The Deeper Meaning of Wing Chun
Wing Chun is one of the most misunderstood arts in the world.
I’ve been practicing the art for nearly three decades and teaching it for almost two. During that time I’ve seen people get good, but what I’ve seen a whole lot more people fail.
They start Wing Chun all excited about it. But then after a little while they end up quitting.
Why they quit is directly related to Wing Chun ‘s true deeper meaning.
So why do they quit?
You name it, I’ve heard their reasons. And for many years I really tried to understand where they were coming from.
These were good, smart people who I developed relationships with. Fellow students and students of my own, all of which I believed would continue Wing Chun… until they quit. I spent years trying to fully wrap my mind around it.
How come quitting wasn’t ever an option for me?
What did I have they they didn’t?
Well, after all these years I’ve finally accepted that each and every reason someone has given me for quitting all boiled down to the same thing… not knowing or accepting Wing Chun’s true meaning.
You see, Wing Chun isn’t just another activity we do, its true purpose is much deeper than that.
But what leads them to quitting?
Why Students Quit
So the first reason a student quits Wing Chun is that they don’t know what Wing Chun is really about. They think its only a class they take to learn how to fight.
The second reason a student quits is that they refuse to accept WIng Chun true purpose.
And I’ve found that its usually this second reason. Most people who take up Wing Chun are pretty intelligent. Wing Chun’s concepts appeal to them on a logical level.
However, on a deeper emotional level, Wing Chun true purpose is often too much for them to handle.
So what is Wing Chun really?
Wing Chun is meant to be a spiritual journey. Not the religious kind of spiritual. Spiritual in the sense that it affects our human spirit and our soul. Its a journey of our mind, heart and soul. In other words, everything we do in Wing Chun is for our soul.
Here’s how…
Wing Chun’s True Purpose
So what is the true purpose of this spiritual journey? I mean, what is the true meaning Wing Chun?
Wing Chun means an appreciating of spring or endless spring. I translate this to mean “constant rebirth”. The continuous act of humbling ourselves in order to grow and progress.
That’s why I teach that…
Wing Chun is actually a continuous dedication to ourselves of…
- Becoming better than we were yesterday
- Finding a way when the obstacles are bigger and stronger than us
- Most importantly, of never giving up on ourselves
So its really all about us. Its for us and about us and meant to help us.
So when Wing Chun students quit, they are actually quitting on themselves.
That’s why the only way to fail at Wing Chun is to quit.
And its also why its always so sad for me when someone quits.
They’ve either forgotten or deliberately choose to not accept what the true meaning of Wing Chun is.
Often they’ve chosen to reframe its purpose to something else than it really is. After all, when they think of Wing Chun as less than it really is, they can handle quitting it.
See a video version of this artcle on my YouTube channel at The Deeper Meaning of Wing Chun
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