Wonderful Experiences

[ntc]

This is a thread for everyone to have an opportunity to share positive influences WC have had on them. I am sure that each and every one of you reading this must have at least one excellent experience with his/her training that he/she could share with everyone else. Maybe it was your teacher, maybe it was something that happened to you, or maybe it was how it affected you. Let's share....

[ntc]

You are so correct in your comments.... we all have the ability to make the best of our lives. We can choose to see something in a positive way ("the half-full cup") or the negative way ("the half-empty cup"). We often come across people who unfortunately don't own responsibility for themselves, but rather like to find any avenues of blame and execuses if things don't come out favorably in the end.

In martial arts, more often than not, too much emphasis is placed on fighting, executing a technique, or kicking one's butt. Too often, unfortunately, the hidden value of learning kung fu is forgotten..... how it shapes our integrity, values, respect, confidence. The martial aspect is definitely there, but it is by NO means inclusive.

In China, we had a saying... "Mun Mo Chuen Lun". This means, "Literature/Martial is everything". In ancient times, one had to be a master in both the martial arts as well as the literature arts to be considered a true "master". This is the key reason why you find so many kung fu masters also experts in such literary arts like "calligraphy" or "poetry" or "music", to name a few. The martial arts represent the "Yang" side, wheras the "Yin" side is represented by the literary arts. It was commonly believed in ancient times in China that to be a wholesome human being, you had to be a master of both. And being a master of martial arts did not only imply that you had to be a good fighter, but in addition that you had to be cultivated as a person accordingly as well.

Thank you for sharing that.

[Ernie]

the single most positive experience for me is the incredible people and friendships training has brought to me .
it's ironic that in the study of a systematic way to destroy some one , i have and continue to build some many frienships .

[ntc]

You see, Ernie and Nwfish, I love both your answers. Cause if we all as martial artists and teachers alike focus on what you have both said as the integral focal point of our training, and use this to teach, to learn, to make friends, to better ourselves, to help each other, then the questions of who is real, who is better, I can kick your butt becomes secondary. After all, most people who have attained a certain level of training often agree on the following things:

- their kung fu training allows them to keep out of fights and to stay out of trouble
- they are confident and comfortable of their techniques.... there no longer exists the need to prove themselves
- they are sincerely humble and accepting, and willing to exchange positives, negatives, and differences with each other

After all, as the saying goes, "there is always going to be one mountain higher than the tallest one today". If you are good, you will always find someone better, or someone with something you can learn from. That is what makes life continually interesting and challenging.

Sorry for the long notes, but just wanted to express my point of view.

[yuanfen]

NTC-

the scholar- fighter ideal that you mentioned still shines brightly
for some! Not always achieved- but worth the quest!

[PaulH]

I'll be brief. WC is bad for my ego. I often ran wild in my imagination in the early training days of learning the ultimate WC secrets that will slaughter all the sheeps and cows. Gone are those dreams of pride and conquest now. What only remain are the naked truth of just me, my actual abilities, and no excuses.

Regards,

[azwingchun]

After all, as the saying goes, "there is always going to be one mountain higher than the tallest one today". If you are good, you will always find someone better, or someone with something you can learn from. That is what makes life continually interesting and challenging.

Hey ntc, nicely put! These are my feelings exactly. ;)

[ntc]

nwfish:

I hear ya (responding to your latest post). It is pretty amazing how political these forums are and how much testosterone floats around in them. I don't take any of the comments personally but rather with a lighthearted approach, regardless of their target, but it is really amusing to read people's opinions. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, right or wrong. But nonetheless, the responses, as you pointed out, can be somewhat mind-blowing or mind-boggling.

Especially the whole concept of "Real Wing Chun". Don't people realize that we are ALL studying an altered version of the art, assuming that the definition of "real" implies its accurate and unchanged state in relation to the original? Well, unless you are Yim Wing Chun (or whomever truly started the art in the first place, documented history or not), we are all practicing some version of it. It would be Wing Chun as taught by Yip Man, Garrett Gee, Pan Nam, Yuen Kay San, Wong Shun Leung, Ho Kam Ming, Lok Yiu, William Cheung, etc. etc. etc. etc...... etc.... even by Shania Twain (who knows... maybe she does teach Wing Chun??? Only kidding there...... ) It is most likely that if the original Wing Chun founder were to see the art today, she/he would find it to be very (if not totally) different from what she/he started out with. So.... anyways.... just really amusing !!!

