「詠春拳」 刺青 “Wing Chun” Tattoo

「詠春拳」 刺青 “Wing Chun” Tattoo

2011/05/21 16:15





詠春 刺青 - 我們有多喜愛詠春?


我在美國的一個師兄弟,最近在他的前臂刺青了「詠春拳三個漢字。 (如上圖) 刺青是他自己的生日禮物。他的刺青勾起我一些回憶。其實,在國外我已經看外國人有詠春拳刺青和葉問宗師半身肖像的刺青。記得當在學習詠春拳時,我經常感覺很困惑 - 為何在世界各地百萬計外國人喜愛的詠春拳,在台灣聽的人不多練習詠春的人罕見? ( 當然這是電影【葉問】出來前的了。) 如果把太極拳除外,估計詠春是在國際上最流行的中國功夫。(就像在這裡,在國外大多數人練太極拳是為了養身就像做在健身操或瑜伽。)除了為一般平民,許多在執法和軍事單位人都詠春拳戰能力吸引。我一些師兄弟在紐約警局(NYPD)和洛杉磯警局(LAPD)服務據說最近因獵賓拉登而聞名全球的美國海豹特種部隊(US Navy SEALs) 也曾聘詠春拳師傅教。國外一些演藝名人()也有練詠春拳。我師弟,Dmitry Chaplin, 是最近幾年在美國走紅的電視藝人。但藝人中最知名的一個可能是鋼鐵人 小勞勃道尼 (Robert Downey Jr.) 小勞勃道尼學詠春拳已經超過四年了,通常每週練詠春六次。(有趣的是鋼鐵人 小勞勃道尼演電影【葉問】甄子丹的拳齡更長此外,葉問宗師小勞勃道尼)

以往詠春拳在國外與國發展的確樣情感覺在台灣,韓國的跆拳道反而是大多數人而且似乎更練習。跆拳道似乎是政府和民間有力團體唯一支持的武術運動。這是可以理解的,因為過跆拳道在國際奧運會我們得到更多的牌。國爭光當然是非常重要的。不過,詠春是我們自己的的武術和文化遺產難道我們沒有責任與義務在這片土地繼續傳承這一傳統,甚至發揚光大? 當時,心想有一天應為詠春做點事。因此多年後,雖然我覺得我的功夫是如此粗淺,仍然盡可能對於詠春傳承做點小小貢獻。電影【葉問】, 【葉問2】放映後詠春拳在國情況發生了大幅變化。雖然,一些詠春同門認為電影【葉問】, 【葉問2的受歡迎程度和帶來了一些負面的效應例如,現在詠春拳十分良莠不齊。我仍然認為我們欠了這兩部電影很多。我還是很肯定這兩部電影帶來的正向影響。大眾媒體的力量是如此之大,已經超過了我們幾輩子所能詠春做的事。

今天,我不認為詠春會有存亡問題了。現在反倒令擔心是詠春拳水準有時候,讀到一些文章鼓勵人練中國功夫,否則有一天我們將要外國人學習功夫。其他功夫門派狀況我不十分清楚,但在這些年來,詠春拳消彼長趨勢日漸明顯即使原本我們任何優勢可能已經失​​去了。實際上當今詠春拳在海外許多地方的水準是很高的。我想原因除了以百萬計的學生正在學習詠春拳之外,更因為許多地方具有良好的教學品質傳授環境。在很早期葉問宗師的一些學生已到海外教詠春拳。例如,梅逸師公學健師叔公任教於美國。歐洲澳洲也有葉問宗師的學生在那裡教學。經過多年的海外播種耕,他們現已是桃李滿門。另一原因是很多學生都專心致力學習詠春拳,也就是說,他們願意花時間金錢找好的師父甚至遠渡重洋學習詠春拳。師父林文學(Gary Lam) 就常有許多學生來自世界不同的地區。最重要的是一旦他們找到好的師父他們訓練非常勤快,或許他們勤勉的程度,早已經超出我們一般練習者的想像

這篇文章並不是鼓勵人們刺青或不顧工作或學只要練習詠春拳。出了一些題,讓大家一起思考。因為在今天的地球村,我們沒有本錢再忽視詠春拳海外蓬勃發展的形勢應放眼天下,看看他人想想自己話雖如此,兩三地仍然有不少非常優秀的詠春師傅像師叔林海龍在台灣已經教出一群很出色的學生。正因為有了這些人的努力,我內心小小的心願仍然實現,那就是 - 希望未來的葉問們」不要都只有外國人。

哦,上述的刺青師兄弟是慶祝他74歲生日。他學習詠春拳之前是一位柔道教練以及巴西柔術棕帶持有者。在過去的四, ,他每星期會開車在高速公路上來回小時車程去和師傅學詠春。

我們有多愛詠春?你,有多愛詠春?

註: 師弟,Dmitry Chaplin,由於他在美國收視率最高的電視節目,“Dancing with the Stars”()演出而成為名著名藝人。他曾與著名歌手Mya超級名模Petra Nemcova...等人在節目合作過。

師弟Dmitry Chaplin超級名模Petra Nemcova表演

在師父的DVD裡師弟Dmitry Chaplin師父的演練對手

小勞勃道尼和尼可拉斯凱吉表演詠春拳


小勞勃道尼雜誌封面上擺出了一個詠春拳姿勢。Downey strikes a Wing Chun pose on a magazine cover.
 

