Wing Chun Notes

[Marnetmar]

I've was looking through an old notebook of mine and came across some notes I'd taken a while ago that reflect some of my personal thoughts on WC and some of the ideas that have come to me about it. One that particularly stood out to me was an entire page of notes specifically on what I thought the essence of WC was. I thought it was kind of cool so I figured I'd share it with you guys and see what you think.

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  Many people think of Wing Chun as a traditional art. I disagree, because when you understand the -essence of Wing Chun, you realize that it was very ahead of its time during its inception, and is still very ahead of its time today.
  
• Wing Chun is non-traditional because it requires a very non-traditional mindset. Far too much of the time, people apply the traditional pugilistic mindset to Wing Chun, and it causes their skills to falter. Wing Chun is not based on a “technique and counter” approach.
  
• It is based, rather, on structure and leverage and the ability to flow from one position to another without thought, and that is the essence of Wing Chun. By being based on structure and leverage, many variables are eliminated; including the “technique and counter” approach. How many individual techniques and counters do you have to remember to become knowledgeable? A thousand? And how time must you spend practicing each technique out of this thousand to become good at fighting?
  
• This is part of the wisdom of the term “Sil Lim Tau,” which means “Little Idea.” It means to suddenly have a lightbulb turn on in your head, to say “what if…” That little idea being the aforementioned essence of Wing Chun.
  
• This is why Wing Chun only has three empty handed forms, instead of dozens like many other arts. Our forms are not shadow boxing. They are not based on techniques. Rather, they are based on movements and positions they contain in and of themselves. There is a section in Sil Lim Tau when we extend a tan sau forward from the center. Many people say “this is to block a certain type of punch,” or “this is a jab to the throat”, usually followed by “assuming that the opponent does this, this and this first”. This is flawed because it falls back on the traditional pugilistic mentality that has existed for thousands of years. When you have adopted a “little idea,” you realize that this tan sau is just that and nothing more; a tan sau.
  
• So when we practice our forms, we don’t ask “what is this movement for?”, we instead ask “what is the shape and structure of this movement? Where is it strong? Where is it weak? What kind of pressure, or absence thereof, can it deal with without collapsing?”, to which there are not just a few answers, but an infinite amount”.
  

I hope you guys like it. :3

 

[Jake104]

You are great note taker! I wish I would of had someone like you to sit next to and copy from in high school.... Really well put. You obviously get it!

 

[Marnetmar]

Glad you like it c:

 

[Jake104]

I really like it. I think it's great that you see the art in this way. Too many of us get caught up in trying to mimic our Sifu's. We get caught up in technique and really loose the ability to learn on our own and grow. If you take the "techniques" out of the equation and instead focus on energy, shapes and principles. The art becomes alive and the possibilities becomes endless.

This is what I like about grappling arts like BJJ. They understand this and there art has grown and evolved and will continue to because of this. Wing Chun will not. As long as we have the blowhards always telling us that, "this is wrong and there ways right", " I learned from so and so and he got the secret sauce bla bla bla". That mentality is killing the art. The secret sauce recipe is basically in your OP. That's what I like about your post!

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

So when we practice our forms, we don’t ask “what is this movement for?”, we instead ask “what is the shape and structure of this movement?

IMO, This statement is a bit too "abstract". MA is more than just the "shape" and "structure". MA has to do with

1. What problems do you intend to solve?
2. How to solve it?
3. Which training path can lead you there?
- ...

A punch is not just a punch. A punch can be used to set up many other things.

- How to use your punch to set up?
- What are those other things?

It all has to do with your opponent's reaction and not just your "solo" body movement. In other words, even when you train "solo", you should still image the existence of your opponent.

 

[ShotoNoob]

I've was looking through an old notebook of mine and came across some notes I'd taken a while ago that reflect some of my personal thoughts on WC....

• Many people think of Wing Chun as a traditional art. I disagree, because when you understand the -essence of Wing Chun, you realize that it was very ahead of its time during its inception, and is still very ahead of its time today.

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IMO, WC is very much a traditional martial art. Traditional martial arts are based on principles. I don't see any conflict between the traditional approach of principles and the traditional approach of technique, such as the technique & counter approach you cite below. The traditional techniques represent the execution of the traditional martial art principles....

o Wing Chun is non-traditional because it requires a very non-traditional mindset. Far too much of the time, people apply the traditional pugilistic mindset to Wing Chun, and it causes their skills to falter. Wing Chun is not based on a “technique and counter” approach.

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The way you define traditional is the way sport fighters look at martial arts. The 1-2 combo punch is a paradigm we go out on fit or force on the opponent. None of the classic traditional martial arts cuts & pastes a technique or tactic onto the opponent. In true traditional martial arts, the techniques are an extension or expression of the tactical principles.

 

[ShotoNoob]

TRADITIONAL KUNG FU HAS "NO DEFENSE" AGAINST BOXER HANDS OR, ("NO") ABILITY TO FACE PUNCH.
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There's actually an article out there right now about an MMA kickboxing fighter coach training with a Kung fu black-belt who can't address the issues in my heading. It's because the Kung fu stylist knows how to regurgitate physical form, doesn't understand / he does not know how to apply kung fu principles.
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it's not "tradition" that's the problem, it's the inability to learn the principles behind TMA, what actually drives the techniques. you have to decide if you are going to be a sport fighter relying on physical technique & reactions, or a TMA who, physically conditioned, yet relies on mental discipline to effect the physical techniques. Part of that mental discipline is understanding the martial principles of your style, what is classical among & across all TMA styles.