I always wonder and always remind myself there are no end to the levels of skill in martial arts (especially traditional ones) . I recently met Sifu Yap Boh Heong of Goh Chor Kuen (5 ancestor fist) the late great Datuk Chee Kim Thong. We started sharing our ideas and views about martial arts and later went into some live sharing.
My GOD! MY GOD! That encounter has become one of my most memorable moments in martial arts. I am quite confident with my stances but he blew me and threw me around like a rag doll. The only person who could do better is my Sifu (Sifu Yip Fook Choy) and maybe Sifu Yap's father who is Sifu Yap Cheng Hai (whom I've not met yet). It also changed my perception that Goh Chor is hard kungfu.
What I was interested in however was Wu Mei Kung Fu (or Ng Mui Kungfu). Ng Mui as many knows is the person who created White Crane Kungfu and also the person who led to the creation of Wing Chun. Some people say Ng Mui doesn't exist. But I believe otherwise. After looking at the demo, the movements and a bit of the details, I believe that this Ng Mui fist can be the ancestor of Wing Chun. Wing Chun claims to be simple, direct and practical but the style and the movements of Ng Mui fist are even simpler than that of Wing Chun or White Crane.
But simplicity is not usually simple. The amount of details contained within the movements is horrendous (same as Wing Chun). A simple strike forward will have many components but when you somehow have all the components in place the results are instantaneous. For that one moment in time, you will feel invincible.
Traditional Chinese Martial Arts is wonderful! Let's try our best to preserve them!
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1 comment:
Sounds like a truly memorable experience!
I've always believed that training with someone at a very high skill level is the best way to learn, even if the encounter is one of defeat for you.
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