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"back to the basics"
Full of skill or stuffed with knowledge?
by
Sifu Kasper Lund Nielsen |
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Sifu Kasper Lund Nielsen, National Instructor Denmark, on the
debate initiated by Grandmaster Kernspecht concerning the value
of
Chi-Sao in WingTsun ...
I am glad about the long awaited "back to the basics"!
Dear Si-Fu,
While advertisers have for some years apparently been able to
reach consumers with slogans such as "Back to Basics" or "Reduce
to the Max" with great success, and self-help books intended to
help readers simplify their all-too complicated lives are
selling like hot cakes, our martial art is moving towards
optimisation by a return to its intrinsic roots – thanks to your
efforts and above all in the context of your focus on
"implanting reflexes" in Chi-Sao.
As a purist , I am particularly pleased about this development.
Everything in life develops and constantly changes. Sometimes it
is important to let this process happen, but sometimes one also
has to apply the brakes. Or to put it graphically, if a hot-air
balloon is to rise, it must first get rid of its ballast.
Some years ago, in my dissertation for the 3rd Technician grade,
I detailed my own thoughts about Chi-Sao and the forms as
training methods. The following is a brief extract from this
dissertation:
"The creation and implantation of movement patterns at the
neuronal level is central to learning WingTsun. These
pre-programmed movement patterns both allow us to feed our
random access memory with other information and thoughts, and
allow movements to begin automatically (...), which is of
particular importance with respect to the speed required of
WingTsun in
certain situations.
The stability of such patterns can only be assured by the
unchanging nature of a limited number of basic elements. It is
in these terms that our forms should be seen, as they
collectively form the grammar of our martial art and every
movement they contain is a term in our shared language base
(...) The most important aspect for us is to define our terms,
and in classical teaching the instructor does this as follows:
he shows the student a movement or a particular sequence of
movements, answers any questions he may have and lets him
practice what he has seen. I have already said that mechanical
learning is senseless; a student who merely imitates what he
sees learns nothing new. Instead he must link the learning
material with his existing knowledge on the basis of his body’s
prior motory and mental state. This is precisely where WingTsun
is distinctive: anybody can learn it, as we build on the
psychomotory capabilities and skills of ordinary people. While
we study our martial art, this prior knowledge changes from the
usual capabilities of the body and mind to more and more
sophisticated skill, as the forms gradually school us and build
on each other. The second important aspect I have mentioned is
the ability to solve specific problems, for a beautifully
executed Biu-Tze form alone does not make us good fighters.
Firstly, it is our own experience that teaches us how we should
behave in possible combat situations, though of course it is not
appropriate to go in search of physical confrontation in order
to gain this experience. We first learn to adopt certain forms
of behaviour through role-playing during training, but most
importantly of all, the entire system of WingTsun is based on
"experience". By practicing my forms and their applications in
an abstract framework, I gain experience in understanding my own
body, AND the body, movements and intentions of my partner".
(Kasper Lund Nielsen, extract from 3rd TG WingTsun dissertation
submitted on 10.10.2002)
One final remark: In my view WingTsun is not a martial sport but
a martial art. And an art consists of more than a few more or
less subtle, perfected techniques. It is that "certain
something" that makes an art special and fascinating – in our
case feeling and acting on both the mental and physical level.
Accordingly I would like to thank you, dear Si-Fu, for making
our art, its power and beauty an experience and a joy with your
untiring commitment.
Best wishes,
To-Dai Kasper Lund Nielsen
National Instructor Denmark
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