Many of you have heard and read about Ken’s methods,
and have a good idea already about how he conducts his
seminars. For the best technical overview of the types
of things Ken covered, I would refer you to "A Path to
Wing Chun" on the Planet Wing Chun web site. Rather
than taking the same approach, perhaps the best way for
me to tell you about Ken’s seminar in Boston, is to share
my experience with you in a more subjective and personal
way. So here is part of my story...
On Friday, I made my 6 ½ hour drive from my home in Rochester
New York to meet my former teacher and his girlfriend
at their home in Burlington Vermont. The drive was gorgeous.
I ventured off the NYS thruway at Utica in order to cut
through a corner of the Adirondack State Park. The road
cuts kitty corner from New York to my destination in Vermont.
It was like driving through a landscape painting of mountains
in the latter stages of fall foliage, with the surprise
of a hidden lake or stream, clumps of white birch, amidst
the hills and mountains at each turn. The peaceful drive
gave me time to reflect on what I’d read and heard of
Ken and his approach to Wing Chun, and also to reflect
on my own training thus far.
I arrived to meet Eric & Erica in the afternoon.
To stretch out from the ride, we walked to a nearby park
overlooking Lake Champlain, and chi sau’d by the water’s
edge as the sun set. They then served me with a delicious
meal of homemade nori rolls, and taught me how do dress
and eat them. After dinner, we climbed into the car to
continue the remaining 3 ½ hour trek to our motel in Waltham
Massachusetts. When we checked in, we were greeted by
a note from Dr. Jack Ling, saying to meet him and Ken
the following morning in the motel lobby, so we could
ride together to the seminar.
At the appointed time on Saturday morning, I found Ken
waiting downstairs. When I walked in I recognized him
immediately from the pictures I’ve seen on the Internet.
He identified me also, either from the expression on my
face, or perhaps from the video I made last March for
the Sil Lim Tau video project which he said he had seen,
and gave a warm and hearty greeting. A moment later Jack
Ling walked over, with an enormous smile which is dwarfed
only by the size of his heart. With Eric and Erica arriving
just behind me, the introductions were hardly over before
our conversations turned to Wing Chun. As we rode, Ken
began explaining some wing chun concepts needed for understanding
the "soft" way. He told us that the keys are position,
sensitivity, and power, in that order, and that he applies
his skill first by neutralizing the opponent, then by
utilizing them. So in his way, Ken was warming up our
Wing Chun minds before we even started.
We arrived an hour before the official seminar start
time. This allowed Ken to give us and the other first
time attendees an overview of the material from his last
visit to Boston, and to begin explaining his interpretation
of Wing Chun. As the time neared, more students filed
in. Though there were only 13 of us over the course of
2 days, we were a very eclectic crowd, including people
with backgrounds in Moy Yat, Yip Chun, Augustine Fong,
Yip Ching, Fut Sao Wing Chun, some with a mixed background
in other families, and of course a couple of people following
the Ken Chung/Leung Sheung path. In fact, Dr. Jack Ling
was also a student of Leung Sheung in Hong Kong, and with
Ken’s help is now reviving and renewing what he learned
there.
Ken began with demonstrations of his "soft force." This
is where Ken first really gets your attention. Through
what seems like the lightest of motion and touch, Ken
will rock your world. As he went around the room to give
each person the first hand experience, I saw one by one,
the big guys being off balanced, in some cases displaced
by several feet, and others with no visible movement other
than something akin to a shock wave accompanied by a look
of total astonishment. When it came my turn, I received
a very light and controlled version of his "girl hand,"
and though I thought I was prepared for it I heard myself
aspirating an involuntary "Oh my God!"
Throughout the course of the next two days, Ken demonstrated,
illustrated and explained in painstaking detail both the
implications and the mechanisms involved in producing
the soft power. Ken is "hands on" in a multidimensional
a sense; not just by letting you feel his force, but also
by having you try the concepts out on him, and by actually
having you touch and feel him. He will show how to do
something, then let you put your hands on his arms, legs,
or back to feel what is happening that is not visible
to the eye. When you watch him in action, you will visually
see the result of his effort and say to yourself, "only
a very strong guy like him could do that!" but then he
will have you touch his upper arm as he repeats the same
application, only to find that his large biceps and triceps
are completely relaxed and disengaged. I will not make
a lame attempt at explaining his body mechanic, but see
that it absolutely requires a relaxation, using muscle
would only be a detriment. There is a physical development
that supports and drives the relaxed force though. Ken
let us feel the development of the knee and elbow areas
which are acquired through persistent training. There
is also a body mechanic, a sort of dynamic connectedness
that I have yet to fully understand, but I believe it
is related to the idea of what is often called "borrowing"
force from the floor, up through the joints, the back,
and out through the shoulders, arms and finally projecting
somewhere behind or through the opponent.
