Punky Fu

We train in the dark and cold, late, and under the cover of darkness.

It is cold - and our bodies are initially reluctant. But the Way of the Warrior doesn’t know temperature.

So we push ourselves until the cold no longer exists.

Fists pumping and pounding - flesh on bone - pumped with blood. We both want so much to succumb to other fleshly pursuits… but the training needs must come first - lest we have nothing left to give to it.

Awkward and forced at first - and then abandonment to the movement and the spirit of the dragon fills our lungs.

There are others who dream about the same goals. There are those who seek the same path. But we walk it together - the way is in the training - but as one, it is a cause for celebration -

of laughter, of movement, of life.

Thunderer held the wooden plank firmly in his massive hands, sat and raised it over his head. “I want you to execute a Hammer Fist on this,” he said to Shao Chi.

Shao merely looked at him in disbelief. She knew from hard won experience that hitting wood hurt. Master knew that. Master knew that they had just endured one of their more grueling training sessions. How could he possibly be serious?

Earlier in the week, Lei Kung, The Thunderer, had taken Shao to a new training ground. This facility was a hidden recess and reserved for only a select few. Inside, it was a martial artistic fantasy made real; all the resources, room, implements and weapons were there for their use. They had taken full advantage of the space using it to its full potential, and this morning when Shao awakened, every inch of her body screamed in protest.

It was almost as if during the night, muscle and bone had turned to beleaguered and fragile wood, and joints were filled with broken glass. Places where Shao Chi had not known muscles had existed bellowed in ache with every movement. Thunderer shaped bruises lined her arms and legs, back and torso. Of course, Lei Kung would simply smile and say, “The ache is to remind you that you are alive!” Yes, because death could certainly not be this painful.

Nonetheless, when training time came around again and Lei Kung showed up with his weapons bag packed, Shao knew it was time again to be strong. This was, in fact, part of the Kung Tao Do training method - to fight and train in all conditions, regardless of mental or physical state. Preparedness required that you come to the fight ready no matter what - that you rise to the challenge again and again and again. “Only time and effort bring proficiency” Thunderer would say implying that there are no short cuts to becoming effective. And that is why, “the best kept secrets keep themselves.”

Fighters fight. They do not complain, or surrender, or wait for the right moment to engage. People who do not train under every condition will never learn this lesson. Or put another way, “anyone can sail a ship when the sea is calm.”

So despite her body’s fatigue, Shao prepared herself.

They had begun the session with very ancient whole body Kung Fu, the kind that requires coordination and use of every muscle in tandem. They had progressed through the overcoming of obstacles, in itself both a physical and a mental challenge. Crossing the room exercises, weapons and then unarmed combat and finally grappling all ensued. Cumulatively, it was a training session that left Shao’s body trembling with effort and adrenaline and almost empty of energy or even thought. And now, after all of that, Lei Kung wanted her to hit a wooden plank with her bare hand?

The look on Thunderer’s face was unmistakable. There would be no argument. Shao would simply obey master’s instructions at the potential sacrifice of her own right hand. Shao Chi took a moment to look at her small hand almost as if to say good-bye.

She raised her arm, made a fist, and brought it down in a blur of motion into the plank gripped between Thunderer’s meaty fists. Flesh met wood. There was a sickening snapping sound, the distinctive crack of something breaking, and then mercifully, it was over.

Shao stood in shocked surprise at the lack of feeling in her hand. She reluctantly raised it up to her face to see that it had remained in tact. She looked down in disbelief at the remnants of the plank still clutched in Lei Kung’s hands. Not only had Shao snapped the board, but the force of her blow had punched out the middle of the plank, breaking it into three pieces. Shao stood in astonished silence, looking to Lei Kung for some explanation.

By way of explanation, a large smile spread across Thunderer’s face. “Well done, Little Spirit. Had this board been a person, your blow would have been a compound fracture.” Shao was still in denial. It had to be a trick. Thunderer handed her the boards. “Take these back to the temple as a souvenir.”

“It has to be a trick! You tricked me! The board was already broken!” protested Shao, reflexively reluctant to believe in her own power. “You broke the board,” she continued searching for some other explanation. Thunderer only laughed and suggested they pack up their belongings for the journey home. Shao would not desist, however.

