Mo Dak - The Morality of Kung Fu

Kung Fu (Chinese martial arts) has something referred to as Mo Dak. Loosely translated as "the morality of gung fu," centers arodt respect for the martial arts, its heritage, proper martial etiquette, humbleness of your own abilities and appreciation of Kung fu as a whole.

Mo Dak shows your character as a person. It is an expression of your appreciation and humanity. Its the opposite of being egotistic and narrow-minded. Its not about being self-righteous or protecting some code of honor. Its about being a good person for yourself and genuinely helping others.

Mo Dak also means the ability to appreciate the art and the effort of the teacher. Instead of looking at the art as something money can buy and viewing the teacher as a person giving you a service, appreciation is given the art as a whole and those that have come before you.

Mo Dak comes into play when a Sifu takes on new students. The teacher looks for those that are genuinely interested in learning the art. Only those potential students that that show a true appreciation and display an undefined "certain kind of humbleness" are taken on as new students.

In having Mo Dak one needs to have the awareness to appreciate things as a whole. The ability to truly appreciate everything that is around you in this moment in time is about awareness. In Kung fu, we practice to gain higher levels of awareness and appreciating things as a whole. We practice being in the moment, or "being in the now," working on making this awareness a habit.

So even though we practice a martial art, it goes beyond just being able to handle yourself. We practice to gain higher levels of awareness. This in turn develops more than just the ability to control your attacker. It develops an appreciation of everything that is happening in the moment. It transcends culture and self-defense.

In short, the practice of Mo Dak is the practice of living in the now and developing greater levels of awareness within each moment.



Sifu Adam Williss is a southern California-based martial artist specializing in the Chinese fighting art of Wing Chun Gung Fu. He is founder, publisher and editor-in-chief of Wing Chun Magazine as well as president of the California Wing Chun Coalition. He teaches the art in San Clemente, CA (Orange County) - redrebelmartialarts.com.

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Kung Fu (Chinese martial arts) has something referred to as Mo Dak. Loosely translated as "the morality of gung fu," centers arodt respect for the martial arts, its heritage, proper martial etiquette, humbleness of your own abilities and appreciation of Kung fu as a whole. Mo Dak shows your character as a person. It is an expression of your appreciation and humanity. Its the opposite of being egotistic and narrow-minded. Its not about being self-righteous or protecting some code of honor. Its about being a good person for yourself and genuinely helping others. Mo Dak also means the ability to appreciate the art and the effort of the teacher. Instead of looking at the art as something money can buy and viewing the teacher as a person giving you a service, appreciation is given the art as a whole and those that have come before you. Mo Dak comes into play when a Sifu takes on new students. The teacher looks for those that are genuinely interested in learning the art. Only those potential students that that show a true appreciation and display an undefined "certain kind of humbleness" are taken on as new students. In having Mo Dak one needs to have the awareness to appreciate things as a whole. The ability to truly appreciate everything that is around you in this moment in time is about awareness. In Kung fu, we practice to gain higher levels of awareness and appreciating things as a whole. We practice being in the moment, or "being in the now," working on making this awareness a habit. So even though we practice a martial art, it goes beyond just being able to handle yourself. We practice to gain higher levels of awareness. This in turn develops more than just the ability to control your attacker. It develops an appreciation of everything that is happening in the moment. It transcends culture and self-defense. In short, the practice of Mo Dak is the practice of living in the now and developing greater levels of awareness within each moment. Sifu Adam Williss is a southern California-based martial artist specializing in the Chinese fighting art of Wing Chun Gung Fu. He is founder, publisher and editor-in-chief of Wing Chun Magazine as well as president of the California Wing Chun Coalition. He teaches the art in San Clemente, CA (Orange County) - redrebelmartialarts.com.