More thoughts on arts, both kung fu and others

[Victoria Pich]

I've been thinking more about why we should study martial arts or any other art, even if we never have to defend ourselves or become professional artists. 

I speak from the viewpoint of a violin/viola teacher and relatively new blue belt student of kung fu, so I can experience these arts from both sides, the beginner and the expert. It has been so many years since I have been a beginning/intermediate student of music, that it is hard to recall what it was like, but learning Kung Fu brings it all back in the best way. It is both satisfying and humbling...

There are many layers to learning these arts, and many benefits (besides the obvious benefit here of being able to defend oneself from attack). Rather than list these benefits, I would rather focus on the one that affects all aspects of life - the refinement of perception, both of the inner world and the outer world.

In the beginning, we learn our basic kicks and punches, or finger positions and rhythms and music reading. We are fairly mechanical, which is a necessary foundation. Now, at blue belt, I am just beginning, BEGINNING, to become aware of that level of detail that has become automatic for me in music. After slogging through the technical stuff, doing the pushups and scales and etudes, one can start to perceive a more perfect art. This process never ends, of course, which may be the spice of life. 

How does this apply to the outer world? One starts to have a more refined and crystal clear perception of how things work, be those things movement, sound, color, line, etc... I can now make connections between my violin movements and our kung fu movements. The physics/mechanics of body movement make more than double the sense to me. Mr. Bronson reminds us the kung fu means working hard towards great accomplishment (in any endeavor). But just saying to oneself, "I should work hard to accomplish more" doesn't do it justice. Studying kung fu, or violin, or piano, or any other performance art, gives one the ability to work better, and to work towards mastery and creation of something, be that something a fine organic dinner, a kung fu form, a drawing, or a violin concerto.  We gain a depth of perception, and without applying ourselves to the study of an art, we cannot even perceive what work should be done. 

The study of Kung fu, or another art, gives us the ability to perceive a hint of perfection, and thus enriches our lives immeasurably.

[Joseph Bronson]

Well said. Thank you for your insights.