Culturally and historically, (pronounced Wing Chun) Kung Fu is a martial art that was developed in China’s southern Shaolin Temple. It emphasizes close quarters combat, the application of sound principles and the development of attributes and skills as opposed to specific techniques.

According to Ving Tsun legend, it was invented approximately 400 years ago by a female Shaolin monk named Ng Mui after she observed a snake and a crane fighting. Ng Mui’s first student was a young girl named Yim Ving Tsun for whom the style was named.

Today, students of Ving Tsun Kung Fu find that it doesn’t require extraordinary strength and can be practiced well into one’s later years. Practitioners create their own relaxation, coordination, balance, timing and sensitivity within the style’s framework. The study and application of Ving Tsun proves that skilled technique based on sound principles can conquer brute strength.

At its core, Ving Tsun is a method of knowledge acquisition and skill development, codified by five key phases:

Define Your Purpose: The student defines the objective in the simplest terms possible, establishes a metric with which to measure its fulfillment and a realistic perception of how effective the method is in application.

Identify Attributes: The student defines what personal qualities they might need to develop or modify in order to accomplish the stated purpose.

Identify Principles: The student considers what is intrinsically true about their relationship to the environment; these truths are identified as principles. The student then asks how these principles can be utilized in accomplishing the stated purpose.

Develop Attributes and Internalize Principles: The student considers training methodology and defines the most efficient way to develop attributes and internalize the principles which will allow them to move toward their goal.

Apply and Refine: Pursuit of the stated goal. The student measures their efficiency and effectiveness. If progress is unsatisfactory they must reexamine and, if necessary, refine the training methodology or evaluate if they have correctly identified the necessary attributes and principles.

Through their practice, the Ving Tsun students have access to a training methodology to gain the ability to respond spontaneously to changing circumstances. They can achieve control by learning to let go of control. Once firsthand knowledge of this state is experienced, it’s only a matter of time before they are able to apply the wisdom gained from their training to everyday life to realize this form of “martial intelligence”.

Sifu Bryant K. Feld, a certified natural health professional, provides instruction in Ving Tsun Kung Fu plus other martial arts and modern armed and unarmed combative styles in seminars, workshops and private instruction at Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu Martial Intelligence, 916 Township Lane, Cherry Hill, NJ. He also offers holistic health coaching. For more information, call 856-625-3130, email [email protected] or visit VTKFSystem.com.