In Part 2 of this series, we saw how Shifu made the first transformation from a Master who did not believe in his student's potential, to a Master who did.
This transformation took Humility and Honesty which broke him away from status-quo thinking.
It earned him Po's trust, and more importantly, opened his mind and heart to think outside the box.

One of the most important qualities of a Kung Fu Master is being able to adapt your teaching style to your young warrior's learning style.

Shifu admitted that he didn't know how to train Po to defeat the evil Tai Lung.
This humility took the focus off of himself and left him with the realization that to train Po, he had to understand Po.
Homeschoolers, for example, are famous for promoting the teaching of children based on each individual child's learning style.
There are 3 primary learning styles:

• Auditory
• Kinesthetic
• Visual

So which one are you? It's actually important to understand your own learning style.
Master Shifu was very successful in training an elite force of Kung Fu warriors, The Furious Five, because they all had the same learning style.
The same motivation.
It was familiar.
Shifu simply had to teach them how he was taught.
Now with an open mind, Shifu meditates on what he knows about Po.
He is more observant as he looks for clues into Po's personality.
No longer is he trying to find Po's flaws, but he's now seeking out his strengths.

Seeing someone's strengths is much harder than seeing their weaknesses.

The first thing he notices, is that Po is able to achieve great acrobatic feats when motivated by a love second only to his passion for Kung Fu.
Food!

Shifu: When you focus on kung fu, when you concentrate...
you stink.
But perhaps that is my fault.
I cannot train you the way I have trained the Five.
I now see that the way to get through to you is with this.
(Shifu pulls out a bowl of dumplings) Po: Oh great, 'cause I am hungry! Shifu: Good.
When you have been trained, you may eat.
Let us begin.

When you seek to understand your child's, or student's, learning style; when you begin to see and acknowledge their strengths instead of their weakness, you are transformed.
You cease to be their critic, and start to be their teacher.
You truly become your teen's Kung Fu Master! In our final segment, Part 4, we'll talk about the guiding your teen to discover their inner-Dragon Warrior for themselves.