Shadowing Practice: Test your might! • Shaolin Spirit | Shi Heng Yi | TEDxBaiaMare - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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End The End The End The End I'm going to say that by Yamada.
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So this following presentation, this following talk, I would like to thank all my teachers,
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and everyone that have supported and guided me in the past along this very extraordinary journey.
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So I was very lucky once again being invited to one more TEDx talk.
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And as the title said, Missing Link.
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All right.
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So first of all, I was thinking missing link for what?
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So, the missing link to have a successful business,
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the missing link to have a harmonious family life or relationship,
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or the missing link for what?
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But ultimately, in a way, for me, it's very, very simple
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because I would just like to invite you into a small journey into what is it
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that is going on in my mind when I look at the world or when I look at such a question.
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So first of all, the future doesn't matter if you are not there.
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Your business doesn't matter if you are not there,
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You can witness the success and the loss of whatever your business is doing there.
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You cannot enjoy your family if you are not there.
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So the whole point I would like to point out is, apparently there is something about you.
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And this is the very initial starting point.
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Own your life.
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Own your life.
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If I look right now out in the world and also in the past, what I witness is simply like this.
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There is the tendency that a lot of things are being outsourced to everybody else,
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to institutions, to other people which lie outside of you.
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Either we look out for somebody able to give us something, Or if something is going wrong, we look for someone that we can blame.
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So it doesn't matter which direction we go.
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The point is, you never say, I was making the mistake.
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It's because of me.
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Because when you wake up in the morning and let's say you have, it seems like you have a bad day, your colleagues are bad, the day is bad,
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the traffic is bad, your work is bad.
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No, nothing of that is bad.
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It's your attitude which is bad.
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I think one of the missing links, one of them, it's not the only one, but is care.
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Number one is you need to know what is care.
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because if you don't care, you don't spend time with it.
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If you don't care, you don't have interest to your life.
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If you don't care about your health, you're not going to be healthy.
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So one starting point is care.
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And as you see in this one slide, of course the care for your family and of course the care for people
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that are precious to you and in your surroundings.
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But you can only care for someone or for something if you know how care feels.
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You can only love someone if you know how love feels.
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If you don't have love inside of you, how can you give it?
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If you don't have thankfulness inside of yourself, how can you give it?
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So, everything is starting with yourself.
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What you want to see in this world, what you want to bring into this world, whatever you think is missing into this world.
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We are 8 billion people, so maybe 8 billion people have different ideas what is missing in this world.
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But the point is, whatever you want to bring in, first of all, show it.
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First of all, you be the representant of what you think is missing there.
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If I look on YouTube right now and I just put in motivational videos, there are so many.
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And I even listen to some of them, because they are really good.
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The content is really good what they talk about, the perspective they are talking from.
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It's a really, really helpful perspective.
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But let me ask you something, because you also know these type of videos.
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From 100 people watching these videos afterwards, how many lives start to change?
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Well, none is a little bit pessimistic.
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I would say some.
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but definitely not in relation to the amount of what is being watched.
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So what is the problem?
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I think one of the problems is that
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what is it that is missing in order for all these types of influences and talks, all these types of impacts,
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start to really have an effect on someone.
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And this is not something which is coming from the Shaolin tradition.
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Every culture knows this already.
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If you only have theory without the practice, then it's just book knowledge.
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Then it's just something that you lay on the couch, you lay in the bed, and then you think about, I know it, yeah, okay, it's good that you know it,
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but there must be a way.
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How are you putting these things into practice?
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And since this whole day, I think you are listening to many different types of talks,
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I would like to invite you right now to just see,
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for example, what type of practice is it when people talk about the Shaolin temple And then afterwards,
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if it doesn't make sense to you,
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I will try to explain what is happening there. So, let's go.
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Shhh.
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Shhh.
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Shhh.
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Shhh.
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Shhh.
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Shhh.
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I'm
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going to go.
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I'm
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going to
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go ahead and do it.
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I'm
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going to
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go ahead and do it.
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So, now the stress is gone.
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Yeah, the point is, there are many traditions in this world.
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They want us to be peaceful.
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And yes, peaceful is one of a very high goal.
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I would also like this world to be peaceful one day.
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But how are you going to get to that peace, is the question. and strengthen yourself.
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The Shaolin approach is a little bit different.
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Whoever later after the show would like to come and see how hard that stick was, feel free to try out.
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The point is like this.
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You start the first one and then you already know not a good idea.
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Your body will directly give you the reaction, oh, no. So what's coming up is pain.
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And now the question for us, why we think physical training,
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physical activity, practice, is something that teaches more than just how hard can you punch, how fast can you kick.
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It's not about that.
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I don't care how hard or how fast somebody can punch, I care about how is the mindset.
