This
month I would like to share a discourse on Body Structure with my teacher
Robert Chu Sifu. Many people email my teacher and myself with questions
on this area every month. My teacher has even written an excellent article
on the subject, giving various structure tests. You can find it on his
web site www.chusaulei.com. So, why do we need to readdress this subject?
Well, firstly, most of the feedback from the tests show most could pass
a few of them, but no one could pass them all. Some fellow practitioners
on the path began to think whilst others felt insecure and attacked
the idea of Body Structure. You see, when we come to a crossroads on
our path we must be brave and look ahead with clear eyes.
If you are challenged by a new idea and you find it hard to do or understand,
then you must be humble enough to step back and learn how to see from
this new perspective. This does not always mean that you drop everything
and forget all you know. What it means is do not dismiss what you do
know or understand. Once you have an understanding then give your constructive
response. Note that I used the word ‘constructive’; this is
even if you then do not agree whole-heartedly at least then contribute
something which adds positively to the original question.
When I first met with my teacher Robert Chu I was given the tests. Having
studied Wing Chun for over 12 years at the time you would think I would
have done pretty well. I thought I would have done too, but I think
I could only complete two out of four and they where the easy ones!
I recall my teacher gave me those ones to give me a mental choice. You
see, what happens when you pass half is some will say ‘I passed
most of it’ and others will say ‘I failed most of it’.
Now which of these is the positive mind? The positive mind set would
normally be ‘I passed most of it’ but it this case that would
be the damaged ego looking for something to soften the blow. So would
holding your head down and saying ‘I failed most of it’ be
the positive mind set? No, that’s not it either. The positive mind
set would be to say ‘I failed the tests, so what do I need to learn
in order to understand them?’ This is the question I asked.
Now, I am not saying it was easy. I am not saying that I didn’t
feel slightly down-hearted for a few seconds, I did. But I also felt
excited. I also felt I was about to learn something which would change
my training forever and it did! Since that sunny day in LA, I have never
looked at martial arts in the same way. The skill I have always looked
for was within my vision and I had found a teacher who knew what I was
missing and was willing to teach it. How could I not be happy! It has
taken a long time to develop this skill, but that’s the fun of
hard training. So, with all this in mind, let’s take a deeper look
into the Body Structure Methods as taught by my teacher Robert Chu.
Alan: Sifu, what would you say are the main components of Body Structure?
Chu Sifu: Body structure is very important - without it, one
isn’t doing Wing Chun properly. Body structure consists of four
components:
1) It is the attacking base
2) it is the defence base,
3) it is the method of linking to issue force and
4) it is the methods of delinking to protect our position.
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Many
think that having structure is only linking up and aligning the proper
body mechanics to issue force, but as you can see, it is more than that.
Through the tests that I devised in Wing Chun Kuen, a student can easily
see his level of development in this basic area. One thing that people
don’t get is that the tests are dynamic and have immediate practical
value in application of Wing Chun. For example, a variation of my test
number one is while standing in the basic stance of WCK, one performs
the basic straight punch. The testee has all of the tester’s weight
on his fist, to see if he can withstand that force. If the testee’s
stance is able to absorb the force, you then have to see if the fist
strikes out only with shoulder strength, or is it of the entire body
as a unit? Properly done, it is only with the entire unit of the body
that one can do this exercise.
Alan: How would you explain linking and delinking?
Chu Sifu: Linking is the proper alignment of the body’s
resources to issue force. With linking, we are creating a combined sum
of vector forces so that when we strike an opponent, we have the entire
body’s power to strike an opponent down effectively, economically,
and effortlessly. With our alignment in Wing Chun Kuen, people cannot
see our power base; it is too subtle to see. Martial arts like Chen
Tai Ji or Ba Ji have excellent power, yet they have to wind up, in order
to release significant force, and their power releases are quite obvious.
Because WCK is small frame, we hide our wind up – in essence, we
hammer our opponent with the structure through our attacking tool. Many
people don’t develop the proper power in issuing force in WCK –
they generally strike with the isolated force of their shoulders, which
can still be devastating and effective, but it is not the full potential
of body linking.
