Wing Chun and it’s relationship with Spring
Wing Chun literally translates as – To sing of Spring or To Praise Spring.
This seems pretty odd for naming an efficient, no nonsense fighting art doesn’t it?
Well, what if i was to tell you it was more about living life in accordance with the flow of nature and striving to understand the balance that can be achieved when we are not fighting against it.
Spring is the time of revitalisation in nature, it is the time of birth and growth. Spring is when the universal energy is rejuvenating and beginning anew, plants show new growth which is supple and pliant, new babies abound in energy and grow rapidly. This positive growth stage is apparently obvious if you slow your life down enough to notice.
Spring is the time to exercise more frequently, it’s the time to loosen and stretch the muscles and tendons. It’s the time to rise earlier in the day and take advantage of the universal new growth energy, try going out for a walk, doing Qigong or training Wing Chun.
Emotionally we should be calm and composed, aiming to avoid anger, frustration, depression or sadness. Because spring is the season of the Liver it is susceptible to damage from excesses of these emotions.
So through this brief description of Spring time and its qualities, i hope you can see the parallels to our Wing Chun Ling Tung Gong training.
If you train diligently and correctly you can expect to have the physical attributes of spring. A strong, flexible and supple physical body that will be able to cope with whatever comes your way with a calm, happy emotional state that has fewer worries. You will have a vibrance that radiates from within, not just in spring, but throughout the whole year.
So, you can just exist in your life, constantly battling against things that “happen” to you or, you can grasp the spring energy, develop it within yourself through training to live a richer, fuller and more purposeful life that naturally avoids complications before they occur and you can have more resilience to bounce back from them if they do.
Relax, Be Happy, Concentrate, Persevere and Don’t Worry.
Sifu Dave
