The Magic Book

[t_niehoff]

Did you ever notice how marketing in TCMAs, including WCK, appears to revolve around the same idea -- "the magic book"? You know, that someone is the keeper of the magic book (this secret "information") and everyone then measures their worth by how close they are to the keeper of the magic book? What does the claim to have a magic book really tell us about the keeper? And what does the claim to be near to the keeper of the book really tell use about that person? TN

On a related note: do you think a person is responsible for their own growth? And do you agree that you cannot do anything for someone unless they are motivated to train for the right reason? What happens to them if they are motivated by a wrong reason? Is the "magic book" the right reason? Just something to think about. TN

Terence

[reneritchie]

There's another well known system (not any WCK) where the "keeper of the book" (the Cheung Moon Yan with the Kuen Po) is really just that. He doesn't have much martial knowledge or experience, and doesn't really know all the information (sets, etc.) but he has them documented in his family's book, and so other practitioners come and visit him for the material. He's respected, as far as I know, in that capacity.

Some people are librarians or collectors - they want to learn 100s of different sets in dozens of versions of several systems, just to know them. Others don't even want to learn one system the whole way through, think they've discovered the secret themselves, and make up their own 'eclectic' system (marketed in its own fun ways).

I've said it before and I'll say it again, there are many ways up the mountain and if people spend all their time running around the circumfrance trying to find or measure the worth of each one, they won't have much time left to climb.

As to the rest, I think its similar to a high school teacher. Some become teachers because they want to help others. Some become teachers because they have issues they want to take out on others. Some train MA to improve themselves, others train MA to take themselves out on others.

[t_niehoff]

RR wrote:

I've said it before and I'll say it again, there are many ways up the mountain . . . . RR

What does it mean to get to the top of the mountain other than to achieve a high level of skill? Do "collectors of books" or "folks who want to become teachers" (for whatever reason) even approach that summit? Or is that a different mountain entirely? ;) From my perspective, only if we have the proper motivation (concern with gaining skill) can we even begin to think of an assault on the summit (though I'm still at the treeline myself). TN

Terence

[reneritchie]

With both eyes on the destination, how many are left to keep you on the path? While walking the circumfrances to count and photograph the paths, how much progress is made up the mountain itself?

Pick something you enjoy and that makes you better from one day to the next, and concentrate on that step by step improvement. Maybe that's not the way to commercial success, but its the way to personal success (unless you mistake the former for the latter).

I would also recommend not just looking at someone higher up the path and doing what they do. Rather, try to find out how they got there. The two are not always the same.

[kj]

Originally posted by reneritchie
I would also recommend not just looking at someone higher up the path and doing what they do. Rather, try to find out how they got there. The two are not always the same.

Very good, René.
- kj

[zerozero]

I too detest the idea of the "magic book." You're talking about Complete Wing Chun by Ritchie, Chu and Wu, right?

[reneritchie]

Wasn't that a cook book? Something about Spring (rolls)?

[anerlich]

I can only accept a "magic book" as a metaphor if it starts off blank, and you have to fill it in yourself. You can't cut and paste from others' books, you have to copy stuff in longhand.

AS for "many paths up the mountain", I don't like this metaphor much either, this would have to be a mountain without a summit - bit of bad luck for ETW, I guess.

[bglenn]

The magic book is for those not willing to realize that skill comes from work and knowledge comes from experience.Instead of work they would rather live in a fantasy world searching for some magical system that would make them impervious to attack.Wong Shun Leung had the scars to show that know matter how good one was ,your going to get hit.That is the price for excellence!What most people are not willing to do is sacrifice.

[Phenix]

The Greatest Magic is in oneself.
The book is just a Mirror.
One sees not the Book but one sees oneself.

[reneritchie]

Hey Andrew,

There are scenic paths and bare-bones ones, steeper straighter and round about, well trodden and those that are blazed anew, some that taper off and a few that may lead to passes to yet higher peaks previously hidden behind. And some may merge and some may split.

Of course, if you're just concerned about the destination, there's only one path regardless of which way you take.