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“Its like a finger pointing to the moon don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory” … Bruce Lee (Enter the Dragon)
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Teaching Wing Chun, to me is one of the hardest martial arts to teach. It is not easy to explain “be strong, but not firm, be soft, but not yielding”. Most people, who are beginners, or outsiders, must say to themselves “what ever Confucius”. The truth is, Wing Chun is much more then a physical art, it’s a philosophical idea or concept. So, how does one learn to bridge that gap of simply remembering concepts – verbatim and understanding application?
I wish I had a single answer, but I don’t. Unfortunately, this article will be just as enigmatic as Wing Chun is. Lets begin with the Sui lim Tao; the foundation of the system. Better yet, let’s simply start with the first movement in the form. No, not the Kin Je Ma stance, but the preparatory movement into opening the stance.
The first thing we do is bring our feet together, then as we dip our knees in line with our toes; simultaneously we drive our elbows backwards and raise our hands (closed fist) to our upper torso. So often this movement is over looked. What most students and observers fail to see is in the very beginning of the Wing Chun practitioners’ training we are instilling that hands and feet move together, in unison. For every foot technique there is a corresponding hand technique. I stress the word foot before hand, because it is our feet that propel our bodies forward. Our hands simply go where they are aimed at, or carried to – with in the four corners (four corner concept). I have yet to come across a student who has stopped me at that point, and not stood by eagerly waiting to see the first movement of the Sil Lim Tao, not realizing that I just showed it to them. A major theory has already been overseen. This is a theory that I call “two is one and one is none”.
All I am simply trying to convey is your hands and feet must work together, and since we are working the Kin Jee Ma stance, both the upper and lower body must work together while remaining grounded (rooted).
I tell my students over and over, they should not take the training drills that we do as fighting techniques, but rather “food for thought”. The drills are merely teaching how to apply the ten concepts of Wing Chun. However, all too often I see my students trying to make the training drill work, no matter what. Even if that particular technique is no longer appropriate. What the students should be doing is taking the concept that I was trying to instill and move, when necessary into a more appropriate position. Learning pre-arranged techniques, from a Wing Chun perspective is pale or shallow and provides no depth to understanding.
You see, a good teacher should not want you to be as good as they are. They should wish for you to be better. Also, simply being good at a particular art, does not necessarily make a person a good teacher. Every teacher should be seeking a way to help the student not memorize techniques, but understand how one can apply a number of concepts blended together in order to in order to make Wing Chun into an effective fighting system. It’s hard to find an instructor that can teach concept, because many of them have only trained a few years at best, in an art that can take a life time to learn. All they can do is tell their students to pay attention to the finger pointing to the moon. They never learned enough about the rest of the heavenly glory. This is what makes teaching Wing Chu so difficult.
This why a student will often hear a good teacher repeat things over and over, hoping that each time he says the same thing again it will eventually strike a chord in the student, or have a different meaning to the student as he progresses through the system. I remember one of my students asking me why I repeat the same things so often. I responded by saying “Wing Chun is an art of compounded basics, and concepts – just because you are tired of hearing it, doesn’t make it any less true.”
Back to the topic at hand, how do we train concept not technique? The following is one training drill that I use, and I think it has positive results. Simply pair up with someone, and pick who is the attacker and who is the responder. Remember this is a drill, not sparring.
The responder should place his arm in a bong sao position. I like bong sao, because bong sao is only a temporary or preparatory position. The attacker should place his punching arm onto his partner’s bong sao (without any energy). The puncher should then apply forward energy to his partner’s bong sao in a slow and methodical manner. This will allow his partner to respond in a flowing manner. The attacker should repeat this process, but also apply energy to the right and left shoulders’ of his partner. This will allow his partner to shift and swivel in the appropriate direction, without resisting the attacker with strength. Of course the responder should, after reacting place his hands in a proactive position and begin practicing the idea of Lin Sui Di Dar (attacking and defending simultaneously). This drill should be done with multiple partners and practiced multiple times.
The reason I like this drill is because the attacker can pick up the pace and energy as his partners’ skill level increases. A minute change in pressure and angle of the attacker and/or responder can alter your outcome. As you become better at this drill your partner should pick up the pace and intensity of the drill, and eventually you should begin this drill without arm to arm contact. The attacker should also begin to transition into a responder as the initial responder becomes more and more proactive.
I typically begin teaching this drill by providing several pre-arranged responses, but the student quickly learns works for me does not necessarily work for them, and they are forced to adapt to the situation(s) as they unfold. When they get stuck in a certain position or they are not sure what to do, I don’t provide the answers. I simply assist them or guide them in discovering the answers on their own. By asking concept pointed questions. Under the guidance of a qualified instructor the student can truly begin the essence of feeling your way through the art and system. This what Bruce Lee meant when he uttered the lines in Enter the Dragon “Its like a finger pointing to the moon don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory”.
If you are just as lost after reading this article as you were before you began – ask yourself, what do you think was meant by Bruce Lee’s famous quote? Like I said before, I won’t give you the answer, think about it and you too will find the answer(s) on your own.
Author: Sifu Brian Spiegel
