If you dont learn wing chun in 5 years, if you are dedicated, your si fu is using you for some other stuff... :)
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If you dont learn wing chun in 5 years, if you are dedicated, your si fu is using you for some other stuff... :)
Sometimes I think no matter how much I learn I display 'hopeless', LOL :D
Rather like my tennis - after years and years of playing, I still have a tendency to double-fault, hit backhands long, believe my game at the net is far more advanced than it actually is, etc. ;)
Well said. You may be able to learn and "know" the whole system in five years, but how well you can actually apply it varies tremendously. For me, it is my life's work just to be "passably good". But as you pointed out, the same could be said of most who play tennis, golf, or strive to become good at any other activity. True champions are not just trained, they are born for their sport.
Knowing a curriculum is not an indicator of skill.
One should be "proficient" in five years, just as one should understand the basics of a major after five years of college, but when does one really know the system?
Done but never finished....
How do you define learning Wing Chun? I mean you should learn the basic principles and idioms of Wing Chun in the first month. Forms, drills, and chi sao will come slowly after that. If that's how you define learning Wing Chun, then yes. You should learn the curriculum in less time than 5 years. But there's a big difference between learning a curriculum and learning/mastering Wing Chun. You never stop learning. In fact you should never think "I've got it now!" You should only think in terms of improving. The minute you start thinking you've got it figured out, you'll stop trying.
I’ve learnt ‘Sil Lum Tao’ and its developments within five to seven years, because I knew that I couldn’t pass his test and requirements, and he didn’t speak English that well at all, but through the years I was able to understand him with the help of his grandson ‘Victor’ (learnt to understand Cantonese but did not speak it as well as I should).
I’d tried to pass his test but physically I was unable to do so, because I kept butting self in the way of development, but only catered to the movements and not a strong sense of structural awareness, structural integrity, and structural sensibility (from a stance point of view), which only stressed out my progress and hindered years of development (years of hard work which only developed into nothing).
I’d truly through if he could do it that I could as well, but through the years of development I’d came to the realization that it did not work that way at all.
Take care,
But,,, without a strong sense or understanding of Sil Lum Tao, all of the other systems would be way too much to process. 'Sli Lum Tao' is the seed and a weak seed will bring nothing but bad fruit.
Take care,
2 years is plenty of time to learn all the content of Wing Chun.
3 empty hand forms that are progressive in learning. One adds to the next, very simple butterfly knives set or 8 cut knives as they are known as in WC, a pole form that is fairly simple and some work on the dummy depending on who you learned from.
It is a small distilled system that is intended to be learned and used in as short a time line as possible. That is the utility of it.
having said that, it is interesting to see people conspiring to remove the utilitarian value of WC by adding in tons of non WC stuff to it, attributing all sorts of things to it that are strictly personal or culturally based and so on.
It's a good, short timeline style to learn but I would say 5 years is even too long. 5 years for clf or hg maybe because of all the different forms and the extra stuff, multiple weapons etc etc etc.
WC is supposed to be simple and direct.
“Two years” to finish all of the contents within the wing chun system, very interesting post. Maybe if I’d paid him money instead of being one of his many employees (prep cook) at two of his restaurants, I would’ve developed a lot faster……?
I’d trained three days a week while in ‘SIL Lum Tao’ (with my sifu) and I had no idea that I’ve should of been developed in that level of the system within “four months” of time to go on to the next; being that it’s a six form system, again very interesting.
My opinion is formed by direct observation and participation.
It is a small system, You can have it for your whole life like anything else, but truly, if you are still in the "learning" instead of "doing" stages 5 years on, you are either incapable of learning or very slow at it, too lazy to practice or indeed, someone is taking you for a ride.
Otherwise, WC is a good style. I was merely addressing the post. :)
It only took me that long because I’d tried to pass to the next level without development and failed, and I chose to start over with a different mindset to find out way I failed (being honest to myself), but altogether, it would’ve took me about three years or -so in ‘Sli Lum Tao’.
Depending on how often in a week you train and your commitment, you could learn the complete system probably in three to five years. VT is a closed system and like a dancer remembers a choreography, so can anyone learn the sequence of the forms by heart. Practitioning VT however is a comlete other story!
