1000 Times a Day!

I heard a story about a guy who wanted to study martial arts from a Master who lived up in the Mountains in Taiwan.

Just getting to the cave where this guy taught his few dedicated students was a dangerious rocky slippery climb. He found the Master teaching outdoors and went up and begged the Master to teach him. The master shouted some garbled expletives and signaled for him to put his arm out so he could show him some technique. Upon making contact the student was promptly thrown to the ground. Disgusted, the Master shouted, "WHY ARE YOU SO WEAK?"

The student jumped to his feet and again begged the Master to teach him, and again the Master shouted, "WHY ARE YOU SO WEAK?" And then he shouted at all of his students, "WHY ARE YOU ALL SO WEAK?"

No one had an answer but the student again begged to be taught. The Master then sank down in to a horse stance, stretched his arms out to the sides and began opening and closing his hands, stretching his fingers wide apart and then squeezing them into fists in rapid succession. He then said, "Go away and do this 1000 times a day for a month. If you come back in a month and you haven't done what Sifu has told you, SIFU WILL KNOW, AND SIFU WILL KILL YOU!"

The master then moaned, "Why are you soooooo weak? Get out of here!"

A month later the student came back, having done what he was told and began his studies.

I wrote a great post (if I do say so myself) about the difference between Gates and Bridges just before Thanksgiving. I'm linking to it now because I'm not sure anyone saw it then, and because Formosa Neijia had a funny link that is related.