The student teacher relationship.

The student should respect the teacher for time and effort he has invested in getting the knowledge and skills that he/she has acquired and also the teacher should be respected for having a desire to share this knowledge for the benefit of others. The teacher did not gain this knowledge for free, even if he did not pay for it with money, time , effort , blood and sweat were paid to get the Kung Fu. The student should not expect anything from the teacher for free. Many teachers are modest and do not want to even discuss money. If you cannot pay your Sifu and he has decided he will still teach you, you need to do something in return for your teacher's graciousness. Don’t ask your Sifu what you should do, look around. There is always something that needs to be done, when you notice….go do it. Always have proper respect for your Sifu and use your best manners. You should immediately dismiss any notion that your Sifu will somehow magically transform you into a super being, all he can do is tell you which way to walk. You have to do the walking yourself. Eventually you will get where you want to be.

The teacher must understand, that it's not about you (the teacher). Many who teach martial arts became teachers in order to have people worship them. Once again…it's not about you. It IS about the mental, physical, and spiritual development of the student. It is wrong to take advantage of your with relationship with your students simply to satisfy your own needs. As teachers we must remain humble and not personally identify with how important what we do actually is. One more time…it's not about you.

-Sifu