14/02/2026
Some values that will help your practice:
- study techniques and principles not narratives: regardless of whether we talk about martial arts, Qigong or meditation, all of them are based on technical concepts which are applied in practice. Beautiful stories are great, but they shouldn't account for more than a small percentage of your practice. They are designed to carry cultural memory and inspire people, but if you want to be a practioner then you must be clear about practice.
- focus on what you can do and limit speculation: normally "I think this is happening now " is a mistaken statement. New abilities usually present themselves abruptly after a long period of building in secret. Having a general idea of what to expect in the future is good, but being patient enough not to rush experience is essential. Tie yourself down to the work at hand and you will make less mistakes and go further in the long run.
- be realistic about expectations: this relates to the problem with narratives since those masters we all heard about at the outset of our studies who could do all kinds of magical things are often exaggerated and in the case they really were or are very high level, they have extreme will power and exemplary conditions. It is fine to be an average practioner and gradually work toward expertise over a long period of time, that is gongfu.
- don't stop: this is what my teacher tells me every time we talk about practice. I specifically remember him saying that the reason why those masters got so good is because they never gave up and kept practicing every day. Five or ten years is a comparatively short period of time in the gongfu world, but it takes twenty or thirty years to realize that. Keep going and don't lose your passion, that is part of the deep lesson.
- improve your mind and your body: most people tend to incline toward one or other, but both need to be cultivated. In practical terms the mind is more difficult to master than the body, even if you are very smart. At a certain level it is the mind which decides the destiny of the body and mental work is much more than just intention, so please pay attention to this part.
About the painting: this 11th century painting of a monkey holding a cat by Yi Yuanji is cute and has nothing to do with the message in this post, except that I imagine the painter must have been very good at the above points about practice to capture such an evocative image. Just as an aside, I stopped going to nightclubs in Shanghai one night after a street performer let his monkey jump on me in the Lawson store. I felt like I'd seen enough b.s. so I guess I should be thankful to the poorly behaved monkey for helping me become more serious 🐒 🙈 🙊
