It was in 2013 when I finally decided to leave London behind and make my childhood dream come true. Christmas was around the corner by the time I arrived in Shandong Province; China felt truly foreign and the culture shock didn’t take long to take hold. However, that distant land offered me a unique opportunity, the chance to study under Master Guo, 24th generation of Jin Gang Li Gong and founder of the Shandong Guo Style Wing Chun.
The two years that I spent at Kunyu Mountain Shaolin Kung Fu School (昆嵛山少林武术学院) proved to be a turning point in my life and the beginning of my adventure of self discovery in Asia.
A great Master
A humble look and a friendly smile make you feel at home from the very beginning although Master Guo is a rather quiet gentleman. However, his peaceful aura establishes the right atmosphere where you are compelled to do your very best and surpass all your limitations. Soon enough during the training you can see how Master Guo’s long martial experience is reflected on the way he teaches and once you are in, all you can think about is the next move he will show you.
Master Guo’s success is not a surprise given his level of dedication to the Arts. A life totally committed to his martial journey has taken him this far. He hasn’t only become part of the 24th generation of Jin Gan Li Gong – a very particular qi gong style originated during the Song Dynasty – but he belongs also to the 11th generation of Foshan Wing Chun (佛山詠春)and 4th generation of Guangzhou Wing Chun (广州詠春)under Master Zheng Weimin, Master Zhang Guangjie and Master Li Zhaohua.
Main concepts in Shandong style
So how does Master Guo’s style stand out from the crowd? I would say that Master Guo’s particular view and life long experience blend perfectly well with the variety of styles and the natural equilibrium between each other. In Shandong Guo Style the traditional concepts of Wing Chun are weaved with qi gong, giving the right importance and weight to both, internal and external aspects during the learning journey. In that way forms and applications are as paramount as standing, moving and sitting qi gong practices, along with conditioning sessions.
Master Guo highlights two main concepts within the style:
“Duan Qiao Zhai Ma”:
The strongest characteristic of Wing Chun is the concept of creating power within a confined space while using the small horse stance, also known in other lineages as “yee gee kim yuen ma”, “gee kim yeung ma”or “kim yong ma” and following the physics principle “the shortest distance between two points is a straight line” to fully apply that economy of movement. This turns into an extremely efficient defence/ attack in a close range context.
“Cun Jin”:
Master Guo explains this concept as the appropriate timing to exert power, this is, once you touch your opponent. We can see the very roots of this concept on the famous Bruce Lee’s one inch punch where the mastery of tension/relaxation and timing results in a powerful strike.
William Herkewitz from popularmechanics.com had the opportunity to ask biomechanical researcher Jessica Rose about the science behind it. Rose explains how this punch is “an intricate full-body movement;once the punch lands on target, Lee pulls back almost immediately. This shortens the impact time of his blow, which compresses the force and makes it all the more powerful”.
On a 2012 study carried out by Ed Roberts comparing a group of karate practitioners and untrained people he discovered that “for the karate practitioners, muscle alone didn’t dictate strong punches.Rather, when he used motion-tracking cameras to track the puncher’s joints, he found that strikes that synchronise the many peak accelerations in one complex move -like Bruce Lee- were also the most powerful”.
A lifetime studying martial arts is not enough. The one inch punch is still a mystery in my life, as so many other things; however, I couldn’t start explaining the long list of lessons that, thanks to Master Guo, have changed my life for the better. In our paths to self improvement we have moments of fear, self doubt, anger, jealousy, surrender…and it is through that challenging journey that we appreciate and value the light and wisdom of great masters and life gurus. Only when that special appreciation grows within you, you realise you are finally part of the martial family.
-Saray-
