# How Do You Incorporate Lessons from Wing Chun into Your Life?



## wingchun100 (Feb 25, 2014)

I guess this could be true of any martial art, but since I learn wing chun, I can only go by my own first-hand knowledge. Some of you have studied long enough to know that things we learn in wing chun can be applied to any part of life. For me, it's the idea of being fluid and non-resistant. How do I use it? Well, here's an example.

Let's say (for the sake of argument) that I am pro-life. I meet someone who is pro-choice. Some people would be tempted to get wound up and said, "Damn pro-choicer you! You shouldn't be that way! That aggravates me!" I could replace this example with anything that divides people: religion and so on.

But here's what I have learned: those people who get mad because someone is into something or believes something they don't are missing a MAJOR point. Maybe that other person shouldn't be the way they are (none of us can judge that), but the thing is...they are. And getting mad over it won't change them. So you just have to accept who they are, and move on.

When I was first learning wing chun, my teacher showed me in three words how it was different from every other style I'd seen up until that point. He said, "Accept what comes."

Any time something in my life stresses me out or aggravates me, I start to tense up inside. As wing chun practitioners, we all know tensing up is bad. So I just take a deep breath and repeat those three words to myself. It doesn't always work, but I make progress every day.


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## Blindside (Feb 25, 2014)

So what is the life lesson on pre-emptive striking to take the centerline and chain punching the other guy until he is a bloody pulp?


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## mograph (Feb 25, 2014)

Check out _Zen in the Martial Arts_, by Joe Hyams. He knew Bruce Lee.

http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Martial-Arts-Joe-Hyams/dp/0553275593


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## mook jong man (Feb 25, 2014)

I don't incorporate any lessons from Wing Chun into my life at all.
To me Wing Chun is a science that I try to perfect , nothing more.
I could do SLT till the cows come home and still be an angry son of a ***** if something sets me off.
I was like that before Wing Chun , and to a certain degree I am still like that.
It hasn't really had anymore effect on me than if I played tennis or golf , people tend to get a bit new agey about martial arts.
Wing Chun is just a tool to punch the crap out of somebody and break their legs in a fast and efficient way , that's what it was designed for and that's all it is.


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## yak sao (Feb 25, 2014)

Blindside said:


> So what is the life lesson on pre-emptive striking to take the centerline and chain punching the other guy until he is a bloody pulp?




That it is better to give than to receive.


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## yak sao (Feb 25, 2014)

mook jong man said:


> I don't incorporate any lessons from Wing Chun into my life at all.
> To me Wing Chun is a science that I try to perfect , nothing more.
> I could do SLT till the cows come home and still be an angry son of a ***** if something sets me off.
> I was like that before Wing Chun , and to a certain degree I am still like that.
> ...



I have to say I agree with you mook to a point. I tend to get really exasperated with people spouting off fortune cookie philosophy when they're involved in MA.
WC is first and foremost, a no nonsense fighting style designed to hurt people very efficiently.

 But I will say that by seeking perfection in the development of WC, that it has a way of spilling over into other areas of life, even if it's nothing more than simple self discipline. 

BTW mook, I noticed your location is listed as Japan...WTF? Did you get tired of chasing kangaroos out of your back yard?"


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## mook jong man (Feb 26, 2014)

yak sao said:


> I have to say I agree with you mook to a point. I tend to get really exasperated with people spouting off fortune cookie philosophy when they're involved in MA.
> WC is first and foremost, a no nonsense fighting style designed to hurt people very efficiently.
> 
> But I will say that by seeking perfection in the development of WC, that it has a way of spilling over into other areas of life, even if it's nothing more than simple self discipline.
> ...



Yeah mate my missus is Japanese , her parents are elderly and not in the best of health so she wanted to go back to look after them.
So we sold up and moved here , missing the beaches in Australia bad though.


