What Drives Us
Terence Niehoff, October 21st, 2007
One who forms judgment on any point but cannot explain it clearly might as well never thought on the subject at all. Pericles (c. 495-429 B.C.E.)
The most fundamental aspect of wing chun kuen is its body-structure. This is clearly demonstrated in the wing chun kuen forms — the opening movement of each and every form is the hoi ma, the opening of the horse; and they all begin with the same horse, the yee jee kim yeung ma. This repetition underscores that the yee jee kim yeung ma is the core body-structure for everything we do. Yet, some wing chun kuen practitioners maintain that the yee jee kim yeung ma is simply a “throw-away” training stance; others that it is a type of “neutral stance” that is meant to break upon receipt of force into another, more practical stance. In my view, the yee jee kim yeung ma teaches us some things, including the four body or torso methods, that are vitally significant as they are the foundation on which everything else in our method depend. They are part of what I call “the wing chun process” — the inner workings of our art. These are the cogs of wing chun kuen, which like the cogs of Swiss watch, interact to drive our method. If we lack these cogs, our method (watch) won’t run as designed; if the cogs don’t work well, our method (watch) won’t run as well as it could. When our ancestors chose the term ‘ma’ (horse) they were telling us something profound: that these were the things, like the horse in their culture, that was the engine the made everything run.
It may be that the modern term “body-structure” is problematic; it carries with it connotations of a certain fixed way of standing. In my view, the yee jee kim yeung ma is perhaps best described as body-mechanics, i.e., a certain, specific way of using the body to receive and generate force. The body-structure illustrated by the yee jee kim yeung ma involves, in a nutshell, the mechanics of using the entire body from the feet to the fingers — its bones, muscles, tendons and joints — as a living, dynamic spring, with one end of the spring rooted to the earth and the other in contact with our opponent. This spring stores and releases any force exerted on it. This is in accord with how traditionally the wing chun kuen body-structure has been likened to either a stalk of bamboo (where the rings in the bamboo are able to collect and disperse pressure) or as a bow (as in bow and arrow). Our body, like the stalk of bamboo or the bow, when flexed, can store a great amount of energy, and then when it is suddenly released, it instantly turns that stored energy into kinetic energy (motion). One of the essential points of the yee jee kim yeung ma is to introduce, develop, and train ourselves to use this body-mechanic in everything we do. The kuen kuit advises us that “Siu Nim Tao Lien Yiu Sen Ma” (the siu nim tao trains the waist, torso and horse — it doesn’t say that it trains us to stand a certain way. If we view the yee jee kim yeung ma as body-mechanics then it becomes formless.). Once trained, the mechanic becomes automatic and is always operating. Yet, you would not necesarily see it if you did not know what to look for.
Consider this simple illustration of this underlying principle of yee jee kim yeung ma: snap your fingers. Now do it again, but this time pause immediately before you snap. Examine that situtation. The elasticity of the tendons, muscles, bones, and joints of your middlefinger and thumb are all working together to store force (potential energy). You can press lightly or very strongly, but the “spring effect” remains. When the thumb releases the finger, the “bow” or “bamboo” is released and the stored (potential) energy is instantly converted to kinetic energy which causes the finger to strike the base of the thumb producing the snapping sound. An important consideration is that this release of “striking power” — faat ging (fa jing) — involved no more than a “letting go”. The release is powerful in and of itself (if you don’t think so, try generating a ’snap’ by just striking your finger against your palm) but can also be augmented with other mechanics.
The yee jee kim yeung ma shows us that by aligning our body in a certain, specific way — so that all its different built-in “springs” work together for overall effect — it can act just like the middlefinger in the above example, using its inherent, natural elasticity to store a ‘received’ force and then release it to devastating effect. This aspect is traditionally described in wing chun kuen as tun, swallowing (absorbing the force into the spring), and tao, spitting (the release of the stored force), two of wing chun kuen’s four torso methods. These two methods are no more than two sides of the same coin. With this understanding of the principle in mind, things like the kuen kuit’s admonishment to “stay or receive as he comes” or the well-known “immovable elbow principle” are easily understood — if the body and/or bridge (our spring or bow or bamboo stalk) gives way or moves away from pressure or force (e.g., sidesteps, turns away from, or steps backward from the opponent), there can be no storage of force and hence no ability to release it. Hawkins Cheung even goes so far as to say, “It’s not wing chun if you take a sidestep or retreat from an attack.” In other words, without this body-structure to swallow and spit force, it is not wing chun kuen. Similarly, we will see how many of the older wing chun kuen terms, like jin choi (arrow punch), give us not-so-subtle descriptions of the mechanics that are supposed to be going on (the body is the bow, the arm is the arrow).
