Exams at Xuanwei - an experience that develops
"The student is not a vessel to be filled, but a torch to be lit." - Plutarch
The word "exam" in the dictionary is defined as "a check and evaluation of knowledge on a specific subject." In the thesaurus, it appears as: "(syn.) trial, ordeal, anguish, torment, suffering." These explanations broadly illustrate everyone's internal attitude towards exams, simultaneously transporting us back to our school days. This is why the word "exam" carries such bitter and agonizing connotations and never evokes a straightforwardly euphoric or festive feeling.
It's normal for someone to see exams in martial arts as unnecessary and excessive, likely due to their own educational experiences.
The idea for this article arose when we at "Xuanwei" realized that we invest more substance in our exams than current educational standards require. We don't aim to change the word "exam," but rather to enrich its content with experience and change its perception.
From ancient times to today, completing a certain level and opening the door to the next has always been marked by an exam. Primarily, this was a presentation of those who underwent the learning process before society. Secondly, it provided an opportunity for practitioners to transform emotionally and intellectually, helping the uncertain overcome their barriers and affirming the confidence of the proficient by revealing the vastness of knowledge.
In one of his books, William Burroughs shares: "The aim of education is knowledge, not facts, but values."
The testing process in martial arts is deeply intertwined with the learning process. It sounds almost heretical, but it's a fact. The act of testing knowledge is an assessment, but the exam includes an element of learning because while the examinee demonstrates practical and theoretical questions to the group gathered to observe, everyone actually learns and participates in the event. It's a well-known fact that under slight stress, the body releases hormones, enhancing the retention of learned material under the influence of emotional components. Thus, the knowledge recorded during exams often lasts longer than that acquired during long training sessions. This psychological phenomenon of learning, empirically discovered centuries ago, forms the basis of our exam approach at Xuanwei today.
Nothing that is constrained and overly serious is true, due to its extremity. Learning is entertainment in the process of development. This is how we understand education and its emanation - the exam at Xuanwei. "Pleasure comes not from knowledge, but from discovery," asserts Ventseslav Konstantinov. Have fun while exploring! - if you can and allow yourself.
Over the years, with practice in various groups at the kung fu center "Xuanwei" both domestically and abroad, we have grown from a club into a federation, based on our numbers (although our formal registration has not changed). This fact prompted us to find a way for everyone practicing with us to know the other members of the club in different groups and stylistic sections. Today, this "acquaintance" is the formal reason for the exam at Xuanwei. Whether you are a companion in the audience or a participant depends on whether you actively or passively engage, rather than whether you participate at all. Attending the exam is an opportunity for better communication in the club by getting to know other "family members," as students are traditionally called in Chinese martial arts. These skills were traditionally passed down only within the family, and even those who were external but dedicated to learning were accepted into the family. Thus, they were called - brothers and sisters. This approach has encouraged participants in the learning process to be attentive and patient with the less experienced in the art and to respect their elders, regardless of age.
In today's world, people often lose their bearings and need markers along their path. Thus, they try to measure their own achievements and understand their progress. A person goes to an exam with one idea but comes out with a different perspective. This is precisely why exams teach us - because they change our perception through expanding our boundaries of understanding. Our passage through a test is a key moment in our self-awareness journey, where we dare to declare our ability and demonstrate the determination to do so. Like with anything new in life, one experiences stage fright, doubts, and uncertainties, and overcoming these challenges allows practitioners to grow. This emotional maturation through self-challenge is fundamental to martial arts and is one of the ideals of "the exam." Knowing your limits, exploring them, and overcoming them - this is the path of kung fu. Bruce Lee writes: "I cannot teach you, I can only help you to explore yourself."
One of my kung fu teachers once told me that correct techniques don't teach you anything, but you should value your mistakes. Because if you find them, they will develop you, and therefore you shouldn't fear them.
Measuring ability and knowledge during exams is always dual. On one side, you are observed by the committee; on the other, you observe yourself. What the committee identifies as corrections is valuable, but it's important what mistakes and lessons each individual takes for themselves. This is the essence of kung fu. The exam challenges you to dare to show your mistakes and to continue learning by opening a new door to the next level. Thus, "the exam" becomes not a definitive endpoint, but an open door and a promise of further exploration and development.
Appearing at an exam is non-competitive comparison with other "brothers and sisters" - members of the club. To compare oneself means objectively evaluating one's strengths and weaknesses and those of others, leading to new ideas on how to improve one's practice. This perspective on our own development in kung fu is learning and development throughout our lives - it helps us through the small daily exams we face every day. As Ashley Brilliant says: "You will learn many other things more easily if you first learn how to learn."
Viewing the exam as a form and part of lifelong learning, the hidden effects become visible over time:
- We become better professionals because we learn how to develop synchronously with changes and innovations in our profession.
- We become more creative because we learn different things and adapt to situations and resources, leading to unexpected solutions.
- We become smarter - constant education in strategic thinking in martial arts develops our minds and challenges us not to stagnate.
- We become more confident - acquiring martial skills brings us peace that others sense and call "self-confidence."
The fear that we won't meet expectations or that we're different or won't change (in terms of "improve") is unfounded. Because, as Ventseslav Konstantinov says: "To learn does not mean to change, but to add." This allows us to maintain our inner peace while developing by adding and building upon our skills and knowledge.
Seeing things in a new light - this is the way of martial arts. Searching, exploring the world with the eyes of an unbiased child is at the core of the kung fu worldview. Doris Lessing shares a similar viewpoint: "What does learning mean? Suddenly understanding something you've always known, but now understanding it in an entirely new way."
Finally, let's not forget the act of certification - whether with a diploma or otherwise, it marks the event. It's a kind of documentation of knowledge level, a recognition before the world of the skills the practitioner promises to develop. Thus, the diploma actually serves as an entry-level to the exam, not the final step on the path. The memory of the event and the teachers are sealed in this document, which holds sentimental and personal value for its owner. At the same time, it can be a certificate of quality, recognition, and assessment of efforts and skills.
In conclusion, "the exam" helps and teaches us about knowledge, experience, and wisdom, as described by Denis Diderot: "Knowledge of what should be distinguishes the intelligent person; knowledge of what actually is distinguishes the experienced; and knowledge of how to change things for the better distinguishes the genius!"
May, 2019 Author: Bozhidar Stanchev
Link:
- http://rechnik.info/%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%82