Delinking is when we are in trouble and we need to preserve our attack
and defensive base. In this case, we avoid giving up our positioning,
and "bait" our opponent with falseness. For example, if our
opponent grabs our wrist, we give up just enough force to deceive him,
let him think that he has control of us, when in reality we have perfect
control and strike him down. We never allow his grab to offset our balance,
and our economy of motion.
Alan: Why is linking and delinking so important?
Chu Sifu: It is the essence of Wing Chun Kuen, where one can
express the art’s subtleties. By being able to practise in this
manner, it changes and varies the way one can execute WCK. Many talk
about how "original" their style is, or how "superior"
their style is, but they are missing the boat. Who cares about this?
This is all empty talk if you cannot do your WCK properly and utilise
it properly. In my opinion, one isn’t doing WCK at all, if it's
not with structure. One can change forms or sequences, but one cannot
change the proper power base and mechanical signature of WCK.
We should not forget WCK is a martial art, designed for combat efficiency.
The art provides one with the skill to end conflict with a minimum of
effort and damage to your self. Without structure, you are not optimising
your skill.
We see certain styles favour mobility and concern themselves regarding
position, but with proper Wing Chun Kuen structure and timing in application,
one should be able to shut off the opponent’s attack immediately
– so that there is no counter from your opponent, no grappling,
joint locks, ground fighting, or counterstrike. You simply shut down
their system, by destroying your opponent’s attacking base. If
your opponent has no structure, they will immediately crumble, and allow
you to enter and finish them.
An example of this is our basic WCK concept called tan da. Some WCK
people position to an angle to execute this concept, but in my opinion,
if you have structure, you can simply smash into your opponent’s
attack, breaking his structure and shutting off any further attacks
from your opponent. You are smothering and shutting off the opponent
in one beat! There is no need to stay artificially far – you are
striking through your opponent and shutting him down. If the opponent
has no defensive base structure, he will be reeling backwards opening
himself up to more attacks from you, or unable to continue.
If your opponent has a good defensive structure, then your energy will
be nullified and energy passed through his structure into the ground
harmlessly, just as a lightning bolt strikes a lightning rod. Only a
person with an understanding of structure will understand my words here.
What I am saying requires a lot of confidence and ability to do, but
it is the most efficient means of combat – no excessive posturing,
moving, or angling, one simply goes in and does the job in one beat.
When you see photos of other demonstrating WCK, you can see if the distance
is really too far for fighting. If one has structure, they compress
themselves between the earth and their opponent and topple the opponent’s
structure immediately.
Alan: When attacking base and defence base are we also using
linking and delinking concepts?
Chu Sifu: Exactly! With linking and delinking, there are components
of attack and defence. So there is a linking and delinking form of attack
and a linking and delinking form of defence.
In a linking attack, the body is one unit, and smashes into the opponent
with deceptive force. In delinking attack, the entire unit is separate;
we may choose to use a stunning blow with a portion of our power, to
set up for a power blow.
In linking defence, we defend using structure; that is, we are one unit.
An example of this is using the WCK concept of Gaun Sao – we can
stop a round kick with the force of our one unit. In delinking defence,
we may give our opponent our arm, but we do not give up our structure.
Alan: Wing Chun is well known for close range combat, but without
control of Body Structure it can become unstuck when under pressure.
Do you think the understanding of Body Structure is the missing link
in terms of controlling your opponent in combat rather than just trying
to hit a lot?
Chu Sifu: Yes, exactly! Without body structure, most WCK practitioners
are gambling strikes or trading strikes, even if they try to make up
their deficiencies with additional footwork. With body structure, one
sets up the strikes on the opponent, and the strikes never miss because
you are in control of the time, position, relative space, target, and
combat relationship. Most people in WCK are missing this ability, so
they are in my terms only using delinked defence or delinked offense.