The better our wing chun kuen body-structure, the more rapidly and efficiently we are able to store and release force. Structure also effects the types of forces used in storing and releasing energy. To achieve and maximize these body mechanics expressed by the yee jee kim yeung ma, one must observe certain physical parameters. For example, the entire body must be in balance; we must be completely erect, not leaning forward or backward. There must be no stiffness or tension anywhere in the body (tension destroys elasticity. Muscular contraction or exertion results in tension). Our knees must be slightly bent and directly below the hips. The entire body must be ‘connected’, i.e., linked as a unit. And our weight should fall on or near the balls of the feet (what is referred to as the Kidney-1 point in traditional chinese medicine). The reason for this ‘weighting’ is that the arch of the foot is one of our most powerful natural “springs” (i.e., shock absorbers. Try this: run in place. You’ll see how the arches can “receive” great pressure. When we use the mechanics of yee jee kim yeung ma to receive pressure applied to our body-structure, that pressure flattens the arch — i.e., loading the bow which is the arch - and our heels become rooted.)
Unfortunately, the parameters of yee jee kim yeung ma are only a guide (”the finger pointing toward the moon”, the “moon” being the mechanics; strict adherence to how one holds the finger misses the point); no one can give you this body-structure or mechanics or tell you how to do it, they can only guide you (presuming they can do it themselves). In the end, you must find it yourself. My sifu, Robert Chu, has developed a number of so-called structure tests that help a practitioner to find and develop these mechanics (see his article on structure, www.chusaulei.com/martial/articles/articles_root.html , for more details). His “Structure Test #1″ involves standing in yee jee kim yeung ma while a partner presses strongly against your chest with his palm, as though trying to push you backward. The idea is to learn to feel the mechanics of yee jee kim yeung ma (using your body as a spring, swallowing the force). When your partner can press with all his might (even leaning all his weight into you) while you stand in yee jee kim yeung ma, relaxed and with no muscular exertion, then you’ve begun to realize the mechanics.
This simple test is then expanded to include any of the various bridge-hands; for example, one can practice standing in yee jee kim yeung ma with a bong sao or tan sao extended while his partner presses strongly against the arm’s contact point (even with all his might). Again the idea is to swallow the force with this body-mechanics into your structure. Then the test be modified to include the various horses. Once one knows what they are trying to test, it is easy to come up with variations.
More advanced structure tests can involve testing the yee jee kim yeung ma in all directions (pressing from the side, back, or combinations) and can be extended to include ’spitting’. For example, we can use the original postition as Test #1 but this time, we practice returning our partner’s force (from his press on our chest) through our body to expel them backward (actually using their arm as we would our own arm in punching).
When I refer to the body, as in “body-mechanics”, it includes the feet, legs, torso, arms, and head. In fact, in wing chun kuen anything we do involves the whole body. A tan sao, for example, isn’t just the action of our arm but is the action of our whole body. Tan sao uses this “bow effect” independently in its very structure and then links it to the “bow effect” of our horse. By using “the immovable elbow” that fixes the “bow” at root of the arm (the shoulder) and rounding the elbow, the arm takes on the characteristics of a bow. The wrist is typically bent so that it adds strength to the arm-bow in the same manner as it would in a real bow. The bow of the tan sao is then coordinated with the bow of the body and horse, giving the arm through the entire body the ability to receive and store force.
This mechanic goes far beyond strong rooting and the ability to hold against incoming pressure however. It will effect everything we do at a fundamental level while at the same time promoting all of them to a very high degree that cannot be obtained without these mechanics. I maintain that wing chun kuen is not a formal collection of techniques but rather a trained skill. And that this body-structure or mechanics is one of the core skills that gives rise to everything else.
Consider speed (and one can substitute just about any “attribute” or “quality”) as it pertains to wing chun kuen. Some wing chun kuen practitioners intentionally try to develop their speed, doing speed drills, try to develop contact reflexes, etc. Such a focus is in my view fundamentally mistaken; they are focusing on a by-product instead of the underlying “process of wing chun kuen.” If one keeps their focus on the underlying process — developing the individual cogs (mechanics) and the interaction of these cogs — they’ll find all these “attributes” and “qualities” are simply natural by-products of the process. Focus on the by-products themselves means they have lost sight, or never had sight, of the wing chun process.
