When I was fairly 'young' in terms of my Wing Tsun learning I acquired and read GM Kernspchet's amazing book – On Single Combat. Written as a thesis that was turned into a book it is a work I've yet to see bettered (please let me know if you can think of any works that do!). Moreover some of the philosophy and approaches the book proposed really made up my mind to dedicate myself to WT.


The book talked of WT not being scared to “slay sacred cows” in order to produce better results. To train what works not what worked for someone else, somewhere else in another time just “because”. GM Kernspecht has clearly adhered to this all of his life and is continuing to do so. However the same can not be said for those of us lower down the chain.

A mix of fear and arrogance meant that often I encountered those unwilling to take risks, to try something else or accept that Wing Tsun is merely one “path up the mountain” and not the be all and all of everything martial arts related. It is in fact a well rounded system but other more exclusive arts specialise and therefore can surpass WT in it's given field.

While TKD might well be considered useless beyond kicking it is a kicking art and thus far it's worth noting this when trying to learn to deal with, or even use kicks of all shapes and sizes. Likewise with BJJ on the floor, or Escrima when it comes to facing an armed attacker. What does this all mean?

Really it means that while we can't and shouldn't train every art intensely and exclusively to avoid missing some secret or hidden gem. It is important to understand that all arts have survived for one reason or another and presumably it is because for certain people they have worked – at least in a sense to make it worth saving.

Often I hear very average students and fighters dismiss out of ignorance or fear one art or another, I've done it myself enough. However until you've taken the time and courtesy to train it then you really have no right or business denigrating the efforts and beliefs or others. Your teacher should not need you getting offended on his behalf at the arts and endeavours of others. No matter what you may think or understand of them. Nor should you need to comfort yourself and your choices with such sentiments.

When a student comes from another art or even another Wing Chun lineage I never try to compete with their art or their old teacher. It's not necessary. I am happy to answer their questions, give my own thoughts on technique XYZ or explain our approach at Altrincham. I shouldn't need to trick or confuse the student with making negative and unflattering comparisons between myself and where they've been before.

Likewise I like to train other arts and rarely do I try to tell people already there that I've done other arts and training. It's nice when after a session or two they acknowledge I have some idea/training but often it leads to them wanting to hurt me (albeit good naturedly) with overenthusiastic demonstrations and conversations on why I've finally “found the right place” etc. It is polite but more importantly better for you to “empty your cup” as the Chinese say or adopt a white belt mentality. You're in their class, their world with their rules and etiquette. I find you learn and earn more respect with ease if you do as your told.

What this really brings me back around to is the underlying fear amongst WT practitioners who never get to test themselves in competition and develop all sorts of angst about it. Simply put they can often disappear into hiding themselves in increasingly narrow minded ways of thinking and practising - often searching for how the old masters did things. Ironically Kernspecht presents many theories and evidence that WT has and was always a mixture of other arts and styles that stretch back centuries and possibly millennia!

Likewise there is an eagerness to poo-poo the methods and techniques of other arts or try to add disclaimers and caveats such as “well I'd never let them get that in, in the first place” etc. Simply put this type of thing no longer interests me. I look forward to meeting people who are keen and eager to learn and practise martial arts no matter what it is. I like to share ideas and experiences and I want to unpick their know-how to use it for myself.

Going forward I intend to try and pick and choose as many arts and training methods as I can. No matter where it comes from. It's only by doing we can learn. A thousand books on martial arts aren't worth a thousand seconds of training. It's about time we all tried to embrace this.

If you teach or train in other martial arts and would like to come down to AMAC feel free! We'd love to have you, whether it's to share knowledge, try something new or introduce us to what you do. Please let us know!