I am currently in a period of reflection. In this I find out that certain themes in my life keep coming back. One of those themes is that I am afraid not to do things right. This results in me wanting to become really good at everything. In playing musical instruments, in practicing Wing Chun, in surfing, everywhere I try to get the best out of myself to the point that I even become an instructor. I have my own dance school so of course this also applies to me in the field of dance. Every day I try to develop myself and make progress.
I noticed a certain void in myself that I wanted to fill by developing further and further. I was restless when I didn't learn new things. I knew rationally that I sometimes had to take a day of rest, but I always felt the urge that I had to do something to prevent my day from disappearing into nothingness. My biggest fear is therefore not to use my time properly.
I've been curious from a very young age. I asked a lot of questions about the what and why. Even now I started asking myself questions and talking to people. In my sport and dance I started to hold up a mirror to myself, that was very confronting. It gave me insight into how I behave, why I do or postpone things. Awareness is good, but it is often also accompanied by discomfort, pain and confrontation.
After all I learned about myself, I now embrace much more of what I have done. When I now feel that unrest coming up, I think about what I have already achieved and that I don't have to prove anything. I am good as I am and can now just enjoy myself with everything that I have discovered and will discover through my curiosity and passion. My ambition is good, as long as I don't use it to fill the void. I will remain passionate, now I am also more aware of where it comes from.
The happiest moments for me come with achieving something. For example, I have to think about passing my VWO and completing my education at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. By being there at the end of a learning path, I could show myself, my parents and everyone around it what I had achieved. Completing the learning pathways gave me a feeling of freedom and open possibilities to do what I wanted.
After my training I took a gap year in which I started dancing and slowly started to do business. This was the basis of the start of my own dance school. Teaching, be it to groups or individuals, gave me an intense feeling of happiness. In this way I can add value and I have something to contribute to make the world a bit more beautiful.
A few years ago it was all about investing for me. I was doing business in my own dance school and also a dance training with a good friend of mine. I trained a lot and learned a lot, became physically stronger and in addition to my activities in the Netherlands, I was active worldwide in giving workshops and performances. I was training and teaching almost every day from early morning to late at night. Although I enjoyed seeing my own development, it eventually became too much. Too much came to me and I got lost in what I wanted.
For two weeks I was completely exhausted. I had run against a brick wall and although that sucked it gave me insights about who I am and what I like to do. I had to choose to let go of certain activities and regain control of my emotions. Instead of just doing it, I taught myself to ask myself what I want and why I do it.
There have been three people in my life who have been very important to me. I have always seen Bas as an older brother or uncle who was very close to me. I met him when I was 16 by training at WuDae. Since then I have gone through several stages of growing up. During the periods when I got to know myself better and started doing business, he always supported me.
The second person is like a second brother to me. Johnny not only taught me certain dance techniques, but above all a philosophy of life of daring to be vulnerable and open to new things.
Finally, my brother has always been very important to me. I was able to share everything that was important in my life with him. We both practiced martial arts, went surfing together, did a lifeguard training and became an instructor. We also both dance, make music and do business, albeit in different forms. Now that we are older I realize how beautiful it is that we have both gone our separate ways and yet have always been able to share so many passions. I get a lot of energy and inspiration from this.
When my brother was involved in Jiu Jitsu, I was developing my own identity. I also wanted to do martial arts, but not the same as him. I started with Capoeira for a while, in which culture, music and movement come together. If I am enthusiastic about something, I want to know everything about it. So I also started a search for different martial arts and I came across Wing Chun. After reading and watching a few things, I knew about Wing Chun, but the question was how I would experience the training. I decided to do a trial lesson at WuDae.
Immediately during the first lesson at WuDae I got a very good feeling. The style and way of teaching, the environment, everything seemed to be right for me. It was exactly what I was looking for and what I felt good about. The solidarity within WuDae is actually the best thing about this school. Everyone has their own learning process and that is respected. People are open to each other and help each other to develop, whatever your level. In this way a sense of security is created to be able to be vulnerable, this is the most important thing for me when you want to learn and what I would like to give people.
If you want to learn about self defense and want to be able to do it in a casual way, WuDae is the right place for you. It gives you a place where you as a person matter. Where you are allowed to be and everyone supports you while you are challenged mentally and physically. These values have been my inspiration for how I teach in my own dance school. With room for learning and vulnerability through mutual involvement.
The best thing about Wing Chun is that you really react to the energy from the outside. Wing Chun is flexible and at the same time very short and direct. Due to the straightforwardness, all your movements are very fine and effective, releasing a lot of power and energy. The more I practiced and trained with others, the more the movements gained depth and I started to appreciate the sport even more.
What I notice is that many people are impatient. They want to come in and learn something quickly, but my experience is that you learn a lot more if you have peace and confidence in a process. After a while you slowly see all the puzzle pieces coming together and you see what you have achieved. By experiencing and practicing you will understand better and better what you are doing exactly. You cannot expect that you will experience all aspects of the sport in a trial lesson. In my opinion, you only know if Wing Chun is something for you if you train for a number of months to gain the right experience.
Get mentally and physically stronger... sign up here now for a free trial class! We are open 6 days a week. There are more than 20 Wing Chun classes a week (in the morning, evening & weekend), in our own school, centrally located in The Hague. The personal attention you receive enables you to work at achieving a strong, healthy and fit body and mind, at your own level of experience. Click here for more information.