Philosophy
 Our Goal:
At Cambridge Kung Fu, our number one aim is to support our students in becoming more confident people. We believe it is the most important resource a person can have and it is something worth working hard to achieve. When you have self confidence and you believe in yourself, you are able to create the life that you want to live, enabling you to live a safer, happier, healthier, and successful life.
At Cambridge Kung Fu we teach in a relaxed and friendly way. When you are training with us it is your time off, your time to enjoy yourself, so we do not want to make your life more stressful. We teach in a positive way, as our society is filled with stressful situations we want to make your training time a relaxing experience. This does not mean that you will not work hard, just that you can move at your own pace, whether that is fast or slow and that we want to support your progress not undermine your self esteem.
Martial Arts Philosophy:
The martial arts we teach are an expression of the human beings wish to understand him/her self. Wing Chun, Escrima, and Tai Chi are martial arts based on a deep understanding of body mechanics and psychology, synergistically combined with combat strategy and tactics. Anatomically, human beings are made up of a strong structure (our skeleton) mutually supported by soft tissue (our muscles and internal organs etc), and connected by materials that span the entire range of strength and flexibility, aptly named connective tissue (our tendons, ligaments, fascia etc). The martial arts we teach mirror these fundamentals of the physical nature of what we are made of.
The Benefits of this Philosophy:
When you train with Cambridge Kung Fu you will learn to be strong and to be soft; these are not two mutually exclusive states, but a way of being that allows you to move confidently through life with the awareness to respond successfully to both internal and external changes. In order to be strong there are two fundamentals, whether its a bridge or a human: The first is the structure and the second is the material of which it is made. You will learn to align your skeleton allowing you to become a kind of force conductor connecting the ground, with another person, through you. Your soft tissue will relax, this does not mean being weak and floppy, but rather toned, flexible, and responsive. When you are strong you can choose to be soft because you understand it is in yours, and everyone else's best interests. When you are weak you have no choice, you are forced to change whether it is the best thing for you to do or not. This is the difference between softness and weakness. Softness is a choice, weakness is a necessity!
By training with Cambridge Kung Fu you will learn to be strong and responsive. You will learn how to use these skills to be able to defend yourself, and those you care about. Over time you will learn to use these skills in your everyday life, overcoming issues at home, and at work, finding solutions to things that used to be problems. Wing Chun training can help you achieve responsive strength leading to you becoming healthier, fitter, more confident, and more self disciplined. When you have these skills and resources at your disposal, you will create the life you want to live!
Chinese Philosophy:
Wing Chun philosophy is predominantly influenced by Taoist and to some extent Chan-Buddhist and Confucian philosophy. Taoism is the ancient Chinese philosophy which extols the virtues of leading a simple life, of being relaxed and going with the flow of life, enabling a person to lead a life free of the stress' and strains of fighting our nature. This means accepting who we are, allowing us to fulfil our potential, without internal, and external judgment holding us back. The Tao translates as 'the way' or 'the path', and one idea that can be taken from this is the idea that there is no greater goal than living life in, and for the moment. Chan Buddhism is the Chinese school of Buddhism, which in simple terms is a school of Buddhism which has been infused with Taoism. The more well known, Zen Buddhism is the Japanese 'version' of Chan Buddhism.
One of the key linking features of Taoism, Buddhism, and Wing Chun philosophy is the idea that happiness, and success can only be found through letting go of attachment. As Westerners, we often have difficulty understanding this concept as it can seem to go against our natural state when it comes to those we love; our friends and families, and in particular our children, of course we must be attached to them, mustn't we? Wing Chun teaches that attachment leads to failure, but engagement leads to success! The difference is of vital importance: When we are attached to something we are fine as long as it is there, when it is gone, stress occurs; When we engage in something we can be completely committed to someone or totally immersed in what we are doing, however when we are engaged, we are able to let go without stress. This does not mean we will not feel, quite the opposite, we will feel even more deeply but without selfishness. Wing Chun teaches that we must be strong and responsive to be happy and successful, and it is this responsive strength that allows for complete engagement without attachment.
In China, their caricature of a Westerner was a person with a tiny body and a giant head, signifying our attachment to intellectual understanding, rather than experiential understanding. Another reason for the eastern philosophy of teaching can be understood from the first poem of Lao Tzu's 'Tao Te Ching', the Taoist classic, which says that 'the Tao that can be spoken of, is not the true Tao'. One of the idea's of this poem is the belief that no one can ever truly communicate what is in their mind to another person, and so everyone must find their own path to success, and that path will be unique to them.
Teaching Philosophy:
The modern western approach to teaching is to teach our minds and expect our bodies to follow. The approach in the east has been to teach the body and allow the concepts to filter up to the mind. At Cambridge Kung Fu we take the middle path, fundamentally we teach the body to teach the mind but we also provide mental stepping stones. The problem with teaching the mind is that what I have in my mind will not be what you have in yours. My picture of a car will always be different from your picture of a car no matter how good I am at explaining it. The problem with teaching the body is that you may not realise that I have a car in mind for a long...... long time.
First of all it is important to understand that when it comes to martial arts, it's a good thing that your car looks different from mine. I do not want clones of myself, I want mature people able to make their own choices and be successful given any obstruction or problem. So our philosophy is to describe the car, to show you the car, and to let you feel and experience the car as best we can. We all learn in different ways and by combining these methods you will make the best progress for you. Essentially what we teach is a system for overcoming obstacles in the most globally efficient way possible. This is the way of softness, of responsive strength.
Further Reading:
- Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu
- The Art of War, by Sun Tzu
There are many translations of these classics so I would recommend taking your time finding one that you 'fit' with.
An excellent introduction to Taoist thinking.
There are many books on the Market about Wing Chun, and we have read many but certainly not all. I have yet to find one that is really exciting. I feel this is for several reasons. One reason is that being a great martial artist does not mean you will be a great author. Also I think many of the greatest Wing Chun Masters are not entirely clear on why they are so good, they just are! There is also the issue that Chinese society is very secretive, and although this is changing, sometimes old habits are hard to change! My advice is that if you are looking for a good book on Wing Chun have a look around, and read a few pages and see if you enjoy what the author is saying and the way that the information is communicated.
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