Has My Taiji Training Been Successful / My Martial Art Autobiography

Has my Taiji Training been successful?

My Martial Art Autobiography Written by Steve Contes

An ordinary Martial Artist.

This is a summary of the path that Martial Arts have led me and how I found my way to Taiji. Those of you that have devoted your lives to Martial Arts probably have a similar story.

 I am an avid and dedicated Taiji practitioner although you might not know it from watching my form. My first loves have always been Martial Arts and Philosophy not necessarily in that order.  (At this point in my life they have become unified into one.)

Now let’s address the topic at hand.

Has my Taiji training been successful?

First we must define the term successful. It comes in many colors and flavors. Depending on the individual and his ideals, each one of us must draw our own conclusion. I can only speak for myself and my limited life experience.  As I begin to explain my feelings on the subject, let me make it clear that I am not trying to influence or impose my ideas on anyone. I am merely sharing my thoughts as a fellow spiritual being.  I also do not want to be misunderstood or thought to be conceited, but I consider myself a very successful martial artist which has made me an even more successful man.  

Most people around me would likely think otherwise due to the environment that I have created around me and in which I live.  It is quite modest and simple without all the embellishments often associated with success.

How does this relate to my Taiji training and what I have learned from it. I will give you a brief history of my Martial Arts experience spanning the last forty years of which led me to my in depth study of Chen Style Taijiquan.

As early as age 6, I was always fascinated by China and the Chinese. Even as a child in Brooklyn I thought I lived in a Chinese neighborhood because what I thought was Chinese writing turned out to be Hebrew. I got my first glimpse of martial arts through Television. It was the likes of Captian Kirk of Star Trek and James West from the Wild West displaying their fighting prowess and watching The John Wayne Movie, The Green Berets and it’s display of Judo and Jiujitsu techniques in a scene with soldiers training. Mannix the TV Detective often utilized Martial Arts in his fight scenes. And I can’t forget TV wrestling which had some of the greatest athletes in the world.

 That’s what planted the seed which spawned my love for the science of combat and it’s use of leverage and other principles of science. The next step was the Kungfu Movie genre that hit the US in the seventies. But my greatest inspiration was (no surprise) Bruce Lee and his extraordinary skills complemented by his philosophical approach to the arts. His movies were great and I still watch them till this day, but it was his role on the TV program Long Street that had the greatest early influence on me. (A must see for Bruce Lee fans.)

My first look at Karate up close was through a neighbor/ friend, who was studying with a local Sensei in my home town, Port Jefferson NY. I was a young Brooklyn transplant and   as a young child moved to Port Jefferson. (North Shore, Eastern Long Island)  I bought my first Karate Magazine in 1969

 and I still have it.

All of the above led me to start this journey and take my first lesson (at the age of 12 or 13) in a Tae Kwon Do class at a nearby YMCA.  I was accompanied by a few of my cousins, two of which continued to train their entire life as I did. Unfortunately the experience there was not what I expected, no one flying through the air or taking a barrage of kicks and punches with no apparent damage sustained, no Dim Mak or finger strike death blows were being taught.  My disappointment was probably fueled by my own ignorance and previous Hollywood TV and Hong Kong Movie Martial Art exposure. 

However it was still my first official experience even if I had not been enlightened. None of us stayed at this first school. Two of ny cousins did stay with the next system we tried and pretty much dedicated their Martial Art Career to the same Instructor.  Even after my first lesson I also knew that there was still something about the Chinese Martial Arts and culture that intrigued me.  It did motivate me to continue to seek out an inspiring teacher and a suitable style. (With my main goal at that time, to learn how to defend myself against any size opponent)

