Does your WC Sifu Freak-out...

[Mic]

i agree that there is always someone better my sifu says that a lot. I also agree that we take MA to better our selfs and that is the main out come I have not had to fight sense i started my training(which is only do to my skill i learned at defusing problems as a security officer) but as a man who grew up with violence around me my whole life i can tell you that what im learning makes complete sense and i wish i could have started training earlier in life.

 

[geezer]

...If what you do makes you happy then that is a good thing, but be very careful to assume that what you do works

Right. I mean isn't that what it really boils down to? For example, right now I'm just doing a lot of chi-sau. It's probably not doing anything more to improve my street-fighting skills than playing checkers or chess. But I enjoy it, and I'm being honest with myself about it. Self-delusion is a major problem in the martial arts. Don't think that just because you are great at forms, drills, and carefully controlled club sparring that you are "all that"...or you are likely to get killed!

 

[profesormental]

Greetings.

For example, right now I'm just doing a lot of chi-sau. It's probably not doing anything more to improve my street-fighting skills than playing checkers or chess. But I enjoy it, and I'm being honest with myself about it. Self-delusion is a major problem in the martial arts. Don't think that just because you are great at forms, drills, and carefully controlled club sparring that you are "all that"...or you are likely to get killed!

Fortunately, Chi Sao does have many attributes that do translate well to self defense. It is not a self defense simulation, yet there are many skills that can be trained safely using chi sao. Although, training is needed to bridge this optimally.

My teacher trained in several arts and shared with several instructors, and so have I. It has enriched my experience a lot. Many times it is worth the effort.

The thing is that martial science training requires cumulative training of certain skills... and just learning new things all the time will take away from getting real good at certain skills. This is important to consider in the strategies and tactics stage... since the strategies and tactics that you train will be the ones executed when needed...

and if you train new things all the time, then no strategy and/or tactics will be effectively programmed into the neurology of the body...

which will then not yield much advantage.

And that is a problem, since the training will not yield operational results if needed.

Hope that helps.

Juan M. Mercado

 

[geezer]

...While Wing Chun is Wing Chun,not all Wing Chun carries the same format as I'm finding out with Wing Tsun versus EBMAS Wing Tzun.Some of the core principles are the same but the approach is different...

Getting back on topic, this is exactly why I believe you need to get out of your own kwoon and see what else is out there. This weekend, I'm training with a Master Jeff Webb of the newly formed NWTO. When he got into town, one of the first things he did was to look up a older, respected master of another branch of WC and invite him out for breakfast. Later, the senior members of our group, who all have some knowledge of both systems, had some very positive discussions about the different approaches of each. I really wish more high level sifus would adopt such open attitudes. Oh, and Joe, aka qwksilver61, you gotta meet Jeff. Compared to Emin, it's like yin and yang. Each is amazing in very different ways. Until you've worked with both, you're missing a big piece of the WT system. Also, Carson Lau was in town last weekend, down from Toronto. But, since he was a guest of my kung fu brother, the very "Sifu freak-out" who inspired this thread, (and I now belong to a different group), I couldn't train with him...even though I would have liked too. Too bad. Oh well, its a big Wing Chun world out there...

 

[amon]

Would your Sifu totally freak if you wanted to train with some guys from a different WC/WT/VT branch? Or would he encourage you to look around and gain a broader experience? If you were planning a trip and wanted to visit some different schools while you were away, how would your Sifu respond?

Since martial arts is about hurting people a very special bond is formed between student and master. I think that you should ask your sifu. That is the only opinion that should matter to you as he is entrusting you with his life experience concerning the matter. If a student is blown about by every opinion and idea that floats their way, how can it be said they have any roots or in our world, stance. They would always be off balance and only pretend to the art rather then absorbing its essence.

But thats just my opinion.

 

[qwksilver61]

Ha!Ha! Yes! It is a big Wing Chun Woild out there.Man, wish I was you,I definitely like the Sifu Webb approach,the protractor thing that is.One day.....one day....skill over brute force. I was thinking,it would be nice to visit the Georgia branch,did he go with Sifu Jeff? anyway have a blast! Let me know how it went.Later,