GOOD CHOICE, OR WHAT?

How can we describe something when we do not even know if it will happen?

Hi Guys,

I am struggling a bit to find the best way to open this post, to find the right opening words and right feeling, so if it starts to come off a bit scattered or weird just stick it out, I am sure it will make sense by the finish.

Q…Is it possible to know if we have chosen the best Martial Art to get us out of a future, unknown situation, that we hope will not even happen.

A…As counter-intuitive as it may sound the answer is yes we can, and we can describe this situation with at least 90% accuracy.

This is what I mean about it may sound a bit weird.

How can we describe something that we do not even know if it will happen?

Every Martial Art is a specific solution to a specific problem.

So if we can describe the very things that Wing Chun is optimal to deal with, what it says on the box so to speak, we are describing the situation it is best suited to solve.

If this situation does not match the situation we fear we may end up in perhaps we have made a poor choice of Martial Art.

For us this is Wing Chun, but it applies to all Martial Arts.

In what situation is Wing Chun optimal?

If we are considering a situation that puts us in harm’s way, we only want what is optimal, any other choice brings a greater chance of failure.

WING CHUN KUEN.  

A COUNTER-ATTACKING, CONCEPT-DRIVEN, FIST-FIGHTING STYLE.

If we can unpack this description it shows us the type of situation we are preparing for, and just as importantly what we are not preparing for.

COUNTER-ATTACKING… By definition, we cannot be counter-attacking unless we are, first of all, under attack from an outside party.  We cannot be considered to be counter-attacking if we instigate the confrontation, Wing Chun is not intended for any kind of ‘Mano a Mano’ confrontation. We can dig into this a bit later.

CONCEPT DRIVEN… The ‘CORE’ learning objective is to understand the ‘CONCEPTS’ or ‘PHILOSOPHY’ of the style, the Forms, Chi Sau, and techniques are there to highlight or relate physical actions to the philosophy.  This is why it is so hard to say what is or what is not Wing Chun by simply observing a persons actions. We can dig into this a bit later.

FIST FIGHTING STYLE… Wing Chun is predominantly, but not exclusively, a hand-striking style.

Wing Chun does use kicks, knees, elbows, and even head-butts, but these are the exceptions and not the rule.  We can dig into this a bit later.

On first look, the situation Wing Chun will be optimal in is a surprise attack, something like a mugging, or an unexpected, violent turn in a difference of opinion that we did not really anticipate.

The level of surprise that we encounter will determine our chances of survival, if the surprise is absolute, if we do not see the attack coming, we have zero chance of success.

What can we do to lessen any chances of absolute surprise?

Sadly, nothing, that is why it is a surprise, however, we can increase our chances by not sleepwalking in dangerous places.

Awareness, but not hyper-vigilance, can prevent most surprises.

As short as this post is there is a lot to think about so I will leave it here to sink in, I will break everything down later on and hopefully you guys can bring things into training so we can flesh it out in a way that everyone can relate to.

If we train for what happens most,

we will be ready for most of what happens.