7 REASONS WHY YOU MUST LEARN FROM AN INSTRUCTOR
Whilst travelling home from London after an Easter weekend of practice with my Shaolin Sister Sifu Emiko Hsuen of Shaolin Wahnam Canada, I reflected back on the past 48 hours. I realised without the shadow of a doubt why the learning of high level arts is best learned from a Master or at the very least from a good instructor. I hadn't realised that my own practice was stuck in a plateau. I'd forgotten all about them until I sat on the train and relaxed into the journey home. That realisation was the seed that grew into this article. Enjoy.
1. Plateaus – If you look at the graph below you’ll see a line that rises through time. But every now and then it dips into a shallow lake before rising again. These lakes or dips are plateaus in your skill development.
For example, you start learning Shaolin Kung Fu and each lesson your skill level increases gradually. After a period of time (and this varies for everyone) you reach a place where you just don’t seem to be getting any better. In fact it often seems that you’re getting worse! Your foot work is slow, your forms are poor etc. This is the stage where many people become dis-heartened and sometimes even give up. The solution is to keep practicing.
Realise that you are in a plateau and that by continuing your practice you will eventually rise out of the plateau. It’s not unusual to come out of a plateau and find your skill level takes off almost vertically before levelling out, to a more normal rate of practice. Until you reach your next plateau!
People who have been practicing any skill for a long time recognise when they enter a plateau. They get excited because contrary to what it might look like to others on the outside, they know that very soon they will take another leap forward towards Mastery.
Learning from an Instructor helps you to stay focused, motivated and inspired during plateaus, which sometimes can seem to last for ever.
2. Peace of Mind – When I (and many of the Shaolin Wahnam instructors) first learned Shaolin Arts from Sifu many months would pass in between our lessons. With Sifu travelling so much, no regular classes or training partners it was very easy to make mistakes in our practice. Many times, because of the length of time that had passed before these mistakes were identified, they had been firmly ingrained and a nightmare to get rid off. I still have a few bad habits that I can’t seem to shake.
A major benefit of taking regular classes with an instructor is that you don’t have to worry about this. Because your instructor sees you frequently they can point out any “deviations” in your practice before they become ingrained. This regular correction of your practice allows you to progress much faster than we did. Students that take regular classes are very fortunate indeed!
3. Transmission – As you’ll probably be aware, I have nearly finished my first book on Shaolin Cosmos Chi Kung. Whilst I have enjoyed this project immensely and learned so much from it, I am now painfully aware of how hard it is to write clear, unambiguous instructions. Learning from an instructor allows them to transmit skills to you directly. It makes learning far more fun and much easier. Heart to heart transmission is frequently beyond verbalisation
As Sifu wrote in his August 2003 (pt1) Q and A:
"Book readers miss the tremendous advantage of heart to heart transmission obtainable only from learning personally from a master, they have to compensate with quantity over quality. In other words they have to train more, but benefit less"
This is not to say that book learning is useless. My book will be of great benefit as a reference tool for those who have already learned the material from myself, another instructor or Sifu.
4. Focus – Regular classes help to give a focus to your practice. This is especially vital during the hardest part of every new students practice – The Beginning! Why is the beginning the hardest part? It is because you are establishing a new habit in your life. This is so much easier if you have access to an instructor. They can help to encourage, inspire and support you as you begin to transform your practice from an interest into a part of your life. Without this focus it is very easy to get side tracked by our lives and our old habits. It is difficult, but not impossible, to keep yourself focused. Why make life hard for yourself? If you have access to an instructor benefit from this advantage.
5. Fun – learning from an instructor in a regular class is great fun and a wonderful opportunity to meet people who share your commitment to health, vitality, combat efficiency and/or Spiritual cultivation. Many students find class time is vital for their practice because it is time when they are guaranteed not to be distracted. I can understand this. I practice at home and it’s not always possible to find a place where my wife or son can’t distract me (I'm not complaining!).
For many students class time is their sacred time during the week when they do something that is of benefit for them. The value of this sacred time
is not to be undervalued. Too often it can seem that we don't get any time for ourselves, we're so busy with work, with our families and all the other facets of our busy 21st century lives. Time committed to your personal health and well being has far reaching benefits not only for you, but for everyone you come into contact with.
6. Safety – having access to an instructor allows you to deepen your skills safely and gradually. I remember my first Shaolin Kung Fu intensive with Sifu. I think we covered a lifetime of material in just five days, though by day four my brain was so overwhelmed that most of it is was just a blur! In the days before regular classes were available this was the only way to learn. But now students can prepare for such highlights as intensive courses with Sifu and as a result benefit even more from them.
The safety aspect of this point is similar to that covered in point two. Whether you practice Wahnam Taijiquan, Shaolin Chi Kung or Shaolin Kung Fu after a while (it varies for everyone) your practice can take you to some very powerful places. An instructor can make certain that you are progressing safely. You see despite Sifu's warnings in his books people still think they can learn high level energy arts on their own or even worse pick and choose and create their own practice.
I have read numerous accounts in Sifu’s Q and A series of people doing this. I’ve even seen new students in my own classes who have completely taken such warnings as optional and now have chest pains, fear or anxiety regularly as a result. When they follow instructions though they quickly overcome these symptoms. An instructor helps you to progress gradually and safely.
7. Aims and Objectives – In my book I refer to this as the "Route of the Masters". If you want to get better results in a shorter time, then you really must set aims and objectives for your practice. I cannot emphasis how vital they are if you really want to gain all of the benefits from your practice.
I have been lucky enough to experience for myself the power of aims and objectives in my own life and practice. I have written extensively about this subject, taught classes on this subject at a number of All Nations Gatherings and actively work with my students on their aims and objectives. This experience has made it clear to me that when it comes to setting aims and objectives on your own, many people find it difficult to get really clear on what they want from their practice and why.
This is where your instructor can really help you. When you are 100% clear on what you want from your practice and why, the how becomes obvious. I think one of the great problems that Shaolin Wahnam students face is trying to choose what to practice in their own time. Because there is so much incredible material to choose from. As problems go, this is a great one to have! But as time is finite being able to choose the right material that best meets YOUR needs helps you to achieve more in less time.
Final- If you want to get the maximum benefits from your practice in the most efficient way then you really must learn from an instructor. You can find a list of certified Shaolin Wahnam Instructors here.
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