When I started, the shool I trained at, had a training scheme of half an hour physical training, then an hour of forms and technique training and the final last hour semi-contact sparring. In six to seven years (slow learner :D) I knew all the forms, but could not apply all of it during sparring. In a way, thesparring slowed me down from 'getting' it because the pressure of sparring didn't allow for the development of fine skills. It took another sifu (WSL and PB) to point out the flaws in our system and emphasise thedevelopment of the finer skills of VT. In a way we had to start all over again! Rethinking the basics I suppose. Nowadays, after nearly 15 years I started training again, three years now, I still have to evaluateeverything I learned. In my opinion this process will never stop! With all the possibilities in Chi Sao, sparring and fighting you will always think of how you could have performed better and more efficient. VT is like chess. The rules are simple, the possibilies are however endless and you always need to improve yourself. Maybe it's even like golf, where your opponent is you! :rolleyes:
I hear what you’re saying, but each form is a precursor of development, so why push yourself through the system only to start over, when each form before the next should only be a reference of understanding for the next stage of development?
Take care,
I don't think you should force your way through the forms at all! This was just the way I learned the system over the years.
My point is that even with knowledge of the forms, comprehension and apreciation comes later, when pieces of the puzzle fall into place.
Isn't this the case with every learning method? In University, you also kinda crash course through all the subjects. Comprehension comes later in application, otherwise it is all virtual knowledge.
This is why it is important to develop through each level of the system, to take away the mystery or the frame of mind dealing with puzzling thoughts that may arrive in ones future development/understanding.
.
Yes, but only to become familiar with one's future occupation. I wouldn’t want a dentist to give me a root canal before a strong understanding/comprehension of application.
Take care,
What come first the application or knowledge and if knowledge is first, then why not work it within the form of development (understanding) before application?
True,,,, but sometimes everything gets better with life, but without a strong understanding or comprehension, how could one even start to have a career. No one will get hired in that situation without a degree; no matter how much they may think they know.
But if one develops their mind with the knowledge or understanding that he or she is trying to project, they will have a stronger promise of application. Rather than executing applications without development or a very good understanding, that will only cause malpractices and renewal of license (starting over).
Take care,
But... But.... We're defending the same arguements here:). When have you learned VT and when have you mastered it?
Even when you're considered a master by others, you still learn and develop.
True, but through development of the forms one will not have to wait for the “puzzle to fall in place”, but will grow and learn from his/her experiences or from what he or she has already developed, rather than gaining the understanding/comprehension through trial and error which is not a level of a master/teacher, but of a student/practitioner.
Take care,
I only had a brief introduction to Wing Chun, less than a month. Two things that stood out to me that along with other factors going on in my life caused me to stop and take a step back to evaluate whether I wanted to continue in my class or not.
One factor is that in the organization I was in the instructor who by the way I really admired and thought he was great but could only promote odd levels and in this system there are 10 student levels before reaching "technician level." And then he could only promote up to level 7. All other levels had to be promoted by visiting instructors who the school would bring in for seminars, usually two or three weekends during the course of a year or the student would have to travel to a seminar being held somewhere.
What caught my attention was that in our school we only had one "Technician" level student other than the instructor and he had been attending class for 10 years and had only recently made first level Technician! I talked to a couple of other students who had been there for several years yet were only 5th to 7th level students. I made the decision that before I get too heavily invested in this school to take a step back and determine if this is the way I wanted to go and I decided to go in another direction instead.
Now I don't care about promotions other than being promoted is the way to further learn new techniques but I would much prefer a more traditional approach where a student is a disciple of a sifu and the sifu determines when the student is ready to learn new material. To that I have found such a school although it is not Wing Chun and I have to admit I miss Wing Chun and wish my school had a little more of the concepts that Wing Chun brings to the table but I am happy where I am now (Tai Chi, Hsing-I, Bagua). At least we don't have to test for levels, sashes, belts or certificates in order to learn new material! Hey not judging such things but that just wasn't what I was looking for.
The second red flag for me at this Wing Chun school was the hero worship of the organization's head. It really got to me class after class hearing about him. You know I don't doubt this person is a first class Wing Chun fighter and has a first class organization but the hero worship got a little too much for me.
Anyway no disrespect intended to my former Wing Chun instructor, he is a really great guy and I will truly miss him and his teaching but I had a decision to make and I made it.
No it ain't.Quote:
VT is a closed system
Was he allowed to step on cracks in the pavement?Quote:
the instructor who by the way I really admired and thought he was great but could only promote odd levels
Wing chun as a idea or concept can be passed on very quickley if the teacher has a decent knowledge of the system and can transcend that information to there students in a realistic "live" manner. When the concepts are used correctly even by someone with a few months experience can give an experienced practionaire a hard time. Thus why bother with belts when its possible for a white belt to floor a black belt.
I have friends who were under big kung fu associations that make you pay 3 months in advance and make you sign a contract to attend lessons. What they were taught was just made over cmplicated and full of nonsense.
Hello,
The reality is that if you teach for a living then you need to charge.
Things like rent, insurance etc need to be paid.
