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Wing Chun Modern or Ancient


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Can Wing Chun beconsidered an ancient martial art? The truth is Wing Chun and all martial arts are continously changing and probably look nothing like the original art!

Is it not easier to strike a mountain than it is to strike a fly!

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Wing Chun has been transmitted very clearly over the more recent years, say the last hundred for sure. One of the reasons this is so is because of the emphasis in the system for the importance of teaching, and teaching correctly. In Yip's school and my late Sifu's school all SiHings (seniors) are responsible for teaching all SiDis (juniors), this means that the senior student quickly learns the art of teaching and the junior student has a broad range of teaching examples; this prevents the student from focusing on one person's stylizations.

 

There was a story my Sifu told about one Wing Chun master who had some problem with his right arm. Consequently he could never do a correct Bong Sao with one of his hands. Out of respect and admiration for their master all of his students did the Bong Sao the same way (wrong). This is a good example of how stylization can distort an art.

 

The way Yip Man and my Sifu’s schools worked they tried not to encourage any stylization and allow the student to properly and purely evolve. It is also important to teach the forms as accurately as possible and this was also highly emphasized. Wing Chun as a system is also designed with backup systems in place to avoid distortion in its transmission and development. This is done with the Kuen Kuit (see link below) and helps ensure that Wing Chun theory dictates how the system works and how the theories are applied. These idioms have been handed down since the begining and are used to check our training and make sure it is correct.

 

As far as innovation goes one can create or invent any 'new' technique at any time in Wing Chun, so long as it adheres to these core concepts of the system...it is said then that he has discovered a new Wing Chun technique since by definition any movement or technique that conforms to the system's core concepts is a by our definition a Wing Chun technique. But since the human body hasn't changed much in the last few hundred years there may not be much left to find.

 

Unlike Wing Chun very few systems make such an effort to ensure proper transmission of the art, this is one of the reasons why Wing Chun is still quite good, despite the incompetence found in many a school.

 

http://www.wingchun.org/text/misc/kuenkuit.html

 

Jim

 

_________________

 

 

Moy Yat Ving Tsun

 

Rest in peace dear teacher, dear friend, dear brother, and dear father: Moy Yat Sifu

 

[ This Message was edited by: Shaolin on 2002-03-08 23:15 ]


Moy Yat Ving Tsun

Rest in peace: Moy Yat Sifu

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Yes. I agree, but a catepiller is not a butterfly. Wing Chun today is alot more modern than its counter part which it should be for if it cannot goe through the necessary changes than an art begins to become useless. Which would you rather have a ten year old computer or a Brand new computer?...It is like tree's swaying in the breeze....flexible and versatile yet if the tree is not flexible enough it breaks!

Is it not easier to strike a mountain than it is to strike a fly!

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On 2002-03-09 06:45, mastertae wrote:

 

... for if it cannot goe through the necessary changes than an art begins to become useless. Which would you rather have a ten year old computer or a Brand new computer?...It is like tree's swaying in the breeze....flexible and versatile yet if the tree is not flexible enough it breaks!

 

Wing Chun was designed to be flexible from its begining.

 

Unlike computer technology and the silicone chip, the human body hasn't changed much in the last 5000 years. Given that fact we can say that there aren't too many Wing Chun moves left to be 'discovered' since Wing Chun's founders have been studying it since the begining of human martial time. If that is true (and we believe it is) then very few major changes will be seen in a system that seeks out the perfection of simplicity.

 

Jim

 

_________________

 

 

Moy Yat Ving Tsun

 

Rest in peace dear teacher, dear friend, dear brother, and dear father: Moy Yat Sifu

 

 

 

[ This Message was edited by: Shaolin on 2002-03-09 06:57 ]


Moy Yat Ving Tsun

Rest in peace: Moy Yat Sifu

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actually the human body has changed greatly!!! People are now taller and many are have alot bigger muscle mass...though we still have two legs to arms...lol...the increase in size still means there has to be adaptabilities withing the art...but like I said wing chun continues to grow and change which shows its versatilities

Is it not easier to strike a mountain than it is to strike a fly!

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