At this point in time C.S.T. was teaching a physical ‘FIST LOGIC’ oriented version of Wing Chun.
Here is a clip of our Sigung, Chu Shong Tin teaching one of the final movements in the Chum Kiu Form
Before anyone on either side of the ‘Internal – External’ debacle gets their knickers in a knot this video is obviously from before C.S.T. changed his mind about Wing Chun, I recognise at least one person in this video and numerous in other videos from this time in Hong Kong on this channel, I reckon that it is from the 1980s, as such it is the Wing Chun he taught to my teacher and as such very in line with what I am passing on to you guys.
At this point in time C.S.T. was teaching a physical ‘FIST LOGIC’ oriented version of Wing Chun.
This clip IS what we do.
There are 2 reasons I am using this video, firstly it gives all of you guys access to this channel,
Wing Chun – Simple kung fu which has some exceptional historical footage of our Sigung, Chu Shong Tin, never doubt that C.S.T. was an astonishing Wing Chun proponent and teacher.
Secondly and most importantly because it is a shinning example of a situation where as comedians would say ‘You really had to be there’.
As this post is about the merits of learning from videos and not any kind of critique of what is being covered in the clip we really do need to think beyond and behind what is going on in front of us.
I intend to pose a few questions for you to mull over that I have no intention of answering in this post.
The exercise that is being shown is an exercise that I did with my seniors on many occasions and something I spoke of in some depth with my teacher, so I know what is expected and being covered.
Watch it numerous times, watch some of the other videos from this historically valuable channel and then see where it takes you.
First thing first, what do we think is going on here? What is the purpose of the exercise?
Is it one movement or a sequence of separate /individual/independent movements?
Is this in any way practical?
I will revisit this post and give my IDEAS on this clip as a vehicle for instruction in a few days so get stuck in and form some opinions.
As with any exploration the best place to start is by asking “What would need to happen for me to be doing this thing in this place and in this way”?
This is not about the content of the video or the relative or otherwise value of the instruction, do not fall into the trap that thinking that pointing out what you think is wrong is in any way related to what is right.
Get into this guys, we have at least 5 more weeks in ‘LOCKDOWN’ before we can go hands on so developing the ability to look at videos with as little confirmation bias as possible can help you train at another level.
WE LEARN FAR MORE BY DISPELLING OLD ILLUSIONS THAN WE DO FROM LEARNING NEW SECRETS.
Wing Chun Sydney, Australia 