What Shou Shu Has Done For Me....
What Shou Shu Has Done For Me.... Shou Shu has done alot to transform my life over the years that I have studied, practiced and used it. Life was already a bit on the edge from my childhood....a few years in the United States Army and time spent with the NATO forces in Bosnia in end of 1993, 1994, and a fraction of 1995...sent me the rest of the way over the edge. I was not a humble guy for a few years after that. I was constinately in trouble, bar fights and dealings with the low lifes of society. I was on a pretty quick downward spiral that would have either gotten me killed or into prison. That started to change with Shou Shu in 1997....when I met Shifu Brad Sefraph. I was in a bad situation, caused by myself, in a bar...and he came to my aid and saved my behind. I'd seen alot of big, burly guys walk through people before...but Brad did it in a manner that was controled and calculated. There was no barbarian berserker rage...he was calm and focused and flowed through powerfully. That was the moment when my life had started to change. Not that I learned anything that night....or for some time after that, but it changed the way I saw things and gave me something to strive for. He told me that evening that he had studied Shou Shu, but he didn't tell me what it was and it was a while before I saw him after that....and longer still before he would even talk to me about what Shou Shu was. Before I began to study Shou Shu, I had a real downward view on life. I hated life and almost everything there was about it. I didn't really care about living to see the next day, it didn't matter. After Brad started teaching me Shou Shu, that started to change. I had a reason to get up in the morning other than going to a dead-end job where the pay was minimal...provided I got paid at all. I've always believed that you cant get anything for free...but I've had a boss before that seemed to think that eight hours of hard labor wasn't always enough to warrent a pay-check. With the Shou Shu, I had somthing positive to think about to make the day go by faster and happier. It gave me something to do other than go to the bar and get drunk every night as well. Shou Shu made me humble, it helped me to realize that I was FAR from perfect and that things had to really be worked at to make them worth while. I had to be dedicated to what I was learning....and Shou Shu was worth that dedication. Training in the rain and in the snow...kinda like the military, but building integrety instead of anger and resentment. The five main principles of self that Shifu Sefraph pushed to instill in me was Honor, Integrety, Perseveirence, Self-Control, and Indomitable Spirit. Over time....those values begin to grow, I really didn't notice it at first...but they were there. I lost that selfishness and began to care about other people again...I found shame in the things I had done before, accepted it and went on to find a better understanding of the people and world around me. Shou Shu gave me guidence and structure...purpose. In the eyes of society....Shifu Sefraph would not have been viewed as a "White Knight"......he was a rogue in the sence of law and order....he believed in justice at what ever cost. The lives of the many outweighed the lives of the few. His honor was his life...and in the end, such dedication may have been his weakness for helping those who could not help themselves. Shou Shu is the greatest combat art I have ever witnessed, and I'm greatfull for everything that Brad taught me...but even Shou Shu cant stop a bullet that has your name on it. I will continue to study the Shou Shu he taught me in the manner he taught me, and I will do what I can to learn more...not just for myself, but for his memory and for those who need someone to step forward when they cant. In closing, I would like to share one of the last philisophical discussions I had with him...I feel he already knew the fate that awaited him when he told me the code he said he lived by; A Warrior is Sworn to Valor Their Heart Knows Only Virtue Their Blade Severs the Unholy Their Courage Protects the Oppressed Their Might Upholds the Weak Their Word Speaks Only Truth Their Wrath Undoes the Wicked Their Honor is Their Life.... He said he found these words in a movie once, and that they struck a place in his soul that was his Warrior's Spirit. To him, those words told all there was to tell about being a man or woman of integrety and selflessness. I memorized those words, as I grow in Shou Shu and work to become a better man, his spirit will be with me so long as I work for the benefit of others through what I become. -Jack
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I read this last night and was really moved. I've seen and experienced so much of this over the years. It's an amazing thing. It brings back many many memories.
One thing that I really remember vividly is Da' shifu's funeral. I know that there were at least 500 seated. I don't know how many were outside listening via the speakers. I spoke at the funeral and sat with the family so I only saw from the front of the room. But one thing really stood out. Everyone who spoke and every single person I talked to afterwards and at the wake said the same thing "He was like a father to them" They all spoke of difficulties they had gone through and how his wisdom changed them. How they had become a better person through his teachings.
For us he was the vehicle. For you it was Shifu Sefraph. But it's the same.
Shou' Shu' has a funny way of giving a person what they need. The problems are often different but the solution always the same. The why's of that would fill a chapter. It's not obvious to most but to those who have been through it it makes a lot of sense. For those that have watched countless people change it makes even more.
But what doesn't make sense to me (well actually it does) are those that figure out that it is the cure for what ails them. They get so far. Then they back off. Some even revert. They all have great success. Whether the problem is controlling their anger or learning to stand up for themselves or many other things. The go along. They do well. They move very far towards solving their problem. They even talk about what it has done for them and tell others. Some will even tell me right to my face "I feel better and do better when I am studying Shou' Shu'". And then they quit.
I think what happens is they get to this better state of mind. A place where life is better. Whatever issue they had is nearly gone. And that place is unfamiliar. They make a subconscious choice to go back to the familiar.
What I don't know is what makes the difference. Why do some say "Yes this is good for me lets keep doing it" and others say "Yes this is good for me so lets not". And yes I've litterally had them say it.
I wish someone would answer that for me.
Thank you for posting such a wonderful post.
SSW