ASSERTIVE OR RESPONSIVE?

Long story short, there is only the work. 

ASSERTIVE OR RESPONSIVE?

What do I mean by this?

Before we get into this conversation we must establish a shared understanding of the context, the place, and the environment that the subject of this post covers.

If at any point in this post, you are not sure what I mean, pick the absolute simplest thing that you can think of that fits the bill.

Wing Chun is essentially the search for simplicity in all things.

When I refer to the violent interaction between two people I am referring to the embryonic moment of violence.

There is no attacker or defender in this situation, no right or wrong, no good guy or bad guy.

Just the moment itself, that half-second, one second or two seconds between someone striking out and that strike landing on its target.

It is happening and all nuance is out of the window.

In this pre-moment someone is assertive,  they choose to kick it off and step in to land the first blow, everything that is happening is their agenda.

While the other person has no choice but to be responsive, and to deal with this action, in this instant, there is no agenda except response.

It makes zero difference what that response is, it is simply a response.

Even if the responder pulls a gun and shoots the other guy dead, at the simplest of levels it is just a response to the other guy’s act.

Quickly imagine which of these people you are most likely to be similar to, but perhaps leave out the shooting.

If in our mind we are the instigator, and again ignore such flotsam as cause or reason, we are the asserter.

If we did not instigate the event, if our imagined response is aggressive, neutral, or defensive they are all the same, and any perceived differences are all just unneeded nuance.

This can be made simpler by asking “Are we the type of person that would cast the first stone”?

Be honest, keep it simple, avoid bullshit.

Wing Chun, by its own claims, is a “Counter-Attacking Martial Style.

One important point that is usually side-stepped because it becomes an uncomfortable conversation is that in times of stress when our conscious mind is overwhelmed and we rely upon our subconscious mind to save the day, our subconscious mind always reverts to type.

What type are you?

Assertive or responsive?

Two questions to ask ourselves.

1. Is my training reflecting who I am?
2. Reflecting on the type I fall into, am I doing the most suitable Martial Art for my subconscious mind to make decisions based on what my conscious mind has been training?

Many students expect their training to “Kick in” in times of need.

Even if our body was at all capable of automatically, subconsciously, making our training “Kick in”, this is a responsive action. 

The vast majority of YouTube videos, sometimes in conflict with what they themselves claim to be selling, teach or at least suggest that Wing Chun steps into the fray, taking the initiative.

It promotes ASSERTIVE behaviour as the way to use a RESPONSIVE Martial Style.

In what universe does this work effectively?

Let’s expand this discussion to take a closer look at this.

TRAINING KICKING IN.

Way back before YouTube came into existence, Charlatan Martial Arts Businessmen would claim that their brand was better than others on the market because it trained your nervous system.

The nervous system does not have synapses so it cannot think.

If it cannot think it cannot be trained.

The ‘Home World’ for all charlatans is the world of almost truths and unverifiable factoids.

And let’s not leave out ‘Magical Thinking’.

On a level footing with “Internal Chi Power” is the claim that someone or some style can turn your training into a reflex action.

You cannot train a reflex.

We train reactions.

Reflexes are automatic, like the instinct to pull your hand off a burning stove in response to pain. 

Reactions are those conscious responses to various experiences that we make that aren’t necessarily instinctive.

While we can train to improve our reaction to an established reflex action, we have zero input to the reflex itself.

Here is a grab from a medical study paper on the role of the C.N.S. with regard to reflex…

Central Nervous System.

1. It consists of the spinal cord and brain.
2. The brain is the main organ that controls the major functioning of the whole body of organisms.
3. The spinal cord is a long tube-like structure enclosed by a vertebral column. It carries signals from the brain and transmits them to different body parts.

Reason for reflex actions to be controlled by the spinal cord and not the brain:

1. Reflex actions are involuntary actions that involve reflex arc.
2. The information through the reflex arc does not travel directly to the brain in most vertebrates.
3. Instead, it travels through the synapse and reaches the spinal cord, which acts as the leading centre for these actions and sends an appropriate response for the stimulus.

Sadly some people will point to the above paragraphs and find a way to make it be the Brain calling the shots.

Our Brain does not communicate with our Spinal Chord by sending messages or IDEAS, it does not use words or pictures, so unless we know how to translate Wing Chun knowledge into a chemical precursor the Brain is not involved in directing reflexes in a Martial manner.

Charlatans, and pretty much all of YouTube, is set up to hoodwink the ignorant, naive, and lazy, those amongst us who want the results without the work.

Long story short, there is only the work. 

But wait there is good news…

The work is simple.

YOUTUBE…

WHERE WING CHUN TRUTH GOES TO DIE.

THE ‘D’ MAN.

REALLY… OH COME ON.