By the way, thanks for the compliments, and see you in the forum somewhere.

[ntc]

azwingchun:

Thanks for the compliment. Glad you feel the same way. Wish more people did, especially those who teach.

[WCis4me]

ntc & nwfish,
Wow, I could not have read these posts at a better time. Having just come off of a thread where I allowed myself to be baited into a useless political argument with people who obviously are short sighted and come here with set agendas.
I HATE THAT STUFF!!! and am so not impressed with even considering the bait never mind responding to it.
Whew, ok done venting now.....lol.
Below is a quote from the front page of a Sifu I respect and admire........it makes soooooooooo much sense, and he is very public about being tolerant of everyone's art, even if it is not your way, doesn't mean you shouldn't respect it or the people in it or think that you are above learning something from it.

"Through studying I have learned that many martial arts systems have value. Moreover, a person who studies a particular style that you may consider inferior to yours may in fact prevail over you in actual combat due to his/her spirit, tenacity, and most importantly, hard training. The most important factor that determines the effectiveness of a martial art is the person who is training in it. Even a well instructed Wing Chun practitioner might prove to be ineffective if he/she does not train diligently. You must develop a strict training regimen and stick to it. There are many different styles of Wing Chun but the Yip Man school has produced the most famous fighters, Wong Sheung Leung, William Cheung, and Bruce Lee, etc."
www.wingchunkwoon.com
Thanks for this excellent and uplifting thread......it was definately the ying to the yang I was experiencing.
Warm regards,

[yuanfen]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[ntc]

WCis4me:

Welcome to this thread, and thanks for the feedback. It does seem to get pretty political around here in some of the threads... pretty amazing. I have only joined for about a week, and.... WHEW!!

I recall from your postings on some of the threads that you were very positively influenced by the WC people you came across, especially your teacher, which prompted you to be where you are today with your training. Would you like to share some of that here? If not and it is too personal, totally understandable.

[ntc]

nwfish:

It would also be helpful to those people you mentioned that, if there were some way, that they would somehow be led to understand that their "dark" way of thinking is causing them to focus incorrectly. Everyone is going to have their right of opinion, right or wrong, but if they realize that their Wing Chun will only get better with an open mind, then they will really improve. Egos will be there.... you can't change that.... it is part of everyone's character. I have one, you have one, we all have one. The only difference is whether it controls you, or you control it.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts... very insightful.

[WCis4me]

Originally posted by ntc
WCis4me:

Welcome to this thread, and thanks for the feedback. It does seem to get pretty political around here in some of the threads... pretty amazing. I have only joined for about a week, and.... WHEW!!

I recall from your postings on some of the threads that you were very positively influenced by the WC people you came across, especially your teacher, which prompted you to be where you are today with your training. Would you like to share some of that here? If not and it is too personal, totally understandable.

Thank you for the warm welcome ntc. My training and reasons for coming to it or continuing it are not too personal, but thank you for your respectfulness.
I have been very positively influenced by the people I have met in the WC world, well mostly anyway. That is why I chose and strove to make it a more personal part of my life (rather than an outsider looking in).
The things I found most positive, made the most sense, and encouraged me to be a part of 'this thing of ours' are as follows:
1. Learning the efficiency and skill of being able to overcome obstacles in combative situations that I would not know without WC. i.e.: using an opponents strength/power/size to my advantage, their force against themselves etc.
2. Seeing how people in advanced age groups who practice are still very fit, agile, and youthful. I also noticed that there wasn't a need to 'bulk up' to attain this level of fitness, the end result seem to be just lean (not skinny), well toned, well developed bodies. That is an attraction for me as being in my mid 30's and realizing my mortality I wanted to give myself the best edge possible to enhance my quality of life.
3. Being able to attain that with something that was challenging (I get bored easily) yet enjoyable.
4. Watching people put their skills to the test, seeing it prevail in action, and the logic/explanation of why it worked was very appealing.
5. Growing up I had a lot of Asian influence around me and always found the culture fascinating.
6. Accessibility.
7. I love and admire the loyalty, respect, dedication, perseverance, humbleness, humor, intelligence and general 'family' feeling with many of the people I have met (through various styles of MA I might add) and the fact that just because we were doing things one way (and believed whole heartedly in it) didn't mean we couldn't get together, learn from, and be friends with people doing it 'another' way.
8. I have been blessed with knowing some of the most stand up people I have ever known in my lifetime through WC and wanted to be more a part of that.
9. Needed a lifestyle change (new focus) and this seemed to be the best and most logical choice after two years of watching.

