly the 3 rings which focuses on breathing and cultivating your chi. overall it was a very informative workshop. There is so much more to Sifu discussion but I will save that for my thesis.
 
 

[kchan]

I enjoyed the workshop very much and visiting the Indiana school. Here is my review of the special workshop that was led by Master Meng:

Notable Statements from the Workshop

Focus is the first step to meditation.

The system is only as good as the person.
The person is only as good as their training.
Training is only as good as the methods.

Trained (Emotionally Responsive) Mind vs. Untrained (Emotionally Reactive) Mind

Three Hall Lecture

1st Hall
•   Basic Exercise
•   Health & Fitness, both internal and external exercises – one of the Shaolin Treasures
o   Three Shaolin Treasures
                Chan – BuddhismTeaching/Philosophy – Meditation & Awareness
                Health and Fitness – both internal and external exercises
                Wu – Martial skill – preparation to be in balance of mind and body to effectively go to war

Examples of Internal Exercises – Tai Chi, Tong Bei, Bok Gua
o   Front/Back Energy centers  - front energy center is known as the dan tien
o   Qi-gong Exercise of the 3 Rings
o   Illness – Stress being thought of as “Qi being stuck”
o   Energy is in constant flow
o   Upon entering, one leaves external problems at the door, adjusts chi, and adjust body in preparation for training
•   State of your health is connected to the mind
“Formless” – prepare the body for training – areas addressed are: flexibility, conditioning, and endurance – focus on speed and flow

2nd Hall
•   Basic Movement
•   36 Movements – “intent” – purposeful movements
•   Knowing 2nd Hall martial arts forms and mechanics well helps one in 3rd Hall execution & one is typically a strong fighter if 2nd Hall movements are well developed
“Form” – concentrate on forms and body mechanics – focus on balance and strength

3rd Hall
•   Ti/Da/Shuai/Na “Kicking/Striking/Throwing/Control” Application
•            Style defines what a person knows. It is dangerous to say “I am a Tae Kwon Do expert” because that statement lets the other person understand what you know & if confrontation happens he uses different techniques to circumvent your expertise.
“Formless” – no fixed style of fighting – fighting is “live” – need to adapt and have no attachments – focus on flow and adapt

What is Reality? Time/Space/Energy (T/S/E) Paradigm

Reality is the “here” – it is the space you occupy at the moment
the “now” – is the time of the moment (i.e. it can mean the immediate time, scheduled time such as showing up at the right time for a meeting, etc.)
energy is constantly flowing – you have energy of the moment

T/S/E – defines reality objectively. A trained mind has awareness of his/her space. Attachments can distort reality which often causes someone to be late or catch up in a fight which often times is deadly. Attachments are often times identified with T/S/E distortion based on subjective analysis of the moment. Objective analyses are based on universal truth whereas subjective analyses are sometimes based on individual thoughts, feelings, or principles.

Understanding Mechanics – “bridging the gap”

Long Kicking – 2 time frames – utilization of the back foot
•   T/T – Tan Toe – “Swallow/Spit” – Receive the opponents technique to give it back to them
•   Chase
Long Striking – front hand, back hand, front foot, jab/cross

Reality of Combat

1st Reality of Combat – Distance

In order to execute the proper tools/techniques based on the four combat ranges, one has to be aware of distance provided or taken from the opponent.

Distances in combat change sometimes instantaneously. Adapting to change is related to pain & suffering. Change is normal. Staying the same or what we are accustomed to is not “normal”. Current suffering is temporary. Pain does not last, but if we attach ourselves to the pain it can prolong or intensify the suffering. Mindset is the key – having to perspective to adapt. Warriors deal with pain and suffering and ultimately it is the “mastering of self” that gives warriors a sense of excellence.

Fixed = death of self – Attachment to the past, emotion, or current space
Growth = change of self for the better

Normal reaction is to avoid “death”, but to a Shaolin monk life & death is the “norm” – level of awareness determines the level of reality.

Mental, Emotional, & Physical Cultivation – represents levels of dimensions
There is reality beyond the five senses that is what is meant by being “formless” – lack of attachment – intelligence beyond the 3rd Hall

The Secret of the Universe is inside the self which is counter-intuitive. The world teaches us to look outside of self.

The components of self – skills, experience, and knowledge – executing the correct techniques based on combat ranges leads to no style.

We need to embrace change.

Gradual vs drastic change – a change of thinking can represent a paradigm shift
Holding onto negative energy – creates more suffering – and represents attachment to the “old”
“The Shift” – More experienced martial artists make the opponent come to them so they can control where they want the opponent to be. It requires a clear understanding of the structure of time.

2nd Reality of Combat – “Live” format – ranges of combat is not fixed; can constantly change. In training, we do focus on building tools/techniques in a particular range of combat, but one needs to be aware that the reality of combat is that the opponent is not going to stay in one range. It is the responsibility for self defense to be able to defend or take advantage of what the opponent gives. There are no rules. Can be a life & death situation.

3rd Reality of Combat – Clear understanding space & time. To efficiently use the T/S/E paradigm. Analyze objectively the moment of combat as it changes among all the ranges and to be prepared to use the tools/techniques appropriate in that range.

Discussion

Mind & body – need to take care of the temple – to give more time to seek higher reality – seeking mental and spiritual cultivation.

                                             Mechanics
Create Space – Heaven – One Sided Fighting – Long Kicking/Striking
Maintain Space – Human – Striking/Trapping
Eliminate Space – Earth – To the side/Squaring up

Olympic Thinking – the deeper the level of thinking requires more from the self
   Bring it On
   Just Do It
   I Want It

Each level is a deeper understanding of what it means to be an Olympic champion.
 

Deeper Discussion – Shaolin Monks & T/S/E

There is harmony within fighting. Seeing things clearly – (e.g. Studying war for monks – refines their compassion.) Seeing things as they ARE and not as how we would LIKE them to be. Understanding time & space – exerting your existence in the proper time and space. Refining awareness in the present moment.

Shaolin Way – get rid of ego – reality is based on individual experiences but there is no ONE reality which means to be enlightened one sees the situation from all angles.

Improve art by passing the knowledge down – often times students become “greater” & the martial arts branch is healthy & vibrant for the next generation. Each generation becomes a little better than the previous one.