The Dao of Wing Chun

"I did want to expand a little about what I was talking about tonight. To me, the first and foremost important thing about Wing Chun is the internal-root, Qi, and Jing. This is why we are working so much in that. In the years that I have taught, I glossed over such too much, expecting people to be doing what was necessary on their own. Now, I am focused solely on development of the internal side of the art. All of what we are doing-the brocade, the postures, the sticking bridge work, is to make all of you uniform in your Qi skills. The thing to remember about Wing Chun is that as your teacher, I pass onto you the knowledge that I have to the best of my ability, and then as students strike out on your own, and make the art yourself. A good teacher should expect his or her students to become better than themselves. While there exist differences amongst the Yip Man line, such as the differences that are found in what I do, what Bill does, and those of Justin Corey, the important thing is to do your best, and be the best person that you can be. Take what you learn, make strong the things that are weak, and refine the strengths that you have. The differences in the lines should not be seen as differences, but as part of a greater puzzle that as we journey on the path of life that is Wing Chun, we learn to make the pieces fit together for ourselves. While I must admit that I do like the uniformity of what is Yuen Kay-San, I also like the diversity of the Yip Man line. If we learn to work together as a whole family in the Yip Man line, we can find the core of what binds us all. The thing is to be fluid, to be linked, to be one with the void, with the way. The great Daoist Sage Lao Tzu said it best in the following poem:

"The way is a void,
Used but never filled:
An abyss it is,
Like an ancestor
From which all things come.

It blunts sharpness,
Resolves tangles;
It tempers light,
Subdues turmoil.

A deep pool it is,
Never to run dry!
Whose offspring it may be
I do not know:
It is like a preface to God."

So is Wing Chun, a void that is never filled, and which grows with us, an endless pool, of which there is no end. Wing Chun just is." Robert Anthony 12/13/2005