This year’s Kung Fu retreat was all about flowing with energy rather than fighting against it. I had a few opportunities to practice and learn about this myself.
On Friday night we did the drill we usually start with, a flow drill. This whole idea is to flow into and out of techniques. It’s a great opportunity to learn how to feel our partner’s energy and get out of our own heads. I loved building the flow with two amazing senior students who joined us from Sifu Brown’s dojo in Michigan, Josh and Lincoln. As we created the long combination we got ourselves into some sticky situations, but we found our way through. When I felt stuck it was helpful to remember that I put myself in that situation, so I had nobody else to blame and must be able to unstick myself.
After this we talked about the theme of the weekend (flowing and finding creative ways out of bad situations rather than forcing). We handed out small metal puzzles for students to solve during downtime. The point of these was to practice creating elegant solutions and not relying on muscle. Several students solved many of the puzzles, and Josh and I solved almost all of them. After retreat I could only find one that I hadn’t solved yet. I took it home and worked on it for hours. Yesterday I brought it into the dojo and asked Davia to check the solution and make sure the puzzle was set up right. Sure enough, someone had forced the pieces back together in a way that made it impossible to solve. Once she set it up correctly, it took about 10 seconds to solve. This was a great opportunity for me to practice staying calm and laughing at a messed up situation. Still, I will find out who forced that puzzle back together and give them many, many pushups.
Weather is always nice for retreat, even though Mt Baldy gets plenty of rain and snow. Well this year it was mostly nice, except for Sunday which was quite cloudy and rainy. This caused us to change up our schedule because we normally go on a nice long hike up to a waterfall where we meditate and practice Tai Chi on Sunday. When we saw the forecast, we knew we had to switch things up. Instead, we hiked on Saturday and enjoyed a beautiful morning of Kihon on the bluff overlooking the waterfall. This ended up being a great choice because the paved surface made for a better spot to do combinations compared to the gravely area at the Zen Center we usually practice on Saturdays. Mike and I also got to meet an actor from Cobra Kai who happened to be at the waterfall that day, another fun result of our smooth pivot.
One of the more unique drills we do on retreat is kind of like a kung fu escape room where we practice dealing with different self defense scenarios. This year we did it in multiple locations and gave the senior students a chance to really get into character as they attacked and creeped out the junior students. It was fun seeing everyone be creative and finding lots of non-violent ways to escape, including befriending Josh’s troubled Laundryman. I believe the pre-framing of the weekend’s theme made people less prone to react physically and helped them stay calm in order to respond well. This is a great lesson for us all to take into the real world. When we are looking for opportunities to flow instead of fight, we will usually find them.
With the rain on Sunday we took the opportunity to stay cozy inside and practice Tai Chi, Chigong and chin’na (joint locks) to defend against weapons. Push hands during Tai Chi and the other partner work was a great bookend with Friday’s flow drill, another opportunity to focus on feeling our partner’s energy and flowing with it rather than fighting it. It can certainly be difficult to stay calm and flow when your partner is attacking with a weapon. Still, the students did a great job.
As we moved through the rain from one building to the next to meditate and eat our meals, I was reminded of a concept in Hagakure: the Book of the Samurai:
There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you will still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything.
As we moved through the mist and rain, there was no way to avoid getting wet. In our physical and internal practice, there is no way to avoid struggle. When we are resolved to experience that struggle and play with and within it, it becomes effortless. We find flow.
Thanks again to everyone who came. We all returned home tired and invigorated, ready to flow creatively with whatever life brings us.