 I did not search for long as fate stepped in and delivered me to what became my second   home for about next 10 years or so. It was the Taizen and Shintai system of Self Defense and I studied under the tutelage of Sensei Vincent Miraglia (still one of the greatest Martial Artists I have ever seen) and occasionally his instructor and owner of the original Taizen School Master Howard Tague (also a true Pioneer of the arts in both advanced skills and thinking way ahead of his time with his mind-body concepts.) This was in a town called Selden, Long island.  It was about a five mile bicycle ride to the school from my home, although the distance did appear to shrink when I’d catch a ride with my older cousin or even more so when I got a drivers license and car a few years later (at 16).  This system was a combination of Goju-Ryu and Jiu Jitsu with a very scientific approach to training the body and mind to work in a harmonious partnership. Just to scratch the service of the foundation and understanding of what the body can do (from the Taizen – Shintai perspective) in a natural state. When the mind is pure and without any counterproductive thinking such as fear, anticipation and anxiety, it is an amazing almost super human tool.  How fast can you move your hand or body for that matter when it is exposed to an electrical shock or extremely high temperature?  Faster than you can block, parry or dodge a strike with techniques that you have practiced repetitiously for years with partners of all sizes and speeds. How hard can you accidentally bump someone when just walking freely and making shoulder to shoulder contact with them? Why can you perform so well under these conditions? The mind was pure and void of anticipation or preconceived notions of what might happen and neither anxiety nor fear were factored into the equation.  Can we learn to match that speed and duplicate it when fighting? Yes and these teachers could demonstrate that skill. I was inspired to train hard and did so in this unconventional but very practical system for many years. It was this early exposure to Taizen / Shintai System that also saved me and proved its effectiveness many times over during the 13 years I spent as a (rather small 155lb) bouncer in numerous clubs in NY. I also added my own strength training and nutrition programs into the mix and continued reading and studying about the mind and its true potential along with different philosophies and meditation methods from around the world.

As my skills began to evolve so did my way of thinking and my goals began to change. 

Just to jump back to my childhood for a moment, my first exposure to philosophy came from reading about the American Indians and their love and respect for nature. Even as a child it mirrored my way of thinking and I often wondered why I was not born an Indian.

But I wasn’t and I was equally proud of my Greek heritage and its early links to philosophy, great warriors and Ancient Martial Arts such as Pankration ( a system combining wrestling, striking and any other possible use of the body as a weapon).

 Even after my first 12 years or so of training, I felt strongly that my style needed more balance between hard and soft and less impact on the blocking of incoming attacks such as kicks and punches.  My wrestling and throwing skills also appeared to depend on my strength more than they should.  These factors stood heavy on my mind and needed to be corrected. I continued to study in some additional styles that partially addressed these issues, but not to my satisfaction. My training started to include equally all the different ranges of fighting, but I still felt incomplete as a martial artist.

I certainly don’t blame the styles, because they all had strong foundations and a history of producing effective martial artists. I knew it was me and I needed another approach towards my own training to make it complete. 

During these early years I had short, but enjoyable stint in college studying philosophy which sharpened my interest to further seek out what I thought was true knowledge.  My martial art training supplemented by my own exercise and nutrition programs also continued and has with out a break since that first day. I also began to explore on deeper levels the power of meditation and how it can improve our lives and how it relates to martial arts. My original Taizen / Shintai training still played (and still does play) a very important role of how I believed the Mind can and should work.

I started to understand that of all the enemies we needed protection from and must face in life, there will be one who keeps coming back for more and he will be relentless if we let him. This enemy was within; I was my own worst enemy and could prove to be the most dangerous of all to myself if left to run out of control. No physical skill could over power this enemy, but a strong mind and clear thinking resulting from proper meditation training could be the solution to this problem.  It could also give me the calmness and clarity when dealing with obstacles in life or in battle.

Now I started to feel that I had something to work with if I could only harmonize all of these principles.

I had read a lot about Taij, but this was in the late 70s and early 80s and I was unaware of any qualified instructors in my area.

What I didn’t know about Taiji was that is had about a 400 year head start on some of my still very crude ideas. In those 400 years it had refined both in life and on the battle fields all the above theories.  Not only that, but there was a particular family responsible for creating Taiji and a specific place in China where this Taiji evolution took place. They were the Chens and later on in my life I became fortunate enough to be accepted as a student by this family. We will discuss those details further in this article.

