Kim Yeung Mah & the Powers of Wing Chun
By Mario Hostios
As a new student to Wing Chun in 1993, I assumed based on what I observed that I had chosen a hand art. I was amazed by the lightning fast trapping and sticking movements of the hand techniques and didn’t understand why everyone insisted on this pigeon-toed stance. One month later, as I drove home from class with legs shaking from fatigue so badly I had trouble shifting the clutch in my car, I was illuminated. I know I’m not alone. Many students are surprised to find that Wing Chun is a leg art, or to be more precise, a horse art. Kim Yeung Mah, the pigeon-toed horse of Wing Chun and primary Chi Gong posture, is the source of Wing Chun’s power, and the misery of burning legs for new Wing Chun students.
The Chi Gong development in Kim Yeung Mah expresses itself in several ways. Principle among these expressions is the cultivation of an effortless rooted-ness when facing the incoming force of the aggressor. To the aggressor, the Wing Chun man is seemingly able to absorb his attack as if immoveable. The flip side of rooted-ness, or immovable energy, is explosive energy, or lik. As training progresses, the Wing Chun man is able to convey increasingly effective power through seemingly small gestures, both to strike or shock (meaning uproot) the aggressor. The one-inch punch and explosive jerking of the arm to disrupt the balance are examples of lik.
Complementary to rooted-ness is the sensitivity (tactile awareness) to transition from one posture to the another in response to any threat against his center of gravity or the opportunity to attack the center of gravity of the aggressor. Sensitivity trumps pure speed because the Wing Chun man reacts first and moves more efficiently in response to pressure. This sensitivity is experienceD as “now you see me, now you don’t” by the aggressor, as his efforts to attack open himself up to be hit or shocked. In fact, the faster or harder he tries to attack, the quicker and more explosively he is hit himself.
This is the soft powers of Wing Chun. Not reliant on natural endowments, cultivated rooted-ness/lik and sensitivity/chi are exemplified in the archetype of the small, aged master. Immovable as a mountain, yet flowing like a slow moving river, His touch is as explosive as a bolt of lightning.
Fundamental to the realization of this level of skill is the diligent training of the Kim Yeung Mah horse and its application in footwork. It's been said that without the horse there is no Wing Chun. Kim Yeung Mah is the Chi Gong posture in Wing Chun. Chi Gong is the element of posture that opens and develops the acupuncture channels in the student. This action leads to postural, neurological, and other enhancements in the student that can also improve health. Without the chi gong development, there is limited rooted-ness and sensitivity. While the hands may perform Wing Chun movements, there really is no Wing Chun. The student is limited to throwing his center of gravity at the aggressor to strike or grapple, solely dependent upon his strength and speed. This is the common way found in fighting competitions. It makes for great sports entertainment, but is less useful in self-defense.
In the street, free from rules, an aggressor is apt to attack in the place, time and manner he feels will enable him to prevail. In other words, on his terms, using the advantages he feels he has. Since the aggressor is the initiator, and in whatever time frame has premeditated his action, we have to grant he may be correct. If the aggressor is the bigger person he has the natural advantage of reach and mass. If he is smaller, he has the natural advantage of quickness (less distance traveled to accomplish the same posture) and a lower center of gravity. Either set of advantages is negated through skill derived from cultivation of Chi (sensitivity) and lik (power). Advantages in strength and speed are relative in conflict and are given or taken moment by moment for the initiation of conflict to the conclusion. This means that you may be bigger and stronger form instance, but if your hands are controlled and your centerline is exposed those advantages won’t matter. Using sensitivity and rooted-ness, the Wing Chun man looks to evade or control the attack and resolve the conflict with lik, In either event, the goal of the Wing Chun man is to resolved the conflict, not win the fight. To win one must complete. To compete, one must operate within agreed upon rules. The aggressor has agreed to nothing. If the aggressor were agreeable there would be no conflict. So while squaring off and punching the aggressor’s lights out to the cheers of the crowd mught be satisfying to the ego, the Wing Chun man knows it better to leave if you can, strike and survive if you must, and get the hell out of there to avoid legal trouble either way.
Rooted-ness and sensitivity begin to cultivate the moment the student surrenders his body to the art and allows it to be molded by Kim Yeung Mah. Results are cumulative and tangible, but also relative. Consistent, diligent practice forges the crude metal of the student’s body into flexible steal. At 5 years you will have more chi than at 1, at 10 more than 5. Will you be able to match another school brother? Who knows? You improve and so does he. This is tangible for each of you, but improvement is relative to yourself. Further, beyond competition for competition’s sake, collaboration among school brothers provides the opportunity to further sharpen each other’s self-defense skills. The school brother’s I regard highest in my experience offered me the chance to collaborate with them in drills to improve together. From them I continue to learn, and they may be senior or junior students relative to myself. The main point is that when you agree to pursue excellence in your movement (instead of ego in competition), and allow your body, mind and spirit, to be molded by the art you have chosen, progress accelerates toward realization of potential. This is one of the many things I have learned studying Wing Chun.
This article was originally published in the now out-of-print Wing Chun Magazine.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MARIO HOSTIOS IS A LOS ANGELES-BASED MARTIAL ARTIST & FITNESS INSTRUCTOR. HE HAS STUDIED AND PRACTICED WING CHUN SINCE 1993. MARIO’S WEBSITE CAN BE FOUND AT MARIOHOSTIOS.COM.
