DOORS OR WINDOWS?

 

IDEAS are departure points and not destinations.

 

Wing Chun is a concept-driven martial art, or so we are told.

Concepts are about thinking.

Think about this.

A Form, any Form in any style is simply a key to understanding.

If a person spends days, weeks, years even looking at the key, finding out everything there is to know about the key, holding it, feeling it, loving it what have they learned?

Apart from the fact that they now have a key has anything changed?

Like all keys, the value only manifests itself once we find the lock that pairs with it.

Keys allow us to open boxes, trunks, or even better to open doors.

In Wing Chun, the Sil Lim Tao Form is the key and the door it opens is the IDEA.

I know many people that have spent countless years studying this key, they know it intimately but to what value?

When they play their Form they play it the same way that they have played it since the beginning, nothing has changed.

Surely if someone studies an IDEA something changes?

IDEAS are departure points and not destinations.

If there is no progressive transformation we must ask ourselves ‘what is the use of an IDEA that does not bring about change’?

This type of IDEA becomes nothing more than a window, something to look out of and wonder if there is more outside than the restricted view on offer.

If, as I truly believe, the IDEA is a door we need to step beyond it to begin the journey, not stay inside polishing the key.

What is ‘The Little Idea’?

More importantly, what does the IDEA need to deal with?

Wing Chun is a martial art, a fighting style, it makes little difference that we may all perceive this aspect differently, internal/external, soft/hard or whatever floats your boat, there is a commonality to every approach, whatever we do must be able to affect another human being in real-time.

Physically.

And then the next hurdle is how can we accomplish this with the tools on offer?

 

 

 

 

 

WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESSES, PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS.