Many ways to WC

[fa_jing]

Hi. I truly believe that there is more than one right way to do WC, but consistency of practice must be maintained and all logical extrapolation of methods must be included for the study of a particular branch.

To draw a parallel, I have read of major differences within the Hsing-Yi style. Where one sub-style uses a push off of the back leg to drive their Pi Chuan or Beng Chuan, another uses a pull from the front leg to drive the same punch. One might suppose that these two methods could be tested side-by-side, and a clear determination made of which is the best. But when you dig a little deeper, you find out that although one method generates more power, it leaves you unbalanced or vulnerable to counterattack (just as an example.) When you compare two sub-styles as a whole, you end up finding out that it is a wash, or it is unclear which if any of the two is better than the other.

It's like a polynomial equation, which has a number of solutions equal to the highest dimension of the equation. Some people think of Wing Chun as a 1st dimensional equation, with only one solution. You may all be familiar with quadratic equations, which have a dimension of 2 and have two solutions. Wing Chun is like a 10-dimensional equation, with 10 solutions (although some may be imaginary LOL )

Small variations can be introduced into the art by truly experienced and learned practicioners and if the martial logic is correct, you will end up with another solutions to the fighting equation. If you deviate too much, it is really like a whole 'nother art. If you don't have the experience/genius, the end result will be an inferior product. However, as we have seen, there are a good many high-quality products known under the Wing Chun umbrella.

[Ernie]

you touched on a very serious point
you can not control all the variables in a street fight , it's endless possibilities . all you can do is control or under stand your relationship to a fight , your balance your speed ,your sensitivity and so on . per haps martial arts just gives us a physical process to get to know ourselves , and in doing so a better way to relate to our enemy .
it's the process that get's tricky as human ego and marketing tend to take over . and the purity of the goal gets lost in endless unessacary details

[yenhoi]

Practice much, and hard and test yourself, how many solutions can there really be?

:eek:

[Ernie]

as a friend of mine would say'' that would be to much like right''

[fa_jing]

Originally posted by yenhoi
Practice much, and hard and test yourself, how many solutions can there really be?

:eek:

As many as there are practicioners, to be exact. But they would share many common characteristics.

[[Censored]]

It's like a polynomial equation, which has a number of solutions equal to the highest dimension of the equation.

That is an excellent description. I'm afraid it's far beyond the average forum reader, whose Wing Chun is limited to simple terms of the first power. ;)

I encourage you to draw them a picture.

[fa_jing]

Unfortunately the forum doesn't support the graphics I need ;)

The following is JUST a LOOSE analogy and STRAYS from Mathematical rigor at the END:

For the mathematically inclined or curious, a polynomial equation is of the sort:

y = ax + bx^2 + cx^3 + dx^4 + .... + C

a, b, c, d, etc. are coefficients (constants by which the powers of x are multiplied)

C is a simple constant.

The degree of the equation is the highest power of x that has a non-zero coefficient.

So y=3x + x^2 + 9x^3 + 4 has a degree of 3
y=7x - 9 has a degree of 1

The solutions to the equation are said to be the values of x for which y=0

For instance, the solution to the equation y=7x-9 is x=9/7
If you plug it back in, y=(9/7)*7 - 9 =0

The solutions for y=X^2 + 10x + 21 are x = -7 and x = -3 (try it)

The solutions for y=x^2 +1 are i and -i, "i" being an "imaginary number", which is defined as the square root of -1.

A solution may have both real and imaginary components, such as x=3 - 8i

One of the fundamental theoroms of mathematics (it's been a while) states that there are a number of solutions equal to the degree of the polynomial. However, some of these may not be distinct. So the number of distinct solutions can be equal to or less than the degree of the equation.

All of this is pure allegorical comparison to Wing Chun, of course. But to take the analogy a bit further, here goes:

Lets say that the components of Wing Chun correspond to a particular power of x. For instance:

x = tan sao

x^2 = bon sao

x^3 = alignment of stance

x^4 = chun choi punch

x^5 = weighting of stance

etc.

The coefficients of the equation would be provided by the opponent.

Solutions of the equation would be particular systems (YKS, TWC, HFY, Cho ga, Pien Sun etc.)

A solution occurs when y=0, in other words when the graph of the polynomial crosses the horizontal plane (in 3-d space) at zero. In other words, a smackdown of the opponent occurs at y=0.

If you mix the systems, a smackdown may not occur.

A particular weighting may go along with a particular power generation method, a particular angle between the forearm and upper arm, a particular alignment of the feet.

Be thankful that I have forgotten my study of the Calculus of Variations!!!!!!!




:rolleyes: :p :D :cool:

[PaulH]

Hey Fa Jing,

That's a nice way to explain the polynomial equation. Evidently, you and I have a different interpretation with respect to WC smack down. y= you; x = the unknown him. For every imaginable permutations (higher power) of his weapons, there is only one y who will neutralize it. It can be boring for a while doing this tic for tac until both the y and the x are sick of being full of themselves and start to cross to the other side. Voila! 0= ax+ax^2+...+C+y. the void, nu, Wu Wei, enlightenment, whatever... No more fighting, no more x, no more y. Beautiful! isn't it?

Regards,

[fa_jing]

That's a good look too. Hey I'm just happy I had a couple takers on the math analogy!

;)

[[Censored]]

One of the more interesting implications of this model concerns those practitioners who would copy their teacher exactly at all times. Their failure to achieve high-level Wing Chun is mathematically guaranteed!

[fa_jing]

Censored - but what if their teacher is their own identical twin? See we math types always look out for that special case.

;)