When learning ving tsun, you will hear many different opinions about what is right and what is wrong. How something should be done, and how it should not. Often two different people will have completely different views, yet somehow, they both make their methods work. How do you really differentiate and determine who is right and who is wrong? How do you know who to believe?

This question caused me to examine why there were so many different styles and methods of ving tsun. Even within my immediate kung fu family, there were differences and differing opinions. Not that it caused any problems, because it always brought forth great discussion and thinking, but what caused this to happen? Why would people become polarized about the "right way" or "most efficient way" and hold on so tightly to their opinions? When some people teach, they will say their way is right and others are wrong; that their way is the only correct way because they have a deeper or secret understanding.

I thought about this concept for a long time and the more I studied the people and their techniques, the more I came to realize why they held on so strongly to their opinions. It was because they believed strongly that they were right and that their ving tsun worked for them.

Sometimes I would not agree with their assessment of what would work and what would not, and they would disagree with my assessment of their assessment.

I would discuss it with them, and after listening - really listening - the answer came to me.

They were not wrong - they were right.

Did this mean I was wrong? No, it did not. We were both right, within our own contexts.

I came to believe that because of context, there is rarely an absolute wrong or right in ving tsun. There are rules that make ving tsun what it is (for example, the vertical fist and the rapid fire punching). There are only varying degrees of right and wrong.

These varying degrees of right and wrong symbolize a relationship that exists throughout ving tsun and life. The relationship is one where two opposites compliment and repel each other at the same time, where one cannot exist without the other, like the Chinese yin and yang. Engraved on one of the Ving Tsun Chops is the saying "The Yin and Yang Principle Should be Thoroughly Understood".

This is the key to many conflicts within the ving tsun system and the answer to many questions. This key is, as one might expect, both simple and complicated at the same time.

Like the yin and yang, even what one considers to be absolutely wrong will always have an element of truth - a context (although slim) where truth exists surrounded by wrong. Opposite qualities very rarely exist in isolation; the yin contains yang, and vice-versa. Extreme yang contains the seed of yin and one cannot exist without the other.

Many people make the mistake of believing or thinking in absolutes, separating the yin from the yang, instead of believing that both points of view are complimentary in building a complete understanding. In the Yin/Yang symbol, the primarily white side contains a spot of black and the primarily black side contains a spot of white. If a ving tsun person is too soft without having some firm, or is too strong without having softness, the skill is lessened.

Ving tsun is a style of degrees of right and wrong. Let's examine the yin and yang in terms of some ving tsun elements. The ving tsun practitioner must balance competing demands for speed, accuracy, power, control, strength, strategy, flexibility and risk - to name a few. Typically, changing one causes a change in another. I can punch fast, but too fast and I lose some degrees of power and/or control.

	Pub Management So there you are in the pub and it's time to leave. You get up from the table and realize the pub is packed with people. You can see the door but there are a lot of obstacles. You decide on a strategy to get from where you are to the door. Naturally you want to take the straightest shortest path (assuming you were able to walk a straight path).

Let me give an example using a relationship between risk and speed. Some people believe that you must always step to the outside (to the left or right of the opponent) because it's safer. It is true that stepping to the outside is safer, but it takes more time. So which is better? Safety or speed? There is no answer to this question outside the context of the situation and experiences. There are people who believe strongly in one way over the other. Why? Because the applications and techniques in ving tsun are always bound to the context in which they exist and are influenced by the experiences of the student. Since contexts are boundless, there can always be a justification for any particular movement - no matter how improbable.

I have come to believe that there is no ultimate technique and that one technique is not necessarily better than another, just different - and each is better suited for certain situations or contexts. That also does not mean that just because one way has more advantages the other way is wrong. It is just, in the case of the example above, more risky or slower.

