Sounds like an exotic journey to a far off land doesn’t it? In way that is exactly what members of the Toronto Study Group experienced during a training session a few years  back. We found ourselves in a martial arts heaven. I hope a brief story about our trip will be an enticement to others.

Due to our flight arrangements, we landed quite late on a Wednesday night, arriving at the Gompa at 1:30AM. Even at this late hour, Shifu Painter had arranged for us to organize our sleeping arrangements so as to get to bed as soon as possible after our arrival. This was good since we knew the day was going to start at 8:30 sharp.

Thursday began with an hour of meditation and Dao Yin yoga with Shifu Painter. There is no adequate way to describe this experience other than to say that it was peaceful, healthful and a completely delightful way to begin our training. We all went to breakfast after this and enjoyed discussing the coming three days of training.

The first martial training session was in Master Jou’s garden. This is an outdoor training space dedicated to the late Master Jou, Tsung Hwa, author of several books and a pioneer of Taijichuan in the west. The garden itself consists of several sections, each with different training tools and environments. There is a wooden deck used for multiple purposes such as meditation, stepping patterns, qigong etc. Beside this is the famous Baguazhang Nine Post Training area which involves nine wooden posts arranged in three rows of three posts, all situated on a surface of loose gravel. You need to step carefully since the gravel slips out under your feet. Next is an area of raised stone steps arranged in a circle so one can practice stepping onto very specific targets. If you miss, you fall over. There is also a place for practicing light body skill. If this was not enough, there are also lengths of narrow beams on which two people can stand and play push hands games. There are practice dummies for arm work, and space to swing weapons. The largest area is a patio with a beautifully inlaid yin/yang symbol surrounded by the eight gua of the Yijing. (I Ching). Here there is plenty of room for combat games with multiple opponents. And there is one unforgettable piece of equipment; a 12 foot length of 4 inch PVC filled with concrete, weighing about 150lbs and hung from a high tree branch so it swings far and wide. This thing is a challenge to one’s walking and rooting skills that has to be experienced to be understood. Does all this sound cool or what??!!

We spent the day in the garden working on our body structure. This involved fine tuning the various alignments that are needed to produce whole body power. This is not a mysterious force, but rather the effect of the various muscles and bones being used in a synchronized way to create more force than any single muscle or group of muscles by themselves. To accomplish this, one must spend time finding the weaknesses in the way the body is held and make the necessary corrections. This we did for the entire day with well-timed rest periods.

After dinner we had some free time and chose to spend it once again in the garden, just lightly playing a game called “Two Dragons Circling Among the Clouds”. The garden is lit at night via well placed lamps, consisting of subdued white light in waist high stands, and blue spotlights overhead which have the effect of moonlight. It is quite magical to be in that place at night playing sensitivity games. We did this for the entire evening until we were just too tired to continue. A fabulous fatigue!

The next day started once again with meditation. After breakfast we spent the morning with Shifu Robert Castaldo. He is one of the official Gompa instructors and he had made some discoveries about stepping that he wanted to share with us.

It was a very detailed examination of the way one’s foot is placed when walking and the effect it has on the ability to deliver power while maintaining balance and root. You may wonder how we can spend so much time on something so seemingly small and specific. Yet we easily filled up the entire morning on this and could have gone on longer. Questions were posed and examined; ideas were tossed around and experiments designed to explore those ideas.

For anyone interested in really exploring body mechanics and their most efficient use, I highly recommend that you try to spend some time with Shifu Castaldo.

After lunch came our session with Shifu Alan Marshall. He asked us what we were working on as a group in Toronto, and we mentioned the “Two Dragons” exercise we had done the evening before. So he graciously spent the afternoon sharing his ideas and approaches to this game. It was eye opening to say the least. It must be said that the Gompa teachers are very adept at assessing where you are and then working to fill in any holes and subsequently adding information to move you forward. Shifu Marshall saw right away where the weaknesses were in the way we were playing and was able to make very specific suggestions for improvements. And, of course, he demonstrated his meaning with each and every suggestion and we learned a great deal about how to improve our practice and make progress. The time flew by and when were just getting started, it was time for dinner. The evening was spent watching a movie and just relaxing with Shifu Painter. It was simply pleasant and relaxing.

The next morning was Saturday. This is the busiest day there as there are classes running all morning. Once again we spent the morning in the garden, this time with Shifu Andy Garza. And once again he wanted to know what we were working on and we told him “Two Dragons”. He watched us play for several minutes and, as with Shifu Marshall, he had some ideas and suggestions for us. But here is the best part, Shifu Garza had different ideas to show us with this game than Shifu Marshall, none of which were contradictory and once again we were shown information which would elevate our practice, yet in different areas.

So we again found ourselves being taught in ways that enhanced our practice without losing any of what we already knew. The reason for this is that the Gompa teachers focus on principles, rather than specific techniques. Principles can be adapted to various specific situations while specific techniques are only applicable to the situation in which they are effective. Also, the focus on principles allows each teacher to share their understanding from a personal standpoint without contradicting the other teachers. In this way each personality, and they are quite different, can be freely expressed while the information is complimentary. If this sounds too good to be true, keep in mind that they have been refining their approach for many years. We are the happy recipients of these years of work.

Saturday afternoon was spent once again with Shifu Painter….hmm, we have come full circle…..going over more details about various aspects of our practice. Circle walking, ba step turns, more alignments, ideas on using weights (water filled balls) to enhance practice etc. etc. This story is already long enough without attempting to get into all that detail. After dinner, we returned to the Gompa for a final in depth discussion with Shifu about various aspects of the art. He clarified and confusions, told some illustrative stories, shared more ideas, and this went on until after midnight.

Here is the bottom line: The level of generosity and care with which each of the Gompa teachers approaches one’s learning is evident and inspiring. How you are doing really matters to them. Nothing is held back and every effort is made to be sure you are learning what you need to learn. Going to the Gompa is like stepping into an isolated training compound, with the feeling of a being a world apart. This is so conducive to focused learning that I felt I was picking up information without being directly taught anything. Just seeing some of the equipment at hand give one ideas for practice. Each of us is naturally drawn to different aspects of practice, and since the environment totally supports all these aspects, one only has to be there to get some inspiration.

The best thing about the Gompa is the Gompa. The word means “place of quiet study” and that is exactly what it is. So if you are in any way considering experiencing this unique place, do your utmost to make it happen. You will be unbelievably happy you did.