Chasing Tradition for the sake of tradition

Chasing tradition is like chasing hands. It's fun and makes you look great to people who don't know better, but its still not WC. At least...not to me.
This isn't to say that Traditional WC isn't WC. I'm merely trying to provide a personal distinction between literal and figurative definitions, being that 'Traditional WC' is the water that sits and doesn't move, while real WC changes and evolves to suit its environment and application without veering away from the largely important concepts of being Simple, Direct and Efficient.
Like Wong Shun Leung said, "WC is a skill that needs to be trained and refined". Its a set of skills and tools, based on humanity, that needs to evolve as we evolve, as has all of our tools through time. As it grows it needs to change, to get simpler, and to get more efficient, in the context of its application. One needs to find how the concept is applied to oneself where we are all marginally different from each other. One may be more flexible on one side of the body, so perhaps we don't have to compensate as much on that side. Whereas the other side might be very limited in flexibility, and our body position may have to be calibrated to accommodate. This calibration doesn't necessarily mean that you're no longer adhering to WC's tenets. It can actually fall further in line.
Saying that, its growing simplicity can be found to be quite difficult when applying a scientific approach to it.
Just like any other learned skill. Funny that...isn't it?

There is nothing to say there isn't a place for tradition in the world. The Traditional movement can still provide for self-defence, effective application, and discipline. It can lead to a stronger sense of community and belonging as you become part of something 'bigger-than-yourself'. And yet, within these systems you can find people who Believe a technique will work simply because they're told. The traditional world isn't alone in this. Sadly this has just as much to do with the individual as it does the movement.
I don't believe in Chi as a manifest form of energy. I just don't see any scientific evidence that can be proven, time and again, across a broad spectrum of people. I can appreciate it for how I perceive it, as a mental exercise that can be used to picture the flow of 'energy' (or more so, intention) to make the learning process easier. Add to that the human ability to self-convince oneself of a 'truth', and you've instantly a great big puddle of woo-woo. I look at religion the same way, as a mechanism to appease and support an individuals need for greater meaning, social support and philosophical (incorporating morals and ethics) guidance. In the end it looks different when portrayed by different people. Yet WC, allowing for the different body types, can look the same. Not identical, but the same. Effective in the same way.

I trained Yang Tai Chi for 4 years. It was a slow process but I loved it. It was awesome!
I still think its pretty great, but I don't need to believe in Chi to appreciate it. Tai Chi is often referred to as a traditional system, involving idea's of Chi, Jing and other seeming mysteries. For me, these concepts are more about explaining a difficult idea in a way which is favorable to the person its being explained to. It always delights me when i find a video of a Tai Chi teacher explaining the physics of why, and how, it works. Its nice that we can now put reason and physical evidence behind Tai Chi, and we can  explain the mechanisms at play.

As such, there is a place in this world for Traditional WC. We need to learn our history and appreciate it for what it is...evidence that we're growing as an organism and stretching our muscles. It's evidence that we are AWARE of our place in the world and the struggles involved in maintaining our presence. However, like science, we must move forward reinforcing those concepts that are still true and changing those aspects that hold us back.


This same mechanism is available to students of WC. We can appreciate the tradition we've adopted, we can believe in Ng Mui, we can argue about which school is the true inheritor of Yim Wing Chun. But none of this will help when someone tries to mug me. Or rob me. Or molest me. Only the ability to defend myself, or not, will be in evidence. That will be the proof to the pudding

Creating habits to support your training...

Every time someone new walks into our school, I celebrate. Sure it means a bit more stability for the school, but more importantly it means another person has found their way here to experience something I love. When push comes to shove we don't need a building to train in, though it does make it easier for n00bs to feel comfortable. It's also useful not being blinded by rain or catching our death of cold.
Before I got my shit together, kicked depression in the nuts for a while and delved heartily into WC again, my brothers were training in a few different locations. They were at each others houses, in car park buildings...anywhere they were protected from the weather. They spent a few years doing this...just they three.
A building is only important a) for protection (it gets really wet and cold in winter in our southern climes, and b) students and prospects expect it. There's a misconception that the better the location, the better the kung fu will be. The regular occurrence of McDojo's proves this isn't always the case.

My brothers created a habit amongst themselves by training at least once a week when they could all make it.
It took me a long time before I was able to temporarily change a habit that lead to my attendance improving, resulting in a sudden rise in skill. I had a habit of getting home, lying down and having a bit of a snooze. This would often lead to my not waking until after class.
I wasn't doing very well at improving, and that reinforced the idea that missing a class or two wouldn't make any difference. I knew I was wrong but depression and lack of motivation allowed me to look the other way and ignore the obvious. Thus I created the habit of not attending classes.

I don't remember how it happened. I'd spent weeks thinking about WC, how much fun I'd previously had learning it and just how hard our simple system really was. I like to think that I realised I love to be challenged, that the cognitive requirements I needed to move forward were available to me and that my aptitude was merely...sleeping. I eventually woke up to that challenge and met it face on.
I've since created a new habit, though it's still not locked in, of not going home first.

My routine began when I would head home from work.
I'd get home, lie down, set my alarm, and snooze. The reward was sleep. I love sleep and yet I starve myself of it at times during the week.
It took me a while to realise what the cue was and I thought it was many different things before the truth hit me. It was boredom. Sure I was tired but that wasn't driving my habit. I was bored. I finish work at 5 pm and we don't start class until 8pm. I'm usually not hungry so I don't bother with food. So I'm left twiddling my thumbs.
I broke this habit my interrupting the routine.
On my way home I stop off at a local mall, grab a coffee or a little nibble, and generally just walk around for about 10 mins. Then I go back to my car and have a snooze.
The only changes are that I might eat and I don't go home. Instead I find myself waking up every few minutes to make sure I haven't missed the alarm. This simple change in routine had a huge impact on my drive and perception. I get enough sleep to be alert in class and I'm eager enough that I don't sleep through the alarm.

My reasoning behind sharing this overly detailed experience is that we, (and I'm sure most other schools do too), have new students regularly who are all keen and ready to learn. However after a couple months they tend to drop off, always promising to come back, but only dropping back in from time to time. (This is excluding folk who just don't dig the class for whatever reason).
Admittedly some of them are scholastic students, some actors, some do shift-work...there are many legitimate reasons for their not being able to make it.
We've looked into whether its a quality issue with our classes and the typical outcome isn't an issue with our teaching...its time. A lot of people are just too busy. Kung fu is still seen as a fun pastime. Its up there with, swimming, going to the park, going to the gym...or learning a new language. It's either a bit of fun, or something which is Really Interesting, but something to be taken up later.

In the end people look at WC as a hobby. I guess for most people it has to be just a hobby.
The limitation with this thought frame is that WC is a skill-set. If you don't use it or practice it regularly, it will cease working as well as you want it to. If you're new to WC your progress will be stymied by your limited application of time. How many of us wouldn't have learned to write if we hadn't spent so much time at school learning?
Some folk may have a natural aptitude but they'll always be the minority. The greater number of folk will always have to work hard to improve and its up to us to create the environment to grow our WC.

After all...don't we value something more when we've had to work hard for it?