A few years ago while on a trip to San Francisco, I went to visit the Asian Museum in Golgen Gate Park. Being a Chinese Stylist at heart, I headed right for the Chinese wing. Knowing San Francisco to have on of the oldest and largest Chinese communities in the United States, I was expecting great things fron this museum. I wasn't disappointed. I went through the door for the Chinese exhibits and quickly glanced around from where I stood. It was a large room with displays arranged around the walls to the center of the floor.
My first view told me that all the exhibits were from the Ching Dynasty. I was a little disappointed, expecting a much more broad based collection, but, I was still thrilled to be able to see beautiful examples of Chinese culture. I walked around the room viewing wonderful examples of painting, pottery, and calligraphy. It was only as I was coming to the last exhibits in the room that I realized there was a door leading to another room. Excellent!
The first room had designed so that upon entering the room, one could not easily see the door leading to the next. It was only as one followed the logical sequence of the exhibits that the next door and room were revealed. As I entered the second room, I noticed that artifacts were considerably oloder than those in the first room. Some dating well back into the Ming Dynasty. I was pleased to have found the rest of the exhibit. Or, so I thought. Sure enough, when I arrived at the final pieces in this room, there was another room just beyond. As I went through this door, the first thin I did was to look more caefully to see if this was the final room. Ti wasn't. This pattern continued for four or five more rooms. Each room was arranged with a logic that led you from exhibit taking you to the door to the next room and each room leading the observer further and deeper into history.
"All Martial Artists know the significance of the number three; the number of complettion, ...continuation, and...stability."
Traveling farther and farther into the past, I reached the last room where ther pieces were over 4,000 years old. Reaching the last exhibit, I stood looking at a knife, a spear, and an axe head of incredible craftsmanship and technical sophistication. Someone had chosen as the beginning point Chinese History, three of Man's tools of self-defense. Looked at through the eyes of a Martial Artist, this made perfect sense! All Martial Artists know the significance of the number three, the number of completion, the number of continuation, the number of stability.
Throughout Chinese history, the martial arts have been viewed as a means of strengthening society and defending the nation. The number three has great significance in relation to the concept of "society" in that there are three levels of society.
First is the society of the 'family', second is the society of community (town, province, etcetera,) and the third the society of the nation. Three weapons were chosen to represent the birth point of Chinese cultural history. Weapons, not to signify violence, but, to unify and defend all levels of society. This whole journey through the museum had been like the study of the Martial Arts.
We think we know what the Martial Arts contain, but, only as we work through our studies do we come to the understanding that there is much more than we could originally see. After our first breakthrough insights, we think we understand everything only to find out there will be more to come as long as we kepp traveling aslong the path. There will be room after to room to explore.
After viewing the last exhibit, I looked around and realized there was no exit. In order to leave, you had to retrace your steps back through every room. This caused you to experience details and intricacies that you had missed on your first time through. Not only were the exhibits being viewed again, but with the new perspective of having seen the whole exhibit. The end, therefore, helping to illuminate the beginning, So must those of us who have been in the Martial Arts for more than a quarter of a century go back and retrace our steps in our training. Only after many years of work can we begin to understand the lessons our Sensei's were to teach when we first started. Like a mountain, the climb to the top is only half the journey.
Each kata we learn, each battle we win over ourselves leads us to the next 'room' of insight. Only a fool thinks his journey is at the end. Each end is a new beginning!
