Chi-Gerk is, in essence, the developing of automatic reflexes with your legs - exactly the same concept as that of Chi-Sau. As I mentioned in my last post it is the last part of the system that you learn before you have mastered the whole unarmed part of the art. The reason it is taught so late is for a number of reasons, not least due to its relative complexity. The movements itself are not too hard to learn, but to master and use unconsciously is extremely difficult. The seminar will attempt to give people basic grasp of its movements which can be build on and developed as the students increase their ability.

 

It is hard for students, particularly those who are not of an advanced level, to know anything about how special this training method is, so I will endeavour to elucidate further… When I started Wing Tsun, albeit the Western version, to learn Chi-Gerk was like a myth; it was something that you heard about, almost in whispers. Maybe, just maybe, if you were very lucky you would catch a glimpse of it, but it was completely untouchable, only for the chosen few. Indeed nothing changed even when I was a full-time professional teacher with my own schools.

 

The situation is not much different now - Chi-Gerk is undoubted one of the 5 or 6 most secret parts of the art. Theses parts are only taught in their entirety to the most trusted and highly skilled practitioners. For the students to understand how important I valued attending my Sifu’s training on this topic, they should know I had to cancel a family holiday, travel 9 hours by train to London, go across London by tube, fly for 3 hours and then drive to training destination where I proceeded to train the same day. I then repeated the journey in reverse 3 days later. This was not something I wanted to miss, no matter the cost or effort. For the record I would also like to state that I am forever grateful to my Sifu, and certainly honoured, that he spent his time and energy teaching me and explaining this unique part of the art. It made a wish that a young boy, who loved this beautiful, mystical art, dared not even dream about come true…

 

I will not, of course, be teaching the whole of the Chi-Gerk. The training will concentrate on the more basic techniques and applications (although in the circumstances ‘basic’ is a rather an understatement!), understanding the purpose and developing the appropriate reflexes and sensitivity. As always I will also teach the underpinning theory and concepts, along with its spiritual teachings.

 

Just so everyone is clear, my reasons for teaching any of this highly guarded part of the art are, in the main, twofold: firstly to give the students a chance to see what the true art really is; secondly to give them the same opportunity that my Sifu first gave me at a seminar soon after I became his student. Wing Tsun is an extraordinary art and I believe part of my duty as a master is to give students the chance to find about more about it.

 

The seminar will be open to all levels of students within the schools (I should also say that I am the only person in Western Europe to allow this to be the case). It will also build on the summer seminar; the first part will teach the complete number of the Wing Tsun kicks – something itself that has to be said is quite rare. I would say that over 90% of practitioners in Wing Tsun do not know how many kicks there are in the system – and if they do they certainly don’t know what they are.