Kung Fu Fitness

When first being exposed to Wing Chun or Wing Tsun, you may have heard statements such as: “You don’t need to be strong to be good” or “You can defeat a stronger opponent even if you are weak”. Perhaps this is what attracted you at the start.

Being strong and not being weak are two different things!

How about physical fitness? Do you have to be fit to do Wingtsun Kung Fu?

To be good in Wingtsun Kung Fu, being fit is very important.

Recently, I was reading this textbook from the American College of Sports Medicine. The qualities outlined below are stated to be important for physical fitness:

Health-Related Physical Fitness Components

Cardiovascular endurance: The ability of the circulatory and respiratory system to supply oxygen during sustained physical activity.

Body composition: The relative amounts of muscle, fat, bone, and other vital parts of the body.

Muscular strength: The ability of muscle to exert force.

Muscular endurance: The ability of muscle to continue to perform without fatigue.

Flexibility: The range of motion available at a joint.

Skill-Related Physical Fitness Components

Agility: The ability to change the position of the body in space with speed and accuracy.

Coordination: The ability to use the senses, such as sight and hearing, together with body parts in performing tasks smoothly and accurately.

Balance: The maintenance of equilibrium while stationary or moving.

Power: The ability or rate at which one can perform work.

Reaction time: The time elapsed between stimulation and the beginning of the reaction to it.

Speed: The ability to perform a movement within a short period of time.

Most would agree that strength, body composition, and both kinds of endurance are important for any type of physical activity. Why should Wingtsun Kung Fu be any different?

Do some of the other terms look familiar?
How about if we add: Centreline, Distance, and Positioning. And if we complement Agility and Flexibility with Mobility and Fluidity? And with Power, also Release Power.

Perhaps you have seen Sifu Ralph’s CoreConcepts!!!

Hmmm…

If Wingtsun Kung Fu and self-defense training is a physical activity, maybe physical fitness is important after all?

Restricted freedom

How do you restrict and free a student?

This question came about in September, after teaching students in Wingtsun, as well as students in undergrad.

Whether it is kung fu, music, or any task requiring a new skillset, how do we approach learning it or teaching it?

The goal
We know that there is an ideal goal, the “finished product”, as Sifu Ralph mentions, also stated in his recent blog post. As a new student, at first, we imitate. Later on, we then try to understand. This analyzing and applying phase may last months or years. We are then also influenced by experience, before even attempting our own expression.

Teaching
At some point, in any career, we might be called upon to teach. When we are teaching, we no longer feel that foreign sensation that a new student feels while learning new motions. So, how do we empathize and understand what a new student has to go through?

We want to teach a foundation and base to start with, and thus restriction comes into play. Yet, we also want to allow freedom of expression. Is this done at the same time, or sequentially?

Know your boundaries
Bruce Lee, who was influenced by various philosophers, from Confucius to Krishnamurti, is often quoted as follows:

“Using no way as way, having no limitation as limitation.”

A less commonly heard quote of his is “From form to formless and from finite to infinite”

Two seemingly opposing concepts. The “from” and “to” imply a chronological teaching method. Might they exist simultaneously though?

At the beginning we might need restriction. Learning the rules. Boundaries. Foundation. Structure. In the end, we would like to achieve freedom without form.

In between the two spectrums, perhaps freedom starts to exist within the confines of a defined restriction. Simultaneously.

So?
Going back to the initial question. How do you restrict and free a student?

I started this blog entry in September, and I realize now that there is a flaw in my questioning. Before thinking about “how” in a practical sense, there is something else to think about, either at first or at the same time. Besides “how”, there is also “why” and “when”.

Why do you restrict and free a student?
When do you restrict and free a student?

Before becoming formless, we have to understand, explain, and experience form.

Practically speaking
Yes, it was time for another philosophical interlude. How about something a little bit more practical?

When learning anything new, think about the “why”.

Obviously, there is still much more to learn. Kung Fu is a long journey!