wingchun100
Senior Master
Regarding topics like this, I think it would be a great idea for me to start out by saying this post represents MY opinion on things from what I have observed so far.
In my school, Sifu has the opinion (which I tend to agree with) that one should really focus on sil lum tao, chum kiu and the dummy form because they really teach the essential techniques of the system. With SLT and CK, you are learning the hand movements, pivoting and footwork. With the dummy form, you are learning to apply those to a tangible object instead of just doing them in the air. He has called biu jee "the desperation form" in that it is full of techniques that are meant to assist you if you lose control of the centerline. That's not to say he thinks biu jee is a frivolous or useless form, but he puts emphasis on those other three.
But I was just thinking: from the fights I have seen in my life, MOST people are cowards who will come at you when you aren't ready. Now anyone who trains in martial arts will probably know they have to develop a sense of environmental awareness, so hopefully you KNOW someone wants to fight even if THEY think you are unaware. However, we can't all bring our A game all the time, and there may be days where someone gets the jump on you. When they do that, you probably aren't going to be flatfooted and ready to rumble. You will probably be leaning into your car or bending down to tie your shoe or something. In other words, your centerline is already gone.
So it occurred to me that maybe, even though learning the basics from SLT and CK is important, that the "recovering the centerline" techniques of BJ should be given just as much priority, especially given the cowardly tactics some people would use when attacking you.
At any rate, it was just a thought I had, and I felt like sharing it with my MT brothers and sisters.
In my school, Sifu has the opinion (which I tend to agree with) that one should really focus on sil lum tao, chum kiu and the dummy form because they really teach the essential techniques of the system. With SLT and CK, you are learning the hand movements, pivoting and footwork. With the dummy form, you are learning to apply those to a tangible object instead of just doing them in the air. He has called biu jee "the desperation form" in that it is full of techniques that are meant to assist you if you lose control of the centerline. That's not to say he thinks biu jee is a frivolous or useless form, but he puts emphasis on those other three.
But I was just thinking: from the fights I have seen in my life, MOST people are cowards who will come at you when you aren't ready. Now anyone who trains in martial arts will probably know they have to develop a sense of environmental awareness, so hopefully you KNOW someone wants to fight even if THEY think you are unaware. However, we can't all bring our A game all the time, and there may be days where someone gets the jump on you. When they do that, you probably aren't going to be flatfooted and ready to rumble. You will probably be leaning into your car or bending down to tie your shoe or something. In other words, your centerline is already gone.
So it occurred to me that maybe, even though learning the basics from SLT and CK is important, that the "recovering the centerline" techniques of BJ should be given just as much priority, especially given the cowardly tactics some people would use when attacking you.
At any rate, it was just a thought I had, and I felt like sharing it with my MT brothers and sisters.