WWYVTD?

According to legend, Ng Mui, an abbess from the Shaolin temple took pity on a beautiful young woman who was being forced to marry a local warlord. The woman had an agreement with the warlord that if she could defeat him in battle, she would not have to marry him. Ng Mui designed a system of kung fu and taught it to Yim Ving Tsun enabling her to defeat him. Ng Mui named her new system after her first student. A more detailed account of the legend as spoken by Grandmaster Ip Man can be found here.

The legend of Ving Tsun can be utilized to help our training.

What would Yim Ving Tsun do?

One may assume that Yim Ving Tsun was smaller in stature than the warlord. If a technique you’re playing is not working because you seem to be expending a large amount of energy, ask yourself, “What would Yim Ving Tsun do?”

The Ving Tsun system enables a smaller person to defeat a larger opponent without using strength. If you’re larger than your partner, are you using your size or muscle to force the technique to work? If you’re smaller than your partner, are you using strength to compensate? Would Yim Ving Tsun have done it that way?

Train hard, relax hard.

1,000 Lights

Moy Yat Ving Tsun has a saying, “Play your kung fu under a thousand lights.” Students go to the kung fu school, they play their forms and they work on their drills. To really develop kung fu, they need to start playing outside of the school and in as many different situations and scenarios as they can think of.

Below is a list of 50 different “lights,” to get started. Some may be better for two person drills, some for forms, and some for just working on the horse stance (ye chi kim yeung ma). Some may be beneficial for all three.

Play your kung fu:

1. On a mountain top
2. In a cave
3. Underwater
4. With your eyes closed
5. In a mirror
6. In your nicest dress shoes
7. Barefoot
8. In a closet
9. On the beach
10. After being out at the bar
11. After waking up in the middle of the night
12. Right before bed
13. First thing in the morning
14. In a phone booth
15. On a rooftop
16. On the subway, light rail, or train
17. When you’re angry
18. When you’re sick
19. While wearing a coat
20. On the ice
21. In a field
22. On a parking curb
    
23. In the kitchen
24. In the bathroom
25. In a tree
26. While lying down
27. On one leg
28. Using only one arm
29. In the dark
30. In an alley
31. In the sand
32. Sitting down
33. Kneeling
34. In your work or school clothes
    
35. After drinking lots of coffee
36. After drinking no coffee
37. Right after dinner
38. While fasting
39. In a sauna
40. In the rain
41. In the snow
42. On a pole
43. On gravel
44. In a park
45. On uneven terrain
46. In the mud
47. On a merry-go-round
48. On a slide
49. Blindfolded
50. On an office chair with wheels
    

Train hard. Relax hard.