INSIGHTS

   from  the              

Ching Yi Kung Fu Association Newsletter

JULY 1987

  by Michael Alan Brown            President -  CYKFA

Edited by W Kraig Stephens CYKFA Black Belt #68

PUBLISHED WITH PERMISSION OF THE CHING YI KUNG FU ASSOCIATION

INSIGHTS:  The Ching Yi Way: 

Dr. Wong told me once several years ago that the Association training program was set up much along the lines of a university education system.  I believe that analogy to be very useful in understanding our Gong Fu system, and in explaining it to others.

The Black Belt program includes training in Shaolin, Tai Ji, Xing Yi, Ba Gua, and supplemental exercises.  In this way, students are given a broad grounding in the Chinese martial arts, much like an undergraduate college curriculum which requires the student have a broad background in the various areas of arts, sciences, humanities, etc.  Black Belt certification equates to the baccalaureate level of education.

After "graduation", CYKFA Black Belts are qualified to teach what they have learned to others, just as a person with a bachelor's degree can be certified to teach those with a lesser level of education.  For many, this level satisfies all their educational and career goals.  In education and in Gong Fu, these people form the backbone of the system by continuing to bring in new students and raise them up to the "baccalaureate" level.

For others, graduate study is attractive.  At a university or in the Gong Fu training hall, one must select a specialty to reach the master's level.  Be it particle physics or northern praying mantis, a directed, selective, exclusive regimen must be undertaken to master a discipline.  CYKFA instructors encourage their Black Belts to seek such advanced instruction from qualified "master's" and "doctoral" level teachers, either from within the Association or from outside.  Once a practitioner has thoroughly mastered a particular area of specialization, he/she becomes an invaluable resource for other Association members wishing to specialize in that style.

A person receives a doctorate after years of in-depth research and after publishing unique written material on the subject previously mastered.  Indeed, the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) demonstrated knowledge that vastly exceeds the limits of mere form and technique, and has attained a "philosophical" understanding of the art/science.  This level is represented in Gong Fu when a master publishes the results of years of specialized study in the chosen style as a legacy to future generations.

In the Ching Yi Kung Fu Association, we certify those who have reached the "baccalaureate" level with a CYKFA Black Belt certificate.  This certification states to the public that the practitioner has completed a definite program of training in the Chinese martial arts within a recognized organization and is qualified to teach that program to others.  Further certification past Black Belt is not used since 1) a person who has truly reached the master's level in Gong Fu needs no certification of the fact, and 2) there are no definitive criteria by which mastery can be arbitrarily judged, especially by anyone not already a complete master of that particular style.  Of course, by the "doctoral" level, one's credentials should be beyond reproach in light of achievements/recognition attained as a master of the art.

Hopefully, the above explanation can serve as a useful tool when discussing the CYKFA system with your students or with those outside the Association, or to just help you better understand the CYKFA.