Philosophy Of Wing Tzun
WT grew out of the Taoist tradition in eastern thinking. In Chinese philosophy, "Tao" means "The Way." It signifies life's eternal movement of growing, blooming, fading away and never-ending renewal. To achieve his unity with the Tao, man must become as the Tao: spontaneous, open, simple and flexible not hard and arrogant. When using Wing Tzun in self-defense or applying its principles in every day life, one becomes like a river flowing to the sea. Even if the mountain obstructs the river's flow, it will not be stopped. It will reach its goal naturally, unavoidably, while overcoming all obstacles on the way. Heavily rooted in the philosophic ideals of Taoism, WT promotes physical, mental and emotional well-being. With instruction based on concepts and principles rather than positions and techniques, WT is elevated above other martial artist transcends mere self-defense and becomes self-awareness, self-learning, self-confidence . At its root, WT is an idea, a philosophical concept which can be applied to any area of life physical, emotional or intellectual. At EBMAS New York , our focus is the application of this concept in combative form for the purpose of real-world self-defense.
PRINCIPLES OF FIGHTING1. Go forward (if the way clear!)
As soon as the attacker moves close enough to potentially strike us, we immediately advance into him with our own attacks, putting him on defense, while keeping our vital targets protected. The goal is to strike and disable the attacker as quickly as possible or, failing that, to establish arm and leg contact with him so that we may react by fast tactile, rather than slow visual, sensitivity. 2. Stick to the opponent! Should the attacker succeed in blocking or otherwise impeding the advance of our arms and/or leg, we do not withdraw our limbs, but maintain forward pressure towards the attacker's vertical axis and stick to him. We do not allow him space to renew his attack. 3. Give way to greater strength! WT is a "soft-style" martial art. Should the opponent exert strong forces on our sticking limbs, we do not fight against his strength, but give way to it in a controlled fashion that allows us to harness his strength and use it against him. We use his own force to remove ourselves from its path and simultaneously counterattack. 4. Follow through and fill the gaps! As a consequence of our constant forward pressure coupled with soft relaxation, our limbs automatically flow like water into the gaps in our opponent's defense, subjecting him to constant, overwhelming attacks. |
PRINCIPLES OF FORCE1. Free yourself from your own force.
You must learn to relax and not rely on brute strength to defeat the enemy, because there's always someone stronger than you who will defeat you in a contest of strength. 2. Free yourself from your opponent's force. You must learn to give way to the enemy's force in a controlled and purposeful fashion rather than struggle against it. 3. Use your opponent's force against him. You must learn to harness the enemy's force in order to use it against him. 4. Add your own force to the force of the opponent. You must learn to use your own force so that it augments the force of the enemy which is being used against him. |
ECONOMY OF MOTION
Economy of Motion WT deals with the greatest number of possible attacks with the smallest number of deliberate movements. Fewer movements = less confusion = faster reaction... and faster learning . There are no purely "defensive" or "offensive" movements in WT. Every movement contains elements of both offense and defense. Our "offense" provides protection and our "defense" attacks the enemy. Offense and defense are one in WT, hence simultaneous, giving the enemy no time to renew his attack or evade our counterattack. In WT we learn to perform up to three movements simultaneously, e.g. different movements with each arm and a leg. The limbs are trained to move independently of each other. WT movements take the shortest routes possible to achieve their goals, increasing efficiency and speed. - Philosophy - Ranges of Unarmed Combat Ranges of Unarmed Combat Wing Tzun training teaches the student to prevail in all possible ranges and phases of unarmed combat. This is very important from the standpoint of real-life self-defense, as one never knows where one will be attacked or what the pre-fight situation will be.
The five ranges are:
- Long Range - employs feet
- Middle Range - employs hands
- Close Range - employs elbows and knees
- Standing Grappling Range - employs holds, locks, throws and chokes
- Ground Fighting
The Wing Tzun system is unique in that its ingenious concept allows the student to move according to the same principle in every range. This greatly simplifies the demands on the student during a confrontation, as s/he does not need to change his/her strategy, mindset or way of moving as the range of a confrontation changes (as it nearly always does, quickly and unpredictably).Philosophy of Wing Tzun.
The five ranges are:
- Long Range - employs feet
- Middle Range - employs hands
- Close Range - employs elbows and knees
- Standing Grappling Range - employs holds, locks, throws and chokes
- Ground Fighting
The Wing Tzun system is unique in that its ingenious concept allows the student to move according to the same principle in every range. This greatly simplifies the demands on the student during a confrontation, as s/he does not need to change his/her strategy, mindset or way of moving as the range of a confrontation changes (as it nearly always does, quickly and unpredictably).Philosophy of Wing Tzun.
