A New Look At The Old Message
WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESS – PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTH.
These two videos are from over 24 months ago but they are in line with what we are working on at this present time, they need updating and I will, as promised, get this done but until then check them out as it is what we are currently working on.
WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESS – PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTH.
In Wing Chun, in particular, there is a perception that using “Softness” translates to there being no need to be fit, fast or strong.
As you all know in the 60 years that I have been a practising Martial Artist I have explored many variations.
Different styles and different approaches within styles.
Some, such as Bagua Zhang, Xing Yi Chuan, Kali {Doce Peres} and R.M.C.C.Q.C. for less than two years so I do not consider myself proficient at these but their influence was valuable.
Others like Western Boxing, Judo, BuJutsu and Wing Chun I trained in for quite extended periods, as such I consider myself knowledgable and capable in this space.
In the competitive arts, Boxing, Judo, there is an equal weight given to non-specific physical conditioning training as there is to skills specific training.
In my experience, this is missing in the “Real World, Real Self-Defence Style” training that Kung Fu inhabits.
In Wing Chun, in particular, there is a perception that using “Softness” translates to there being no need to be fit, fast or strong.
We should think about this and determine our own position.
I can, if needs be, hit someone softly with an Iron Bar, but I doubt that I could knock them out with a Foam Pool Noodle.
When I did these videos this morning my intention was to cut and paste them into one video, however when I did this the result was uneven and the ambience was a bit off so all three of these videos are essentially the same but with some differences that may just make one of them easier to understand.
At the end of the day it is only your understanding that will take you forwards.
This is the same info delivered a little differently.
WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESS – PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTH.
Chi Sau is a game that we play by our own rules to get an outcome that we alone wish for, for reasons only we know.
I can only give my opinion here, and if we are honest that is all anyone has ever done from Leung Jan through Ip Man, C.S.T. or my own teacher Jim Fung.
I will not try to pretend that I know things that other people do not know, even though I do, as we all do.
Chi Sau is a game that we play by our own rules to get an outcome that we alone wish for, for reasons only we know.
In this way it is both remarkable and hopeless.
I think it is remarkable.
Many years ago when I was getting Tennis Instruction from an Australian National Coach, I was informed that we can only ever learn what we already know.
That explains why i never made it to State Grade, but what does it tell you about your Chi Sau?
WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESS’ – PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTH.
There is more to a Bus Journey than a Driver and a Bus, there needs to be interaction, our Ego makes us think that we bring about that interaction, we think the act of driving is us creating the interaction, but Driving is an inherent part of being a Driver, just as much as breathing or eating.
Interaction is not done, it just happens.
The magic in all of this is that the Bus does not know the Driver exists, and the Driver does not realise that he is part of the Bus.
When we think of Layers we tend to envision them as physical things like layers of an Onion, without realising it we think we have some control over them, that we can separate them manually, move from one to another simply by choosing to, this is rarely the case, we would do better to see Layers as something like a state change or dimension shift, something that happens around us, something we have little control over like the dawning of a new day, one moment it is pitch black, then a sliver of light breaks in and then just like magic it is all daylight.
When we first do the Form we place our awareness into a single Arm and we keep it there as we make the different movements, for a long time that’s all there is, an Arm moving somewhere, we become amazed, and slightly obsessed.
As we become familiar and comfortable with this way of being we start to sense that there is something else here, without noticing the transition our awareness is now consumed by the rotation of the Shoulder, the hinging of the Elbow, the flexing of the Wrist and the extension of the Fingers, in everything we do this is the new reality of moving, and again we become amazed, and slightly obsessed.
With repetition comes familiarity, increased knowledge begins another transition, now our awareness is consumed by the Bridge alone {the lower Arm from the Elbow to the Finger tips}, externally the moves are the same, everything that was happening before is still happening, including the amazement and obsession.
Time, repetition, familiarity, transition, the pattern repeats but now there is just one tiny spot on the Bridge, it could be anywhere, a Finger Tip, an Elbow, a Wrist, as if someone had just marked us with a Felt Tipped Board Marker, a little Green Dot.
