But Seeefoo Said!
Antony Casella, October 21st, 2007
What’s wrong with repeating ideas my sifu told me in class the other night?”
Nothing.
“Why is it that people are making fun of my sifu when I tell them what his/her ideas are?”
They aren’t.
“Why are so and so’s ideas soooo much more different than my sifu’s?”
They probably aren’t that different. It’s most likely your misunderstanding of your sifu’s ideas that cause people to seemingly “jump on you” whenever you regurgitate what your sifu’s says without actually understanding what he/she said.
Oh man, have there been times that I wish I could have responded that way in real life to people I perceive as knuckleheads. But alas I am a slave to my common sense (most of the time and yes I can hear the snickering). When it comes to conversing with someone who holds sifu as “god”, it becomes tedious to try and make him or her understand that anything you say to counter his/her ideas in not an insult to his/her sifu.
I think the crux of the matter is nobody likes when someone opens their mouth and refuses (read can’t) back up what they say with simply direct discussion or require “backup” to explain what is meant. In my opinion, if you can’t do it on your own, you shouldn’t be championing the cause. Ignorance can only lead to half-truths and misunderstandings. I know had I been more vocal at the beginning of my WCK training, many would have found me stubborn and a bit of a sifu idolizer as well. Luckily, I had yet to meet other wing Chun practitioners outside of my own line before I had a chance to open my mouth and speak before I actually understood what sifu said. I finally realized that I was the one to make up my own mind on what he said and what others said. He taught me to have a critical eye, yet be open to other and potentially “better” ideologies.
Just a general word of advice however. Anytime we decide to speak for someone on an issue, any mistakes or misinterpretations you make reflect poorly on the person you are speaking for (i.e. sifu). So unless you are willing to hear “poor” comments about the person you are speaking for due to those misinterpretations, simply don’t speak for them. Speak for yourself. What do you think?
That’s my rant and I am outta here.
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