But there is more to Ken’s Wing Chun than just body mechanic.
It is his constant positioning, calm, lack of greediness.
It is also his attitude, and his intent. He does not rush
in, he will wait for you to come to him, then he will
use you. He does not avoid you or push you away, he "embraces"
you. Ken says he is "very sensitive" but there is more
meaning in that than just the physical contact of his
heavy "wet noodle" arms, which reminded me of limp Play
Dough. He is also sensitive in a visual way; he will look
at you, sometimes expressionless, sometimes with a great
big grin, but always through you and all around you -
his eyes are not tunnel visioned at yours. He can "sense"
without touching you where your balance is, and how to
uproot you. I also hypothesize that his "sensitivity"
has a key mental and psychological component, but this
is an area not easily explored in a 2 day seminar.
Ken showed us how to train the first form, stepping,
punching and bong lop. On the second day, Ken gave us
opportunity for his correction, in stance, first form,
stepping, and for some in chum kiu. For those who may
think this is too elementary, I guarantee that if you
have not been training in a way that is consistent with
Ken’s path, you are ripe for a big awakening. Ken’s approach
is very personalized. While he is addressing the group,
he is also working with each person individually, showing
or giving each person something they need. To correct
my SLT, he helped me into my stance, deeper and deeper,
and more in and more back; by the time I was in it (as
close as we were to get anyway), I was so challenged by
my concentration on maintaining the structure, trying
to understand my body position, and managing the pain,
that I did not have enough concentration left to even
remember the opening moves to SLT correctly. Ken corrected
with exacting precision, the feet, the knees, the hips,
the hands, the head, the axis, the hands again, the feet
again, the sink, and so on. He even tells you to correct
your facial expression, to smile (LOL) and how to use
your vision. I don’t know how long I was in the stance,
it may have been all of 30 seconds, though it felt like
eternity. Again, Ken’s sensitivity came into play...just
as he had helped me into the stance, he was kind enough
to help me out of it and to lend support until I could
reliably stand on my own again. Later, when checking my
stepping, he immobilized my forward hip momentum, which
I have been using to propel myself forward; no hip also
immobilized me, and again, painfully, brought to my attention
that I must learn a new way of moving. I have never had
a teacher who provided such painstaking analysis and detail
of my positioning and mechanic.
It is impossible to capture all the detail that Ken covered.
But all the while, his incredible teaching and coaching
skills were evident. He is sensitive and a multi-media
presenter. He uses words and descriptive phrases and illustrates
through demonstration. He has a most delightful sense
of humor, which not only draws people in and relaxes them,
but helps to illustrate his points. He mixes his humor
with his intensity, which allows him to convey the gravity
of the subject matter while keeping the atmosphere enjoyable
and not too heavy. He uses his incredible persona to make
a lasting impression on you. He has a knack for knowing
what works to explain, and also who is receptive and who
is not. And as much as he is demanding, he also has a
deep wellspring of patience, which I personally put to
the test again and again.
Ken’s Wing Chun does not turn off at the end of the class.
At lunch and dinner, his conversation easily returns again
and again to Wing Chun. He is in his element in entertaining
an endless series of questions on technical issues, his
training in Hong Kong, Wing Chun history, and more. Ken
calls himself "cocky" but I distinctly see it as the kind
that stems from validated confidence, and not the kind
of cockiness rooted in ego. He is at once self assured
and humble. He is also very generous and kind, and open
in his sharing of himself and his Wing Chun.
I hated to see the seminar come to a close. Ken really
does connect, and the impression he makes is a
lasting one. By the time I left, I felt that he was not
only a coach to each of us, but also an ally and a friend.
He is a complete package. It was also sad knowing that
all the wonderful people at the seminar live so far away
from me. Fortunately, a number of them have email. ;)
I have a lot to digest, and a lot to work on. No doubt
I will have lots of questions. For those of you anxious
to collect forms, drills, and fancy hands, best wishes
to you. I am no longer worried about not being able to
do pushups; in an ironic way, I’m kind of happy about
it. As for me, my SLT and I will be spending a lot more
time together. I believe that anyone truly interested
in Wing Chun would be benefited by a seminar or training
with Ken. Anyone can attend a seminar with Ken and enjoy
the privilege of being reeled by his power. But to really
receive something of value, I think you must also be willing
to come with an open mind, an empty cup. Being among the
"youngest" at the seminar in terms of my Wing Chun training,
may in a sense have put me in company with the luckiest.
Well, there you have it, at least a start of my impressions.
I’m off now to try and recapture my "girl hands." But
my first order of business is to eliminate that little
head shaking thing I do when I know I’ve executed something
incorrectly (which is most of the time)...Ken hates that,
so if he asks, tell him I’m working on it. ;)
