2006 Gathering "Notes"

The 2006 Southwest Wing Chun/Ving Tsun/Wing Tsun Gathering was held this year at Arcadia Park, Phoenix, Arizona. As always, it's great to see old friends and make new ones, and this year was no exception.

Before I begin, my apologies ahead of time for not remembering many names. I never forget a face, but there's always so many names that, admittedly, that's a part of me that definitely needs improvement on my side. By no means should anyone take that to mean that your name wasn't important; rather, it's solely my own problem for having a hard time remembering names.

The event started with Dai-Sifu Don welcoming the group, and then a practitioner from California discussed some non-profit events that they're planning. They're doing some wonderful work in helping to promote the art, and the AWCA will definitely become involved over time.

After a quick lunch break, it was Chi-sau time. :o)

You can see a lot of photos here, but the one thing I'd like to discuss today on this particular entry is why there's so much difference between the "process" and "style" of how we all train Chi-sau.

Some view Chi-sau as being of a soft, relaxed nature, always attempting to feel the slight pressure of a movement to indicate a counter-response. When that response is initiated, it's explosive, relaxed, and includes a "jackhammer" type of force. Others, however, view it somewhat similarly, but apply more forceful pressure to their movements. I think that's why it's always a bit difficult to gauge "what's what" when putting practitioners together who train Chi-sau differently.

For example, the Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun style has a more powerful, forceful Chi-sau view than we do ("we" meaning the general Yip Man family). That doesn't mean it's no good, of course (as many of us have learned). :o) I was on the receiving end of some pretty good shots, so my hat's off to the Hung Fa Yi family for a great demonstration of their skills. If you encounter a Hung Fa Yi practitioner, you better have your stuff screwed on tight, 'cause they'll walk right through you. The "difference" I'm talking about, though, is where Chi-sau's concerned.

Although we discussed a lot about it at last year's Gathering, the one thing that wasn't discussed was "how would one Chi-sau style fare against another," and fortunately, we all got to experience that this time.

It was really interesting to see the HFY folks learn about this softer Chi-sau, and we, also, learned a great deal about how we would counter their actions. There was a lot of give and take on both sides, of course; you can't just "blast in" with everything you have when you're trying to learn about someone's actions and get their take on things. And it was Chi-sau, mind you, not sparring. You have to approach these things with a very open mind and simply let yourself learn.

There were many times when I held back with a response, just as my training partners were doing, too. But as time went by, we all started "freeing things up" a bit and letting more go. You get a feel for the group and see what everyone thinks, and then you start playing and having fun, taking things a bit further until it's about as close to sparring as it can get without going all out. That's what it's about: learning. That's all that it's about. It's not ego or school pride or family representation. Well, it might be at first, but that goes away quickly when you see that just because someone does something different, they're not a monster. :o)

Unfortunately, I injured a rotator cuff a few months ago and didn't get medical assistance for it until just 2 weeks ago. I know, I know... why did I wait so long. Well, anyone that knows me knows that I tend to take injuries as just a part of life. It "comes with the job," so to speak. But it reached a point where the pain was too great, so I finally had it looked at. The problem, though, was that the doctor said I had to stop training Chi-sau for about 2 month.

Uh-huh. Yeah, right. That's gonna happen. NOT. :o)

So I went into the Gathering with an icy hot patch and about 20 Advils. heh-heh. Surprisingly, I lasted almost 20 minutes non-stop before that first twinge hit. Once it started, though, it didn't let up. I was beyond the point of no return, but that's why I was there. I didn't let up; I just kept pushing as far as I could. After all, I have a whole year to heal up for the next one, right? :o)

But the bad part is that I could feel so many areas, but couldn't respond appropriately because my arm just couldn't do it. I felt bad, too, because it's like I was cheating my partner out of getting to experience what we really do. I promise, though, that next year? I'll be in tip top shape. I'll do the whole medical and physical therapy to get it healed, even though I hate doctors. But it's my responsibility to show up for these events in good health so that our brothers and sisters get a true representation of what we do; otherwise, it's my personal feeling that it cheats them out of getting to experience what they show us, and I want to reciprocate that by letting them see what we really do, too. I don't want it to be one sided, since that's wrong.

In the end, we all walked away with more insight into what our WC/VT/WT brothers and sisters are about. I have a great respect for all of the families, and also their skills. Is it wrong for me to say that I still prefer what I do vs. what they do? Not at all, just as it's not wrong for them to prefer what they do over what I do. We're allowed to have our own preferences! :o) But in that, we also have respect for each other. And that's why I like these events, because in a way, you get to pit your skills against someone else in a friendly way, but you also learn more about what you're doing right and what needs improvement.

When the day is done, if you can walk away with a renewed sense that what you're doing is right for you? Then making a few friends and renewing old ones is really icing on the cake.