by
'Jo Gau' Keith Worfel

Many people translate the term Kung Fu as "hard work". That may be a satisfactory explanation for the layman. However, for the true martial artist it is only partially accurate. A better definition for Kung Fu would be "excellence attained over a period of time". There is a distinct difference between the two preceding translations.

Hard work does not imply any spiritual or emotional effort for achievement. The only necessity for accomplishing hard work is physical or mental exertion. Hard work is obviously important in martial arts, but it solely encompasses the external actions of a person. In Kung Fu, as well as other traditional martial arts, the external self provides for only half of your available power. The other half of your total available power emanates from the internal self.

To attain excellence over a period of time one must put forth unwavering effort toward their goal. This effort comes from the spiritual or emotional energy that embodies any person with pure martial arts spirit. Once the potential of internal energy is realized and harnessed, it will become much more important and have much more power than any physical technique that can be performed. Every person has within them the drive and desire for perfection. The problem is that many people simply choose not to use it, or else they just do not realize that they are not using it.

Most martial artists relate internal energy to "gong lik," or more commonly "chi." Gong lik is, of course, an important form of internal energy. Gong lik is an extremely potent and highly untapped source of power for many people. However, we all possess another form of internal energy that is very easy to invoke. The form of inner strength referred to is sincere effort. Sincere effort applied to a goal comes from the heart, or the spirit, of an individual. Two common phrases illustrate this point: "push yourself to the limit" and "give it all you've got". This is the path towards attaining true excellence.

Some would argue that a task could be completed without having a true desire for a favorable outcome. This is true to certain point. In the martial arts, however, a sincere student or teacher strives for inner strength as well as outer strength. Outer strength can only be truly forged once the inner self has been cultivated. For example, there are people who are physically superior in certain areas. However, without genuine effort put forth from the inner self, there is no sense of accomplishment. If one does not have accomplishment, then how can one attain excellence? Therefore, you must exercise sincere effort in order to reap the rewards of your achievements. The rewards of your achievements are your personal satisfaction and gratification; it should not be about how others perceive you.

EXERCISING SINCERE EFFORT
Having sincere effort is only useful to those who actively use it. It does no good to just say that you want to achieve something. You have to show others, and more importantly show to yourself, that you are actively attempting to accomplish your goals.

We attend class in order to learn a particular art; that is why we are there. Being in class does show a desire to learn, but you must do more than just be there physically. You must participate mentally. Mental presence is one of the primary ingredients required to attain the pinnacle of excellence. Mental presence is effective only if an individual gives genuine and maximum effort toward their objective. For example, those people who are naturally adept at martial arts may be able to learn new techniques and drills very easily. Those people may actually be good at their art without really trying. However, unless they cultivate their internal energy in the form of sincere effort, their true martial arts ability will never attain the level of excellence that they are capable of.

How does one exercise sincere effort? One method is simply to practice. We all have a desire to learn. Any martial art requires practice in order to learn. Training time for most practitioners is very limited while in class. Therefore, take advantage of what little time you have. Do not ever just stand around waiting for something to do. If your instructor has not yet told you what to practice, then work on something on your own. We all have many areas in our training that requires continual practice, such as techniques, forms, and possibly weapons. If you need to remain motionless until your instructor gets to you, then gong lik is the perfect solution.

Another method to apply sincere effort to your workout is to not become bored. The most common reason for being bored with something is that the individual is getting good at it, or at least thinks they are getting good at it. If something appears to be easy, then there is no challenge and there is a desire to move on to something different. However, for a particular technique to become truly easy, it should be able to be performed perfect every time. How many people can honestly say they are perfect every time they execute a technique? Therefore, boredom should be a very rare feeling because of the opportunity to continually improve with every movement.

There are certain techniques that are inherently easy to perform. Those easy techniques, of course, present the potential for boredom. The cure in this case is to increase the intensity of your training. Do not just lightly perform an easy exercise for the sake of the class. Make it your objective to execute the exercise with as much energy that you can put in to it. Also, use your competitive spirit to become the best in the class. Once you are the best in your class, then try to propel yourself to become even better. An example to improve technique and intensity is found in chain punching. For instance, as a Kung Fu practitioner you may throw 1,000 punches in three minutes as a warm-up drill. During this exercise you should concentrate on making the technique of every single punch as perfect as you can possibly get it. Also, every punch should be executed with maximum force. Each person who earnestly trains in this manner is guaranteed to never become bored with their chain punching!

SINCERE EFFORT IS RELATIVE
You can give 100% effort to your training every single day that you practice martial arts. The level of skill that you display may actually vary from day to day. The relevant difference that you should distinguish between is that of your personal effort and that of your actual performance. Regardless of the actual quality of skill you display on a particular day, it is your duty to make it your best effort. There are many factors that will affect your personal output. Everyone has occasional emotional or physical troubles that may hinder their performance. When you are burdened by illness or injury, for example, you can still give 100% effort to your training. Your performance may not be as good as when you are healthy, but you always have a maximum potential level that you must strive for. Therefore, your personal effort should be an absolute constant 100% every day, but your actual performance is the variable that may vary from day to day. Always pushing to achieve your personal best is the primary way for you to attain excellence.

Human nature compels us to compare ourselves to others. Humans tend to have a very competitive spirit, striving to be the best. Comparing yourself to someone else can be the catalyst needed to spark your drive to enhance your skills. Comparison may also be the cause of one's spirit and performance to deteriorate if it is not kept in perspective. An important point to remember is that it is natural for some people to be more gifted than others. For example, you may know someone in your class who has less experience, but has better ability than yourself. Do not become discouraged by this person being better than you are. According to the laws of nature, which can also be called Tao, this other person is meant to have better technical skill than you have. Regarding the external world, accept the fact that there will always be someone who has greater ability that you do. You need to realize that inner strength is the main factor needed to determine an individual's martial spirit. Inner strength can only come from within yourself, and only you know how much effort, or inner strength, that you possess. Therefore, how can you compare yourself to another person if you cannot determine their amount of personal effort? The answer is simple: you can't.

CULTIVATING SINCERE EFFORT
To attain excellence in any martial art certainly takes a long time. There are no magic potions or instant remedies to make your performance become superb overnight. However, constantly applying sincere effort to your training will surely increase the rate at which your skill improves. Once your skill improves, then you will be able to attain a higher level of personal effort. The cycle of effort improving your skill and skill improving your effort can then repeat itself indefinitely. Use your time in class efficiently and put meaning and intensity into each of your movements. Strive to achieve your absolute best every day. Improve your skill for the sake of you, not for the sake others.

As a minimum offering, applying sincere effort will rid you of the negative feeling of regret. Most practitioners, at some point in their martial arts career, have probably had regrets regarding their training. These regrets could be in the form of a lack of training or a lack of intensity in training. For example, those who teach a class or seminar for the first time, compete in tournaments, or undergo testing for a higher level, possibly have had similar thoughts: "I wish I practiced harder", or, "I wish I practiced more". If you always provide your maximum effort to your training, then you are already practicing as hard and as much as you possibly can. You will be much more content with yourself and you will have a deeper sense of inner peace.

The ultimate goal is to improve yourself. You can improve only by constantly pushing your limits to higher levels. Some people feel they have reached their maximum limit and cannot improve. If those people persevere through long periods of hard work and sincere effort, then they will find themselves improving beyond what they thought possible. This is the definition of Kung Fu. This is true excellence.