A Lesson
The Master looked into the eyes of the student who stood with his legs outstretched and knees bent. One hand formed a fist while the other was open above his head in a blocking technique.
The Master said, “You have no conviction.”
The student stood there, afraid to move. Confused, he thought, “What does he mean by that?”
As if by magic or intuition, the Master said, “I know you don’t know what I mean. Maybe when you do, you’ll perform better, and maybe then I can teach you something.”
The student performed the next move, a five-tiger kick, and landed in a perfect bow stance without losing his balance. The Master smiled and walked away. The student stood and decided to try another routine. Obviously, the last one wasn’t very good, and the Master kept harping at him. Next, he decided to do the Five Fingers of Sinanju Form. This form stresses hand techniques with lightning-fast stance changes. The student has been doing this form for 15 years and liked it a lot. He even competed in many tournaments and took first place. He felt this was probably his best form.
He began with the bow, aligning his energy points along the upper gate triangle. This energized his body and prepared him for the form. He felt good just doing the bow. He stepped forward and did a long low sweeping crane hook, followed by the red silk palm. As he began to draw back into the crane stance with a sweeping cutting palm, the Master appeared again. “What is that? I never showed you to move like that. It looks good, but again, you have no conviction. You just look pretty.”
The student did the next move. “I’ll show you,” he thought. He poured every ounce of power from his body into the next move. He lost his balance and fell face-first onto the floor. He heard the Master laughing. He slowly got up, his face red with embarrassment. The more he tried, the worse he got.
The Master said, “I said conviction. Not more power. That’s why you fell down. You think more conviction means more power. You can’t do any more power there. Not every move contains all your power. You use what is necessary to accomplish your task. Anything extra is just wasteful.”
The student just didn’t understand what his instructor was trying to say. What more could there be? He was a tournament champion and by far the best student in the school. The student shrugged and decided to call it a day and go home.
As he headed for the door, the Master stopped him before he left and handed him a small book. It didn’t have a title and appeared rather old and used. The Master said, “Read this book tonight and return it tomorrow. Maybe this will help you understand what I want from you. All I can do is lead you to the water, but if you don’t see it because you don’t feel thirsty, then there’s not much I can do. Only a small percentage of students ever get to the water, and still fewer see it and actually take a drink. Good luck.”
The student thanked the Master for his kindness and promised to return the book immediately. He still didn’t understand what was so important and what his Master was trying to teach him or tell him. “Oh well,” he thought. “I’ll read the book to keep my Master happy.”