Why I’ll Never Master Anything, Willingly
Let me ask you this,
“What is the main difference between a student and a master?”
The answer may seem obvious but the story behind it blew my f*cking mind.
Let me backtrack a little so y’all can understand how this question popped into existence.
During my lunchtime, I would usually listen to a podcast — preferably related to Breakin, fitness, or personal development. If I’m sick of hearing “life advice” or “inspirational stories” then I’ll switch to a podcast where they talk a lot sh*t or make insulting jokes.
I’m looking at you, Andrew Schulz.
But usually, I’ll try to stick to the first option.
I struck upon a hidden gem on Spotify called the BTRbreakin podcast where they discuss about the biomechanics of b-boying with world-renowned b-boys. They even interviewed the legendary b-boy pioneer “B-boy Flo Master,” explaining the importance of mobility, fitness, health, and his dance history and influences throughout the years. As a fitness enthusiast and a b-boy, this podcast was extremely valuable to me from a fitness perspective — definitely a “food for thought” type of episode.
I mean I knew rest was important for excellent performance, but Flo Master emphasised and broke down why rest was THAT important.
However, out of all the insightful gems that Flo Master shared in that episode, the one that took the cake for me was what he had to say for the younger generation. He said something along the lines of:
“Who is the person who always gets killed in Kung Fu movies? It’s the master. Because the master doesn’t want to learn other styles, keep an open mind or keep learning.
“Now, who has to go avenge and eventually kill the person that killed their master? It’s the student. Because the student is still growing and always learning.”
If you give it some thought, that makes f*cking sense. The master would probably think, “I know everything that’s why I’m the master.” But that’s the start of their demise, when they think they know everything already.
Ironically, even though Flo Master has the word “master” in it, he doesn’t like being called one. Master of Breakin, Master of Locking, these are terms that I assume he doesn't want to be called — and now I wouldn’t want that for myself as well.
I don’t ever want to be called a master in the future. I mean I appreciate the gesture of people acknowledging my hard work, but don’t you dare think I’m about to hang up my shoes just yet.
I’m just getting started baby.
So the answer to the question at the start?
The main difference is that the student keeps learning, while the master doesn’t. Period.
In the parting words of Flo Master,
“Stay a Student. Stay Learning. Stay Growing.”
Do you listen to podcasts? Let me know which podcasts you usually listen to in the comments!
Peace!
Contact Me
- LinkedIn: Erryl Ho
- Instagram: @dirteeeee
- Website: https://www.errylclassicz.com/
- Email: sendtoerrylho@gmail.com
