a kuen kuit: fear vs. greed

[aelward]

One of the Kuen Kuits that my Sifu shared with us is (in Mandarin):

pa da zhong gui da
(fear, hit, in the end, come back, hit)

tan da zhong bei da
(greed, hit, in the end, get, hit)

My understanding of this saying is "if you are afraid to get hit, you will end up getting hit; if you are too eager to hit, you will end up getting hit).

Last time I met with Sifu Ken Chung, he also talked about this, that greed and fear get in the way of training, and it best to leave this behind.

Is this a saying common to Wing Chun (has anyone else heard of it)? Or is it just something my Sifu came up with?

[old jong]

In every day's language it could mean: Keep your head clear and let your Kung Fu do the talking!;)

[yuanfen]

Not an uncommon kuen kuit by any means. We dont use ken's phrasing of greedy but the same intent is there.

Basically two interrelated sayings:

Strike when you should. Do not strike when you shouldnt.

Do not be too eager to strike. Do not be afraid to strike. Being afraid of getting hit- will finally be hit.


Joy Chaudhuri

[dfl]

Yes, this is a pretty common saying in HK YMWC.
But when Ken says "but tam but wai", he has a very specific structural alignment meaning, quite different from the generic "you'll get hit if you are greedy or afraid".

[Tom Kagan]

There are thousands of Hoa Kuit (some call them Kuen Kuit). If you really need to know where your Sifu got them, you'll have to go back to your Sifu and ask him more about those two.

However, this is the one Ving Tsun Hoa Kuit (Ving Tsun Kuen Kuit) which, I believe, is the jist what your sifu told you. This is a single poem, though sometimes you'll find its verses stripped from their context. (NOTE: This is Cantonese - the language of Ving Tsun - not Mandarin):

Ying Dar, Chak Dar
Pat Ying Dar, Pat Ho Dar
Mo Keung Dar, Mat Luen Dar

Translations to English could be as follows:

Have the line? Take the line.
Don't have the line? Don't take the line.
No greedy hits? No confusion who hit.

or:

When you should hit, hit
When you shouldn't, don't
Don't when you can't
Don't when you mustn't

Anyone else want to take a gander at the translation? Attached is a rubbing of one side of the stone.

[black and blue]

Post when you should post
Do not post when you should not post
If you post - always hit the spell check
Rolling hands can sometimes be trolling hands

:p

[anerlich]

From a submission grappling coach:

"Take the gift, don't seek the bounty"

From a boxing coach:

"Christmas: better to give than to receive"

[S.Teebas]

Its confidence in your technique without ego. Its about not bull$hitting yourself about whats happening.

[TenTigers]

'when your opponent moves in, you move in,
when your opponent moves out, you move in,
when your opponent stands still, you move in!";-)

[HuangKaiVun]

This one I made up:

"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that jing".

[EnterTheWhip]

Have the line? Take the line.
Don't have the line? Take the line.
No greedy hits? Take the line.