Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 22 | Issue 2

COMPLETE MARTIAL ARTS CONCEPTS
Teaching the Complex Art of
Kung Fu, Part 1
By Professor Willie “the BAM” Johnson
Teaching Kung Fu is artwork: it’s truly a display of a painter painting a beautiful portrait.
It is a complex art form, and to truly be good at it, the small
details must be learned and displayed.
Therefore, it makes the learning process truly difficult,
but effective when learned and displayed properly.
This could be the reason why there are more Karate
schools than Kung Fu schools: because Karate is
simple and easy to learn. And some of the so-called
Kung Fu schools around have had to sacrifice
one or the other—focusing more on
the big moves and less on the small
details to keep students longer, or
focusing on details and having a handful
of students.
You see, most Americans want things
fast and right away, so you lose them when
it becomes hard and difficult. That’s a shame,
because that’s when the real learning
begins. So, over the years,
we’ve had to adapt and
change the required curriculum
taught in order to
keep students for long
periods of time. And this
approach, which has
allowed martial arts as
a whole to thrive, has
affected the quality of
black belts, since the
requirements are not as
high. To get even more
detailed, if the students
are not being rewarded,
they will move on to
another school—so there goes loyalty. Nine out of every 100
students are truly dedicated to the value of Kung Fu and
will stay around regardless of what occurs. And every
good school needs a few strong human beings to be an
example to the masses.
The teacher’s mission is ongoing. It’s so hard today,
because in the old days, you gave your heart and
soul to the student and left a legacy to your senior
disciple. But not today: students just jump from school
to school when personal growth gets tough, and that
party is disrespecting the instructor. So, l learned to
become thick skinned and to not take their departure personally,
but it still hurts if you’re truly a dedicated instructor.
The long-term teaching plan always has to be the goal along
with the personal expression of the student’s true self. The
teacher must use their expression of the traditional techniques
taught in order to bring life to the curriculum. Because Kung Fu
is moving and adaptive in nature, it is alive and well. And, among
100 students in a class, each must be taught personally.
The traditional protocol allows the instructor to control the
class structure and have everyone moving as one, but growing
as an individual internally. The rules of protocol are things like
bowing before entering and leaving the school, meditating before
class, showing a respectful attitude and body language at all
times. Do not interrupt instructors during class—hold questions
until first executing the drill—and, most importantly, no chitchatting
during class.
This is from the old school of thought. Forget that first-name
basis stuff, it should be Shifu, Sir, or Ma’am, used by everyone,
even the two-and-a-half-year-old kids. Also, when the students
are taught to show respect, the instructor must give respect in
return by starting class on time, not teaching past the time, and
not asking them to do things they would not do themselves.
PROFESSOR WILLIE “THE BAM” JOHNSON is a 7th degree black belt and seventime
sport karate and Kung-Fu world champion. He has appeared in four movies, 16 plays, and 11 television
shows. He is also the national spokesperson for the Stronger than Drugs Foundation and the Champions
Against Drugs.
80 MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 2
Illustration by Andrii Koltun