Xingyiquan Self-Defense and the Pursuit of Improvement
January 11, 2016
I enjoy practicing with students and helping them learn. Actually, I learn as they learn.
Recently, we began videotaping instruction for the website on moving from form to fighting with Xingyi. Doing the videos drove home the need to take your own ego out of practicing with your students. We've all known teachers who must constantly show that they are more advanced than their students.
In these videos, my partner and I feed each other punches and kicks and we "internalize" Xingyi techniques and body mechanics in anticipating and responding to varying attacks.
I don't try to fake out my partner and I don't try to make him look bad. I go lightly and help him learn to intercept, block, and counter. If he messes up, we keep going in a non-judgmental way, with the goal being to improve our skills.
Then my student will feed me punches and kicks and I work on my skills, too. I'm not afraid to make mistakes in front of my students. When I first began teaching, I felt the need to be perfect in front of my students. Now, I don't give a damn. Life is too short and perfection is an ego trip. I continue to learn and, hopefully, to improve. And the website members who study the videos also learn. That's the goal.
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