Shaolin Wing Chun Philosophy
Grand Master Benny Meng
For many years, my SiGung, Grand Master Benny Meng has dedicated his life to researching, training, and teaching the martial art now known as Shaolin Wing Chun—a system recognized as an Intangible Cultural Treasure of China.
Grand Master Meng’s teachings grew from decades of research into the origins and development of Wing Chun. His work brought together knowledge from several Wing Chun traditions, including Hek Ki Boen Eng Chun, Hung Fa Yi Eng Chun, and the Ving Tsun Athletic Association tradition associated with Grand Master Ip Man.
His research went beyond martial technique. He sought to understand Wing Chun as both a martial art and a historical expression of the Chan Buddhist philosophy that forms the spiritual foundation of Shaolin martial arts.
Shaolin Wing Chun
Through more than 20 years of exhaustive research, travel, and training, Grandmaster Meng, founder and curator of the Ving Tsun Museum, developed the Shaolin Wing Chun Kung Fu Martial Arts System: Hung Lung Sin Fu Faat Mun Paai (空 龍 善 虎 法 門 派). Shaolin Wing Chun is a complete, scientific-based martial art system which harmonizes with the physics of the world we live in so that a practitioner can attain maximum efficiency in human combat. By teaching the close quarter combat efficiency of Wing Chun, we ensure that our students are proficient and effective in all ranges of martial arts to include long kicking, long striking, short striking, and grappling.
Once a student has some proficiency in some basic movements, the next step is working on the techniques with a more live format. Sparring doesn't have to be ultra-aggressive, but it does have to move away from fixed patterns. Sparring is about communication with your partner and focusing on an particular objective, skill set, or concept you are working on for that session.
The teaching methodology we use to pass on this martial arts knowledge is the same method they used in the Shaolin Temple hundreds of years ago. We call this method the Shaolin Halls Method of training. Progressing through the Shaolin Halls a practitioner learns to control their mind, their body, and their emotions so that they can be both effective and efficient in their daily lives as well as in a combat situation, in short, 'Harmonizing the Mind, Body, and Spirit."
Universal Concepts
At its heart, Shaolin Wing Chun recognizes that martial arts share four fundamental methods of combat:
Ti — Kicking
Da — Striking
Shuai — Throwing
Na — Seizing and Submitting
Rather than limiting itself to a collection of techniques, Shaolin Wing Chun seeks to understand the principles behind movement, combat, and human interaction. The goal is maximum efficiency with minimum effort, using the correct relationship of Time, Space, and Energy.
But the deepest purpose of martial arts is not simply learning how to defeat another person.
It is learning how to overcome the conflict within ourselves.
The True Meaning of Martial Arts
Shaolin Wing Chun teaches that martial arts should serve to reconcile rather than divide—to cultivate harmony within ourselves, with others, and with the world around us.
The true mastery of martial arts is therefore not measured by how many opponents we can defeat. It is measured by how well we can control our thoughts, feelings, and actions; maintain harmony under pressure; and respond to conflict without becoming consumed by it.
The fight, in the deepest sense, is won before it begins.
This is not a matter of being faster or stronger than an opponent. It is a matter of understanding the conditions that create conflict and maintaining harmony when those conditions arise.
The First Battle Is Within
To straighten a troubled mind, purify the heart, and harmonize the body and spirit, we must begin with ourselves.
A pure heart creates compassion.
A disciplined mind creates clarity.
A controlled body creates freedom of movement.
And a harmonious spirit allows us to meet the world without being controlled by it.
This is why winning and losing are not the ultimate measure of martial arts.
True victory is victory over discord within yourself.
The martial artist learns not to seek conflict, but to be prepared when conflict finds them. Training becomes a means of developing character, discipline, compassion, courage, and responsibility.
A Martial Art of Life
True martial arts are ultimately a work of love.
They are not practiced merely to defeat an opponent or prove superiority. They are practiced to preserve life, protect others, develop the individual, and contribute to the peace of the community.
The martial artist becomes not simply a fighter, but a protector, teacher, and servant of others.
At Blue Lantern Martial Arts, we believe that the greatest achievement in Kung Fu is not becoming someone who can defeat everyone else.
It is becoming someone who no longer needs to.
Love is the guardian deity of everything.
武道 Wu Dao - The Martial Way
The "Martial Way" means to seek Harmony and to Practice maintaining that oneness. If we depart ever so slightly from it, we lose the Way. I want considerate people to listen to the voice of the martial arts. Use it not for the correcting of others; listen to it for correcting your own mind..
Realize your full potential
Martial arts gives rise to an artistic process of more fully realizing our potential and creativity, a harmonious way of experiencing and expressing life itself. It deals not just with disciplining the body and mind for punching and kicking, but also with everyday activities such as eating and sleeping. The "battles" one continuously fights in everyday life far outweigh those rare battles of combat. However, if one can effectively deal with "real" fighting, the battles of life become more easily manageable.
Being fully present
The process of fighting, like the process of living, entails the search for truth. Its value lies in the doing – not in what is done, in the journey – not in the destination, in the experience – not in the outcome. When you live within the process and not for the product, each moment can be prized, and action in life becomes direct and free. Living in the past halts creativity. Living in the future dilutes the present. Reality demands recognition of the "here and now". It is the realization of what lies in our inner most selves.
These thoughts form the bedrock of martial arts. They constitute the mission of martial arts – a mission that should be yours as well.