Today I did a different kind of Kung Fu, like announced yesterday.
Today we went flying! We did our first 'height' flights (need to do at least 5 for our first pilot license).
Now why put this info in this blog? Because Kung Fu is not just about training fighting techniques and demo forms. Kung Fu is much more than that. Kung Fu is pushing your boundaries, training perseverance, learning to put trust in others, finding out that your body can do far more than you think, and you learn controlling and manipulating forces put on you.
The last one is interesting. Some styles of Wu Shu, like western kick boxing, but also Shaolin Wu Shu, teach you to be strong, fast, and resist forces (e.g. blocking a punch). Other styles (which I find more interesting in that sence) like Tai Chi, Systema, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or one of my favorites Wing Chun Kung Fu, teach you that preferably you should not resist forces, since a force can easily be stronger than your counterforce. But rather to manipulate and control the forces that are put on you in your favor.
That is actually exactly the same as what your doing with para gliding!
You learn that you need to start with the basics and that it will not always go the way you want it to go (more often than not).
You learn "feeling" the forces that nature puts on your wing and acting upon it.
You learn that it takes practice to recognize these forces (as you can see below, I need lots more practice :P)
In para gliding you learn how to manipulate the forces that nature puts on your wing and use it to your advantage.
You learn is not to resist the wind... since it is far stronger than you and you will never win that. In stead you control the air stream through your wing such that you go were you want to.
You learn to put trust in your instructor, since up in the air you only have your own capability of controlling the wing and the instructor giving you tips from the ground.
Sometimes it will not let you go were you want to (e.g. when the wind from up front is as fast as then your wings flying speed, than it is not possible to move in a forward ground trajectory) but you'll learn to wait, have patience, and hold on. Since when you drop a little more, the wind speed will go down and you will start to move forward. You learn if the wind blows you left, to gently manipulate the your wing to go a little to the right, rather than trying to put full body force into go right...
You learn it is not always 'your' way that you can go by brute force, but if you choose your own path, make strategic choices, and flow with and manipulate the forces put on you, you can always go where you choose to go, but it will take perseverance!
Kung Fu actually just means something like: "Skill acquired through practice".
But aside from that, training Kung Fu, and para gliding, and life in general have a lot commonalities.
These are all valuable life lessons which many people don't learn or don't realize in their lives.
Lots of people either do not realize it requires effort and/or perseverance in reaching goals, or want to reach goals so bad they trying to force their path upon others to reach those goals, thereby destroying other people, nature, and eventually often themselves and not reaching their goals because there opponents (including themselves) are stronger.
Going with the flow and manipulating the flow a little to stay on your own path in harmony with natures forces acting upon you is always successful, even if it takes longer. The beauty of this way is that during your travel you often realize that you need to steer to another direction to stay on your own path towards your own happiness and your travel will become more satisfying than even reaching to goal itself, since you will realize during your travel that your goal itself can change during the path :)
Amituofo!
