IT IS KICKING OFF, NOW WHAT?

In a live performance, theory counts for shit!

At training last Friday Saleh and Rick initiated a conversation about the dynamics of violence.

It was an intelligent and insightful conversation, and Salah asked if I would do a post on the subject so that he could refer to it when needed.

This conversation is not as simple as we may wish because Violence is a complex and ever-changing environment that unfortunately never has just one answer.

Especially as most situations can be as good as decided before the fists fly, and the most important and defining factors have nothing to do with the style of Martial Art we practice, at least not directly.

But to begin with I wish to address an old chestnut.

“Does Wing Chun, or any Martial Art, work in a Street Fight’?

This is a silly question ‘put out there’ to create mayhem amongst ‘Keyboard Warriors’.

We may as well ask…

“Does the Pentatonic Scale, or Arpeggios, or even Guitar licks work in a RockConcert”?

Forms = Scales.

Arpeggios = Chi Sau.

Killer Riffs = Techniques.

To prevent the Internet from exploding let’s choose to answer this way…

“IT DEPENDS”!!

There is little doubt that someone banging out a tune on a guitar who has deep knowledge of Scales, and arpeggios and knows a hat full of killer riffs will create far more interesting music than someone without this knowledge.

But in a one-off 10-second burst it could be close, and that is the point.

If two guys picked up a guitar at a party, I would put my money on the trained musician to be better, just as if an argument broke out I would put my money on the trained martial artist to do better.

But it is not a sure bet.

In a live performance, theory counts for shit!

Let me try to explain why.

No two ‘Violent Encounters’ are ever the same, I think we all know this, so it calls into question the wisdom of learning any system as an answer.

As I have said many times, I do not regard Wing Chun as a fighting system, but as a method of organisation that once understood just happens to help us perform optimally in violent situations.

But it requires that we have some level of control over our own emotions, thinking and movement.

There is much more to come in this direction, ask me about it.

MOVE FAST AND BREAK THINGS.

That bloke from FaceBook.