My non-certified certification

Did I want recognition or information? Lessons come from unexpected places.

My first workshop in Nine Dragon Baguazhang was in 1996. I attended a workshop called “Gathering of the Circle” with Dr. John Painter at the Tai Chi Farm in upstate New York. It was eye-opening to say the least in that as the week progressed I became increasingly aware that this was a martial art that I wanted to know a lot more about.

In the fall of that year I had another opportunity to learn from Dr. Painter, this time at a Tai Chi Combat workshop closer to home in Canada. In this weekend workshop he taught many similar principles of movement that I had seen at the Gathering, yet this time in the context of Taijiquan rather than Baguazhang. But the fact that the same principles were being applied to differing arts was intriguing and solidified my desire to study further.

Having been in martial arts since 1989, I knew that I would need fellow students with me in some kind of study group. Some people could learn on their own without any partners, but I was not one of them. And I had a few friends who were interested in Dr. Painter’s material. So it was merely a matter of getting started right? Wrong.

Towards the end of the workshop I had an opportunity to ask Dr. Painter about forming a study group so we could learn Nine Dragon Baguazhang. He was receptive to the idea with one proviso, that I be certified as a Study Group Leader. Since I already had some lengthy experience in another style of Baguazhang, I was a reasonable candidate for certification if I could learn the fundamentals of the Nine Dragon system. This meant going to his school at The Gompa in Texas and learning the first of the “Palms” in his system, the Heaven Palm. It so happened that he was planning a workshop for it in the coming January and I was invited to attend with a view to certification.

Heaven Palm Workshop - January 1997

Dr. Painter has revised and fine-tuned the teaching methods since then, but in 1997, Heaven Palm was the beginning of one’s Nine Dragon study. I was excited to start this journey and see this place called “The Gompa”. It was not a disappointment.

It was like stepping into another world. One where ancient China and modern America met; where the ambience of a traditional warrior culture shared space with that of the Texan independent spirit. It was a remarkable combination, enhanced by the good will of the workshop participants and Gompa teachers.

Dr. Painter was (and is) detailed and thorough in his explanations of internal principles. He provided several hands-on exercises that I could implement with my budding study group when I returned home.

Further, everyone there was genrerous and helpful with a newbie like me. Even though I had other martial arts experience, including some Baguazhang, I had questions that were quite fundamental. The participants were very helpful, allowing me to absorb as much information as I could.

The weekend went by quickly and I found myself standing on Dr. Painter’s front lawn waiting for the airport transportation to arrive. I was feeling some anxiety because I did not know if I’d past the certification requirements. This was obviously crucial since I would not start my study group without official persmission which, to my mind, was what certification represented.

Do I ask? Do I hint at my lack of knowing? Do I wait until I get home to find out if I passed? I had no idea what the protocol was as we had not had any discussions about it. So I stood there saying inane things like, “thanks for the great weekend” and “that was a lot of information.” and “ sure hope I remember everything.”…you get the idea.

Then Dr. Painter said, “Damn, I forgot something.”

This was it!…I was…or was not certified. He continued, “I forgot to get a picture with everyone.”

So this was not it.

I stood there thinking the shuttle was about to arrive. “I wanted to get a picture with all my instructors…Andy, Alan, and you, and.. Ah well, too late now. Your shuttle is here.”

So that was it.

There was no ceremony, no congratulations, no welcome to the team. He forgot to take photo of his instructors and apparently I was one of them. Of course I was relieved to be included on that list since it meant I could get my study group going. But talk about anti-climax!

To be certified without any official certification was not how I pictured my start with Dr. Painter would go, but since the quality of the information far exceeded my expectations, it was easy to put my desire for officialness in perspective.

It was a lesson in values, perspective, and assumptions. Does one want recognition or information? As often would be said in subsequent workshops, “I have learned much.”