Before You Ask Your Sifu, Part 1

First, if you are having problems with a technique, do not ask your sifu.  Figure it out on your own.  Not only will you enhance your understanding of the Ving Tsun system, you will develop your mind and body.

That being said, there are principles in Ving Tsun that you can use as tools when you are learning and perfecting techniques.

This three-part series of blog posts will be different in that each will focus on one word.  Read these posts and take time to think of the concept and how it applies to kung fu.  Meditate on these and generate your own ideas.  Then, if you’re still in, see how you can apply the ideas in your own training.

Centerline

Train hard. Relax hard.

Training Outside of Class

In addition to attending class on a regular basis, diligent kung fu students set aside time to train outside of class.

Finding Time

We live in a busy world.  You need to make time for kung fu if you wish to become proficient in it.  Many things compete for your attention and can divert you away from your goals if you let them.

Find a time to play kung fu that works best for you.  Training first thing in the morning is an excellent time.  As your day unfolds there is less chance of putting it off or having other pressing things take its place.  If you’re not a morning person, find a time during the day and commit to it.  It doesn’t really matter when you choose to do it as long as you stay consistent.

What Do You Need to Work On?

If there is something within kung fu that you are having problems with, don’t understand, or were recently opened  to, these would be good things to play while utilizing your training time.  Playing forms and doing conditioning are good options as well.  Going back to explore the basics always pays off.  If you’re in doubt about what to do during the time you’ve set aside, play Siu Nim Tao.

You can choose one or two things you need to work on and pursue these for several weeks or months, or you may want to practice whatever you feel like doing that day.  You may choose to play your kung fu for a certain length of time or you may choose to do a certain number of repetitions of a form or technique to determine the duration of your practice.  You may employ either of these methods over the course of your training.

There are many different ways you can structure your out-of-class training.  You must find the way that works best for you and be consistent.  This in itself is part of your kung fu journey.

Train hard.  Relax Hard.

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.

Forms in Moy Yat Ving Tsun

Siu Nim Tao

Already alluded to in the first post of this blog, Siu Nim Tao is the first empty hand form in the ving tsun curriculum.  It means “Little Idea.”  Some say that 90% of the ving tsun system is contained within its first section.  Siu Nim Tao teaches relaxation, centerline, horse stance, power, and energy.  Serving as a reference for numerous techniques in ving tsun, Siu Nim Tao has many things to reveal to those who practice it regularly and diligently.

Chum Kiu

Chum Kiu is the second empty hand form taught to students.  It means “Seeking the Bridge.”  Building on the foundation learned in Siu Nim Tao, one learns footwork, shifting, balance, and coordination of arms and legs.

Biu Je

The third form in the system teaches emergency techniques.  These techniques can help a ving tsun practitioner recover from a bad position.  One should have highly refined Siu Nim Tao and Chum Kiu before learning the third empty hand form.  Biu Je means “Standard Compass,” or “Darting Fingers.”

Muk Yan Jong

After completing the three empty hand forms of ving tsun, more advanced training commences with the wooden dummy or Muk Yan Jong.

Luk Dim Poon Kwan

After mastering the Muk Yan Jong, training continues with the 6 1/2 point pole form and techniques.

Bot Chom Doa

The highest form of ving tsun is the double knife set or Eight Way Chopping Knives.

Train hard and relax hard.

Forms in the Martial Arts

There are many critics of forms in the martial arts.  What is a form?  It is a predetermined set of movements that are performed by the martial arts practitioner.  Many critics say there is little value in playing forms, that it does not simulate what happens in a real fight and that it is a waste of time learning moves while not being confronted by an assailant.  My experience in Ving Tsun has has proven to me otherwise.

Developing Techniques

There is high value in our system’s forms.  Ving Tsun forms are like software for your body and its CPU.  Every time you play a form it strengthens and reinforces movement patterns contained therein.  When playing chi sao, oftentimes new techniques emerge that the practitioner has not intended or thought to play.  When tracing back where these techniques came from, they can usually be found in whatever form that person has been working on.

