ILC April2012 - I Love Creston Marketing Ltd.

Control of our bodies is a muchdiscussed
subject in my tai chi
and kung fu classes: place your hand
right there, your foot over a few
inches, etc, etc.
However, one of the things people
don’t usually put together is the
amount of mental clarity that is
22
Story by:
Shifu Neil Ripski
martial arts
The mind and body
needed in order to be so exact in our
movements and what great things
that does for our health.
You see, the Chinese do not have
an understanding of the mind and
body that involves any dualism. It
is understood that the mind and
body are integrated as one unit. This
is why the Chinese doctor may ask
you about your dreams or emotions
when you come to him/her with an
ailment such as a cold or achy joint.
“It is understood
that the mind and
body are integrated
as one unit”
Indeed, that idea is all-pervasive
in Chinese culture, including very
much the martial arts. The approach
is simple: we train the mind to train
the body and we train the body to
train the mind.
A person who can control their body
exactly begins to understand more
and more about themselves, not
only physically but mentally
and emotionally. If we hope to
control our bodies in this way we
must also be able to handle the
inevitable frustration included in
doing it incorrectly time and time
again.
This asks us to become more calm
and collected – people with a high
tolerance for frustration – and learn
to persevere. These are the qualities I
work very hard to instil in the youth
who come to train with me at Red
Jade.
Time and time again I see young,
unco-ordinated people with an
interest in martial arts slowly
begin to confront their bodies
and emotions in a way they did
not expect. I see them grow and
April 2012 www.ilovecreston.com