Subscribe Buddy!Wing Tsun Philosophy
The art of Chinese Wing Tsun Kung-Fu was described by the ancient masters as a ‘living philosophy.’
At its highest stage, Wing Tsun instructs you in understanding yourself as well as your interrelationships with your fellow humans.
The aim of the etiquette of Wing Tsun is to enshrine significant ideals in its followers , the basis of which is provided by the amalgamation of Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian principles. These include a true appreciation of honour, loyalty, dignity, respect for other human beings and control of ones ego, emotions and temper. Without these, one cannot master himself or Wing Tsun, which is one and the same.
The art has been widely regarded as ‘the noble Wing Tsun’ due to these unique characteristics. Great progress of the student is the ultimate goal of Wing Tsun. Indeed, ‘Si-Fu’ means ‘Father-Teacher’, an aknowledgement of the responsiblity of the Master when he accepts someone as his ‘todai’ (son). This is different than other martial art forms, like karate where the term sensei means teacher.
Wing Tsun encompasses three things: Physical, Health, and Spiritual. It’s regrettably infrequent to find schools to teach these three together. While physical methods can be duplicated, spiritual understanding needs a real master. Wing Tsun as a discipline emphasises the personal as well as physical development of the students.
It is not necessary for you to be Chinese in order to comprehend the Martial Arts; studying the teachings of previous and current masters of the system can lead to great understanding. If you appreciate the historical and social background to it, logically, this is possible. This martial art is based on a solid foundation, and if the learning of the steps that stand on this foundation are altered or ignored, then the entire foundation is compromised.
Removing etiquette or culture leads to the exclusion of history. Excluding martial arts history minimises the amount of knowledge you acquire. Simply a series of movies without any understanding or principles behind them. This is not a true martial art.
This need to understand the Martial Art as a whole is no different than if you wished to study for instance the humanities or even law. Hilaire Barnett made it well known in her book, Constitutional And Administrative Law, that her goal and point was that it is necessary to study all aspects of the government and the constitution and find things that aren’t understood and to study them. The things that should be studied include history, politics, and political philosophy.
To help enormously with these tasks it is essential to find the right Master and good martial arts clubs.