Adding to the complexity of the equation is the person themselves. If a person is very risk adverse, they will view the risky move as unacceptable - and will teach it as such. The strong person will view using power as acceptable, where the weak and meak person may not. The slow person will see fast movements as unacceptable or impossible to perform by "a normal person". When a particular technique breeches a person's comfort zone of any attribute (strength, flexibility, speed, intelligence, jealousy, etc), they often consider it unacceptable and will normally say it's wrong. However, some people may be willing and able to use more of that attribute - and then for them that technique may be perfectly acceptable.

However, objectively, if it works for that person then they can call it ving tsun; it has merit and correctness in their view. It works for them, so it's not wrong. It may not meet your criteria or may breech your comfort zone so you may consider it incorrect or impractical - and that's fine too.

The problems start when one person sees the techniques in black and white only and teaches in terms of right and wrong instead of terms like better and worse, or riskier and safer.

The next time somebody tells you "this is wrong", ask yourself "is it really wrong in all situations?". You will find times when what you're doing is right. I prefer to interpret "this is wrong" as "this is wrong in most situations and will probably cause this undesired thing to happen". When somebody tells you something is wrong, they are telling you so from their perspective and experience (their context). Ask them what exactly is wrong. They will normally tell you that you will be hit if you do that or that you are stepping in the wrong direction. Ask them to explain what's wrong with that. If you probe long enough they will tell you that a movement it too slow or risky. Ask yourself - is it really to slow or risky? Only you can answer that question.

Some people do not have the skill to perform a particular movement (such as a controlled kick with power). They will see this skill as unattainable and therefore wrong. They may even invent a new and "improved" way to do this move - stating that the original way was wrong. In my opinion, if it can be done by at least one person and has value that makes the training worthwhile, then it is not wrong and should be learned. Again, the concept of what is right and wrong is bound to the context of the student.

This whole line of thinking represents a relatively progressive view. For beginners it's often easier to explain things in terms of right and wrong. The confusion will come when one person says it's wrong and another says it's right.

I personally am risk averse so I always try to trap and control my opponent's hands and balance. Some people are willing to take more risks so they do not trap as often or with as much precision. I cannot say these people are wrong, I can only say they wish to take more risks than me. Does trapping take longer than not trapping? In some cases yes. The arguement can then be made that trapping is additional movement (so therefore I am not economical). This point of view has some merit. However, I believe the reduction in risk is worth the additional effort.

Try comparing ving tsun to a sound panel in a recording studio. There are many dials to control each and every attribute. You can have different levels of strength, flexibility, risk, power, speed, control, structure, and accuracy. These elements are all intertwined and relative to each other such that a change in one will often result in a change or compromise in another. Some people value one or more of these attributes differently than others and will crank that attribute up to 11, saying that anything less than 11 is wrong. For them, that is true and the combination of all their dials together makes a ving tsun that is good, complete and right for them - it is their truth.

Again, keep in mind that even though that person has found their truth, does not mean other truths do not exist. Create your own sound and your own music by continuously tuning your ving tsun "sound board". Eventually you will find a tone that resonates with your personality and being for that time in your life. When this happens, you have found your ving tsun and can be at peace with a balanced and confident attitude.

Perhaps another more appropriate analogy would be to compare a ving tsun student to a painter. When mixing paints, there are many different shades of blue - which can all be considered blue. Knowing how and when to mix a certain color, sound, or attributes in ving tsun puts the "art" in this martial art. The techniques you choose must be appropriate for the context of the situation as well.

An attitude can be too yin or too yang (strong or weak), any technique, application, attack or defence, level of agression, can all be too yin or too yang. How do you tell if you should be more yin or more yang at any one time? Determine the state of your opponent and be the opposite (but not too opposite), if they change any one element you must change the balancing element to the same degree. Any more or less and you will be exposed and will likely lose the confrontation.

The next time you're told that a technique or situation is right or wrong, consider the context of both the technique (or application) and the person giving the advice. Keep in mind that this technique and person are bound to a context that works to balance or counter a situation or group of situations. Take their input and see where it fits on your "sound board" and how it can compliment or balance your ving tsun.

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