Bruised, battered and quietly shattered… but nevertheless elated. It was a dignified, jubilant atmosphere that swept across the room after the students completed the record breaking 29 hours of continuous training last Sunday afternoon.
It was certainly a poignant moment; the participants had seen the sun set, the sun rise and the following afternoon gradually disappear. This has an unusual effect on anyone but particularly when you have been standing on your feet for so long, let alone physically training non-stop.
What made the occasion so exceptional however, was not so much the record itself, but the events that lead up to it. In particular, none of the participants had had anything in the way of preparation training for the event. This would normally be ill advised if you were a professional athlete but as a layman with a day job, as most the participants were, this is almost inconceivable. For some of those taking part, only four or five months ago they had never even taken part in a martial art class. Not only that, but the vast majority had never practised more than 3 hours in a row. Yet out of the 33 people that started only 3 did not finish, and two of these were due to emergencies at work – leaving after 24 hours… (and, it should be noted, the third person still turned up at the end to help clear up).
There are a number of reasons for this lack of preparation, not least due to the extensive travel disruption caused by the volcanic eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland on the 14th April. Taking place just after the Easter period a large number of people were abroad. Many students were only able to arrive the day before the event (and others, sadly, only after the event). Indeed, I was also stranded in Paris for 5 days, only able to get home after catching 3 trains, 2 taxis, 2 buses, and a ferry – whilst carrying 35 kgs of luggage. This may have not been the ideal groundwork, but in life you learn to be thankful that you are able to get somewhere at all (some of my fellow travellers had far more torturous journeys than me). In fact, the outcome of the disturbed travel was to make the week was even busier than normal. Classes, private lessons and seminars all had to be taught, not to mention lengthy administrative tasks relating to the record. Indeed, the night before the event, when you would typically be resting, the seminar finished at 9.30pm…
This event shows two things: firstly the importance of sheer willpower and determination and secondly the value of support. Both of these together are rarely seen in life and for me it was the outstanding feature. I saw on innumerable occasions, these kung fu students maintain and sustain each other. Sharing food, drinks and advice meant that the group that started together was able to finish together. It is a poor man that thinks he can do everything alone…
The event started with a group of individual students but ended with a family of brothers and sisters. The true soul of a kung fu family could be seen and this was perhaps the greatest achievement of all…
Sifu