Back In The Saddle – Hong Kong Wing Chun
A guest post by Nick Francis Stephens
New York Ambassador for WingChun.Online
There are a million voices in the world,
finding one you trust is essential!
I am sitting here reflecting on my time in Hong Kong, sipping hot tea in a local cafe, trying hard to focus (still battling jet lag).
Sifu Ward had kindly asked me to share my experiences, or more specifically, he asked if I would share how WingChun.Online had played a role in my readiness for this experience.
Now to me, this is a very simple, straightforward answer, and again, to me, certainly doesn’t warrant a whole blog post, but before I get to that answer, let me first share a piece in part of my journey.
When I first met Sifu through WingChun.Online, I loved the stated purpose.
‘The platform wasn’t created for him to teach Wing Chun,
It was created for people to learn Wing Chun.’
So, what does this mean?
To me, it is kind of like inviting a guest over for dinner, the food is prepared, and the table is set, with the role of the host to simply create the optimal environment for the guest to enjoy, the role of the guest being, to simply enjoy it.
WingChun.Online is precisely this, it is the most optimal environment for a person who does not have access to a school to learn Wing Chun.
To me, learning Wing Chun requires three facets (in order of importance):
- It requires the teacher to Instruct / Guide
- It requires teaching (content in philosophy, knowledge, application, etc.)
- It requires partner training (applying and feeling the content taught)
WingChun.Online effectively achieves the first two goals.
Now, for some reason, this presents a hang-up for some people.
Often, in my conversations with those learning Wing Chun, the perceived order of importance is reversed, with partner training often taking the highest priority.
I cannot tell you how often I hear people say, “Oh, I could not learn online”.
This misunderstanding never limited me.
At WingChun.Online, you are not learning online, you are learning virtually, you are not learning from videos, you are learning from a person.
The recorded lessons are a tool for increased learning, by reviewing them again and again, content can be gathered that you probably would have missed if you only heard it the once.
It’s the benefit of being in the same class over and over, gathering the content over time because you weren’t focused in the moment, or more likely, hyper-focused on the parts most specific to you at this point in your learning.
As a beginner, you’re not ready for the advanced lesson, and when you advance, you then begin to better understand the things that you didn’t perceive as a beginner.
This is why I was ready, this is why my skills continue to be refined, and this all took place long before I even landed in Hong Kong, and this is why, I will be even more prepared for my next trip.
Many times, by having these tools, I actually feel privileged, thinking, how disappointed I would be, over all the things I would have missed out on, if I had only focused on partner training.
Partner training, of course, is essential,
but if you don’t know what to get out of partner training,
how beneficial can it be?
I want to be very clear about something, although I received validation on this visit, I did not come to Hong Kong to be validated, I came to learn.
We all have different reasons for learning Wing Chun, and this is ok, some learn for self-defense reasons, some for health, some for the rewarding relationships.
Whatever your reasons for starting, or your target end goal, there are lots of benefits that come from training.
Personally, my goal is to master the system.
I may never achieve this goal, but certainly no one will prevent me from trying.
Although I have many things yet to learn, I do know this…
If you want to master anything,
You first need to know the Master.
I began this post by saying:
Sifu Ward had kindly asked me to share my experiences, or more specifically, he asked if I would share how WingChun.Online had played a role in my readiness for this experience.
So now to my answer.
The answer, as I said, is simple.
Even though countless hours had been invested to learn, understand, and apply, with countless more in repetitive drills and constantly revisiting the basics.
I was simply prepared because I trusted my teacher!
I was ready for all that I would experience in Hong Kong, because I have a teacher that simply points the way to a great feast.
There are a million voices in the world,
finding one that you trust is essential.
Being that voice is essential.
Along with others, this, is why I was prepared, because I found a voice that I believe in and that I trust, and a voice that believes in us and trusts us too!
Thank-you Sifu.
Thank you for leading the way and thank you for bringing so many along with you.