Attributes and Energy

Not only do forms train techniques, they also train various attributes such as relaxation or center line.  So playing lots of forms also develops qualities that will make one excel in kung fu and other endeavors.  Forms also train different energies.  This becomes more apparent as the practitioner advances.  Playing lots of forms in Ving Tsun kung fu is a highly worthwhile undertaking.

Train hard and relax hard.

Ving Tsun in the Era of Mixed Martial Arts

Ever since Royce Gracie tapped out numerous opponents starting in 1993 with the advent of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, mixed martial arts has become quite popular.  Since the new hybrid mixed martial arts style has dominated in the cage, many say that ving tsun and other traditional martial arts are no longer valid.  This is not true.

In ving tsun, we train for violent confrontation on the streets.

We need a system that will work when we are sick, tired, injured, or otherwise not on top of our game.  Violence does not wait to occur at the precise time a 12 week training cycle comes to a peak.  Attackers do not select their victims based on weight class.  They do not fight you one at a time.  Concealed weapons may be involved.  No medical staff is standing by a few feet away.  There are no rounds and no referees, no predetermined time or place.  The ground may have debris and broken glass on it and the attacker’s friends may be standing by to give you a good kick making groundfighting very dangerous.  The area may not be well lit.  You may not have your support team with you.

There are no rounds for you to rest between.  In fact, we strive to end a confrontation as quickly as possible.

Ving tsun is not a sport.

Watching two highly trained athletes go toe-to-toe is highly entertaining, but it’s important to recognize mixed martial arts for what it is: a sport.  I have a great deal of respect for mixed martial art athletes.  The training is intense and to compete at a high level requires a lot of dedication.   Some attributes developed in the sport will carry over to the street but some skills learned could put one’s life in jeopardy if applied in a self defense situation.

Ving tsun develops the nervous system, mind, and body to handle multiple attackers and larger opponents.  It is as pertinent in today’s world as it was when first developed hundreds of years ago.

Train hard and relax hard.

Grandmaster Ip Man Movies

In Your Hands, Not Your Head

In Ving Tsun, we train so that self-defense responses become automatic.  To do this, we put in a lot of hours training various drills, working on energy – utilization, application, and sensitivity.  What follows is your hands knowing what to do immediately in any given position.  They bypass your brain and act of their own accord creating reflex responses.  To learn Ving Tsun, you must engage in it.

You may spend a lot of time reading about Ving Tsun on the internet or in books.  One may discuss Ving Tsun with your friends or on internet forums.  There is merit in all of these activities but they will never be a substitute for doing Ving Tsun.  Playing forms and partner drills is the only way to develop hands that react by themselves in violent confrontation.

Train hard, relax hard.

What do you do in your spare time?

I had the pleasure of attending the Detroit school’s anniversary seminar over Memorial Day weekend this year.  On Friday night, Sigung Moy Tung gave an excellent kung fu lecture.    During his discourse, he said, “If you want to master kung fu, there’s no such thing as practicing kung fu in your spare time because in your spare time, you will be resting.”  This statement caused me to reevaluate how I train kung fu.

To achieve mastery in any given endeavor requires discipline, dedication, and hard work.  It may not be convenient to practice kung fu everyday.  Those who are on the path to becoming masters will do it anyway.  They will make it a normal routine in their lives.  Therefore, they will rest in their spare time, as their training has already been completed.  The hobbyists pursue kung fu in their spare time.  If it is not convenient for them to attend class on a particular day, they may take that day off.  Training is much more flexible.

Is it bad to practice kung fu as a hobbyist?  Not at all.  A multitude of benefits can be derived from the pursuit of kung fu that will enrich your life and a high level of kung fu can be cultivated over time.  By attending kung fu class multiple times a week, you’re already way ahead of most people and you’re developing a great skill set to boot.  But can one expect to rival the skills of the greatest masters by attending kung fu class 3 times a week for a couple of hours as one’s sole training?  Do Olympic athletes compete after spending an average of six hours a week training?

By distinguishing levels of training and commitment, you can choose to step up to a higher level of dedication.  Follow your own kung fu path and it will show you where you need to go.

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