Every move every action is just this little Green Dot going about its business, following our intention. Time, repetition, familiarity, transition, we realise that our whole Body is made up of millions of little Green Dots, connected, unified, when one Green Dot moves they all move, so we only ever need to move one Green Dot.
Any one we choose, it could be on our wrist if we are thinking Sil Lim Tao, on our Waist if we are thinking Chum Kiu, on a Shoulder if we are thinking Biu Gee, it is just a thought, just an IDEA.
When any single part of us moves all of us moves.
There is a perception that deeper levels or layers bring greater more complex IDEAS, this is as far from the truth as we can get, just like an Onion every layer underneath is smaller, simpler and closer to the core.
The easiest place to experience these transitions, these layers, these dimension shifts or state changes is of the course the First Form, not because it is any way superior to the other Forms but because there is a lot less going on, this is why so many people spend so much time on this Form, but there is a danger here, if we cannot, or do not make the connections between all the Forms, if we cannot or do not create one unified method, one unified IDEA we may end up with a deep understanding of the First Form but a shallow understanding of Chum Kiu and Bill Gee.
When we consider that in application we only ever use aspects of Chum Kiu and Bil Gee this could be a problem.
There is no special trick or skill to unifying the Forms, we just spend an equal amount of time on each one, if we can find one move, one feeling, that is exactly the same in all the Forms and work outwards from that point, interaction will just happen.
The Driver boards the Bus and takes his seat, the Bus kicks into life and the Journey begins.
The journey from not knowing to knowing is very much like traveling along a dark road, when knowledge arrives it does not come as a bolt of lightning that brings instant illumination and clarity, it is much more like falling into an information filled hole in the road that was always there, we just could not see it in the dark.
Plans are worthless, but planning is essential.
Two for one you lucky INCas.
First up a brief look at how the First form is important in the set up for striking, even though it is static and not intended to be used.
Secondly for those not back yet our man costas was in a very nasty car crash that wrote off his truck but luckily only damaged his hand.
All in all it is good news for Costas on the injury but bad news on no training for 6 weeks, keep him in your thoughts guys.
If there is anything any of you would like me to cover ping me. It is your Blog.
Forms are more than just a bit weird, they are simultaneously the most useless things we can spend time on but also the most important thing for us to understand.
To put this into a more Martial contex, Dwight D. Eisenhower is quoted as saying…
Plans are worthless, but planning is essential.
This is how to not go crazy when we approach the Forms.
As always…
WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESS’ – PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTH.
‘Wing Chun is not based on any particular “Small Idea”, but on the WAY of a small idea’.
I had a very long conversation with my teacher ‘Jim’ Fung Chuen Keung about the heart of Wing Chun, the Sil Lim Dao, long as in short individual discussions over many years and not one marathon conflab.
One thing that came up time and again was his view that the difference between the ‘Chinese Collective Consciousness’ and the ‘European Collective Consciousness’ was so vast that translations became impossible.
When trying to explain/translate nuanced concepts, he would say ‘there are things that we Chinese people know that we are not aware we know’ but we know we cannot explain them in any other way than Chinese.
European and Chinese cultures stem from a different root.
Even though he was not a Daoist, Daoism influenced his and all Chinese peoples thinking and values, just as Judeo – Christian thinking influences European thinking and values, even when like me, one is an atheist.
As is the way with these type of conversations, ideas would lay dormant for months sometimes years and then bubble up unexpectedly to be rehashed, revisited.
In one exchange he said ‘Wing Chun is not based on any particular “Small Idea”, but on the WAY of a small idea’.
To my surprise, this made a lot of sense to me then and still does today.
The continuous practice of Wing Chun is about resolving everything down to its smallest and simplest possible state.
The work now becomes how do we reconcile this concept/idea/practice with 6 Forms and Chi Sau.
WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESS. – PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTH.
Beginners want instant gratification from their training, instant improvement, measurable, observable improvement, that they can see and feel.
