Martial Arts

[Buddhist Arhat]

Statue of One of the Eighteen Buddhist Arhats, Yiheyuan, Beijing

The value of martial arts training in modern society can hardly be overstated. The world we live in is motorized, automated, and sedentary, while also frenetic and stressful. This has led to many people suffering the ill effects of physical lethargy and lack of a calm mind. Martial arts provide a nearly ideal remedy for these problems, as they nurture the body and mind simultaneously. The student of systems such as kung fu, aikido, or tai chi becomes stronger, more limber, quicker, and more enduring, while his mind becomes calmer and more focused. In addition, the ethics of martial arts provides a sane counterweight to some of the extremes of popular culture. Such benefits can help us live in the world we have created.

For more than six years during the 1990s, it was my good fortune to study martial arts under the instruction of Sifu Calvin Jones, who taught in Fairfax County, Virginia. Since some people have written to inquire, I should say at this point that I am not certain whether Sifu Jones is still teaching; I hope he is, but it has been some years since I lived in the United States and I am no longer in touch with my old kung fu school.

As for Sifu Jones himself, he has studied various forms of kung fu and tai chi for over twenty-five years, and he brought his own remarkable talent as well as a calm, understated teaching style to the "wuguan" (that's basically a dojo, for you karate students out there). The style of kung fu Sifu Jones taught is primarily based on the Southern Shaolin Temple tradition, combining the powerful strikes and kicks of a "hard" system with the flowing, liquid blocks and footwork of "soft," "internal" styles. The "hard" aspect of the system emulates the movements and attacks of various animals, with the tiger, crane, snake, eagle, and dragon prominently featured, and other animal techniques present as well. The "soft" aspect of the system involves a variety of palm strikes and blocks, as well as grabbing techniques. Sifu Jones also taught tai chi fist and sword forms, and a number of other interesting and useful styles.

The photograph above, which I thought appropriate for this page, was taken in one of the buildings of the Yiheyuan -- the Chinese imperial summer palace -- in Beijing. The room I was in was a small shrine that contained statues of all 18 of the 18 Arhats. Actually, no one was supposed to be taking photographs in there, so I only took one picture. Today, I probably would not break the no photography rule, but I was a 21-year-old punk back then and (insert lame excuse here). If you are interested in my travels in China, please follow the link.

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