Decades ago, when I taught franchise information to a group of fledgling martial school owners, I was exposed to a process known as “total immersion.” This was an unstructured method of training where a manager might be awakened at 3:00 am by “some potential student” pretending to want information in the middle of the night. Though somewhat stressful, this concentrated approach often produced surprisingly good results.
This immersion method can be easily applied to martial training; a cluster of related methods and experiences become essentially positive, nature’s contribution essentially transforming. Most students have heard at least one story about the dedicated student who lives with his master, sleeping in the courtyard to capture any and all of the style’s wisdom. In these times, such stories are less frequent or tenable, but this does not mean that the approach is less powerful—we just need to be creative and disciplined in how we focus our studies.
If a student asks me how to deepen her Art, I ALWAYS tell her to find a good teacher—one teacher. This is, of course, not always easy to do, but it is one of the many reasons we started Plum. Because, although distance learning will rarely equal the experience of touching hands with expertise, at least we can indicate those instructors who are not only top-of-the-line, but also who encompass enough depth to plumb (no pun intended).
Then it should come as no surprise that one of those teachers we often promote is Sifu Adam Hsu, so we are always happy when we can add a new offering from him—this time, specifically, a beautifully designed new book dedicated to 10 Road Tan Tui, one of the most popular Long Arm forms in the world. This is a companion volume to his popular DVD series on this form. In addition to the content—a good instructional breakdown—it is also a graphic delight. You will immediately note the square size with a striking grey cover wrapped by a green paper belt, an atypical elegance not often associated with martial texts. The photos are excellent and fit, along with the text, in the distinctive square format.
