Standing Your Ground

Wing Chun focuses on borrowing the force of our opponent, which sometimes requires that we "give way." This "giving" can be in the form of side-stepping, as well as stepping backwards in response to heavy-hitting opponents (and we have no where else to go). Simultaneously, however, we also want to "stand our ground" and not lose any valuable working space. Although it might sound like a paradox, it's actually a harmonious concept. And chi-sau training is a great example of that.

For example, chi-sau teaches us to use the opponent's actions back against him. If he hook punches, Fook-sau can halt or re-direct it, but it's also telling us if his momentum is coming forward. If so, we may need to step out of the path so that we don't collide with it. And if his momentum isn't, i.e. his body is not coming forward, then the angle of his hook punch is different. Instead of the entire arm coming forward, some of that trajector is coming from the outside in (across our center) and that means we can either drive in to shorten the distance or sometimes "stay put," let it pass and then follow in as it goes by (naturally these are just examples).

Where "standing your ground" comes into play is that many times, a practitioner will get so caught up in "giving way" to the opponent that they find themselves moving all over the place. So where's the "common ground?" How do we know when to step out of the way, and keep stepping, and when to stand our ground?

That's something I'll let you ponder for a while. I have a few ideas, but I'd rather wait for a bit and give you time to think. In a couple days, come back and we'll see where it leads us.