A central tenet of Martial Arts is “Partners not Opponents.”

When you think of someone as a partner, there’s no aggression, no ego, no need to outperform. Instead, there’s teaching and learning, sharing to make each other better.

Working together like this helps both the skilled partner and the novice. The novice learns technique and skill through gentle example, and the teacher learns restraint. The novice learns not to fear the highly skilled Martial Artist because in fact, it’s the same Martial Artist who will teach him to be great. The trained Martial Artist learns to check his ego and his penchant for control over and over again.

Our differences in background, skill level, our strengths and shortcomings, mean nothing when we we practice together as partners. Those small things pale in comparison to the reciprocal and harmonious interaction between two partners.

Practice as partners.

You didn’t know you were a Kung Fu master, did ya?