Conquer Yourself
I had faced—and beaten cancer—four times. I had practiced Standing Post meditation an hour a day for years, which gave me the strength to endure the pain of bone lymphoma and the incredibly withering effects of high-dose chemotherapy administered during two bone marrow transplants. Clear of cancer in 1996.
Five years later my qigong/tai chi chuan teacher, Rami Rones, asked me to come to Boston for a picture shoot. His teacher, the renowned Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming, wanted us to be included on his new website which discussed his new retreat center in California—a place where students could live and study traditional kung fu—white crane, northern Shaolin, Tai Chi Chuan and qigong—making a ten-year commitment to learn these arts. This was an honor.
After the shoot, Rami brought me up to see Dr. Yang. I was always a bit intimidated by this world-renowned master, who has practiced all aspects of the Chinese martial arts for over forty years. We went into his office. I bowed, and Master Yang stuck out his hand. I extended mine and he pulled me into a great bear hug. He laughed—which I’d never seen him do. It made me feel nervous. Then he put his hands on my shoulders and said “You conquered yourself.”
I was stunned; this was the highest praise one could give a martial artist, even though I hadn’t practiced fighting for years. I remembered an old saying from the Japanese karate I had once immersed myself in: ‘To defeat a thousand enemies is good, but the samurai who defeats himself is the greatest of warriors.” I felt humbled that a master of his accomplishments would even notice me.
But I understood what he meant. The true core of any martial art comes down to a person’s fighting spirit; in that regard, abilities to punch, kick and grapple are secondary. In life, most people do not encounter many physical confrontations. But sometimes you have to grapple with great challenges, such as cancer or any other debilitating or life-threatening disease. It’s not about winning or losing. It all comes down to your fighting spirit, which you build through disciplined practice. If your spirit is strong, you can overcome many challenges.