Just when I think I have it all figured out…

By Joel Persinger

The last couple of days have presented an opportunity for me to put the little gray cells in my head to work and to practice the humility I’m always preaching and not always very good at.

I had a discussion via email with Shrfu Mike Patterson of the Hsing-I Martial Arts Institute http://www.hsing-i.com/. Shrfu Patterson is my Kung Fu instructor (a man for whom I have enormous respect as a person and as a martial artist. And besides, I just like him). He was kind enough to check out this blog and offer his input.

If you are a regular visitor to the site you may notice changes that came about as a result of his advice. There is a mission statement, the links on the right have been changed and organized (we still have a ways to go with that) and we have clarified our focus by informing you that some articles on the site are placed there for the purpose of sparking discussion even though they may not be in line with our mission. From time to time we may post such articles because they represent common arguments we need to address or simply because they’re thought provoking.

In addition to helping with the website, Shrfu wrote some other things that really got my mind churning. In fact, I am still thinking through them. I thought you might find them interesting as well. Here are some excerpts:

On the subject of “basic self defense”

There is an old saying of which I am sure you are familiar; "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing". I don't believe that there exists a set of "basic skills necessary to defend..." period. What I think can be valuable are some of the other things you mentioned; Awareness of what could be a threat and how to avoid them, Basic negotiation tactics and habitual perspectives on the potential of violence, etc.

Response to physical violence requires a great deal of training. The reality of what actually happens is almost always misconstrued and misunderstood by those that would teach "self defense". My experience tells me that the approach does not work and can actually breed a false confidence in the "self defense" student that can get them into serious trouble. Actual physical self defense is best left to experts, not amateurs.

The more I think about this, the more I tend to agree with it.

In answer to my comment in which I stated: “Having studied several arts, I do not believe that any one art has a monopoly. However, by examining the different approaches to a given problem I have discovered approaches in each art which have the potential to build upon the other.”

He wrote:

Having a "monopoly" is not the issue. Technique without principle is empty. Understanding of principle is the only true path to ability. One must study a system, any system (although I do believe there are some that are better than others) to full depth to truly grasp principle. Mixing and matching is analogous to grabbing a hodgepodge of car parts from different makes and models to build a working automobile. You might be able to build something that looks like a car but it will not run effectively, if it runs at all, simply because the parts are not made to work together.

This last comment is one which I am still thinking through, so forgive me if I think out loud.

I came up through a traditional system and I am still working on studying it to “full depth”. At the same time, I am drawn to the internal Chinese arts because of their incredible depth. Yet, I have also attended many seminars which have allowed me to ad bits and pieces which seem to fit well into the system I have studied. So, I have asked myself “am I a person who has been grabbing mismatched parts and trying to force them together?

I never noticed it before, but I tend to discard the bits and pieces that don’t fit. At first, I thought they just didn’t feel right to me. But what I believe I’m learning is that I discard the bits and pieces that were not made to work with the system I have studied. If I had not studied a system to at least some depth, I would have no conscious or even instinctive way of knowing what fits and what does not.

No, I am not a martial artist who has collected a hodgepodge of parts and tried to build a system, but I have come across these folks from time to time. In most cases as I think back on them, what they have lacked is depth or what you might call “grounding”.

Some instructors who teach a non-traditional “system” actually studied traditional systems and then combined or altered them to teach their “system” while abandoning as unnecessary, that which gave them their skill. I don’t mean to pick on Bruce Lee, but he was such a person. He downplayed the usefulness of traditional teachings even though his humble beginnings were built upon the foundation of the traditional arts. I have often wondered what made him think his students would be able to achieve similar results without the foundation that allowed him to do so.

When you get beyond the martial ability, I have met very few collectors of bits and pieces who possessed the peace I have witnessed in others who have depth of training and understanding. This may sound a little spooky, but when I’m around Shrfu Patterson or Master Stegall there is something about them that I just can’t put my finger on. It’s the same thing I feel when I’m around a friend of mine, Jerry Jordon, who is an elder in my church. It could be said that these men are dangerous. Even Jerry has a dangerous quality to him, though he is not a martial artist. But the restlessness is gone. The need to prove something is absent. There is a quiet peace, a solid foundation.

I can’t say that I have come to a complete conclusion or understanding yet. At least not one beyond what I have written here. It may take a while. But, I have been excited to have this conundrum dancing around in my head once again. It has brought home that age old truth, that everything I learn just points out how little I know.