Pyramids

Training as a pyramid - it starts with the basics, your building blocks. Everything we do at higher belt levels, are all based on what we learn as a white belt. Those basics are what we build upon - your thrust punches, your horse stance, your bow stance, your front thrust kick, side heel thrust, roundhouse etc.

As we move up in our journey, we tend to focus on the new combinations we have learned, and are eagerly looking towards the next ones. We mistakenly assume that by practicing these new combinations that we are practicing our basics. Yes the basics are in there, but they are not really being practiced in a mindful manner.

I guarantee that if you watch a sihing or sifu practice, you will see them practice a lot of the basic techniques from our white belt curriculum. Why? Because if we let these fall, then all the rest of our Kung Fu will follow. We need to have a strong base in order to continue to build upon it.

Say you have just gotten your yellow belt - but you were looking ahead to what you get to learn as a blue belt and tried those techniques. What do you think would happen? Most likely, they wouldn't make sense, and wouldn't feel right. We have to progress incrementally. By building up, brick by brick. Doing something before you are ready, is going to set you back.

We are all different, and learn at different speeds and in different ways. But we all need to keep our basic building blocks in front of us regardless of our learning abilities. Never lose focus on where you started, and always practice your basics.