Adult Student’s Corner
by Sifu D’arcy Langois
Fu For You Spring 2024
With the turn of the year behind us (in two calendars no less), now is a great time to look back on the year that was, as you prepare to focus on the year to come. Those of you that have followed my articles over the past year know that I’ve taken a deeper look into the mental side of our Kung Fu training. Surprise! This is what it was all leading toward: an accurate and honest self-reflection of your Kung Fu journey during the last calendar year. Before continuing on, I encourage you to create a quick list for yourself focusing on the following:
- Three things you are proud to have accomplished in your Kung Fu journey.
- Three things that you feel you could have done better.
- Three ways in which you improved the most as a Martial Artist.
You’ve got your list? Excellent! That’s a great start, but obviously there is a larger list lurking somewhere within you. Hopefully the nine things you’ve written down are a good summation of your year. I also hope that in looking at those points, you feel a sense of accomplishment that helps inspire you to continue along the path this coming year.
The Academy celebrates the turn of the year with an outing designed to bring the student body together and enjoy a night of community. This event, officially labelled the Awards Party, is the night the Academy collectively looks back on the year that was. We do this with great food, great company, great demonstrations, and a handful of awards recognizing some few members of the student body. Is winning an award exciting? Yes! Is it an honour? Definitely! Is winning an award the driving force behind your training? It shouldn’t be. The recognition of your hard work in the form of an award is great, but it shouldn’t be the defining moment of your Kung Fu journey. Lao Tzu says, “Care about what other people think, and you will always be their prisoner”, and remember awards are granted from the outside, not by your own self. It all comes back to your mental training, and the only person you should be vying against is your previous self (hint: the Focus Points are a great measuring stick).
So now we find ourselves at the beginning of a new year, with a clean slate of opportunities ahead of us. In your year of training to come, I’ve got something for you to try: Think about an Award from our party that you would most like to give yourself. You’d like to be the Most Dedicated? That’s amazing! Try to find more time to attend classes at the academy than you did in the previous year. Most Improved? Find more time to train than the previous year, thereby improving more as a Martial Artist.
Be honest with yourself and use the Focus Points to keep your mental training active and see if you can win the award against your previous self.
Explore all of our Kung-Fu Focus Points.