Editorial

Handling contradictions

"But SiFu, in the last lesson you showed us how we can neutralise an attack by softly giving way. Today you want us to practice countering the opponent's attack with power and stability. So which one is right? Hard or soft? Giving way or resisting? I have frequently been asked these and similar questions during my teaching activities. My answer is always "Both are correct. It depends on the situation".

However, I seldom leave it at that brief explanation, as some of the apparently contradictory statements in WT classes can certainly give rise to confusion in beginners. Hard or soft? Give way or resist? Stable or flexible? Weak or strong? Open up or close? Thrust or pull? Apply forward pressure or give way? On the ground or standing? Punch or kick?

The world appears to be full of contradictions, and this is particularly obvious when it comes to fighting. After all, it is all about winning or losing, and the outcome is decided because we have done something correctly or incorrectly. Either or.

It would seem that clarity is the uppermost principle. And also a highly attractive one, as it promises absolute certainty and eliminates nagging doubts. It is only too understandable that we have something of a natural tendency to strive for clarity. And not only in combat.

At the same time life teaches us daily that light and darkness are inseparably linked. We know from experience that one is not possible without the other. No below without above, no back without front, no cold without warm …

A problem only arises if we think about this in a certain way, and start to fundamentally assess this duality. Perhaps this has something to do with our cultural norms, where good is on one side and bad on the other. This is possibly why we are sometimes tempted to divide other contradictions into "good" and "bad", "right" or "wrong". All the time, and on a basic level. At first theoretical sight this would make everything much easier. But when taking a second, practical look we see that the time factor enters the equation. What might be "good" (with reference to a specific goal) at one moment can become very "bad" the next .
This particularly applies to movements, which are of course only imaginable in space and time. Here there is no really definitive end point, a single "best" position – the ultimate universal movement that is always "right". With reference to a specific aim, it must be added!
That is exactly what often causes difficulties when teaching movements that serve a specific purpose, in our case self-defence. In principle the aim of every self-defence is safety during the course of a fight, and this is usually a highly complex matter. The beginner initially seeks to achieve this safety by mentally reducing the complexity. For example by wanting to believe that a movement XY is definitely always the right answer. It usually takes some time before he is no longer confused by apparently contradictory statements and exercises by his teacher.

Both in the west and east there are schools of thought that recognised these difficulties very early on, and tried to develop different approaches. The Chinese Taoist philosophy has e.g. abstracted and symbolised this dualism in the world and in our thinking in a unique way, with the concept of Yin and Yang. In the Taiji principle, the "very great extreme", the highest principle in the cosmos, these fundamental contradictions are combined into an inseparable whole.

Especially in recent years, Grandmaster Kernspecht has begun to reincorporate the forgotten, old explanation models of the inner martial arts, from which modern WingTsun once emerged, into the teaching programmes of the EWTO. The concept of Yin and Yang, of Taiji and of the highest principle of interacting contradictions is a valuable addition to the teaching and training methodology.

In theory and practice, the body and mind are trained not to strive for clarity/certainty, but rather to give space to the interaction between contrasts. Both physically and mentally we strive to ideally take the middle way where all contradictory forces are in balance. This opens up more choices, which is a precondition for the ability to adapt to the unpredictable events in a fight. In the end this can be of decisive importance.

From our awareness of the centre we can for example derive strategies that limit the complexity of combat, e.g. by seeming to do something "wrong". We can open up a gap to invite the opponent to attack there. So we can intentionally and considerably limit the options of both the opponent and ourselves. The decisive point here is to be aware of the neutral centre, because only then can we know what effects ensue when we leave it. If we understand this clearly, we can do it for strategic reasons: appear to offer a "weakness" that can be exploited, and then change it into a "strength".

Right from the start, GM Kernspecht has made it his task to teach his students in the EWTO self-defence using efficient teaching methods. He has consistently improved the fighting techniques and principles to reflect needs that have changed over the course of time. Today's WT students are confronted with different self-defence situations than their SiHings and SiJes were in the 70s or 80s. He has also constantly improved the teaching approach, training programmes and training standards, resulting in a quite different performance level over the decades.

As the Olympic Games have just come to a close, a very suitable comparison occurs to me:
in recent weeks we have been able to watch numerous video clips on the web showing the performances of gymnasts in the Olympic Games of the 1960s versus those of today. The difference is enormous. The best athletes of that time would not even have qualified for the Games nowadays, and that applies to practically every sport.

The reasons lie in constant improvement and further development on all relevant levels, from training concepts and equipment, motivational and mental training and dietary expertise to increasingly professional coaches, trainers and optimum training camps.

Permanent development and research with constant progress are also the primary goal of our daily work within the EWTO. Sometimes the next development step appears to be in strong contradiction to what came before. Here too we are helped by the philosophy of Yin and Yang, and the grand Taiji principle.

Best wishes from Heidelberg, wishing you enjoyable remaining summer days,
your Andreas Groß