“Wing Chun” Tattoo – How much do we love Wing Chun?

One of my Kung Fu brothers in the U.S. recently got a tattoo on his forearm. (As in the above picture.)  The tattoo has the Chinese characters of Wing Chun and some bamboo trees as the decorative element.  The tattoo brought back some memories for me.  Actually, I have seen people who have tattoos of Wing Chun and a portrait of the late Grandmaster Yip Man in the U.S. before.  The tattoo reminds me a puzzle that I used to have when I was learning Wing Chun – how come a great marital art such as Wing Chun, cherished and loved worldwide by millions of people, yet not many people knew about it and even less people practiced it in Taiwan ?  (Mind you this was before the popular movies of “Ip Man” and “Ip Man 2” came out.)  Besides Tai Chi/Taiji, it is estimated Wing Chun is the most popular Chinese Kung Fu internationally with several millions of people are practicing it. (Like in here, most people practice Taiji for health like doing Yoga overseas.)  Many people from the law enforcement and military have participated in learning Wing Chun for its effective street application.  I had Kung Fu brothers from the New York Police Department (NYPD) and Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).  It is said that US Navy SEALs, recently made famous by killing Osama bin Laden, have trained with a Wing Chun instructor before.  Some famous people in the entertainment world also practice Wing Chun. (Note)  One of my Kung Fu brothers, Dmitry Chaplin, is TV star who became famous with his appearance in the highest rating TV show in the U.S. , “Dancing with the Stars.”  The most well-known one is probably the leading actor in the movie, “Iron Man”, Robert Downey Jr.  Downey has trained Wing Chun for over 4 years.  He trains 6 days a week.  It’s funny that Robert Downey Jr has been practicing Wing Chun longer than Donny Yuan who played Wing Chun Grandmaster in the movie “ Ip Man. ”  Downey is the 3rd generation practitioner from Grandmaster Yip Man/Ip Man. 

In the old days, the development of Wing Chun in overseas vs in the Taiwan was quite different.  Even today in Taiwan , Korean Tae Kwon Do (TKD) seems to be the only martial art that the general public pays any attentions to and probably has the most people train in it.  TKD also seems to be the only martial art that has the real support from the government and powerful civic groups.  It’s understandable, because through TKD we got many medals in the Olympic Games.  That’s very important.  However, Wing Chun is our art and our culture legacy.  Is it not important for us to continue that tradition and even make it even better and more popular?  At that time, I decided someday if I had the ability I wanted to do something about it.  Fast forward many years later.  I finally came out to teach, because I felt I had an obligation to promote the art and to contribute as much as I could on this island.  After the movie the movie “Ip Man” and its squeal were released the situation changed drastically for better.  Although, some in the art think the huge popularity of the movies has brought some negativities to Wing Chun, for example, the quality of teaching is very spotty at best.  I still think we in the art owe the movies a lot.  It has done so much for the art that people like us could not even achieve with many lifetimes.
 
Many folk art, folk music and Kung Fu are slowly disappearing due to lacks of interest from the younger generations and lacks of proper ways to preserver them.  At this point, I believe Wing Chun will never disappear.  Today, though, local Wing Chun is facing a different issue.  What I am concerned about is the overall level of Wing Chun in Taiwan vs. the level overseas.  Sometimes, I read articles/statements that encourage more people to practice Kung Fu, otherwise, one day we have to learn it from he foreigners.  In my opinion, for Wing Chun the reality is we are a bit too late to the game.  We probably have lost any edges that we might have.  The standards of Wing Chun in many parts of the world are quite high.  Besides several millions of people are practicing the art overseas, the quality of teaching and the teaching environment are often quite good in many places.  Some of grandmaster Yip Man’s students emigrated to overseas to teach Wing Chun many years ago.  For example, in the U.S. , there were Moy Yat sigung and Master Hawkins Cheung.  By now, they have produced many good students.  Another reason is many students are willing to spend time to find a good teacher and are willing to pay good money for the teaching.  Probably the most important reason is many of them train very hard.  The level of their dedication has beyond the imagination of ordinary practitioners here.  Maybe I am worried too much, but I feel we just don’t have the luxury not to face this issue honestly.  Living in this global village, we need to keep an open mind to appreciate what others have achieved and to reflect on how we could do better.  Having said that, luckily, there are still some excellent Wing Chun sifus in Taiwan .  For example, my Kung Fu uncle, Frances Lam, has produced an outstanding group of students in Taiwan .  They are the reason that I still have hopes for the growth of Wing Chun here.

How much do we love Wing Chun?  How much do you love Wing Chun?
 
Note:  My Kung Fu brother, Dmitry Chaplin, made famous by his appearance in the most watched TV show in the U.S. , “Dancing with the Stars.”  He has worked with famous singer Mya, supermodel Petra Nemcova …etc. on the show.

My Kung Fu brother, Dmitry Chaplin and supermodel Petra Nemcova in “Dancing with the Stars”

Dmitry Chaplin on Sifu’s DVD as his training partner

Wing Chun Mainstream with Robert Downey Jr. and Nicolas Cage
 

回應(2)
Max2011/07/28 15:06 回應
老師
我會更加投入的 ^^
alphahunter2011/05/28 07:51 回應
Coach,
讀到這些,對於沒有能像國外的習武者那麼認真感到慚愧,也很佩服他們在繁忙的生活裡也能持續地維持高密度的練習。
Mike

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