The 4th Level
January 24, 2010
A couple months ago, I wrote about what I felt were the progressive steps that a Wing Chun student needs to go through. You can read my original post here. Just a basic recap:
- Relaxation
- Technique Mastery
- Movement and Energy flow
I am still working on mastering the third step and at the time I didn’t know what might be beyond. I think today Sifu Steve helped me realize what Level 4 is.
I think that Level 4 will be using “ging”. Sifu Samuel Kwok, an internationally known Wing Chun master, wrote a piece explaining what ging is and how it is different to strength. Today Steve focussed on some of these techniques with me and helped me understand the use and effectiveness.
I find it incredible that while I have trained with Sifu Steve for over two years now, he can still “point” something out to me even though he’s been using it all this time. It’s like… someone pointing out that someone has always been wearing a purple polka dotted tie and just realizing, “Oh yeah! You ARE wearing a purple polka dotted tie!”
I know I must attain this skill to continue my progression as a martial artist. Steve was able to once again wipe out everything I knew about Wing Chun and make me feel like I’m taking baby steps again. It couldn’t come at a better time because I’ve been growing a bit stagnant and frustrated with my own training recently. Not anymore!
When I feel more confident with my understanding of “ging”, I’ll write more about it. Until then, train hard.
