Behave!

When you were a kid, and you weren’t in your parent’s sight, how did you behave? Did you paint chocolate pudding all over the walls? Did you eat all the candy that you could find?

I guess it’s a stretch of a comparison, considering we're talking about training in martial arts.

How about this? You are a nomadic warrior who has traversed through snowstorms and climbed thousands of rock-faced cliffs to see a kung fu master in the hidden mountains. He teaches you a handful of techniques and tells you to return in 1 year for more tutelage.

Or maybe this. You have a life-long dream about becoming a martial artist, but live hundreds of kilometers away from the closest teacher. So, you only have enough time to visit a few times a year.

Or maybe something else more realistic. You are a regular person with a job or two, a family, other hobbies and interests, and also train in Wingtsun Kung Fu. Your instructor happens to be away for a short while.

In all these scenarios, what would you do?

1. You could relax and enjoy your other aspects of life, ignoring all Wing Tsun training. A holiday! Then return and expect to pick up where you left off.

2. You could train with other partners, repeating drills as you recall them. Or maybe look through your detailed notebook for the drills, because you know _everyone_ keeps a WT notebook…

3. You could analyze various movements of the drills and thus focus your training, breaking them apart and think about what they are, what they are for, why are they done, etc.

4. You could incorporate numerous things you have learned in the past, and see how they can connect together. Then train to help this consolidation.

5. Better yet, a combination of everything above.

6. Your comments?

Now, many moons have passed. It is time for you visit the wise kung fu master again in the high mountains: “Let me see how you have improved...”