Through out the 80s and early 90s I continued to train hard under numerous skilled Instructors between NY, CA and FL, the three places I lived before I began traveling and then living in China. It was during this Pre-China period that I experienced; Kick boxing, several Kungfu Styles, Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Aikido to name a few and finally Taiji.

It was in Fl ( the early 90s) where I met my first two real Yang Style Taiji teachers. They laid the ground work for my basic understanding of Taiji. It was the Yang Style that made me wonder about its forerunner Chen Taiji. I felt if I really wanted to understand the true essence of Taiji then the Chen Style was where I should really start. (It seemed obvious go back to where Taiji began) It was in Febuary 1999 when I attended a seminar with Master Yang Yang in Jacksonville FL, hosted by Master Kam Lee. This is where I met my greatest inspiration and teacher and oddly enough and with all due respect for the highly skilled Master Yang Yang, the teacher I’m speaking of is Master Kam Lee. I am still unaware of the full extent of his awesome skill and knowledge, but what I am aware of is his ability to transmit the specific knowledge I am ready for at any given moment.  My training with him has been the most effective training I have ever had. When my relationship with Chen Taiji began, I knew I was home and not a step of my journey was wasted because it delivered me to exactly where I belong.   

Master Kam Lee also introduced me into The Chen Family which has allowed me to train directly with many family members and also train in Chen Village. Most of this training has been with Master Zhu Tiancai.  The main advantage gained from my living and training In China was not necessarily the instruction I received but the environment in which I trained and lived in. This has allowed me to better understand the culture, philosophy and the necessities that gave birth to this all encompassing Martial Art, Chen Taijiquan. I started to better comprehend the Tao and how it happens to mirror the American Indian philosophy that I so loved as a child.  I have since learned that the origin of the North American Indians have their roots in Asia. (It comes as no surprise)  It is this art that I owe my happiness and contentment to. It has taught me the true meaning of Martial Arts and how I can express myself through Taiji. It is not the external beauty of Taiji, but the internal harmony it creates. So I continue to train daily and look forward to the next workout and cherish the last. I also try to contribute back to this wondrous art form by sharing the limited knowledge I have attained, but more importantly by putting the True Taiji Masters with those students who desire to study and understand Taiji in its purest form.     

So am I successful?   What has Taiji taught me?

Here are just a few of the many important things Taiji has taught me to better understand, but they are not necessarily Martial Art related.. Remember not all aspects of Taiji are directly related to Martial Arts.

I am still a work in progress, but a more relaxed work in progress.

Conclusion: So after 40 yrs what has changed? I may never be a great Martial Artist but, I am now very successful. Why? I understand the flawlessness of simplicity. I have come to realize that every step in my life has meaning. Every obstacle in life is an opportunity. Dealing with our fate creates our destiny.  I can find true beauty everywhere. I am no longer unhappy with what I don’t know or can’t do and I am very happy with what I do know and can do. Even if there are some tasks that I can no longer perform, I enjoy the beautiful memories of when I could. However I am still motivated to keep moving and learning and won’t consider stagnation as an option. My obsessions have now become my desires. Most of my previous wants have become my don’t-need-anymores.  I still make mistakes and loose my patience, but I always quickly return back to a comfortable state of mind.  I have learned to adapt to my surroundings in both short and long term scenarios. My former regrets have turned into gentle reminders not to duplicate bad choices. I measure my life in moments not minutes. I know what to appreciate and that all things in this life are temporary.  If you want to ignore something in someone, ignore the bad. I let those I love and appreciate know that I do. Family and Friends are our most valuable assets. True wisdom does not come from books. Forget something bad everyday. I have learned to take my time, not waste my time. No matter how much kindness we share with others, we will never run out. Really and truly Smile. And as a wise man once said “we are Spiritual Beings having a Human experience” and I am thoroughly enjoying mine. All of the above can be applied to anyone’s life or any Martial Art environment. Taiji leaves no stone unturned and no situation unaddressed whether it be in life or in battle. (Or both combined)

This is why I feel like the most blessed man in the world. Although I don't have much money and I do not own a home, I realize now that I do have more than I could ever need or dream for.