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## wingchun100 (Feb 26, 2014)

I was just trying to share what I got out of my training, that's all. When I made the connection, it wasn't my attempt to try to be "New Age-y" or come off like a "Chinese fortune cookie."


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## mook jong man (Feb 26, 2014)

wingchun100 said:


> I was just trying to share what I got out of my training, that's all. When I made the connection, it wasn't my attempt to try to be "New Age-y" or come off like a "Chinese fortune cookie."



Not talking about you specifically mate.
But a lot of people do get a bit new agey about something that really when it comes down to it is inherently brutal and violent.


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## yak sao (Feb 26, 2014)

wingchun100 said:


> I was just trying to share what I got out of my training, that's all. When I made the connection, it wasn't my attempt to try to be "New Age-y" or come off like a "Chinese fortune cookie."



I wasn't digging at you, sorry if it came across that way.


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## wingchun100 (Feb 26, 2014)

yak sao said:


> I wasn't digging at you, sorry if it came across that way.



No problem. Apology accepted. 

Actually I'm surprised I got the response I did. After I posted it, I expected to get a bunch of responses like, "Suck it up and stop whining." Nice to meet DECENT people on an internet forum.


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## wingchun100 (Feb 26, 2014)

mook jong man said:


> Not talking about you specifically mate.
> But a lot of people do get a bit new agey about something that really when it comes down to it is inherently brutal and violent.



Thank you. I appreciate you clearing that up instead of doing what most would on the internet, which is something along the lines of, "Stop whining!"

And yes, naturally I understand wing chun boils down to using violence to pummel an opponent. However, I do believe there can be something deeper to it. Some choose to look for that; others don't. I didn't necessarily get into wing chun to find connections like this. It just happened.


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## J W (Feb 26, 2014)

mook jong man said:


> I don't incorporate any lessons from Wing Chun into my life at all.
> To me Wing Chun is a science that I try to perfect , nothing more.
> I could do SLT till the cows come home and still be an angry son of a ***** if something sets me off.
> I was like that before Wing Chun , and to a certain degree I am still like that.
> ...



So I guess I'll take the flip side of the coin here. At our school we incorporate Wing Chun into every facet of life. Maybe this is a lineage thing, my understanding is that Sigung Moy Yat taught Wing Chun as "kung fu life" - living kung fu rather than just learning it in class. So sure we spend most of our time training WC as a fighting art, but we also spend plenty of time both inside and outside of the mokwoon focusing on the larger lessons of Wing Chun kung fu. Does that make us new agey? I don't know, maybe some will think so. But personally I do get a much greater sense of satisfaction from my training now then I did when I was training Kenpo, where we were learning to fight and that's all.


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## wingchun100 (Feb 26, 2014)

J W said:


> So I guess I'll take the flip side of the coin here. At our school we incorporate Wing Chun into every facet of life. Maybe this is a lineage thing, my understanding is that Sigung Moy Yat taught Wing Chun as "kung fu life" - living kung fu rather than just learning it in class. So sure we spend most of our time training WC as a fighting art, but we also spend plenty of time both inside and outside of the mokwoon focusing on the larger lessons of Wing Chun kung fu. Does that make us new agey? I don't know, maybe some will think so. But personally I do get a much greater sense of satisfaction from my training now then I did when I was training Kenpo, where we were learning to fight and that's all.



Thanks, J W. While I don't mind different opinions, it's good to know I am not alone!


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## Marnetmar (Feb 27, 2014)

I feel that to receive what comes is a great principle to apply to one's life, and I do my best to do so. Other than that, I'll have to agree with what Mook Jong Man said. Getting arrogant and pretentious about the martial art you practice is never, ever a good idea.


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## wingchun100 (Feb 27, 2014)

Marnetmar said:


> I feel that to receive what comes is a great principle to apply to one's life, and I do my best to do so. Other than that, I'll have to agree with what Mook Jong Man said. Getting arrogant and pretentious about the martial art you practice is never, ever a good idea.



