Being Modest

The more we learn, the more modest we need to be. For example, just because I have learnt pushing hands for a few years, if I push hands with a newcomer and tell myself, "I have learnt for so many years, I cannot let this newcomer succeed in pushing me," then I will have the "afraid to lose" mentality, which will cause me to tense up, use brute force, resist, and ultimately, lose.

So the more we learn, the more we need to recognise that we are not there yet, there is still a long way to go, and thus even if a newcomer manages to push us, there is nothing to "lose face" about. It just reinforces the "I am not there yet, there is so much more to learn" mentality.