Detroit Seminar 2010
Before attending the Detroit Kung Fu Seminar, I thought that it would be an amazing workout with good philosophy on the side. Sure, I had heard that the training sessions were notoriously intense, if not extreme. Even more interesting were all of the different types of people that I was told I would get to know. The one part that interested me the most about the seminar was the promise that I would come back a changed student. After experiencing the seminar for myself, however, I grew to admire it in an “Xavier’s School for the Gifted” sort of way.
Despite my misconceptions, my training experiences taught me about kung fu’s values for self-improvement. What initially terrified me were my kung fu friends’ testimonials of training until the mid-hours of the morning. At the seminar, however, it took a different manifestation. Sure, the schedule stipulated plenty of one-on-one and group training time. However, our kung fu teachers demanded that we stick to our own individual limits. My Sifu’s advice, “Take as many breaks as you need, but don’t give up,” best embodied the philosophy of the entire kung fu seminar.
Getting to know the other kung fu students encouraged me to relax and not be too hard on myself about my progress. I met a lot of people, but didn’t feel like I had much in common with them. Between training with them and sharing drinks afterward, I realized that that’s ok. They understood what it was like to make a ton of mistakes and celebrate that alongside our strengths. It really did bring us together like a family. It made me feel like I was “one of them” and had nothing to prove.
The best part of this sense of belonging was paying attention to others’ one-on-one training experiences. I remember how excited Art was, recapturing his training with taller individuals. He learned how to use his shorter stature as an actual advantage against them! Lop sao with Natalia held great examples of learning the hard way. She had even better examples of laughing about it. Best of all, the Nebraska guys gave me amazing pointers on relaxing, and just paying attention to energy direction. It gave me a new sense of power, fast!
Sure, like Xavier’s School for the Gifted, I worked on my basic “powers.” Like the rest of my kung fu family, I had to constantly improve upon relaxation, focus, and staying centered. But, I always got the special treat of working on my own unique strengths. It was like having 60 different personal trainers help me tweak my “favorite moves!” After hanging out with them all afterward, I acquired a long, lasting high ever since. The Detroit Kung Fu Seminar was my first seminar. It gave me a sense of empowerment and connection that I can’t wait to explore through future seminars.
-DeShawn Harden, Great, great grand student generation.
- Detroit 2010