Most organizations are not about teaching the art but about making money, of course that is just my opinion.
Another reality is that sometimes when people pay for something they believe that they deserve the recognition even if they do not put in the hard work to get there.
Wing Chun as a system should be able to be learned fairly quickly. IMHO one should be able to fight with the system within about 6-8 months. Not at an advanced level but at least enough to be able to deal with most street encounters.
One does not need to learn a whole lot in order to be able to utilize the system. All one really needs are some basic concepts/techniques. Punch, Pak, Gaun and perhaps Taun should be a good foundation.
Now I train a few people outside of Atlanta. I have not charged anyone for lessons yet, although this may change in the future. One thing I have noticed is that when people do not pay for something they often fail to see the value. When people pay for something they are more apt to come to class and train as they do not wish to lose out on their investment.
However, one thing about not charging or not teaching for money is that it is up to me how and what I teach. If I do not feel a student is progressing then I am more than able to have them continue to train the same thing over and over till they get it. The student has a choice to either put in the effort or go elsewhere. And to be blunt, it really does not matter to me which way they choose.
In my view a student should be able to complete the entire Wing Chun system in 3-5 years. Of course such an approach is not the best for a marketing approach and making money. Now mastery of the system is a lifetime endeavor, imho.
Then again, there's a lot of them (sifus) that have nothing to offer but only systemic movements, and knows this and can’t develop a strong student base because of it, unless they'd trash talk individual's in a room full of grown men that are more than ignorant to the system.
Just like the sifu/teacher that has or show contempt on something because they don’t have a strong sense of development/understanding, but will fight feverishly against any true development because of their lack of understanding, only to bring down those that may know (politics), and that's all for the money as well.
Take care,
If mastery of the system is a life time endeavor then why try to get it all within three years, only to wonder around looking for more answers while in an advance level of the system, when all of the answers were found in the training forms (in the beginning).
The reason why most are still looking for answers is because one truly believed that they’d had the answers to go to the next level, when nothing was truly developed and because one choose not to listen to the truth within themselves; my POV.
Take care,
Let me make this perfectly clear about my previous post. I have nothing but the highest respect for my former instructor, it was the organization's policy concerning promotions and seminars that was not compatible with what I was looking for when I decided to join a kung fu class.
I just wanted a school and I have found one, albeit not Wing Chun, where the sifu decides when a student is ready to learn new material and then simply begins to teach it to them.
In my former Wing Chun school you not only had the 10 student levels before reaching "Technician" level but in order to be certified as a "Technician" in Wing Chun the student also had to rank in Escrima and that is separate testing from the Wing Chun levels. Yeah, years and years...
Again my instructor ran a great class, it was just not the traditional structure I was looking for. And again I am not judging those who thrive in that type of learning environment, it just was not for me.
One would have to realize what these forms are, and what they’d develop and not put too much focus on movements and applications (physical contact) or you could easy fall right into this.
But, I believe that most keep taking that three to four, five year thing literally. But,,, in some cases there are some teachers that do things that would keep the student happy and distracted, because of their lack of knowledge (and for other reason).
And to have the mindset of: “I know this system”; completed within form and some drills (only three years). Well most,,, will run straight to that idea for self-gratification, and only to hurry through the system, when no good teacher in their right mind would allow that to happen.
It literally takes almost 4 to 6 months to learn the form correctly, and that’s cutting it real close dealing with structures/trouble shooting, line management and terminology/translations, and from trying to find one’s center of gravity alone sometimes takes waaaaaaay more time to develop (stance).
Take care,
Don't get me wrong, I agree a lifetime of mastery.
I too, but from the starting point of understanding/development through ‘Sifu’ to Mastery, and only through a strong development will my lifetime of experiences begin with promise rather than being puzzled, confused or looking for basic answers that should have been discovered and developed within those training forms: ‘Sil Lum Tao’,’ Chum Kil’ and ‘Mook Jong’.
Over the summer while in “drivers ed” (high school class), about one and a half months of classes and a six month waiting period (permit), about seven and a half months…. I’d liked the way you put “driver license” as a part of your analogy, that’s a very refreshing observation, thanks. :)
That’s based on what’s legal by the ‘State of Motor Vehicles’, or maybe you’re taking it to another level like ‘stunt driving’ (then :confused:). I’d had an uncle that use to get letters of ‘recognition’ almost every other year or so; from the ‘State Capital of Arkansas’, which made him very proud and envied by others for not receiving more than two tickets within his lifetime (his experience) .
But in the form of driving, obey the driven laws and deviate from having a poor ‘commonsense’, to be consider a ‘Master’ by your ‘State Capital’ or insurance company.
Take care,