Writing As Kung Fu
So, here I go. It’s time to set aside doubt and to continue my ninja training in the noble art of writing. Kung Fu of words. Let me elaborate.
You see Kung Fu (and here I speak as a student to a master of wing chung)is not just the mastery of physical and mental martial prowess.
The legendary wing chung of Ip Man, the mythical Shaolin Monks and,no less impressive, the super-stardom of Bruce Lee. You won’t meet many, across age, gender or nationality who couldn’t tell you what Kung Fu is -- it is of course the art of kicking arse with style and grace. Grandmasters who can thrill you or kill you with a glance, the chanelling of chi as firepower.
Nuclear sciensists called fucking around with a ball of plutonium ‘tickling the dragon’s tail’ but an error, where they veered from the true path of kung fu led to deaths and maiming. You see, dear reader, kung fu has nothing to do with fighting. Kung Fu simply means “to perfect".
Watch a monk cleaning a temple, a French Foreign Legionnaire ironing the 13 creases required in his shirt or a skilled seamstress making your wedding dress. Perfection and harmony in conscious flow. We all understand what’s meant by someone getting into the flow of a task or game or contest.
We all have the capacity to practice kung fu. Time, patience, humility and lifelong learning seem to me to be kung fu and, as implied in the opening paragraph of this short piece on writing, I aspire to be the finest writer I can possibly be and the attributes I imbue kung fu with are my way of working towards this ideal.
Often though, our own minds get in the way.
I can generate a huge list of mind worms that dismiss my writing as tragic attempts at making sense or simply dreadful crap.
My dad told me I’d end up a waster and boy did I come close to making him right. I left school at 15, home at 16 and by 17 my life was all about music and love. Tragedy and sucess flitted in and out of my life. At 24 I ended up in prison for a few years.
Mistakes were made but did i learn any worthwhile lessons?
Yes, my friends, I did. I learnt to write, to enjoy reading words, to enjoy learning new ‘big' words. I also took up martial arts. One compliments the other, certainly in my experience.
In my journey with words and laguage I try to apply the virtues of kung fu. To practice, to be dilligent, humble, and defer to the masters and aspire myself one day to write ‘that’ perfect piece. Of course, this is impossible because kung fu is the journey not the destination. I find applying this simple philosophy to my written work serves me well.
As said, I left school very young and without any education. Since though, by applying kung fu to my writing I’ve now got more degrees than a thermometer (BA, MSc, Dip. etc etca pile of music releases to my names and work regularly as a freelance journalist and content creator.
Kung fu has much to offer us all. It litterally helped me redirect my whole life. And the writing flows like a gentle stream in a sunlit valley…
As a physical practice that complements creative or philosophical work, wing chung, taught by a Master sifu, is beyond comparison. The first form or sil lum tao is a series of movements that litterally means “the simple way". A magnificently beautiful way of setting mind and body in motion. Energy in motion becomes the action or act and, dear friend, that act just could be writing…or cleaning a temple with love or ironing that shirt with attentive relaxation. Kung Fucwriting kicks ass 😎.