The Philosophy of Wing Tsun

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The Philosophy of Wing Tsun
The Philosophy of Wing Tsun

The Chinese practice of the art of Wing Tsun Kung-Fu was explained as a philosophy of living by its practitioners in times past.

At its highest stage, Wing Tsun instructs you in understanding yourself as well as your interrelationships with your fellow humans. Wing Tsun, uses a combination of Buddhism, Taoist, and Confucian principles, in teaching manners and etiquette. His goal is aimed at people who practice these important ideals. These philosophies include true appreciation of honor, loyalty, dignity and respect for other human beings, as well as control over ego, emotion and temper. Without these a person can never master himself, or the art of Wing Tsun, as these two are synonymous.

The art is regarded as the noble wing tsun because of these unique characteristics. The ultimate aim of Wing Tsun, is the development of the student. Indeed, 'Si-Fu' means 'Father-Teacher', an aknowledgement of the responsiblity of the Master when he accepts someone as his 'todai' (born to the father).. Contrast to the majority of other Martial Arts, such as Karate where 'Sensei' plainly means 'Teacher'.

Wing Tsun encompasses three things: Physical, Health, and Spiritual. To find schools that teach these three together is unfortunately rare. One can mimic aspects of a physical nature, but to enhance spiritual growth a true master is required. An important teaching in Wing Tsun is that a student's persona will develop as the student develops his or her physical techniques.

You simply need to understand the teachings of previous and current masters of the system. To truly comprehend the Martial Art does not require you to be or become Chinese. Logically, however, this is only possible if you appreciate the historical and social background to it. Properly learning the martial art is important before changing any part of it, as to not undermine the basic foundations.

If you take away the culture then you take away the history.
Excluding martial arts history minimises the amount of knowledge you acquire. What you saw was just a series of moves which neither has any understanding nor any principles. This is not a true martial art.

This need to understand the Martial Art as a whole is no different than if you wished to study for instance the humanities or even law. Hilaire Barnett made it well known in her book, Constitutional And Administrative Law, that her goal and point was that it is necessary to study all aspects of the government and the constitution and find things that aren't understood and to study them. The things that should be studied include history, politics, and political philosophy.