WingChun Articles
24th March 2008
Hesitation…your downfall
Freedom of movement, as I have discovered since training with Master Klaus Brand, is vital to our WingChun. To not be restricted by imaginary lines with our arms and body allows us to follow much faster the movements of our opponent to seek and destroy them in a far more fluid way as they attempt to avoid.
This elasticity that starts so early in this WingChun has been logically placed in the syllabus to help students find a calmness in their training even when the exercises taught are for very real and strong self defence.
Most, if not all of us, have holidayed on mountains or maybe beaches where there are large stones. Recall now as you used to run across the stones. How you pre selected your next step even, without thinking and "flowed" from one stone to the next. This is some of our first taste of trusting in our instincts. It is only when we suddenly realise what we are doing and consider the danger that a hesitation sets in and a faltering step brings us to a breath holding, muscle tensing stop as our brain tries to restore some calmness and confidence in our next move...
Indeed the sport of free running (Parkour) has used this instinct into an intricate and beautiful art form by using their own bodies momentum against solid forms to pivot, rotate and continue their way in smooth and fluid movements to pass around obstacles adapting all the time to circumstances.
Our own WingChun is the same by using our arms and bodies momentum. By learning to finish a movement before changing to another, and instantly replacing a finished position allows immediate continuation of movement. "Our flow." Is instinctively and naturally within us all. With constant training these instinctive and correct movements are made. Trust yourself, trust your exercises, and trust your self-belief.
Many other schools of wing chun and wingtsun have sadly become robot like in their attempt to fix themselves to rigid lines and illogical positions of arm and body with a total disregard for what they in their own minds honestly know to be right.
We are some of the few who believe in our instincts in regard to WingChun.
So, remember. We are the lucky ones. Relax with your instincts or, Hesitate and you will fall.
Sifu Tony Hollander © 2008