Do Not Resist, Do Not Insist And Never Yield

I recently read a wing chun article which compared many of the principles of a CST wing chun to that of tai chi, specifically yielding. Although there are similarities in the training methods of power generation, where I cannot agree is the application, specifically the idea of yielding to an opponent.  The definition of yielding is surrendering or  giving way to force, for me this is a fundamental flawed approach to defence. The likely hood is that an aggressor is going to bigger than you and have the advantage of momentum on their side (as they are attacking you), so each time you yield you are only likely to get closer to a wall (against which your head can be smashed) or you are allowing them to get into grappling/biting range; neither option is attractive. There is nothing wrong with stepping back, but as a strategy it only holds limited benefit.

I see a lot of wing chun which does yield, in the sense that under a greater force people collapse their own bong saus. This again demonstrates a limited understanding of wing chun.  We should not resist the force of an opponent, nor should we match it with muscular force.  So what is the answer you may ask?  Well if you do not know you need to come to the class more! 

A saying in tai chi is that if attacked  you use 4 ounces  to deal with 100 pounds of force. If you were to 'yield' you would be in breach of this by attempting to offer zero force.  In reality you would be swamped before you could try a fancy technique.

I think that our  wing chun is more realistic than this approach.  We present our body mass to the opponent in a manner which does not require pushing or excessive muscular effort and once in contact we use our movements to displace their force. A unified relaxed  body mass can feel like no effort being exerted by yourself, but it has a very destructive effect on a opponent if you know how to use it. To rely on our wing chun skills we require contact with the opponent; see their force as a gift which you will use against them.

I could write down  the various methods we employ to learn this method, but unless you have experienced CST style wing chun they would mean no more than lyics written on a page without hearing the music. To learn this you need to emerse yourself, practice and experience,  otherwise you are chasing shadows.