So if I get something out of it that you don't, that makes me arrogant and pretentious? I don't think so. That just makes me see it differently than you.


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## Marnetmar (Feb 27, 2014)

Nonono, of course not. What I'm referring to is when people attempt to come up with as many correlations to everyday life as they possibly can for the sole purpose of impressing other people rather than actually applying those principles to their life.


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## wingchun100 (Feb 27, 2014)

Marnetmar said:


> Nonono, of course not. What I'm referring to is when people attempt to come up with as many correlations to everyday life as they possibly can for the sole purpose of impressing other people rather than actually applying those principles to their life.



Well, you folks have no way of knowing because you don't know me beyond this, but I DO practice it. "Accept what comes" to me means not getting all bent out of shape when someone does something you personally don't like. That one is a Muslim...this one believes in abortion...hey, that's a gay guy over there...so on and so forth. There is no point in getting bent out of shape about it because guess what? It won't change the fact that THAT PERSON IS THE WAY THEY ARE.

The correlation I draw is when you are a newbie at martial arts, and you get into a fight when your reflexes might not be that great. For some reason you are expecting them to throw a hook punch, and instead they do a roundhouse kick. Well, you can't just stand there saying to yourself, "No! You did the wrong attack first!" LOL You have to deal with that kick. You have to ACCEPT WHAT IS.

That is what I meant by applying things I have learned in wing chun to real life. It has made me learn to not hold on to whatever may make me different from anyone I meet. So instead of having a bug up my *** because someone is a Muslim, I just say, "Okay" and let it go. Otherwise you will walk around getting bent out of shape over every little thing that people do that you don't like...and believe me, I know a LOT of people like that. They lead sad, miserable, angry lives. I'm GLAD I figured out how to apply this lesson to life in general because I couldn't stand getting pissed off about everything!


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## Marnetmar (Feb 27, 2014)

And I completely agree with what you're saying too! I apologize if I came across as accusing you of anything, I wasn't referring to you, but rather to many other martial artists I know who like to impress people instead of having an honest discussion about what WC really does for them. That's why I have a tendency to get weary when the subject of "living" a martial art is brought up because a lot of dishonesty gets brought in...which is actually a violation of the little principle in my signature now that I think of it.

EDIT:

Disregard what I've said above, I really just need to shut up and rethink what I say instead of backpedaling.


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## wingchun100 (Feb 28, 2014)

Marnetmar said:


> And I completely agree with what you're saying too! I apologize if I came across as accusing you of anything, I wasn't referring to you, but rather to many other martial artists I know who like to impress people instead of having an honest discussion about what WC really does for them. That's why I have a tendency to get weary when the subject of "living" a martial art is brought up because a lot of dishonesty gets brought in...which is actually a violation of the little principle in my signature now that I think of it.
> 
> EDIT:
> 
> Disregard what I've said above, I really just need to shut up and rethink what I say instead of backpedaling.



So in effect you are apologizing for apologizing? LOL


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## Marnetmar (Feb 28, 2014)

No, I'm apologizing for backpedaling when I realized the point I was making was completely flawed


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## J W (Mar 5, 2014)

My wife and I were painting our living room the other day. She started complaining that her hands were hurting. I said "Don't grip the roller so tight. Use the least amount of force necessary to get the job done, and your hands shouldn't bother you so much."

I don't think that applying martial arts to everyday life always has to be some big grand philosophical lesson. Sometimes it's something as simple as avoiding hand cramps while painting the living room.


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## wingchun100 (Mar 5, 2014)

J W said:


> My wife and I were painting our living room the other day. She started complaining that her hands were hurting. I said "Don't grip the roller so tight. Use the least amount of force necessary to get the job done, and your hands shouldn't bother you so much."
> 
> I don't think that applying martial arts to everyday life always has to be some big grand philosophical lesson. Sometimes it's something as simple as avoiding hand cramps while painting the living room.



It isn't, but in the example I made, it was LOL.


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