With a roll of his eyes, Thunderer went back into the storeroom to produce another plank. He handed it to Shao for inspection. “Look at this. Does it look fake? Rap it with your knuckles. Does it not hurt?” Shao did as she was told. And yes, it did hurt. She nodded her agreement. “Now break it. Use your elbow this time.”

Having had time to inspect the board and to think about how it would hurt had given Shao pause. She reluctantly approached the second plank the Thunderer gripped for her. Shao drew back her arm, and with trepidation, threw her elbow into the board.

*Plonk*

“Ouch!” said Shao. The second board had confirmed it; it was a trick. She was not capable of penetrating wood. Shao began to rub her now throbbing elbow.

“Do it again!” bellowed Thunderer (earning his title once more). “Focus!” he commanded, not giving Shao a chance to think.

The training kicked in. Without another moment for hesitation, Shao Chi lined up her heavy, tired and now throbbing arm, wound backward and struck. This time, however, she didn’t think at all or seek to break the board, so much as sail completely through it - which is precisely what her elbow did.

Shao’s mouth hung open. Lei Kung merely handed the pieces back to Shao to add to the growing pile of lumber, and reached for his shoes. “How did you know, Sifu?” asked Shao.

“I know how much force it takes to break a plank. I know hard you hit,” replied Lei Kung. They would repeat this question and this answer several times on the journey home, although with each iteration, a bigger grin would grow on Shao Chi’s cherubic face.

Lei Kung smiled only inwardly and kept his thoughts to himself knowing that this particular lesson was best learned if the student came to the conclusions on her own: Limitations are but boundaries created inside our minds. Sometimes we just need proof of our abilities just to see how far we’ve come.

In time, as the Little Spirit (“Shao Chi”) became a might oaken Big Spirit, (“Da Chi”) Shao would begin to trust in her abilities, and more over, when the time comes, not-think, but act and BELIEVE. For with belief, no evidence is necessary; without belief, no evidence will suffice. For now, Shao had some evidence with which she could break free from her acorn.

Back at the temple, Shao placed the board fragments reverently on her study table. “Would you sign these?” she asked Lei Kung, producing a brush. Lei diligently numbered the board fragments, added the lunar year date, and proudly wrote Shao’s name beneath it.

Thunderer was very proud of his Little Spirit. Like a fist through wood, Shao Chi’s spirit had penetrated a seemingly impossible obstacle.

The breakthrough was of mind, body and essence.

“But what will determine which I choose?” asked Shao Chi.

“There are two forces in each of us, Yin and Yang,” Lei Kung pronounced . “In this case, they are Love and Fear. Both are necessary - for without fear, you cannot prepare yourself to face danger. And without love, life is not worth living. In each new situation, one can overcome the other. It is up to you to determine which response is most appropriate.”

“So I fear the people who hurt me?” asked Shao Chi.

“No, Little Spirit,” laughed Lei Kung. “You fear your ability to hurt those people. You now have the ability to do so, should you choose; it is like carrying a weapon with you at all times. Carelessness or temper can be fatal.”

“So, must I choose fear?” asked Shao Chi.

“No. You fear incaution or your inability to control yourself,” said Lei Kung. “You must overcome this fear and learn to trust in your self. Fear is not the enemy. Fear gives you caution. Power is only bad when imbalanced without harmony. Trust in that caution; trust in yourself.”

“Sifu, I have deep doubts!” exclaimed Shao Chi.

“Deep doubts, deep wisdom; small doubts, little wisdom,” said Lei Kung. “At heart, you question your worthiness as a warrior. This is what gives you caution - and, I trust, that ability to choose responsibly.”

“Then the dreams of hurting people?” asked Shao.

“Merely represent your need to leave behind the ghosts that haunt you. Replace your bad thoughts with good ones - like a cure overcoming a poison,” explained Lei Kung. “Vomit up the poison. Make new memories. Have new experiences. Experience love and regain your own trustworthiness.”

“But it takes so long!” said Shao.

“I know,” said Lei Kung sympathetically. “Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Tonight you have taken that step by trusting me. Now I trust you to take another and another until you have reached your journey’s end.”

“The nightmares…” said Shao Chi.

“…will end,” said Lei Kung, “if you allow them to be free. Let them go. Get rid of the pollutants and let the fire purify you.” In an uncharacteristically demonstrative way, Lei Kung kissed Shao Chi’s head tenderly, and tucked the Little Spirit back into bed.