So I began experimenting. I broke down the forms. Studied them piece by piece. I made tons of tones, several notebookes filled with scribbling in three languages and lots of pictures, too. I started using tools from modern sports: resistance bands, video analysis, slow-motion breakdowns.

Unlike Brazilian jiu-jitsu or Muay Thai, where you get tapped out or kicked in the liver regularly enough to know what works, kung fu often dances in a different realm. One without much testing. We don’t spar every class. Sometimes not even every month. So how do we know what’s “good”?

Gratitude grounds you in the present moment. And there are only two places where I have felt that kind of radical presence in my life: In very deep meditation. And in a fight.