I had the privilege and good fortune to meet up with KFOWC forum member duende/Alex in Sydney on Sunday March 20. He was in town working as part of a show at the Opera House.
We had a cup of coffee and a long chat about our personal, professional, and Wing Chun histories and experiences at Circular Quay on a rare rainy Sydney day. Alex does HFY, I do TWC. I learned a lot I didn't know before about San Francisco area WC and HFY, and I did my best to explain the small part that I know of the players, relationships and absurdities that are WC in Sydney and Australia, a checkered and twisted tale if ever there was one.
After the coffee, we found a sheltered spot without too much foot traffic under the overhead railway lines. I performed my Sil Lim Tao and did my best to explain the rationale behind Rick Spain's method and some of the history that brought it to this point. In all honesty, most of my recent training has been Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and my execution was not as technically polished as it might have been a year or two ago. Still, I think I did the form and my instructor reasonably proud.
Alex then returned the favour, and performed his intricate and fascinating version of HFY's advanced version of SLT. There's a lot of stuff in there! I would by lying to say I took in any more than an impression, but that impression was good. There are some similarities, but plenty of differences, and I mean that in a most positive way. I really liked a couple of wrinkles on parts of the form that resembled my own, but with different emphases or additional movements included.
Alex also, very briefly, explained and demonstrated HFY's take on Chi Sao, Kiu Sau, and Chi Kiu. While I am not so arrogant as to believe I could come within a light year of explaining their substance and purposes without putting my foot deep enough into my mouth to tickle my duodenum with my toes, I was definitely convinced of the validity of the different practices, that they ARE different in both practice and intent, and that they teach you to make use of or break your or your partner's structure in different ways. He also talked even more briefly about HFY's Heaven, Earth, and Human, and Time, Space, and Energy. However, this was for me a fascinating conversation with several things going on at once and I only scratched molecule-thin the surface of these deep subjects.
HFY is the real deal. I think the discontent with it of earlier times from some was a result of aggressive marketing by individuals who were never committed students or practitioners of the system, and an incidental ego battle between amateur historians. To suggest that TWC is merely a rebranded HFY or vice versa does justice to neither. We discussed the possibility of some relationship or shared history of the two systems briefly, but I think we both remain agnostics on the subject, despite our access to various internet pundits.
We also discussed the dreaded "structure", the subject that has generated enough hot air on this forum to raise, by greenhouse effect, the surface temperature of several Earth-sized planets beyond that of Venus. Suffice to say I know "structure" when I feel it, and I could feel that Alex certainly had it when we tried it out. I think we both remain mystified as to what the big deal is about this with certain forum members.
To the probable disappointment and frustration of and derision from a small number of forum members, and one particular recent ex-member: no, we did not get in a ring and fight under MMA rules.
I felt like the proverbial kid in the candy store. No competition, no ego, just two guys from different countries having fun sharing a common interest.
We both had afternoon appointments, and so I left Alex at the stage door of the Opera House and went about the rest of my day's affairs.
My investment of a few hours to meet Alex was well and truly repaid with interest, and I would encourage others to do the same should similar opportunities present themselves.