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In-Class Training
"Everyone has a plan until they've been hit." ~ Joe Lewis
Have you ever been attacked by someone with a stick? How about a Bullwhip, Butcher's knife, Meat hook, or a Machete? Probably not, if so not often; the point is, in these stressful situations most people panic or freeze and chances are that's what you would do in a real fight
where someone is trying to really hurt you. Of course, you've watched every action film out there and you never miss a fight on pay-per view, and right now from the comfort of your living room couch you're probably saying "If that guy came after me with a bat I'd do this... or I'd do that...". The truth is everyone does the same thing unless they've been properly trained, they hyperventilate and they get hit; nobody does a perfect choreographed Jackie Chan backflip off of the wall and nobody takes the weapon away. What you will get is a good dose of reality and that's the beginning of your training.
Give up the Posh Life
"There is no success without hardship." ~ Sophocles
The more conveniences people have that make their life easier, the harder it is to make them real martial artists. To become real fighters students must give up their posh way of life and learn to do things the Kung Fu way, learn to suffer. There is no magic workout, no Kung Fu exercise machine; the only way to harden off your body is through real hard work and suffering. Everyone scoffs at that Karate Kid movie, you know "wax on, wax, off", and "paint the fence", but there's a little bit of truth to that. There is a Kung Fu way to turn everyday chores into Kung Fu training... when taught by Sensei Jerry these activities will make your body tougher than any gym regimen. This is real martial art training, not running on treadmills or lifting weights. If you're not miserable, in pain, or bleeding, you're not really training. This is how we live, adding more Kung Fu every day.
Super-Human Abilities
"If it weren't for my training I would have been dead many times."~ Silent Wolf
There are abilities that all people have that are now weak or dormant due to the lack of use or need. We no longer need to hunt or be weary of attack; we all sleep comfortably in our beds at night, walk calmly down the street thinking nothing of who is behind us or around the next corner. People today walk around in a fog of security, usually texting or talking on the phone. We no longer need to climb trees, run or hide to avoid being some animal's next meal. We drive cars, take elevators, and call the police when in danger. Most people barely have to pay attention to the world outside of their apartment, car or office.
Although dormant we still have these animal abilities, they just need to wake up. Have you ever known something bad was going to happen before it did, have you ever had a feeling that someone was behind you or looking at you? These are those latent abilities, they can be trained and they can even save your life!
In Aiki Jiu-Jitsu / Kung Fu students are given awareness training along with ancient, tried-and-true Kung Fu body conditioning exercises to bring back that animal sleeping inside. It takes years of dedication and hard work but the results can be super-human. You may never need to use these skills unless you're in the military or law enforcement but if you only need them one time in your life, the years of training will be worth it.