(This article was originally published in the “kung-fu mind” column of “Inside                                               King-Fu” magazine, August 2002.)                                              Martial morality has always been a required discipline in Chinese martial                                              arts.  Before you learn any martial techniques, you should first understand                                              this subject.  In Chinese martial arts society it is well-known that a student’s                                              success is not determined by his external appearance, or by strength or                                              weakness, but rather by the student’s way of thinking and morality.  Chinese Martial artists have a saying, “A student will look for a teacher for three years and a teacher will test a student for three years.” A wise student knows that it is better to spend ten years looking for a good teacher than to spend the time learning form a mediocre one.  A good teacher will lead you to the right path, and will help build a strong foundation for your future training.  Conversely, unqualified teachers will not help you build a strong foundation and may even teach you many bad habits.  Good teachers will always set good examples for their students with their spiritual and moral virtue.  Good martial arts teachers teach not only good martial techniques, the also teach a way of life. From a teacher’s perspective, it is very hard to find good students.  When people have just begun their studies they are usually enthusiastic and sincere and willing to accept discipline and observe proper manners. However, as time passes the teacher gradually gets a chance to see what they are really like.  Often it’s quite different from how they acted in the beginning.  Because of this, teachers usually spend about three years watching and testing students before they decide whether or not they can trust and pass on to them the secrets of their style.  This was especially true in ancient times when martial arts were used in wars, and fighting techniques were kept very secret. Martial morality is called “wude”.  Teachers have long considered wude the most important criterion for judging students.  It is considered the most important part of the training in traditional Chinese martial arts. Wude includes two aspects: morality of deed and the morality of mind. Morality of deed includes humility, respect, righteousness, trust and loyalty.  Morality of mind consists of will, endurance, perseverance, patience, and courage.  Traditionally, only the students that had cultivated these standards of morality were deemed worthy of being taught. Of the two aspects of morality, the morality of deed is more important.  The reason is simple.  Morality of deed concerns the relationship the student has with his master, classmates and other martial artists, and the general public.  Students who are not moral in their actions are not worthy to be taught because they cannot be trusted or even respected. Furthermore, without the morality of deed they may abuse the art and their training using their fighting skills to harm innocent people.  Therefore, masters will usually watch their students carefully for a long time before they allow them to start serious training and even longer before they are entrusted with the deadliest of skills like dian xue (attacing cavities) and iron palm. Morality of mind is for self-cultivation, which is required to reach the final goal of training.  The Chinese believe that we have two minds: an emotional mind (xin) and a wisdom mind (yi).  Usually, when a person fails at something it is because the emotional mind has dominated his thinking.  The elements in the morality of mind are the keys to training, and they lead the student to the stage where the wisdom mind can dominate.  This self-cultivation and discipline should be the goal of every martial arts philosophy.