Good morning.
The rays of sun are dancing on the snow as it gradually seeps away. Footsteps crunch on the icy pavements and the noise of the traffic has once again escalated to a constant din. Life in England is almost normal again… This week the classes indeed ran as promised and quite a number of students trekked through the icy conditions to train in the ‘footsteps’ of the ancient masters…
As promised, I will continue with the recent topic of the talks for prospective students. With the concepts discussed in my previous post (27th January), the natural question that beckons is why do I do any talks for prospective students at all? To understand this, you first have to understand that there are many principles in Wing Tsun, some seemingly contradictory to others. The skill of being a master is being able to reconcile these and knowing which principle is appropriate in which situation…
As it happens I generally only do talks (in additional to my normal teaching) on special occasions, perhaps 2 or 3 times a year. I also speak occasionally when there are a large audience of prospective students. The reason for this is three-fold: 1. it makes the lives of the hard-working teachers easier; 2. it allows me to answer any questions that may require an in-depth knowledge – when you have a large audience you normally find that at least one or two of the attendees have high degree in another martial art; 3. As the ‘head’ of a kung-fu family I also make sure that I lead by example. Having spent innumerable hours of my younger years holding introductions, some of the ‘new generation’ get the opportunity to see this in practice and have a better idea of what is required. Actually, as the schools have had such considerable interest this year I, in fact, partook in 4 different introductory sessions in the space of two weeks.
On to the topic of the talks themselves; they consisted of a discussion about the schools and their history, the art of Wing Tsun and the principles involved. A crucial aim of the talks is to ensure that every person who attends comes away more knowledgeable; indeed every attendee is given a complimentary notebook and pen. It might sound obvious but I have attended too many talks where this was not the case. Rather than a lecture, which I have never found be particularly conducive to understanding the art, the talk was an informal session. This meant that those present could address any questions or concerns as they arose. Indeed, my intention is always to interact with the audience so that they can understand at first hand the principle and concepts that are being propounded. The talks were, therefore, followed by a practical session where the audience could experience and put into practice what they had just seen and heard. It is interesting to note that no two of the sessions were the same; in my opinion a good speaker (and teacher) reacts to the audience. It is also a good learning experience - each time I talk I almost always find that there is some point that I have not been addressed on before.
I would like to end by pointing out something that the talks were not… They were not some kind of ‘sales meeting’ or exercise in persuasion. I will discuss more about the details of the intake of the schools in forthcoming weeks, but for the time it is sufficient to reiterate that the schools are selective. Just because a person attends an introduction does not mean that they are the right person to learn Wing Tsun, or that will be accepted into the school. Remember, there are few things more important than having principles in this life…
Sifu
Ps. Despite the above stated, I would like to remind those new students that attended the talks that they were supposed to be an overview and you are not expected to remember the details. Over the next few weeks you will be started from the beginning to make sure that everything is clear for you.