Re: Wing Chun and Meditation?
Originally posted by wahh
Hi, this is my first post, and I apoligize if somethign like this has been answered before, or if I sound like an idiot. Sorry.
Hi Wahh,
Everybody starts somewhere. I've been on the Internet since before the web, and I still often sound like an idiot.
Okay, so I was wondering about the training method of Wing Chun. Regardless of where one say the origins of Wing Chun are (Shaolin or a fusion of whitecrane and 12 zhuang or any other origin theories) can it be said that there are Buddhist roots in Wing Chun? Assuming there are, is it a reasonable assumption to say that Buddhism has had an influence on Wing Chun?
I don't believe that Buddhism was something that most of the ancestors/originators were consciously incorporating into their art. Often we overlay our own religious preconceptions on martial arts, hence the claims or adherence to various religions. I've trained in numerous martial arts and only in Japanese karate did my teacher cite Zen aphorisms. In Wing Chun, as Phenix has noted, Buddhism and Daoism were likely present in the cultural mix at the early stages. That doesn't mean it was emphasized in the practice and conveyence of the art. My teacher in the Yip Man line does not teach any religion in class, nor, he says, did he learn any religious aspect to Wing Chun in Yip Man's HK school. Phenix is a Buddhist, but I don't know that it was emphasized in his non-Yip Man lineage.
I'm thinking that if there is, this could this add insight to how we should be practicing. For example, is the aim of practicing the form to develop awareness and/or let go of our ego and ".. takes off his own identity and puts on another".
You might find insight anywhere you look..., or not. Or you might be misled. Often MA teachers wrap themselves in a mantle of Zen (Chan in Chinese) or some such as a way of further mystifying the art and making themselves "special" in some way to their public.
Obviously different families/people have different ways of practicing, but just wanted to know what you guys think.
I think not.
I had not seen this before, but coincidentally, I was looking for Armando's website. I didn't know previously about his Judeo-Christian approach to life. That's fine. But, I admire him for his Wing Chun in this context. He's seems to have exemplary character.
What link did you make between Wing Chun Kung Fu and religion?
It is my opinion that if there ever was a link, say to Ng Mui, a Buddhist monk, it was severed early in Wing Chun history or relegated to nonimportance in Yip Man's line.
I have found that Wing Chun has Christian roots. In Leung Jan's time circa 1800's, many European sailors came to China and fought and beat kung fu men. Leung took note of this and revamped Wing Chun with these European methods of fighting. Obviously Europe is predominantly a Christian nation.
What do you mean you "have found that Wing Chun has Christian roots?" I don't believe this. Although Wing Chun has many Christian proponents, there is nothing inherently Christian about its precepts, nor is it likely that Europeans independently came up with it. Heck, they don't have good Wing Chun even now. LOL! Just stirring the pot.
Regards,
John Weiland
"Et si fellitur de genu pugnat"
(And if he falls, he fights on his knees)
---Motto of the Roman Legionary
"Aim at Heaven and you will get earth 'thrown in': aim at earth
and you will get neither." --C. S. Lewis