What can two so different systems as WingTsun and ChiKung have in common? Or to put it differently: in terms of content, what common denominator justifies them apart from the fact that they are both offered by the EWTO?

WingTsun stands for highly efficient self-defence, and ChiKung for comprehensive health with the emphasis on eliminating the causes of chronic pain. Their content could hardly be wider apart.

And yet there is a common content which forms the basis of both systems, the martial art and the health system: the muscles and the human movement apparatus. By the time the physical phase of a conflict has been reached, the muscles become the motor of the movements we use to keep an attacker at bay and put him out of action. The condition of these muscles is a decisive factor. It determines the precision of these movements – the decisive techniques – and the striking power we use to hurt the opponent or even make him incapable of continuing. A special form of muscle training takes place in WingTsun, a fact not even known to most students. After a certain time this muscular training gives WT people increasingly supple movements and greater striking power. At master level it is often the case that laymen and other martial artists who are unaware of these effects react with surprise and even complete incredulity to the suppleness and high speed of our movements, as well as to the unexpected force of the striking energy.

This connection is immediately obvious in ChiKung. Naturally, we know that the muscles are the active components in the movement apparatus, so for this reason alone our muscles have something to do with ChiKung. But when speaking about health we normally mean the absence of illnesses, so where is the connection with the muscular system?

There certainly is one, and it exists on two different levels which also have something to do with the effectiveness of this health-promoting system.

The first concerns the pain therapy which our movements represent. Yes, ChiKung is an individual, specifically applied pain therapy. Understanding this requires knowledge which general medical opinion unfortunately no longer possesses. It concerns a fact generally accepted by WingTsun people, namely that most painful conditions common today (and even chronic conditions) are nothing but a cry for help by the body, as a warning against damage to the relevant joint structures or the spinal column as an agglomeration of numerous joints. Arthritis, a slipped disc and other damage only occurs if this warning is ignored or suppressed by the use of painkillers. Since arthritis itself cannot cause pain (cartilage does not contain any pain receptors), the cause of the pain is eliminated if the dangerous loads on the joint are avoided. We bring this effect about by specifically retraining the muscles responsible for the pain, for it is purely and simply incorrectly trained muscles that cause the problematical loads on the joints which lead to wear in the cartilage. The muscular condition that ensures the best possible fighting ability in WingTsun is precisely the condition that allows the joints involved in its movements to work with minimum wear and tear. Or: the power that cannot be transferred to the opponent because the muscles are working under friction is exactly the same as that causing wear in the joints. The only difference is that the range of movements in ChiKung is much greater than in WingTsun, as it includes all the movements for which our body is designed in order to make the joints function without wear and tear. In WingTsun we logically restrict ourselves to those movements that are important in combat.
 

Basic Chi-Kung form - range of movements in ChiKung is much greater than in WingTsun

The second connection arises from the fact that the muscles are linked to the entire body and the mind. All the internal organs are stimulated by muscular activity, for example. If certain movements are lacking, the organs only function to a limited extent. In different terms: all unprocessed, negative emotions are stored in the muscles in the form of tension. If we relieve this tension by means of specific ChiKung movements, the associated emotions are released to be process away and eliminated as a problem. This psycho-therapeutic effect occurs naturally, without any further effort. Like the first connection described above, this also happens in WingTsun, but much more intensively in ChiKung because the considerably wider range of movements leads to much extensive muscular activity.

These inter-connections also explain why improved health is already a tangible secondary benefit in WingTsun. The health-promoting effects are already partially present, but are limited by the necessary restriction to fighting movements. In ChiKung, which is solely concerned with maximum health benefits, the effects are brought about to the greatest possible extent.
 

Sifu Roland Liebscher-Bracht,

5th Master Level WT,

Chief Instructor WT-CK EWTO / IWTO