I get that question a lot during the start of the season. Here is my two cents:
Which part of tradition are you interested in? Do you mean the oriental macho husband and submissive female tradition? No, I got two daughters and have no interest in ‘fitting’ them into that mode of thinking.
Red pocket money for Chinese New Years? Totally a good idea if you are on the receiving side – the more the merrier. Honestly, the money could be spend better elsewhere. There are more needy people and causes that you have turned down.
Or do you mean the belief that the right way to treat an injury is to rub the injury to ‘disperse / remove’ the internal bleeding – versus of smarter way of icing down the swell first.
Bad traditions don’t just happen out East. In the West, there is bloodletting as a technique for prevention/treatment of diseases. There are superstitions like the black cat, don’t walk under the ladder, number 13, etc.
If tradition is about how some so-call-masters teach the mass but save the ‘real’ stuff to a selected few, then no, I strive to make every personal contact relevant for the other person. If tradition is about just imitating and adopting past practices, then no, that is not me nor my sifu nor those before him!
To me, before any specific cultures or heritage or styles, the “tradition from day 1” of human’s existence is their ability to adapt and to survive, to create and think, to constantly improve and find better ways, to learn and work as a team, the ability to pass on information and knowledge and much more. If that is the tradition you are thinking of, then yes, I am proud to be amongst those that share a similar view and constantly working to make a difference.
Exercise
This is not a new topic. Use the word ‘tradition’ as the keyword search on my blog and read a few of the older articles.
For my old students, do you feel that something has changed since you started. What is it?
For my new students, are the classes and material different than what you expected before you joined us?