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What happens if you walk through this lifetime, something unexpected comes.
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And then there it is, something that we call choice.
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You have the choice.
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The suffering comes and you run away or the suffering comes,
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the pain comes and you face And the second approach,
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this is something that the Shaolin way is representing.
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We are overcoming the suffering.
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We are not running away from the suffering.
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You are overcoming it.
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You go through it until you have become so strong, your body becomes so strong,
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your mind has become so strong that it doesn't matter afterwards anymore.
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You feel it, but it's not the same like you felt before.
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So therefore, how to translate this into our nowadays lifetime?
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Maybe it means we need to make us stronger again.
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Very simply said, this society is too weak. And why?
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Because of all the technology which is available right now, so you don't need to use your body anymore.
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I always think about in the Stone Ages.
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Do you think somebody in the Stone Ages had depression?
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Or even a more modern variation, the Spartans.
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Do you think they had depression?
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Maybe you are laughing, but all of these groups, they are too busy with their body, they are too busy with activity to be depressed.
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But nowadays, how does the time look?
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You can sit if you want from morning till evening just in front of the screen and nothing's going to happen anymore.
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So this is one reason why, since almost 10 years, what our organization and myself are trying to share a little bit into this world,
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maybe in a more funny and a light version of everything,
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but what we would like to encourage to people everywhere in the world is get more physicality into your life.
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Simply said.
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Not much talking around it.
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Get more physicality into your life. And...
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Yes.
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So now, I don't know why I chose this one slide now, but somebody, when I had my first TEDx talk, He said, yeah, you need to be careful,
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or a good way of how to prepare the slides is, at the end, you say, like, the three ways of success, or the five, whatever, yeah?
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So this time, I brought you the three Cs of life.
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But, I mean, of course, in a way, it's funny, but it's also very nice to remember. So, choice.
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Is it good or is it bad, the choice?
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Well, it depends what you are choosing.
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You stand here and now you have choice.
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No?
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That was...then comes the consequence of that.
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You take another choice, you are going to feel different,
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people around you are going to see you differently, and based on that, they see something different in you,
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which sometimes opens up very, very different chances and possibilities.
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The best example is here.
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I'm not a speaker.
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I grew up with the age of four doing this type of stuff.
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Doing something physical, doing my forms, doing cool stuff that looks nice.
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This is where I come from.
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But along this way of training myself, of knowing myself, of knowing my skeleton,
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knowing my muscles, knowing my organs, knowing my energies.
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Along this way, sometimes, some wisdom starts to emanate.
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And it is my honest belief that this comes because of the practice
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and not because of reading books or anything like this.
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So in that sense, once again, thank you very much for this chance.
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And I'm wishing you all a nice evening.
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Context & Background
In the TEDx talk titled "Test your might! • Shaolin Spirit," speaker Shi Heng Yi delves into the concept of taking ownership of one's life. He reflects on the importance of self-awareness, highlighting how individuals often outsource their accountability to external factors instead of recognizing their control over their circumstances. His discourse emphasizes the significance of care and attitude in shaping one’s experiences in both personal and professional realms. By inviting the audience on a journey of self-discovery, Shi Heng Yi urges listeners to embody the change they wish to see in the world, advocating for the need to translate theory into practice.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- "Own your life." - A powerful reminder to take responsibility for one’s actions and choices.
- "It’s your attitude which is bad." - A phrase emphasizing the importance of one’s mindset in daily experiences.
- "You can only care for someone if you know how care feels." - Highlighting the necessity of understanding emotions to connect with others.
- "What is missing in order for all these type of influences to have an effect?" - A thought-provoking inquiry about the impact of motivation and its practical application.
- "There must be a way how you’re putting these things into practice." - Encouraging action over mere theoretical knowledge.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To effectively use the shadowing technique while watching Shi Heng Yi’s TEDx talk, follow these steps for a focused English speaking practice experience:
- Watch Actively: Begin by watching the video without subtitles to grasp the speaker's tone and emotions.
- Listen Carefully: Replay challenging sections of the talk, paying close attention to pronunciation and rhythm.
- Mimic the Speaker: Use the shadowing technique by repeating sentences right after the speaker. Focus on matching their intonation and pace.
- Practice with Variations: Try saying the phrases in different contexts or with your own examples to improve vocabulary retention.
- Record and Reflect: Record yourself practicing the phrases, and listen back to identify areas of improvement. This is particularly useful for IELTS speaking practice.
By integrating these steps, learners can enhance their speaking skills while absorbing the valuable life lessons shared in the talk. Utilize platforms like YouTube to discover more content and engage in enriching discussions, making sure to learn English with YouTube as a supportive tool in your language journey.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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