Wing chun kuen is a “structually fast style.” While our use of straight lines and small circles contribute to being “structually fast”, it is really by using the elastic potential of our body in the wing chun kuen body-structure that our action becomes immediate, just like the snapping of our fingers. I touch and make contact with an opponent — his pressure or force then loads my spring. The shape of my bridge and horse is simply a consequence of keeping (the spring) alignment. No thought, no deliberation, no pause, no stimulus then response, no reflex. If he releases — bang, I’m already there. Again, no thought, no deliberation, no pause, no stimulus then response, no reflex. It has nothing to do with trying to move quickly or trying to develop speed or responding to what the opponent does. With these mechanics, I’m literally faster than thought. Any action based on stimulus-response will naturally involve a ‘gap’ of time between stimulus and response. Our mechanics eliminates this gap, and in fact, we’ll be able to move within any gap that our opponent creates. Using these mechanics, my opponent’s action is simply the first half of my action. My opponent’s actions and these mechanics give rise to my technique. This elasticity of my body-structure gives me the abiltity to move, hand and body, in an instant with full power.
As in the finger-snapping example, power is stored and then simply “let go”. This “letting go” can be our opponent releasing or trying to disengage, or can be initiated by us, either in removing (for example, trapping) an obstruction or changing the line of the spring/bow (body) to a line of no resistance. When our opponent engages us, his pressure is absorbed by our bridge-hand and body (spring). The “rebound” of that pressure caused by my spring is then typically directed by us, with shifting (turning) or stepping, into the opponent’s “weak line” (where his balance is most easily offset), compromising his balance. This, in turn, will significantly weaken him, and make him much easier to control. In contrast, his pressure will have made our balance and root stronger, increased our power with the storing of his force, and given us the handle by which to control him. This aspect of moving to the “weak line” is introduced and trained in the chum kiu form of wing chun kuen. Contrast this with how some practitioners move away or dodge an opponent’s force — it offers no control, doesn’t make them stronger, doesn’t make the opponent weaker, and loses the wing chun kuen timing.
Another significant consequence of this mechanics is that it will naturally act to slow the opponent’s movement and to tire him. When I am in contact with my opponent, he is quite literally sticking to a human spring. Any pressure he exerts or any movment he makes will encounter a springy resistance that doesn’t give way (the opponent is the thumb and we are the finger). The harder he pushes, the greater pressure he feels. The faster he tries to move, the more difficult he will find it to move. The more energy he expends, the stronger I become.
It is important to understand that this elasticity is not dependent on muscular exertion. In fact, muscular exertion or contraction actually destroys our elasticity by introducing tension. The only strength necessary is that needed to maintain one’s proper posture (alignment). These mechanics rely on our body’s natural shock absorbers, like the arch, the tendons of the knee and hip, the joints, the spine, etc. all working in concert to receive pressure or force, and all working in concert to release that force. This explains why weightlifting is, at best, irrelevant, and at worst counter-productive, to developing skill or power in wing chun kuen. And it also explains why our method involves shocking the opponent or creating tension in our opponent — not only does the tension give us a handle to control the opponent with but it takes away his ability to use these mechanics against us.
As I said above, this mechanic of receiving and releasing force are only two of wing chun kuen’s four body or torso methods. The other two body methods are chum, sink, and fou, rise or float, and pertain to the mechanics of how our body-structure can use gravity, similarly to how it uses our “spring potential”, to generate and receive force. This is another core mechanic (cog) that requires a great deal of investigation (perhaps another article). Without going into it in detail, I want to point out that these four body methods can be used separately or in conjuction with one another — though they are, like everything else in wing chun kuen, both inter-related and interdependent. As I said above, they are part of “the wing chun process” and are the cogs that drive our method. For example, we can use gravity to ‘bend the bow’ or to ‘load the spring’ when not in contact with an opponent. When we offset our center of gravity and maintain the proper body-structure (as described above), this offsetting of gravity will load the various bows of our body, e.g., the hip, joints, and arch, and store that energy. To release it then becomes simply a matter of “letting go” of the stored energy. In this way, we can achieve speed and power greater than that offered by muscular exertion.
This subject of body-structure or body-mechanics, including the four body methods, is a very deep one, as it is integral to so much of what we do. This article has just scratched the surface of this topic. It should be noted, however, that this mechanics is not restricted to a certain lineage or family of wing chun kuen — it is part of the core process of wing chun kuen, and transcends lineage. All too often, students and practitioners of the art focus on techniques, shapes, movements and attributes, and they don’t appreciate that these are merely the by-products of the process of wing chun kuen, the physical expressions of the the inner-workings of our method (or the cogs as I call them). Changing perspective and instead trying to grasp the underlying process or inner-workings of our art will, I submit, lead them much further in terms of understanding what they are doing and in being able to actually use their method. The “inner game” transforms wing chun kuen from a collection of formal techniques into an enlightened art. It brings your wing chun kuen alive, gives it personality, and gives it depth, and gives it soul. I leave it to you to investigate further.
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