As in Instructor, I spend a great deal of time trying to inspire my students to spend time engaged with our Forms.
Usually, it takes about three years before a student engages with the Forms on any level that is likely to enable genuine improvement.
The First Form gives no tactile feedback and in no way relates to dealing with violence.
Hence the hesitation to engage.
I get it, I ‘really’ do.
Beginners want instant gratification from their training, instant improvement, measurable, observable improvement, that they can see and feel.
{ it was this aspect that led to my abandoning Bagua Zhang and Xing Yi back in the ’80s, there was not enough of what I thought was “Real Work” that would improve my fighting ability}.
Actual improvement in how we play a Form is exceedingly difficult to measure and a long time coming.
Here is the rub, our improvement in Wing Chun is nothing other than a reflection of our understanding of the Forms.
It really is a ‘no brainer’ that the sooner we engage with our Forms the better.
The Paradox is that from a practical point of view all Forms are useless, but without Forms, we can never progress, never understand and never become competent.
Let’s have a look at that.
It is not the movements, the shapes or sequences that make the Forms pivotal in our advancement, they are all close to pointless, it is the how and the why we make those moves.
Engaging with the Form is a far cry from simply waving our hands around, it is about thinking, feeling, questioning and exploring.
WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESS – PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTH.
Nobody fights standing still.
If we aim at a target and miss it by 1 millimetre we have missed the target completely.
We may try to console ourselves by saying that we only just missed, but had we missed by 20 Metres the result would be the same.
We missed.
Whether we like it or not some things are absolute.
Being correct needs to be 100%, if we think that we are 99% correct we are, in fact, 100% wrong.
It is the same with stillness.
We cannot be 99% still.
Nobody fights standing still.
At some point, all stances are still.
Ergo stances are not for fighting.
Stances are Feedback devices.
WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESS.
PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTH.
Although the area I live in was a ‘COVID Hot Spot’ for a while there are no active cases anywhere near the Studio so training is as safe as it ever was
This pandemic is 6 months old and no signs of vanishing, how often do we hear “The new normal” is what we are experiencing and we need to get used to it.
Way back at the beginning of the ‘Lockdown’ I had great intentions of posting at least one video a week to help all of us in the club, myself included’, keep our mojo active, I did not quite do that, I tried and came close, but not good enough.
Getting our routine back means different things for different people but at its heart, it is the same thing, the same challenge…
“How do we get today to look a much like way back then as I can”?
We have all invested time, energy and money into our pursuit of Wing Chun excellence, we train to be able to defend ourselves and our loved ones against any or all attackers, only to be beaten by a bug.
Although the area I live in was a ‘COVID Hot Spot’ for a while there are no active cases anywhere near the Studio so training is as safe as it ever was, perhaps safer now that we all take precautions.
In an attempt to help you all {my fellow INCas} resume your own routine I will endeavour to resume mine and post a training help video every week, if there is any particular aspect that you would like covered just ping me, this blog is our Club’s after all, your blog as much as mine.
Stay Healthy, stay frosty.
TRAIN YOUR WEAKNESS’
PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTH.
Muscles are binary by default, they are either on [tense] or off [relaxed]
I have never been a fan of the IDEA of Mind Force with regards physical movement and specifically Wing Chun and fighting.
Nothing I have ever experienced in 60 years of Martial Arts and a vast assortment of sports training has given any credence to that position.
Check this out.
I was recently watching a presentation from Dr. Kelly Starret when he made the following observation…
‘There is no movement that specifically turns on a muscle, that is not how the brain works, the Brain doesn’t work on musculature it works on movement’…
Disagreeing with something I may say is pretty healthy, but disagreeing with what a world respected expert says is bordering on stupid.
This presents a whole different way to think about releasing tension and dare I say it, Relaxing.
Muscles are binary by default, they are either on [tense] or off [relaxed], if our Brain does not turn our muscles on how on Earth can it turn them off?
Mind force begins to sound a little bit like Space Force.
WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESS.
PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTH.
