LAYERS UPON LAYERS.

 

 

There is more to a Bus Journey than a Driver and a Bus, there needs to be interaction, our Ego makes us think that we bring about that interaction, we think the act of driving is us creating the interaction, but Driving is an inherent part of being a Driver, just as much as breathing or eating. 

Interaction is not done, it just happens.

The magic in all of this is that the Bus does not know the Driver exists, and the Driver does not realise that he is part of the Bus.

When we think of Layers we tend to envision them as physical things like layers of an Onion, without realising it we think we have some control over them, that we can separate them manually, move from one to another simply by choosing to, this is rarely the case, we would do better to see Layers as something like a state change or dimension shift, something that happens around us, something we have little control over like the dawning of a new day, one moment it is pitch black, then a sliver of light breaks in and then just like magic it is all daylight.

When we first do the Form we place our awareness into a single Arm and we keep it there as we make the different movements, for a long time that’s all there is, an Arm moving somewhere, we become amazed, and slightly obsessed. 

As we become familiar and comfortable with this way of being we start to sense that there is something else here, without noticing the transition our awareness is now consumed by the rotation of the Shoulder, the hinging of the Elbow, the flexing of the Wrist and the extension of the Fingers, in everything we do this is the new reality of moving, and again we become amazed, and slightly obsessed.

With repetition comes familiarity, increased knowledge begins another transition, now our awareness is consumed by the Bridge alone {the lower Arm from the Elbow to the Finger tips}, externally the moves are the same, everything that was happening before is still happening, including the amazement and obsession.

Time, repetition, familiarity, transition, the pattern repeats but now there is just one tiny spot on the Bridge, it could be anywhere, a Finger Tip, an Elbow, a Wrist, as if someone had just marked us with a Felt Tipped Board Marker, a little Green Dot.

Every move every action is just this little Green Dot going about its business, following our intention. Time, repetition, familiarity, transition, we realise that our whole Body is made up of millions of little Green Dots, connected, unified, when one Green Dot moves they all move, so we only ever need to move one Green Dot.

Any one we choose, it could be on our wrist if we are thinking Sil Lim Tao, on our Waist if we are thinking Chum Kiu, on a Shoulder if we are thinking Biu Gee, it is just a thought, just an IDEA.

When any single part of us moves all of us moves.

There is a perception that deeper levels or layers bring greater more complex IDEAS, this is as far from the truth as we can get, just like an Onion every layer underneath is smaller, simpler and closer to the core.

The easiest place to experience these transitions, these layers, these dimension shifts or state changes is of the course the First Form, not because it is any way superior to the other Forms but because there is a lot less going on, this is why so many people spend so much time on this Form, but there is a danger here, if we cannot, or do not make the connections between all the Forms, if we cannot or do not create one unified method, one unified IDEA we may end up with a deep understanding of the First Form but a shallow understanding of Chum Kiu and Bill Gee.

When we consider that in application we only ever use aspects of Chum Kiu and Bil Gee this could be a problem.

There is no special trick or skill to unifying the Forms, we just spend an equal amount of time on each one, if we can find one move, one feeling, that is exactly the same in all the Forms and work outwards from that point, interaction will just happen.

The Driver boards the Bus and takes his seat, the Bus kicks into life and the Journey begins.

The journey from not knowing to knowing is very much like traveling along a dark road, when knowledge arrives it does not come as a bolt of lightning that brings instant illumination and clarity, it is much more like falling into an information filled hole in the road that was always there, we just could not see it in the dark.