Few would really know how to do optimal linking offense or defence without
the proper training in the WCK body structure methods under a qualified
instructor. I have seen many WCK practitioners – in general, they
are missing this vital component. I would only say a handful of WCK
people would be able to do body structure optimally. It’s not their
fault that they learn WCK without this – they generally concentrate
on the shape of WCK, rather than the essence of WCK. In other words,
it looks like WCK, but it isn’t simply because the power base signature
is missing.
Alan: As we are both acupuncturists, I have noticed that striking
pressure points is a lot more achievable when you have control of the
opponent’s structure, as you seem to have a timing advantage when
your opponent is trying to regain balance rather than defend. Do you
think having control of Body Structure was the original delivery method
of striking pressure points?
Chu Sifu: Body structure is the only way a WCK practitioner delivers
force properly. In acupuncture, we tap the needle with enough force
to insert it into the patient. In WCK, we are tapping with our body
structure to insert our ging (power) into our opponent. If you have
this method, you have total control of your opponent, or flow in accordance
with the opponent, and you can strike them at will with your skill.
In high levels, one can strike the opponent according which points present
at the moment, or you can set up for what you want to strike and which
channels you want to disrupt, or you attack the open points based on
chronoacupuncture theory, or strike the points that have the optimal,
most lethal, effect according to your system. In WCK, we strike along
the centreline, but few realise there is a flow and pouring of the chi
(qi) at certain time at certain points along the centreline of the Ren
and Du channels. The chart below is an example of those points. By striking
those points with the open channel of the time, an opponent will be
in grave danger. Of course, information like this should not misused.
Time Watch Channel Du/Ren Open Point
11 pm - 1 am Zi GB Ren 1
1 - 3 am Chou Liv Du 2
3 - 5 am Yin Lu Du 4
5 - 7 am Mao LI Du 8
7 - 9 am Chen St Du 12
9 – 11 am Si Sp Du 16
11am – 1pm Wu H Du 20
1 – 3 pm Wei SI Du 26
3 –5 pm Shen UB Ren 22
5 – 7 pm You K Ren 17
7 – 9 pm Xu Pc Ren 12
9 – 11 pm Hai SJ Ren 4
I believe that if one learns a system correctly, the power base develops
along with the training. So whether if someone has learned Shuai Jiao,
Ba Ji, Tai Ji, or Hung Gar, they should learn the power base first in
the fundamental exercises. This is not to say that studying other systems
will give you the proper power release signature of WCK. Only training
in proper Wing Chun will provide you with the proper power signature.
In WCK, it should be with the fundamental set, siu nim tao.
Alan: Why do you think some members of the Wing Chun family are
so defensive when you talk about structure in Wing Chun? Surely anything
that improves ones skill is must-know information?
Chu Sifu: One would think so… I think because this information
has been only passed on from masters to select students that it is not
known to the Wing Chun family as a whole, and as such, this would reveal
the lack of depth in the knowledge of certain "grandmasters".
Some that I met don’t have this knowledge at all, even when they
claim to have studied internal martial arts. You cannot fake the Wing
Chun power signature. You either have it or don’t. One cannot compensate
with local shoulder strength. And it is only developed through proper
practice of WCK.
I think defensiveness of some Wing Chun family members comes when people
are insecure. Of course in the martial arts, many insecure people flourish
and are attracted to the arts to try to overcome their insecurities.
Old habits are hard to kill…
Alan: Thank you Sifu for your insights into Body Structure within
Wing Chun.
Chu Sifu: Thank you, Alan. It is my sincere hope that people
can take value in this, and can cross over from ignorance to wisdom
in the methods of proper body structure.
Alan
Orr is a disciple of Robert Chu Sifu and the European representative
of the Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun system.
He is also the UK representative for Guro Mark Wiley in the Filipino
martial arts and Sensei Eddy Millis of Shark Tank in NHB/Grappling.
Web: www.alanorr.com
For further information Tel: 07958 908 196 or
email: info@alanorr.co.uk
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