quote:

I have had many martial arts teachers in my life, most of whom were Chinese. Even those Chinese teachers who could speak a little English did not have a total command of the language, so communication was always a challenge. I could only copy what the teacher showed, leaving most questions unanswered. The questions had to wait until a Chinese student who understood English was able to translate for me.

grandmaster However, even when answers were obtained, they were not detailed answers. There are terms in Chinese that are difficult to translate into English. I have seen even Chinese teachers differ in their opinions on the translation of a Chinese character. You see, Chinese characters don't always translate to a single word, but rather to many various symbolic meanings. With over 50,000 characters in the Chinese language, perfect translations can become a near impossible task.

So, in order to open better communication with a Master, there are a only a few solutions. One option is to learn how to read, write and speak one of the many dialects of Chinese, preferably the same dialect that your teacher speaks. If you pick the wrong dialect, you might as well have learned to speak French, because your teacher will still not understand your questions. The second option is to study under an American-born teacher. Now all you have to do is find an American teacher who has all the skills and knowledge of the philosophies of the art you seek. This is not a simple task. I had this chance when I found my one and only American-born teacher, Grandmaster John McSweeney.