There is more, but that is a good general outline of what I found to be positive and encouraging.
Thank you for your interest.
Happy Training,
Vicky

[ntc]

I am happy for you. It definitely seems like you have flourished in a very nurturing WC environment, and are definitely benefitting from it. And you are so correct in what you have said, especially regarding the need (or, really, the lack of it) to bulk up. I remember the best fighters in my school and in Yip Man's as well were fit, but they were not Arnold Schwazz- type muscular. In fact, muscles inhibit flexibility and slows movement, and my teacher always had us focused on the proper type of strength training versus just iron pumping. There was always the importance and necessity to strengthen and condition, but iron pumping was always a taboo. So, excellent observations.

And definitely, thanks for sharing. I hope more people out there have experienced and/or are able to experience what you have and are able to benefit from it as you have.

[Alpha Dog]

Wake up! You might suffer subliminal damage if you sleep through this.

[yuanfen]

Alpha Dog--I am wide awake- sorry for dozing a bit(?)- gotta catch shut eye or commune with nature (Wordsworth in the tropics)when you can.
Excellent posts by ntc, wcis4me and yes also by nwfish.
Thanks for checking

wcis4me2, yuanfen, joy

[russellsherry]

hi guys, the three, best expereince, i have had one, doing chi sau with wong shun leung thanks to sifu david peteson, then ,
meeting, my sifu , shh you know who Randy williams, then meeting my best friend sifu David foggie , with whom trrains me in , both wing chun and arnis de mano sifu foggie was a top student of wing chun marster stephan chan and has a very direct
version of chi sau, also lastly sifu dave introdused, me to arnis and our guro roland dantes who is a most humble and great martial arts teacher these people put my faith back into martial arts, peace russellsherry

[ntc]

Wong Shun Leung was such a good person and excellent Wing Chun practitioner... it is such a shame that he passed away so young. It is very cool that you had a chance to do some sticky hands with him.

[reneritchie]

ntc,

I first heard that saying about taller mountains from Johnny Wong. It made a lot of sense, and has served me well as a bit of a reminder that there's always (in my case a lot) left to climb. I'll try to answer your first question tomorrow.

[ntc]

Rene:

Thanks for sharing that. When I first heard that many years ago when I was a little kid, I never realized what an influence it would make on me.... but it did! It has helped make life that much more interesting and challenging everyday.

Look forward to you further sharing your experiences.

[anerlich]

Getting smashed by my sifu and five instructor-level students during my last WC grading (two black eyes, the entire right side of my body bruised with one perfectly formed hand print from a side palm strike during "chi sao").

Getting smashed by my Sifu and his Brown Belt coach for twenty minutes straight during my BJJ Blue Belt test.

Cracked ribs and a borken eardrum as a result of energetic rolling or sparring.

Long training runs in Aussie Wilderness near the coast with my training buds - deer, birds of prey, fresh air, clean water.

Talking a junior out of quitting training because he felt he wasn't keepimg up due to an injury, and having him come up and thank me two weeks later.

Every time a student I am coaching achieves a new goal or does something they have been struggiling with.

[old jong]

Originally posted by anerlich
Getting smashed by my sifu and five instructor-level students during my last WC grading (two black eyes, the entire right side of my body bruised with one perfectly formed hand print from a side palm strike during "chi sao").

Getting smashed by my Sifu and his Brown Belt coach for twenty minutes straight during my BJJ Blue Belt test.

:eek: Well!... I wonder why you bother to train in self-defense if you like so much to get beat up like this!...;) ;) ;)

[S.Teebas]

Topic set:
Wonderful Experiences


Originally posted by anerlich
Getting smashed by my sifu and five instructor-level students during my last WC grading (two black eyes, the entire right side of my body bruised with one perfectly formed hand print from a side palm strike during "chi sao").

Getting smashed by my Sifu and his Brown Belt coach for twenty minutes straight during my BJJ Blue Belt test.


What was so wonderful about that?