Working with schools whilst running my self-defence programme I was looking at the Maori weaving patterns adorning the reception walls. Noho Taniwha, the teeth of Taniwha; to the European perception they look a bit like the teeth of a dragon. Taniwha have been sighted by some Maori and even some pakeha; it seems that the metaphysical nature of the Maori culture is able to awaken the spirituality that the European has conditioned to ignore over the ages.

The origin of Shaolin Kung Fu is generally credited to an Indian monk named Tat Moh, who is also sometimes known as Boddhidharma. He began life as a prince in Southern India, but became a devoted Buddhist, renouncing his royal heritage to take up the simple lifestyle of a monk. He traveled widely, spreading the teachings of Buddhism. Eventually he rose to become the 28th patriarch of India.

Watching my students go over their patterns in my Taekwondo class one would give me a tentative glance another would let out a cursory ‘err... ’ as they would perform the exercise. I advised my students that martial arts are not a team sport, to never worry about what anybody else thinks but focus purely on the execution of their flow. Glancing at a judge in a patterns competition is almost always an indication of uncertainty; likewise when facing an adversary in sparring the winner is the one who focuses on his own attacking strategy and dictates the pace of the bout. Martial arts are one of those activities which are all about you, where the focus of the training is on enhancement of the self.

As week four comes to a close I find myself trying to work out how to retain and improve the knowledge I have gained. Asking each instructor I was given four separate movements to focus on. In the hope that this weekend at the big parkour gathering in Auckland I will be able to keep up with everyone else.

So week three has finally come and gone and a pattern in my training has emerged. I seem to have a fear of commitment (way too many jokes come to mind....ok ok just one “that’s what she said”). You see in parkour a lot of the movements are designed to continue your momentum. So that as you approach the obstacle the vault movement is nothing more than the next step from your last. The timing, distancing from each step doesn’t change this means slower you go the harder it is to achieve correct technique.