Tweet
Thank you for that post.
We are in Shaolin Wahnam and train as Grandmaster Wong teaches because we chose to. It is not that we parrot our Sifu. It is simply that we agree with him, and choose to use the same words as he does, instead of re-inventing the wheel and trying to paraphrase him. It just doesnt make sense to do extra work.
Notice i used the word "choose/chose" twice in the preceding paragraph. A parrot doesn't think, process and digest words it has learnt (maybe it does, but I don't know). It regurgitates what it hears and remembers. I remember that Sifu, more than once, has described students and even disciples who listen to him and find it very hard to believe him sometimes, especially when he delves into areas which challenge their existing paradigm. He would say something to the effect of "They trust me, but find it to believe this. But because they are good students, they try out what I have taught them, and experience for themselves whether what i say is true."
I can see why words like "third-class", "low-level", "destructive" ejusdem generis, may offend you. In another place, in another time, perhaps I would be offended too. But in reality, it is a question of different perspectives and priorities. There are reasons why some people like yourself chose to specialise in Iron Palm while others, Cosmos Palm. Incidentally, I practice neither (at least not that I know) - me, I am busy putting the finishing touches on my Cotton Candy Palm
.
I think you may have chosen to take my Sifu's words in the answer you linked in a negative way, and possibly out of context. Most people want to learn Iron Palm because all they want to do is to fight, and this mindset is reflected in the arts and methods they choose. Those who have other aims and objectives will search for and practice an art more suited for such aims. I fully agree that Iron Palm can also be good for health, but vis-a-viz Cosmos Palm, it is not on the same level.
If all things are equal, Iron Palm is "harder" and more external than Cosmos Palm, which is more focussed on internal cultivation (again, I stress this is relative and subject to the ceterus paribus principle). If I wish to emphasise the internal aspect, I would naturally find it more cost-effective to practice Cosmos Palm.
I don't think you need to worry about Shaolin Wahnam students. It is good that there is someone like yourself out there practising and preserving Iron Palm training methods, and I sincerely wish you the best in this area. On our part, we also know a Iron Palm method (there are many other methods), but some of us have chosen Cosmos Palm of our own volition, and not after being coerced by any senior.
We are in Shaolin Wahnam and train as Grandmaster Wong teaches because we chose to. It is not that we parrot our Sifu. It is simply that we agree with him, and choose to use the same words as he does, instead of re-inventing the wheel and trying to paraphrase him. It just doesnt make sense to do extra work.
Notice i used the word "choose/chose" twice in the preceding paragraph. A parrot doesn't think, process and digest words it has learnt (maybe it does, but I don't know). It regurgitates what it hears and remembers. I remember that Sifu, more than once, has described students and even disciples who listen to him and find it very hard to believe him sometimes, especially when he delves into areas which challenge their existing paradigm. He would say something to the effect of "They trust me, but find it to believe this. But because they are good students, they try out what I have taught them, and experience for themselves whether what i say is true."
I can see why words like "third-class", "low-level", "destructive" ejusdem generis, may offend you. In another place, in another time, perhaps I would be offended too. But in reality, it is a question of different perspectives and priorities. There are reasons why some people like yourself chose to specialise in Iron Palm while others, Cosmos Palm. Incidentally, I practice neither (at least not that I know) - me, I am busy putting the finishing touches on my Cotton Candy Palm
.I think you may have chosen to take my Sifu's words in the answer you linked in a negative way, and possibly out of context. Most people want to learn Iron Palm because all they want to do is to fight, and this mindset is reflected in the arts and methods they choose. Those who have other aims and objectives will search for and practice an art more suited for such aims. I fully agree that Iron Palm can also be good for health, but vis-a-viz Cosmos Palm, it is not on the same level.
If all things are equal, Iron Palm is "harder" and more external than Cosmos Palm, which is more focussed on internal cultivation (again, I stress this is relative and subject to the ceterus paribus principle). If I wish to emphasise the internal aspect, I would naturally find it more cost-effective to practice Cosmos Palm.
I don't think you need to worry about Shaolin Wahnam students. It is good that there is someone like yourself out there practising and preserving Iron Palm training methods, and I sincerely wish you the best in this area. On our part, we also know a Iron Palm method (there are many other methods), but some of us have chosen Cosmos Palm of our own volition, and not after being coerced by any senior.
Comment