Those Grapes are too sour !!!

            Chinese Martial Arts have a unique knowledge, which is “Vast and Profound.”
    Every person who practices Chinese Martial Science is equally capable of procuring one
    particular sentence, Where is this “Vastness?” And moreover where is this “Profoundness?”
    Consequently old sayings present themselves one after another.  One ancient argument
    reappears deliberately to confuse, but that pond’s waters were originally unclear.

            This question then, when all is said and done which form of Martial Science is the
    most effective?  As soon as this question appears suddenly this “Vastness” more and more
    approaches “Confinement.” It seems that those who practice their own personal Martial Art
    make the wisest selection, all others are simply fools.  This is obviously apparent by their
    taking up inferior forms of Martial Science.  Is it really like this?  What are you arguing
    about?  To be a student of an art what kind of breakthroughs do you insist upon, or do you
    insist upon the insignificance of appearance? Is to be a teacher that one must constantly
    improve one’s personal art and to internally progress, or is it merely to acquire more
    students?  Chinese Kung Fu’s “Vastness” rests in “Tolerance,” which rest in “Suitable use
    of power.”  In the field of Chinese Martial Arts there are a myriad of styles to match
    a myriad of situations.  Moreover if we focus on present day there are as many various
    styles as there are individuals to appreciate their various qualities.  When I was young
    I would often converse with a man who studied Martial Science in Hong Kong, we would
    often exchange epiphanies and personal breakthroughs we’ve had about Martial Science.
    This is a good friend who practiced an extremely good form called “Cai Li Fo” and
    “Wing Chun.” One time, joking around, he lured me into an elevator to test how could my
    Northern Preying Mantis possibly beat Wing Chun.  Although this was a joke between us
    it is precisely the method of Chinese Kung Fu to make this “Vastness” proliferate.
    Why are there Northern and Southern styles? Why is there “Cai Li Fo,” “Hong Quan,” and
    “Wing Chun.”  Why is there “Shao Lin,” “Wu Dang,” and “Ba Gua?”  This is the wisdom
    of the Chinese!  It is actually the most desirable aspect of Chinese Kung Fu! Northern China
    has broad plains, and the south has narrow alleys. If the Northern Fist enters the narrow
    alleys there is no place to spread out.  In the same manner if the Southern Fist goes into
    a large desert he better not fight, he could run and run but it could never compare to the
    long movements of Long Fist.  When on a small boat or canoe there is no one who would
    dare try a large Horse Stance.  All you’d have to do is rock back and forth and you’d fall
    into the water.  Of course in this kind of situation Wing Chun would take the advantage. 
    But put Wing Chun in a large gymnasium and he would only be thinking to himself the
    consequences of the situation.  So in each place has developed one particular style of
    Martial Arts.  This is exactly the reason why there are so many different kinds of Chinese
    Kung Fu.  “Fight with wisdom, Fight with power, Fight with Kung Fu!”  It has already
    been said about Chinese Kung Fu that it never flaunts its power ruthlessly or in a rash
    manner.  And also that it was developed with wisdom and the design of the terrain to
    create the most advantageous Martial Forms.  You must open your mind!  Are you still
    trying to figure out which is the best Martial Art?  You must examine in what area which
    form of Martial Science is the best.  In the last generation the masters besides concentrating
    on their students training, they would send their students out to be among other styles so
    that they could take the beneficial aspects of other styles to help their own abilities evolve.
    But open your eyes, how many people today are willing to open their minds?  However the
    more you travel the more you approach your original point of embarkation.  Teaching
    students “I’m the Master” I can’t believe you teach in this manner.  If we keep this path
    we will have to change Sun Tzu’s Art of War, because as Sun Tzu says, “Know yourself,
    Know your enemy,” so in this you’ve already erred.  I’m not able to comprehend each
    individual’s thinking so a parable has come to mind – There was a fox who was unable to
    reach a delicious bunch of grapes, he sighed knowing the grapes were unattainable and
    said to himself, “These grapes must certainly be sour!” 

