The funny thing was, our entire conversation circled around Sifu and Disciple. After using Band Of Brothers on "The Leader", it actually sparked me to use other movies as the talking point of today's post.
Before I go into the details...let me ask this question first...Imagine yourself as a Martial Art Sifu, are you a Sifu that teaches all 10 Kung Fu Styles/Forms or "Jiu Sek" when you have 10 Jiu? or Are you a Sifu that only teaches 9 Jiu?
If legendary Kung Fu like Yu Loi Sun Jiong or "The Buddha Palm" from the movie, Kung Fu Hustle is real...You would be able to imagine and appreciate the tremendous power of Chinese Martial Arts...Remember the power of the killer strike from Stephen Chow after his enlightenment and transformation towards the end of the movie where he came flying down from the clouds, fighting against the baddy with the Kuan Lunn Frog Style...? What about that two blind dudes with the Chinese GuQin? The landlady that always has a ciggie in her mouth? The Misai dude that can absord and transfer others power into thin air? The Kam-Kam Uncle with the red underwear from the tailor shop? The Noodle Shop dude? The Guli?...
There's an age old Chinese saying of "Kau Sik Toh Dai Mo Si Fu" passed down from generations ago, I believe some Sifu started it...where the "Sifu" is scared, that one day, his disciple will replace him or maybe, kill him. Therefore, as an insurance policy, he only impart 9 out of the 10 Jiu he has...keeping the most powerful 10th Jiu to himself...until he dies,. When the disciple mastered all the 9 Jiu and become a Sifu himself, at most, he will only be able to teach 9 Jiu to the next generation of disciples...if he has the same mindset as his sifu...imagine the lost through generations... That, to me, is what left of Chinese Martial Art today...in some ways...it's merely a performance to the western world...Having said that, without a doubt, there are still some very powerful Kung Fu Styles around but I believe, those that are passed down from generations, are probably a tenth of the original power (even if, there are also Sifu that will passed down all his skills).
Perhaps, we will be able to understand more of that Chinese thinking or behaviour if we try to analyse it further...Those that can become Sifu, normally are old dudes...what concerns them the most is, the "Strength Of Youth" from the disciple, which is acceptable. The second, would be the "Fear Of Being Replaced". Furthermore, the Sifu himself might not have mastered and perfected all 10 Jiu while his young apprentice could...therefore, keeping the most powerful 10th Jiu would be natural, isn't it?...hmm...Can't really blame the sifu...
It's all because of the Narrow Mindset of the old Chinese ways. Actually, by just stepping back a little, the Sifu shouldn't need to worry at all! Why? Because he would have a lot more years of experience in all the 10 Jiu, the possible different combinations using all 10 Jiu and most importantly, he should be able to anticipate the blows coming from his disciple as well as knowing what needs to be done to eliminate the threats.
From the principle of Progressive Mindset, if you are able to look back at history, someone would have created the 1st Jiu through some inspiration and built from 1 Jiu to another, possibly more powerful than the one before, until the 10th Jiu...If the Sifu has that quality in him, he could have create the 11th Jiu that is even more powerful than all the 10 combined, no?
Back to the real society today, the most common and demoralising illness, is the "Fear Of Being Replaced"...especially in the highly competitive corporate organisation. From the principle of the "Law Of Attraction", if you do have this fear, you will be replaced. Therefore, you need to stay relevance and stay ahead, lead the way. When your closest competitor is catching up, move your goal post further to continue staying ahead. But, do not fear of passing down your knowledge to the juniors as the more they learn and understand, the more helpful they will be to ease your workload...be a generous Sifu. They will also appreciate you even more...
Every company, management or boss will always tell their employee that "Nobody's Indispensable". If you are "Just Like One Of Them" instead of being "The One", of course you are dispensable. If you really are "Just One Of Them", you are really just helping to ensure that saying is correct. The true success of today's Managers and Directors are not only measured through their personal performance (As their main Role & Responsibility is no longer based on execution excellence) but also through how well they train, teach and upskill their subordinates.
Drawing the attention back to the subject matter of Sifu. Most Sifu are being remembered because of their success in producing talented disciples rather than their skills in punches and kicks. For example, Ip Man, he is considered as The Great Master of Wing Chun and being remembered as the Sifu to the great Bruce Lee and many other lesser known disciples but they are still considered Wing Chun High-Hand "Gou Sau" in their own rights.
I'm a Sifu of a different nature...A Chun Toi Sifu...hahaha...I teach my disciples all 10 Jiu, I want them to be a great Sifu one day and I also want them to create their own 11th Jiu, so that they can be the Master of all Masters. But, I'm also continuously upskilling myself to stay relevant & stay ahead. `
After all, even though, I'm a Chun Toi Sifu...not yet Wong Fei Hoong Sau Tong...I'm still me...a Chun Toi Sifu with Cracks.
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