The systems taught in this school are traditional in the spirit of their teaching, as well as in content. Martial artists pursue their particular systems as a lifelong endeavor that fosters good health, discipline, humility, a strong spirit, courage, a natural morality, wisdom and inner peace … all in addition to, and equally important as, the capacity for self defense.
Anyone can benefit from martial arts, from the basic breathing techniques and simple forms of Ch’i Kung to the moving meditation of Tai Chi Chuan or the most demanding of physical forms, Kung Fu. Our school has something for everyone.
Every student receives personal instruction from our instructors in each class. You may also receive assistance from senior students. You attend class with three teachers: Your instructors, your ears and your eyes. You are expected to pay 100% attention at all times. Even though good friends are made here, we socialize after class. It’s more the brotherhood of the Martial Artist, the underlying spirit that binds us in a common pursuit. Through many years of diligent study, one may reach enlightenment.
Students in this school require three characteristics:
Desire. The student must want not only to achieve the physical rewards of martial training, but to accept the responsibilities that accompany the knowledge. A student’s desire must be supported by patience, just as the pond will not freeze one foot thick on the first cold night, ancient wisdom does not suddenly happen.
Dedication. Success in martial arts training relies more on the regularity of practice and the passage of time, than any other factor. The student must be dedicated to attending classes, as well as maintaining a personal practice schedule, time permitting. Outside practice is necessary to achieve true progress. A form learned, a test passed is a beginning, not an end, and should be thought of as a license to practice. It is said that a form is not “yours” until you have practiced it one thousand times.
Discipline. Martial Artists are healthier, stronger, faster and more in control because of a disciplined lifestyle. Setting goals and carrying them out, beginning to end, pushing limits and developing new abilities are part of a martial artists plan for success. Discipline yourself to maintain your training schedule, whatever it may be, even if you are tired, because training is cumulative. In the real world, neither your opponents, nor any other form of stress will relent simply because you are tired. Only half of what martial artists achieve is physical, the other half is, of course, mental. Discipline fosters both physical and mental endurance … crucial qualities for the martial artist.
Martial Philosophy
If you think that martial arts are all about fighting, you are mistaken. All martial skills are developed to defend yourself, your loved ones and those who cannot defend themselves. In essence: “Learn the ways to preserve rather than destroy. Avoid rather than check; check rather than hurt; hurt rather than maim, maim rather than kill; for all life is precious, nor can any be replaced.” This has been the martial artist’s credo, passed down from teacher to student for thousands of years. Historical records date back to the Chou Dynasty (1027 – 256 B.C.), the beginning of the Iron Age.
Huang Ti, China’s first unifier (221 – 210 B.C.) prohibited the practice of martial arts for fear that the masses might rise up and destroy the empire. Martial arts were practiced in secret until 206 B.C. when Liu Pang, later known as Kao Tsu, assumed the throne of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Kao permitted the resumption of martial arts practice throughout the realm and they became a vital part of military training.
Unarmed defense principles were advanced through Zen (Ch’an) Buddhist religious practices during the sixth century. Bodhidharma, who was said to have traveled to China, spread the word of Zen Buddhist faith and is believed to be the father of Shaolin Temple Boxing. It is said that he introduced the monks to systematized exercises for strengthening the body and the mind, to endure prolonged mediation. Self-defense movements were devised later from Bodhidharma’s knowledge of Indian fighting systems and thus the birth of Shaolin Kung Fu.
The greatest contribution to martial arts by the Taoists is without a doubt Tai Chi Chuan. The Taoist priest Chang Sen-feng, after spending ten years with the Shaolin Monks, retreated to Wu Dan mountain to pursue his search for immortality. After witnessing a fight between a snake and a crane, he developed a complete system designed to maintain health, calm the mind, and increase longevity – Tai Chi Chuan, “The Grand Ultimate Fist.” The self-defense aspects became so effective that it was recognized as one of the superior schools of traditional Chinese “boxing”.
Over the past quarter century western science and medicine has tested and authenticated the powers and benefits of martial arts training. Practices handed down over thousands of years have stood the tests of modern science. In old school tradition, we train our bodies and our minds at Lin’s Martial Arts.