THE END OF THE ROAD?

 By Phillip Starr

Some of you may have asked yourselves, “What happens after I learn all the techniques and all of the forms? What then?” It's a legitimate question because if you stay on the path of one art long enough, you'll eventually reach what seems to be the end of it. There are no more techniques to learn, no more forms...

I once had a student who, after he'd accomplished learning every form and technique that I teach, wanted more. “No more spoon-feeding”, I joked. “Now it's time for you to learn what they have to teach you. Go back and perfect them. Each one.” Sadly, he could not. He simply wouldn't “eat” on his own and he went elsewhere. What a tragic waste!

The same kind of situation occurs when a student and teacher become separated for one reason or another. This separation is by no means the end of the road...at least not to one who is determined to learn and willing to put forth the required effort.

I have been separated from my teacher(s) for a very long time but their words continue to teach me. And I continue to learn from the forms they taught me. Even now, after training for more then five decades, I have “Aha!” moments when I discover what my sifu REALLY meant when he said a particular thing.

There's always more learning to do. The (martial) path may be rather narrow at some points, but new discoveries are there, waiting to be found...underneath the flora that's hiding them.