Getting up to Level 9

Does mastery really means that action can happen without thought?

Last week, we talked about why thinking can get in the way of training. In the beginning, we train so that our bodies can learn the movements. The arm has to learn the correct position for the bong sau and it has to learn the correct path (energy direction and all) from the bong sau to the tan sau. If we start overthinking however, we begin to ask questions that are irrelevant to this simple training - and that leads us to do all sorts of unwanted things.

Once we have the path and positions, we next work on the reactions. In double sticky hands, there is always one open corner (3 covered). When a strike enters from straight ahead into that corner, we simply change our bong sau to a tan sau. When a strike comes into a covered corner, we meet the incoming force by pushing our arm out. If this force becomes too great, we turn. If a strike comes in from an angle, we turn. By training our bodies to naturally react to these situations, we build reflexes that allow us to react correctly and quickly in any given situation.