            How can I know this Chinese Kung Fu that I’m practicing is genuine?  Ah, now this
    question arises, you could be damaged disastrously.  Since its inception that pond’s waters
    were already muddled, but even more so when it is stirred up does the mud spread out.
    “Profoundness” gradually reaches “Skin Deep.”  Consequently the first thing you do is to
    mistakenly practice the Horse Stance each hour of every day, and stand there throwing
    several hundred punches. Except for this such a person knows nothing of Martial Arts.
    I don’t know how this great theory proliferated.  Did you practice your horse stance today?
    Did you punch yet?  Never tell me “Oh in the good old days.”  I know after standing Horse
    Stance for five minutes half of all the students would run away scared. And then they’d say,
     “Other styles practice what, even their Horse Stance and their punching is wrong.”
    We always say our actions are a model and others are eternally mistaken.  We can reveal
    other’s faults and perhaps we can take advantage of them, but we simply can’t savor the
    flavor of the luscious grapes.  And still the fox has not been able to take advantage.
    You must know each style has merits and faults, the important thing is that by the time
    you have to use it you must take the good and discard the bad.  You reveal the faults and
    perhaps this is why they discard them, if they don’t there is no manner in which they can
    display their meritorious points.  This is an often-revisited phenomenon of Chinese
    Kung Fu. I also often say “Theory of Goal,” you may have one important goal, sometimes
    it is necessary to get rid of the secondary aspects.  This is quite commonplace among all
    styles.  If you don’t go to look at other’s Martial Science, of course you will have nothing
    to do every day except practice Horse Stance, fighting without thought.  Still you really
    don’t know what can prove the greatness of other Martial Styles.  No wonder the last
    generation is becoming more and more “Legends of place.”  Even with Kung Fu novels
    we sigh saying, “I can’t be better than this.”  “Know how to appreciate,” other forms of
    Martial Arts.  Research other styles beneficial aspects, you must go and learn from
    experiencing how there steps work.  Where are there aspects that are different from my
    own?  What is his goal?  What is my goal?  You will discover the ingenious composition 
    of the Fist’s Styles.  A beckoning fault must certainly be repaired.  A beckoning fault might
    just be the bait for you opponent.  Your head is always raised at a forty five-degree angle,
    in one lifetime you will never taste the flavor of the grapes.  Your head has been raised to
    long. The fox will say, “That bunch of grapes is too sour.” 

            I therefore have taken on the task of creating an instructional program using video.
    This was not originally my idea, moreover in this crowded world of Martial Arts my peers
    have been thinking long and hard, but no one has dared to act.  After all in the past many
    Masters have failed bringing calamity upon themselves.  Moreover this crowded world of
    Martial Arts is full of masters who are incredibly smart, but they are still waiting.  They wait
    for others to succeed then everyone feels it’s not too late and follows suit.  So here I am
    pushed out in front as a martyr. I have a long history of working with movies and television,
    but it never crossed my mind that this knowledge I’ve acquired would be use to create an
    extremely detailed instructional video program.  This has been creating quite a commotion,
    because nobody else is capable of recreating this work.  One man even said this has made
    my cost of tuition rise ten times, this is because he cannot afford to have this tool for
    instruction available.  Once I have produced one Form of Kung Fu, that’s one less 
    Form he can teach to others, and now there are not many left.  Many individuals are loosing
    hope their old hidden faults are resurfacing.  They just think but never act.  No one truly
    knows how much I’ve put in to create this very different style of video.  For many years
    there has been no one to corroborate with in the detailed research, with the exception of
    one man Teacher Que Ji.  Following there are no famous masters who are making videos,
    but there are a plethora of tapes that attempt to attack mine. These are all just full of gossip.
    Everyone spreads all kinds of nonsense saying you can never learn from a video tape.
    Your going down the wrong path they frantically warn. You don’t have to think hard to
    realize this is the cheapest form of investment for them.  Take a good look!  They have
    reached the pinnacle of intelligence!  These extremely intelligent individuals said that I’m
    merely trying to swindle your money.  Perhaps this is true?  Is it possible they are the
    pinnacle of intelligence?  They repeatedly exclaim it is impossible to learn Chines Kung Fu
    from a video, but this is actually your own problem not theirs after all.  Chinese Kung Fu
    does take into consideration “Natural Talent.”  Moreover how many people could teach for
    half a day and still make it unable for you to learn?  One individual already asked me “Is it
    really possible to learn from a video?”  I answered, “No it’s impossible!”  He was scared
    and asked why.  I answered, “Because you only think and don’t act!  How can you learn
    if you don’t have a tape? How can you learn if you don’t study?”  Just after he became one
    of our members. Sometimes when he comes by to see me he asks me to watch him and
    see how he’s doing. Now his problem isn’t not studying it’s a problem of self-confidence.
    Another person came to ask me about other places that have videos for not even $10.
    I went to him and replied, “That’s a very expensive television commercial to watch.”
    This society is becoming more and more expensive, but for those fellow individuals who
    have Martial Arts in their hearts, we have no choice but to study.  Each of us carries on the
    responsibility of the Master and Disciple tradition.  Naturally this train of thought exists in
    the world.  Are we bold enough to taste the grapes?  Or will we keep our heads cocked
    eternally at a forty five-degree angle. At this time I must say how can this fox speak to
    humans?  Scolding the parable, it is this parable which makes him speak.  It’s possible
    that this is our goal for the world to admit this. And for the fox who looks up eternally
    he still sighs, “Those grapes are too sour too sour!”   


    author : Porf Jou in Kungfu Loung Taipei 2002.3.27
    translator : Timothy A. Drouillard