Chinese Whispers

祝賀 (Congratulations) to our Kiki Lon, whose debut novel, ENTER THE PARROT, is about to be released through The Wild Rose Press! We’re mirroring the book’s kungfu theme on the blog this week.

As my blog posts invariably turn into a confessional of sorts, it seems only fitting to admit that, until twenty-four hours ago, I knew nothing about martial arts. Enter…Google.

Google is my master and this is what it has taught me about kungfu. First of all, the original meaning of the word “kungfu” refers not to martial arts but to acquiring skills in any given pursuit. It isn’t all about flying fists, acrobatic leaps and waxing cars. Kungfu combines spiritual, mental and physical strength in order to achieve greatness, and you can carry kungfu wisdom into everyday life.

For example, let’s say you’re a writer. You have a deadline looming in one week, you’re cursing yourself for not being more organised, you’re desperately ill with a cold, your manuscript is a mess, and the best thing for everyone’s sake is to throw the book overboard. You might be tempted to give your computer a good karate chop and maybe even cry. But in kungfu, if faced with a seemingly impossible task, you would centre yourself, breathe, focus, and have faith that you can accomplish your goal. As Bruce Lee once said, “The mind is like a fertile garden. It will grow anything you wish to plant – beautiful flowers or weeds. Do not allow negative thoughts to enter your mind for they are the weeds that strangle confidence.”

What writing crises have you been through lately, and did you handle them with kungfu grace?

I'm suffering from a nasty cold right now, but rest assured I don't have swine flu