WING CHUN’S FIST LOGIC, LEADS US TO ENDING VIOLENCE BY GETTING IN CLOSE AND BREAKING SOMETHING WITH A FIST.
There is naturally a bit of a contradiction when we refer to kicking in a FIST ART, and Wing Chun is a FIST ART; that is what the KUEN in Wing Chun KUEN signifies, and a loose English translation would be Eternal Springtime [Wing Chun], Boxing [KUEN].
This post is an attempt to clear your mind of old programming before this week’s training; starting with an empty-ish mind will save much time and effort.
It may seem a bit left field when talking about kicking, but we must begin by asking, “What is the most valuable lesson we take from Chi Sau”?
Of all of the great lessons we can take from Chi Sau, and there are many, the really valuable lesson when it comes down to transferring the ability to genuine violence is the ability to remain calm and make good choices when we stand at arm’s length and in full contact with an opponent.
We could go as far as to say that Chi Sau, in fact, all of Wing Chun’s Fist Logic, leads us to ending violence by getting in close and breaking something with a Fist.
Chi Sau gets us familiar with the zone, the one square meter of the world that all things end in, handshake range…
…when anything ends…
…it ends here.
How does kicking fit this picture?
When we form a mental picture of kicking, it is a power-driven, forward-pressing attacking motion of the leg that has little, if anything, in common with counterattack, and as such is out of line with our Fiat Logic, and well outside the handshake zone.
How did we get there?
What are we countering?
And why are we stepping in?
In training situations, we all practice kicking from a standing position that is not under threat, let alone attack.
Is this how we see Wing Chun Kicking?
Let’s recap what Wing Chun is.
Wing Chun is a counterattacking style that has guidelines of SIMPLICITY; ECONOMY OF MOVEMENT; and MINIMUM USE OF BRUTE FORCE.
None of these descriptions sits comfortably with kicking.
We could go so far as to say that kicking sits way outside of these guidelines, outside the IDEA that is Wing Chun.
Here is the thing: The term kicking is wrong; it is a term that does not describe what we do and only helps to get us confused.
Wing Chun does not kick!
Let that sink in for a minute, and never remove the thought.
Wing Chun does not kick!
Wing Chun Stamps and Wing Chun Jams.
A Stamp, which is really just a dynamic way of stepping on something: SIMPLICITY; ECONOMY OF MOVEMENT; and MINIMUM USE OF BRUTE FORCE, are all present, and the power comes from transferring body weight to a non-moving body part, a little like snapping a twig to set a bonfire.
And a Jam. Which is performed by presenting a stable foot to an opponent’s moving body, again SIMPLICITY; ECONOMY OF MOVEMENT; and MINIMUM USE OF BRUTE FORCE, are all present, be it the opponent’s swinging leg or simply any major body region as the opponent is stepping in, stepping into our handshake zone. The power is produced in the same way as when a moving vehicle is stopped by a tree.
Whatever we may think will happen if we find ourselves in harm’s way, for it to be Wing Chun, it needs to be a counter to an attack, and it must abide by the principles of..
SIMPLICITY, PRACTICALITY, DIRECTNESS, ECONOMY OF MOVEMENT, MINIMUM USE OF BRUTE FORCE.
If we do find ourselves in harm’s way, we can, of course, step outside the guidelines and kick people as hard as we can and use as much complicated, convoluted movement as we wish; we just cannot call it Wing Chun.
Another consideration is that when we are kicking, we are standing on one leg, this becomes interesting.
