Getting up to Level 9

Does mastery really means that action can happen without thought?

Last week, we talked about why thinking can get in the way of training. In the beginning, we train so that our bodies can learn the movements. The arm has to learn the correct position for the bong sau and it has to learn the correct path (energy direction and all) from the bong sau to the tan sau. If we start overthinking however, we begin to ask questions that are irrelevant to this simple training - and that leads us to do all sorts of unwanted things.

Once we have the path and positions, we next work on the reactions. In double sticky hands, there is always one open corner (3 covered). When a strike enters from straight ahead into that corner, we simply change our bong sau to a tan sau. When a strike comes into a covered corner, we meet the incoming force by pushing our arm out. If this force becomes too great, we turn. If a strike comes in from an angle, we turn. By training our bodies to naturally react to these situations, we build reflexes that allow us to react correctly and quickly in any given situation.

Secret Dance of the "Other Hand"

Practicing against bigger and stronger classmates makes it hard to always get your punch in. Lesson from this Tuesday's class - use both hands; control both hands. I like this concept because it relates to the greater concept that you need to utlize your entire body - when the ankle is engaged, and the energy is coming up through the legs; when the core is locked and the entire body moving together, the punch is merely a controlled extension of the energy within.

So much focus is going into the punch and strikes that we often forget to position our non-striking hand. This hand allows us to quickly retaliate or to put in another punch - thanks Henry for the reminder!

Controlling the opponent's hands is also important. Most moves involve more than just a punch; it's a pull-down and punch or block and punch. Using the non-striking hand to control the opponent's hand gives you greater control, as the opponent cannot easily release his/ her hands to block the punch, retaliate, or even get away.

The Triangle

So I thought I would start this blog with an entry about a concept that is the fundamental to wing chun - the triangle. As Sifu Kwok would say, why sit there in front of the guy and bash each other? Move out of the way so you can attack!



Imagine a triangle, where you stand at the middle of the base, while your opponent stands at the peak. When your opponent attacks you, you are directly in his or her path. Unless you're bigger and stronger (and sometimes, even when you are bigger and stronger), you're going down.



However, if you step off to one side of the triangle, you now change the dynamics. The opponent's line of attack leads to empty air, while you now have a new line of attack where the opponent is unguarded.

If the opponent falls - great!

What is the opponent is a wing chun practioner too, and has swiftly adjusted to your new line of attack? Well, that's the fun of sticky hands. Each moment is the beginning of a new fight. Every move means re-assessing your triangle. Where are you in relation to the opponent now? And now? And now?

The triangle is such an easy concept that beginners often feel that they've got the deep dark secret of wing chun down pat. Putting it into action, however, is not that easy. But the great thing, and one lesson of last Thursday's class is that no matter how many years you have been practicing and how many newbies you've pushed around, you always need to revisit the basics every now and then to make sure you're still doing the basics right, and to re-evaluate your understanding in light of everything else you've learned.

Hope this was useful to any other Wing Chun student out there. Today's Tuesday, so let's see what I will learn tonight!