# Wing Chun mottos/ sayings



## yak sao (Apr 24, 2010)

Do any of you find the old WC maxims helpful?, such as " the punch comes from the heart"
If so, which ones did you find particularly useful or helpful?

Also, in Leung Ting's book,_ Biu Tze_ he mentions another book, _Mottos and Concepts._ I have never seen this book. Have any of you read it or seen it?

Geezer, this is a question directed to you....back in the day when you were training with 'he who must not be named,' did he ever mention any of these mottos? I only heard him mention a couple.


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## bully (Apr 24, 2010)

I am sure you have seen these:

http://www.wcarchive.com/articles/maxims-kuen-kuit.htm

Lots in there for me.

One I like is "The hands that hits, also blocks". That is WC in one maxim for me.

And "Beginners must not use strength". Reminds me to try and relax and try not overcommit my lumbering bulk ;-)


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## geezer (Apr 26, 2010)

yak sao said:


> Do any of you find the old WC maxims helpful?, such as " the punch comes from the heart"
> If so, which ones did you find particularly useful or helpful?
> 
> Also, in Leung Ting's book,_ Biu Tze_ he mentions another book, _Mottos and Concepts._ I have never seen this book. Have any of you read it or seen it?
> ...


 
Yak--I don't know of any book by LT with this title...but then I'm really out of date on this stuff. The few "kuit" I know, I find very helpful. I have ended up looking them up from diverse sources... not just LT. I just wish they rhymed or were as "catchy" in English as they apparently are in Cantonese.


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## mook jong man (Apr 27, 2010)

I remember one , don't know where it comes from " Once you have mastered Fook Sau you can fight the world ".

One of my instructors used to say this one , its not a Wing Chun saying as such but it has stuck in my mind over the years . 
" Never swap a hit to the head for one to the body ".
Or something like that , meaning to prioritize hitting the head .


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## Domino (Apr 27, 2010)




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## Poor Uke (Apr 27, 2010)

Think Domino's sig says it all really.


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## Domino (Apr 27, 2010)




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## geezer (Apr 29, 2010)

Poor Uke said:


> Think Domino's sig says it all really.


 
Yep. However you translate it, _that_ is the essence of Wing Chun. The rest is all commentary.

Now here is a Chineae proverb that, although not classical WC kuit, is especially relevent here on this forum:

_"The bottle that is only half full makes the most noise."_


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## profesormental (Apr 30, 2010)

Greetings.

The Kuen Kuit are useful sayings depending on the teacher that can use them as teaching tools to illustrate a certain advantageous tactic, strategy or principle.

Also, they make you look cool saying them, specially if you augment the effect by smacking someone emphatically to illustrate the saying.

Looking cool is important since it not only makes you memorable and creates interesting stories and experiences, it helps ingrain a sense of tradition and confidence that many students need to actually carry to action the righteous deed.

There are some articles from psychology journals, I'll get the links if anyone is interested, that showed that to actually carry out heroic and righteous deeds, instead of freezing and doing nothing like a little sheep thing, people need certain things to happen psychologically.

If that ingredient was there, they would do what is right in the event of witnessing wrongdoings and/or crisis.

The more people have this, the less victims there will be, and the more people willing to do what is right, instead of being punks and/or letting themselves be punked.

Anyway, I use the Kuen Kuit to help. And no, I was not taught them all initially. The more I find the more I use. Thanks, Internets and books!!!

Hope that helps!!

Juan Mercado

"The bottle that is half empty hurts less than hitting you on the head with one that is full! Thus the bottle that is full makes YOU make more noise!"

Chew on THAT!


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## geezer (Apr 30, 2010)

profesormental said:


> Greetings.
> 
> The Kuen Kuit are useful sayings depending on the teacher that can use them as teaching tools to illustrate a certain advantageous tactic, strategy or principle.
> 
> ...


 
Personally, I think it would take a lot more than a few "kuit" to make _me _look cool. And I hate pretending to be what I'm not. But I agree that a huge part of effective teaching is performance (as in acting or drama). I'm a bit goofy by nature... so I run with it. I try to make instruction entertaining as well as meaningful, and sometimes it works. As you pointed out, making a point physically while reciting a relevant "kuit" can really help drive a point home. I do the same in my high school ceramics classes. Guess what? There are Clay Kuit too!


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