HELLO 2020, A FINGER POINTING OR AN UNCARVED BLOCK?

 

To move forwards in our training we must look backwards at what we did not achieve, and not just hope that going forward will somehow be better this year.

 

A new year, a new beginning perhaps even a new IDEA, a moon hidden by a fingertip.

In all sports and all fighting arts it is the basics that paint the clearest picture of what we are hoping to do.

These basics can be loosely thought of as maintaining a good shape and moving smoothly.

What are the Basics of Wing Chun?

The style is described by 6 Forms that are best viewed as two sets of three.

Set #1.  S.L.T. Chum Kiu and Biu Gee.

Set #2. Wooden Dummy, Butterfly Knives and Long Pole.

The first three Forms introduce the movements of #1 the Arms, #2 the lower body and #3 the torso.

The second set of three introduces IDEAs on how to use the 3 Forms as a single unit.

Then, of course, there is Chi Sau, a dynamic method of exploring and understanding the different characteristics of the first 3 forms in an active feedback loop.

To be of the greatest value Chi Sau should be performed from the individual perspective of each Form set.

S.L.T. which is only the arms doing the work from a still body.

Chum Kiu where the arms are almost passive and all of the work comes from the lower body.

And Biu Gee where the arms and lower body are passive and the work is performed by the torso.

Before we commence any of the Forms or we engage in Chi Sau there should be a few moments of quietude where we turn off as much physical involvement as possible.

We just stand and observe what our body is doing when it is doing as little as possible, observe what our body feels like before it does anything active.

In a sports situation, this could be the pre-start position awaiting the call of Ready.

The obvious progression is … then set.. then go.

But we remain at the READY stage.

When our body is doing nothing it is not doing anything incorrectly.

The more familiar we are with this feeling or condition, the more comfortable we are with it, the easier our progress.

This feeling or condition will remain at the heart of everything we do, no matter how dynamically we move this stillness or at least the thought of this stillness must remain.

For the stillness to remain it must not get disturbed by our movement, early on this can be difficult to grasp, everything moves around this point and not from it.

In the First Form {S.L.T.} the arm movements must not disturb the torso.

In the Chum Kiu, the lower body must not disturb the torso.

In the Biu Gee, the torso must not disturb the arms or the lower body.

When the three body parts work independently without disturbance they use a natural unity that cannot be broken as they are not in any real way connected.

We all do this every day when we walk without thinking, like shopping.

 

THE CONDITION from WC INCa’s on Vimeo.

 

 

Depending on how an individual relates to Wing Chun, especially from the hard/soft, external/internal perspective, this is where the thinking and the teaching takes a different choice at a fork in the road.

The external follow Shaolin Buddhist philosophies, the internal follow Wudang Mountain Daoist philosophies.

The finger-pointing at the moon, or the uncarved block.

I do not follow the path of Internal Wing Chun, the difference is massive yet unimportant, we all reach the same destination but the journey is very different, for some there is Chi, my way is physical.

In true Shaolin Buddhist, finger pointing at the moon way, what we work on is not what we are trying to learn, it is a path to the work, if we spend our time staring at the finger we will never see the moon.

The good news, however, is that the basics and the original condition are the same for both approaches.

Something we must never lose sight of is that if we do get into trouble, violent trouble, soft/hard, internal/external is just so unimportant, we will not use Wing Chun, we will just fight and hopefully, our training will inform and influence the decisions we make.

To move forwards in our training we must look backwards at what we did not achieve, and not just hope that going forward will somehow be better this year.

 

WORK ON WHAT? 

PLAY TO WHAT?

HAPPY 2020, LET’S KICK SOME ASS.