On Teaching and Learning Traditional Chinese Martial Arts

Traditional Chinese Martial Arts practice is guided by many principles and adages that have been compiled over the centuries and propagated within the different styles. The old masters also set guidelines for teaching and learning. The adage Jiao Bu Yan, Quan Bi; Xue Bu Zhuan, Quan Bi Lan is one such example.

Before providing a translation for this saying, it is best to analyze the meaning of Quan 拳 in this context. The literal translation of Quan is Fist, however, within the above adage it refers to martial art. Hence a proper translation would be: “If the Teaching is not Strict, the Martial Arts will be Crooked; If the Learning is not Focused, the Martial Arts Will be Useless.”

The first component, “If the Teaching is Not Strict, the Martial Arts will be Crooked,” falls on the responsibilities and duties of the Shifu, the Master, in imparting knowledge to his or her students. In the old days, teachers were not only strict in their instruction but often used the stick to make corrections and elicit attention. While this method is no longer acceptable in Western society, and although not widespread, it still occurs with some teachers in China.

In ancient times, martial arts were like the guns of today. Society was dangerous and people often faced life-threatening situations. The masters taught their art fully aware of these dangers, and they were serious about preparing their students to be skilled.

The second component of the adage, “If the Learning is not Focused, the Martial Arts Will be Useless,” applies to the apprentice, or Tudi in Chinese. An apprentice has the responsibility not only to work hard and apply himself, but to do so with a focused and attentive mind. Casual or indifferent students would not only fail to make progress but would not last long on the path. A strict Shifu would quickly be dismissive of them.

A lazy student would be rare, however, because the master would have imposed strict requirements in the acceptance process, which often required long periods when the prospective student was ignored or asked to perform menial tasks. All the while, the master would be observing and testing the prospect’s character and resolve, so that once instruction began, what was learned would not be useless.

These guidelines on teaching and learning laid the groundwork for the “how to,” that is, how to teach and how to learn. Both have their own craft.