The role and responsibility of the teacher in WingTsun (the martial arts) as violence prevention

A martial arts teacher is a role model and should be a companion who teaches with conscious awareness of his/her responsibility. He/she is not there just to convey knowledge and skill and perfect the techniques of students. In the martial arts as a tool for self-knowledge, all exercises are aimed at making the student a better person who follows values which support life and encourage harmony. Both inside and outside.
Students should be encouraged to think about themselves, their feelings, their perceptions and their own ego, and to give these verbal expression. In particular, feelings such as hate, anger and fear must be recognised and exposed, so that they are not expressed in the form of violence (this traditionally tends to apply to males / perpetrator role) or resignation (tends to apply to females / victim role). Looking away and suppressing them gives these feelings enormous power over time. The path towards acting peacefully begins here.

WingTsun is clearly (also) about self-defence and (physical) violence. The great opportunity it offers is to use the external fight to recognise the “battle“ inside oneself as the cause. Concerning ourselves with violence in the outside world enables us to recognise the structures of our own violence, making the outside world a mirror of our own inner state of being. Here the teacher has an important function as a guide who is more familiar with the path, who can sharpen the student’s senses where these relationships are concerned. He/she is therefore under an obligation to work on self-development, and is responsible for the atmosphere and content of the class. If intolerance and violence is accepted, or if the teacher is disrespectful, it is probable that the students will behave likewise. Mere theory is useless. The teacher’s task is to be a living example of a violence-free (physically, mentally and verbally) martial art.
It is therefore important for the teacher to consider how he/she behaves towards students, and examine this behaviour in terms of the “principle of mutual responsibility“ (fundamental principle of Jigoro Kano/ Judo).

When teaching, clear rules and a clear rejection of violence should be the basis on which students are able to consider their own feelings and potential for violence, as far as possible without fear. The teacher is responsible for ensuring that the rules are understood, supported and obeyed by all, and that an atmosphere free of violence is maintained. He/she is the guardian of these values, and an important reference point for children and young people in particular.

The central aim should be to strive for perfection, and this can only be achieved by discipline, commitment and persistence. The teacher should also be an example of these, in order to encourage the students in their physical and spiritual development. It is not the goal that is decisive in the martial arts, but rather the way and the continuous striving for perfection in both techniques and character.

Violent behaviour on the part of the teacher

In a martial art it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between violent behaviour and sporting activity. It becomes easier if one looks at teacher:student and student:student behaviour, and measures it in terms of values such as mutual respect, responsibility and consideration.

There are many ways of using violence when teaching:

1. Physical violence, both direct and indirect.

This includes e.g. unnecessary hardness when applying and demonstrating techniques, in order to gain recognition, to show how effective a technique is and out of sheer carelessness. It also includes accepting a high risk of injury during training and the use of particularly dangerous techniques with excessive force.

More subtle forms of violence include allowing students to go at each other with unnecessary force or even encouraging them to be confrontational.

Careless or deliberate allocation of training partners can also be an indirect form of violence (e.g. encouraging one partner to “make sure you give XY a hard time“).

An inappropriate choice of exercises, excessively stressful training, one-sided physical responses to training and e.g. encouragement of drug-taking are further examples of indirect violence.

2. Mental violence This can be practiced by verbal means. It includes racist and sexist remarks, humiliating students in front of the class, outing students about something which is embarrassing to them, or abusing and ridiculing students before the class.
Violence also shows itself in the teacher’s treatment of weaker and less capable students. Punishments are also a form of violence.

3. Sexual violence This is often very difficult to detect, for example in groundfighting, when a female student is ‘accidentally’ groped in the breast and/or groin areas.

When the palm-strike in Dan-Chi always seems to make direct and intentional contact with a female student’s breast, or when remarks are made about the physical attributes of women/men. Particularly in the case of young people entering puberty (including boys), this can have very harmful effects and lead to a massive disturbance of the student’s self-image.

4. Macho behaviour (controlling, dominant behaviour) of all kinds is (sexually) aggressive and therefore also a form of violence.

Basic thoughts for instructors

Every person has a personal attitude to the subject of violence. From own experiences at school, at the workplace or during leisure time. Whether from the media (television, videos, magazines etc.), incidents related by others or personal experiences as a perpetrator or victim, e.g. within the family or private sphere (statistically the family is the most dangerous environment, especially for women and children).

