Talked to 2 sifu's today. One said of the other:

"I met this sifu, and we fought [friendly sparring I guess], he was pretty good. I was impressed with his techinques. So much speed and power. I respected him, he respected me. We became good friends. I asked some of my students to learn from him."

These sifu's don't have their own clubs, just a few closed door students. That is true greatness in the martial arts. You don't need to promote yourself. You end up finding each other and become great friends and learning a lot. None of them would ever say they're "master" of this or that, they're so humble. Neither of them really look like they could or want to fight either.

I don't think the 1st sifu trains very much either, although I could be wrong, but I was talking to him about his business and he seemed too busy to train. His skill is just so amazing from before that even though he is "out of practice", his skills stay with him for a lifetime. That is the degree of skill that I would love to have.

In fact, the 2nd sifu looked like some old man I could take with one hand. But I know the 1st sifu's skill is amazing. I trust instead, that even if I had four hands, the old man would take me with one. Contrast that with other "sifu"s who aren't that good, yet promote themselves to a high degree.

That, is true greatness in the martial arts. You're willing and confident enough to test your skill against another sifu. You're humble enough to recognize the other person's skill. And at the end of the day, while other sifu's are promoting themselves, they said, "See you later, we're going to a restaurant for beers."

Hahahaha, classic things you see in movies, but in modern day sifu's. I have the highest degree of respect for those sifus.

The old man sifu looks at me. "Nine years? Wow, you must be really good!" I was ever so fast to reply "Nooo, I suck! The past 3 years I was not training hard!" Just in case he decided to pick me apart. LoL!

One day, I hope I will be as great. But not today. My time has not yet come.