"Sinking" the Bridge

[LFJ]

I don't think Wing Chun would diverge widely from other Southern CMA in its use of basic terms.

Even the various lineages of Wing Chun can certainly diverge widely on the interpretation of basically the same actions in the forms. It's not so farfetched as it may seem to you. I made the analogy before where Buddhism uses the same basic term "karma" that is found as a central teaching in other religions from the region but gives it a very different meaning. So it's not impossible.

You can also look at Wing Chun from a Northern CMA interpretation of the actions contained in the forms and it will become something different entirely. But the case could be made. This doesn't change what Wing Chun is internally though- that is, the way it is understood and trained by its practitioners. So it is irrelevant.

And just look at what is being taught in the Chum Kiu form. Its hard for me to see where it is teaching how to seek openings in the opponent's defense. But is easy for me to see where it is teaching what to do when you have established contact or "formed a bridge" with the opponent.

Of course. Because our lineages have vastly different ideas on what "is being taught" there.

But how the heck do you "sink" an open space between you and the opponent?

If you are unable to cross a river, what must you do? Search for the bridge. If the water is the opponent's defense, the bridge is a opening for you to get over it. Metaphorically, that is the open path you take to get to the other side. It's a metaphorical "bridge" by function. You metaphorically "sink" the opponent's bridge when you cut off their path. The bridge collapses into water, i.e. what was an open attacking line becomes an obstruction.

Your understanding shows the problem with trying to take "bridge" literally as a physical structure one should create with their opponent. A bridge is an open path that facilitates crossing to the other side where otherwise impossible, troublesome or dangerous. When an opponent throws up a defense, that is an obstruction. You have to work around it and cannot cross directly. So it doesn't really function as a bridge. You wouldn't want to sink the bridge you want to cross. There's no reason to call it that.



See above. The water is the defense keeping you from crossing. The bridge is the open path you take to cross. If you find a bridge, cross it. If there isn't one, create it. If the opponent finds a bridge to your side of the river, collapse it into the water. Solid metaphor. Take it literally and you run into all types of funny problems.

Anyway, I think we've had enough of this before. We can simply agree that our systems are very different and leave it at that.