Is This All Just A Waste Of Time?
Please do not be shocked by where you think this blog may be going, I haven’t lost faith in Wing Chun!
I have not.
Hopefully it will make sense as we go through it.
Every day we go to class and train our Wing Chun, but how do we train it?
Have you ever really given this any thought?
We train how to defend ourselves against strikes, we train how to read body mechanics etc. and we play Chi Sau, lots and lots, of Chi Sau.
So my question is, ‘Is there a chance that everything we are doing is a waste of time?’
Well I sure do hope so!
First of all let me make a point;
Do not train your Wing Chun purely to fight.
If so you may train for ten years, or even twenty years for a fight that could last just a few seconds (that’s quite a trade off!)
Or it may well be that you practice all of your life for a fight that just never happens! (Again I say, “Let’s hope so!”)
BUT
You may also train for just a matter of months and it could save your life.
My point is that there is so much more to studying Wing Chun than just thinking of a possible end result, such as the relaxation, awareness, internal health, learning to read a persons movements, the fun of Chi Sau and even just the social aspect of it all.
This is not however why I am suggesting that everything we train in class is POSSIBLY a waste of time.
When a student first walks into my school they are most likely wanting to learn how to;
Defend against a punch that is on its way in,
What I try to teach however is get the student to a point so as to;
Not have that punch thrown in the first place.
Let’s talk a look at the build up to ‘an event’ (or possible fight).
If you find yourself in a position where you feel threatened or just that it maybe unsafe, and you do not need to be there, walk away!
If you cannot walk away then try to diffuse the situation that may be building.
If the guy is just a little drunk, or being mouthy, back down.
Now some of you may be thinking, ‘Back down? No way!’
It’s just not worth it.
What if you hit him and he falls, cracks his head and dies, YOU go to jail.
What if his (unknown to you) pal surprises you with a blind side punch, and YOU fall, crack YOUR head and YOU die?
What if you hit him, just because you feel like it, cut your knuckles on his teeth, and later discover he has Hepatitis or Aids, and now my friend, so do you.
More point again is this, ‘Is it really worth it?’
HOWEVER…
Of course though there IS a limited, there has to be a time when you have to decide when is a joke no longer a joke?
When has this situation just got serious and you now have to defend your life or the lives of your loved ones?
In this case, strike first.
DO NOT WAIT.
There is no reason to wait and see if you are able to block his attack.
THAT would be crazy.
Now just so you know, when I refer to a situation where you have no choice, I am talking about a mugging, or hearing a noise downstairs in your house at 3.00am and going down to see intruders, with no intention of leaving.
So let’s look back over what I meant by how we train in class, our defense, and why we need it, or more importantly, when to it will be use.
We have been completely blind to the fact that there is a possible danger
We did not walk away
We did not successfully defuse the situation
We did NOT strike first
(Best form of defense (in this case) is offence)
We have waited until they have initiated the fist strike
So therefore you could say that nearly everything we train in class is the last resort, and it is for THAT reason, and that reason only, that I think it is fair to ask my question again;
‘Is there a chance that everything we are doing is a waste of time?’
Of course I say this purely because I hope you never find yourself in that last resort position in the first place.
Try to always be focused and situations become so much easier to read.
Now I am not suggestion that we all become paranoid, what I am suggesting is that you allow yourself to grow into a ‘constant state of awareness.’
The outcome?
Your training to be able to fight could likely result in your never getting in one