Despite the strong presence of violence-related topics in the media, children and adolescents in particular are often left on their own in specific cases.

There is much complaint about the increase in general violence, and particularly about the increase in violence amongst young people, but specific opportunities for addressing the problem are often missed. Helplessness, fear and an inability to express themselves are prevalent on both sides (among both perpetrators and victims).

I see it as the teacher’s responsibility to heighten the awareness of students where violent behaviour is concerned (both their own and that of others), and to create an environment where strategies for overcoming conflict can be developed and social behaviour can be encouraged (secondary, tertiary prevention). Where students can also be encouraged to reflect on their own violent or victim behaviour.

Social aspects such as respect, responsibility and alertness can be very directly experienced in physical combat, as any lack of alertness, respect and responsibility can have immediate and disastrous consequences.

It is important both to perceive emotions (e.g. anger, aggression, fear, sadness, joy) and their physical expression, and to perceive one’s own behaviour and its mutual effects when interacting with the outside world. WingTsun is ideal for this. In addition to physical skills, it improves non-verbal communication and the ability to handle one’s own energy and that of others. This is supported by role-playing exercises, by exercises designed to train vocal and verbal skills and by awareness exercises.

Since males and females undergo different development processes, classes must also be adapted to cater for different sexes. The aim for both is a respectful attitude towards one’s own body and that of others. Girls are brought up to show helpfulness, empathy and subservience, and are therefore encouraged to take on the victim role. They can learn to express and protect their own interests aggressively and clearly. Boys tend to be encouraged to stick up for themselves, control their emotions, withstand pain and show strength and courage. They can learn to allow themselves feelings and develop empathy, as well as how to resolve conflicts fairly and appropriately. A strategy of violence as a means of achieving ends should be broken down and replaced by conflict-resolving methods based on self-awareness and self-confidence.

Perpetrators and victims are not born, but made. WT classes should take this into account and present new, more healthy role alternatives.

Opportunities and risks of WingTsun with reference to preventing violence

In my view the effectiveness of the practical self-defence techniques in WT is a danger when it comes to preventing violence. Right from the start, a student learns how an attacker can be rapidly put out of action. The language we use is also characterised by the aim of beating an enemy. Particularly for male beginners, the greatest danger lies in retaining this dualistic image of an enemy. I have experienced a few men who would go out expressly to see if what they had learned during training actually worked in practice. It is necessary to counteract this consciously. Not fighting is the highest aim and the highest art. It is important to counter the prevailing male culture of dominance and power with a more appropriate attitude to aggression and violence. And to create an awareness that there is never any justification for violence, and that we always share the responsibility for what happens.

Peaceable behaviour requires self-confidence and an awareness of our own limits and those of others. It needs empathy and ways of achieving one’s aims without violence. This in turn requires inner clarity.

For female beginners the effectiveness of the techniques provides the necessary backup for individual practice and the ability to initially express their own needs with verbal means and body language. By concerning themselves with fighting vocabulary, women learn to experience their reluctance to strike and their mental blockages consciously, and gradually to overcome them. The aim is to make them capable of protecting their own lives with vehemence if the need arises. Experience shows that this inner attitude already protects them before this occurs.

In my estimation WingTsun is a fantastic "tool" for self-examination. One’s attention is directed towards cognitive skills, and non-verbal communication is constantly practiced with a partner (Chi-Sao). This is a matter of proximity and distance, and dealing with one’s own and the other’s energy. How to be with a partner but not lose oneself. How to handle pressure. Do you go against it and tire yourself, or can you use the energy to your advantage? Acting with no intention, not losing your own way and being there for yourself. Aspects that also occur in daily life. Students discover a new dimension as they experience their own bodies. They experience pressure and learn how tiring it is to go against it. They also experience how strength works and what it means to give way softly. It is always possible to illustrate what WingTsun has to do with day-to-day life. Here too, it is often one’s inner defences that make life tiring and difficult.

The body stores everything during the course of our lives. We carry primeval fear with us, and this restricts our movements and life energy both physically and figuratively. Fear leads to defence and narrows our life perspective. Chi-Sao requires the body to let go of this tension. As this gradually takes place, suppressed feelings also come to the surface and can be analysed. This is where I see a great opportunity to handle our own emotions more clearly and responsibly with the help of WingTsun, and to develop a peaceful attitude.