Phan
Thanh Hoa
-Teacher of United Nations International School
of Hanoi-Vietnam
Kungfu is not my first
introduction to martial arts. I started practicing Taekwondo
when I was a 10th grader, not because I was a
Taekwondo fan but so : you can scare the bullies away when
needed., said my dad when first moved to
Hanoi
from a small town.
After five years in taekwondo with all the hard punchings
and high kickings, I finally achieved a black belt. I put it at
a holy place in my house, as a remark of my success in life.
University at
last years became busy. No time for martial arts ! I told myself
: I got what I aimed for, why more?. Saying goodbye to all those
hard sweating years practicing like a “ real” boy, I came
back to hide myself in a Vietnamese “ ao dai “with its
traditional humble values.
For ten years
later, my time was devoted to work and family. Sometimes, I
passed by a Sports Center where kids were doing high kickings, a
kind of melancholic feeling running back “ well. old days! I
miss that “. I was sometimes temped to go back to Taekwondo
but I couldn’t imagine of
myself doing high jumpings and kickings any more. At
least , not at my age.
I met Master
Quang by an accident or by the magical arrangement of our
martial arts fate. He said simply ‘ Come to practice this
Summer when you have time’. ‘ Me ?’ With astonishing
doubtful eyes, I went to Master’s class to find out my long
life dream finally came true.
Master Quang
did not tell me to put as much power as possible in my kickings
or punchings which have become more difficult for me. Instead,
he explained to me where strength comes from; where the focal
power points of a body are and how I can form my strongest power
based on those points. What amazed me was how I could form the
internal force instead of external like before and how to
breathe to harmonize the internal organs.’ The trick is you
have to harmonize all the parts of your body to gain the
strongest power that your body is capable of ‘. My body and
movements were too tense. Master Quang taught me how to relax
while still gaining the best strength.
I was lucky
to trained in both Kungfu and Taichi. Master Quang has formed
something unique to teach his students which can be named as
Quangkungfu. In his teaching, one can find the traditional
Shaolin kungfu which appeared in
China
thousand years ago but has combined with Master’s experience
of 30 years of practice and teaching. Master Quang told me ‘
Absorb it and make it your own Kungfu based on what I have
taught you’. I did not practice passively but started to find
out the ways to improve myself. This can be seen as an
intelligent martial arts when both teacher and student are
really involved in the process to achieve something.
My admiration
and inspiration for Kungfu and Taichi are growing after each
lesson. I felt in love with every lessons. Both my physical and
emotional health have improved remarkably. Kungfu and Taichi
have changed me positively to lots of extents. Not only I
haven’t suffered any cold or flu since I practiced with Master
Quang but I ‘ve become more confident, calm and strong-minded.
There is a
new part growing inside me. I am not aware since when Kungfu and
Taichi has become the therapy for body and soul. |
