buddhist way

[JasBourne]

I've always felt that the inner workings of Wing Chun are more closely related to Tao principles than Zen. But then again, Taoist authorities claim that Zen is just a re-packaged version of Tao... ;)

peace,
Jas

<IMG SRC="http://machagrande.com/images/aMao1.JPG" border=0 height=116 width=100>

[jfbrown]

The Shaolin Temple was historically a Chan (Zen) Buddhist monastery, but there is some overlap with Taoism, considering it was the prevailing belief before Bodhidharma taught buddhism to the monks. Wing Chun has its roots at Shaolin, Therefore, it has its roots in Buddhism.

[Highlander]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Wing Chun has its roots at Shaolin, Therefore, it has its roots in Buddhism. [/quote]

That is not neccesarily true. According to Augustine Fong, Ng Mui was a Taoist Nun. This is either on the his fundamentals tape or on a tape of a seminar my Sifu went to. I will check tonight. I hope it's on the fundamentals tape, then you can check it out for yourselves. Frankly, I was quite surprised and wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't heard it myself.

[Watchman]

So, what are the Buddhist principles behind me knocking someone's teeth out with a whipping punch?

[Highlander]

Watchman ..... you are teaching your opponent not to eat meat (or other solid foods). :D

[kungfu cowboy]

LMAO @ Highlander! That was funny! :D

"Ninja!...NINJA!"-Christopher George, from "Enter the Ninja"

[HuangKaiVun]

jfbrown - very insightful. Very impressive.

[benny]

"chi sao- the principle of non duality is taught through the continually joined harmonious contact with your partner. The illusion of an opponet disappears to reveal unity."
i dont think this is true. you are not in contact with your opponent the whole time as soon as a gap opens you attack the body. that sounds more like push hands.
i believe that people wwith religion can make any excuse they want for fighting when they want to.
moses killed the people who would go with him or believe the tablets
monks killed people to show them that they should have trained harder
musslums have the knife on their belts to kill the infedels.
religion has been the cause or should i say excuse for some of the worst battles in history.
benny
non believer

[JasBourne]

What little I understand of the principles of both Zen and Tao lead me to believe that Wing Chun makes better use of Tao than Zen.

Zen seems to stress transcending physicality to become all things by being no things. Fine and dandy, but tough to do when someone is raining chainpunches on you, a pretty in-your-face thing. "All things are no-things" seems rather impractical while getting your butt kicked. "All is subjective" has some merit, but its worthless unless that subjectivity has a measure of reality, which Zen defines as illusion. Illusion or not, the pain is real enough ;)

Tao seems to stress accepting the true nature of all things (including oneself) and working within that framework. So, if someone is raining chainpunches on me, I accept the true nature of this (the movement is so, the energy is such and so) as well as the true nature of myself (I am smaller and have less arm strength but good speed and accuracy), and the true nature of the 'world' (the physics of movement are thus, the laws of kinetics are yaddah yaddah, etc), and work within the true nature of the whole (if the dude comes at me like so, and I do like such, I deflect his energy, open his center line, and move my knuckles into his left nostril like thus), I prevail.

:D

<IMG SRC="http://machagrande.com/images/aMao1.JPG" border=0 height=116 width=100>