The System is in The Details, Gaining Perfection and Playing The Jong.

Kip and Heath help out during the beginners class.

Attention to detail is such an important part of Ving Tsun training, we should never just go through the motions, treating some movements in the forms with more respect than the others. There are no throw away movements.

As an example,  last night at Moy Yat Kung Fu Academy's Austin location, we spent at least 15 minutes just going through opening the  Yee Jee Kim Yeung Ma stance. It is the basic foundation and platform for everything that we do in Ving Tsun, it should be obvious that you need to put the time in working it.  

We don't just get into our Yee Jee Kim Yeung Ma, or as we say "your horse", we have a method, a checklist. When you go through it religiously, every time you start a form or get into a 2-person drill, your checklist will start to blur into one clean movement, this is the nature of Ving Tsun. If you don't put the time in working the foundation correctly, you might get something that looks ok but you won't achieve the power and feel that you would get from religiously adhering to the individual details of the system.

Why so much detail on the horse?

EVERYTHING we do in Ving Tsun is stance training. In a 2 hour class, you get 2 hours of stance training, in a 4 hour class, you get 4 hours of stance training. This is very important for your kung fu ability, without a stable platform, you will not be able to successfully launch power attacks. Think what would happen if you mounted a tank's cannon on a small car. You need the body of the tank to withstand the pressure and energy of the firing cannon.  Training your horse turns your body into the tank.

When playing forms, your legs should get burned out, sometimes even shaking. When playing 2-person drills, your legs should give out before your shoulders. It's easy to let our horse relax when we are focused on what the upper body is doing but Ving Tsun needs to develop Yau Ma or full body horse, this a small way to start on that development and be able to link upper body and lower body together.

The Ving Tsun Kung Fu System, is a system made up of details, this is what really sets us apart from most other martial arts. We put the time in to educate ourselves on the most minute details of what we do because what we do is a martial science.  There are many different details for what could be considered the same movements, this isn't a discussion of right or wrong, it's just a lesson in understanding EVERYTHING you do when training.

Seeking perfection in what we do is a very Ving Tsun-centric practice. If you treat your Ving Tsun forms and movements with the respect they deserve, you will in turn get amazing carry over into your daily life with everything you do. Training your Ving Tsun is really training your life habits in the long term.

As a goal in your kung fu career, you should know 2-3 ways to do every movement in Ving Tsun.

As an example of working on the details, here is a video of myself going through some of the Jong form with Sigung Bak, Moy Bing Wah  a direct student of Yip Man. That'll make someone a bit nervous, but I was just working on different, specific details while going through the form, instead of really performing the form as a cohesive whole.  Great training that will  give me years of practice ahead.

Please make a habit of PERFECTION in your life.

---Vyvial Sifu
We are all alone in this together.