When I was a boy, a 4-year-old boy, I loved comic books. And then in those comics there were always those advertisements, not just how to be big and strong, but also that they can guarantee in three lessons you’ll be able to defend yourself against anyone. I was fascinated by that.
I’m working toward my third degree black belt. I think. I actually don’t focus on it very much because I recognize that Kung Fu is about attainment. And so as soon as I start focusing on a single goal, I get distracted from the more beautiful process of refinement and learning. Even as I can’t touch my toes, I’m actually learning something much more profound about the relationship between my fingers and my toes, and maybe my Chi can enable the connection.
I find it most enjoyable to do martial arts in Way of the Dragon with that community. Both Tai Chi, which I started learning later, and Kung Fu, as it’s commonly known. Because it’s not only an individual experience, it’s a community experience.
So, for example, one of the things I love to do is called push hands and push hands is built off of Tai Chi, and it’s a perfect thing for a 60-something guy because I’m not going to be kicked in the face. All I’m going to do is perhaps lose my balance. I’ve even participated in tournaments doing this where I’m competing with people in my weight bracket, but not in my age bracket. And so that brings me great delight because I have what is often described as “old man’s strength.”
It is this sense that martial arts enables and encourages—that no matter what our ages, we are still incomplete. No matter where we are in life, we still have things that we can do. We can find new connections with one another so long as we respect what it is others bring, and what we can bring to them, and finding that as a virtuous circle.