Excerpt from up coming Man Sau Gwoon Tao - A guide to my thoughts on Ving Chun Kuen and other Warrior stuff.

[Awatea Piripi Edwin]

Martial Artists of most cultures use the metaphor's of their cutural and spritual origins to aid in the teaching of their arts methods and theory.

In Maori arts they are from several cultural nuances such as Pakiwaitara (mythical stories), Pu-korero (true stories), Whakatauki (wise sayings) etc.

In the Chines systems they include legendary origins stories, Taoist, Chan Buddhist, Confucian and tribal wisdom sayings and legends. These include the 5 Element Theory, 6 Harmony Concept, Yin / Yang Paradigm etc.

In Man Sau Gwoon I personally researched (and continue to research) these old methods and ideas. More importantly I had to let go of one set of cutural nuances to absorb those that I am learning. Thats not to say I have thrown away other knowledge but only that in the moment I am seeking to understand, for instance the Chinese way I free my thinking and pause my judgement so I can accept the Chinese cultural thinking. I have found that by letting go I am able to understamd their point of view and more importantly the metaphor being expressed. So what at first seemed complex and unhelpful, becomes simple and most useful. A bit like codes unlocking information that was right their in front of me, not hidden away in a cultural safe somewhere else. So Metaphor when understood have become excellent teaching tools and tools for self analysis.

(Excerpt from Man Sau Gwoon Tao - A guide to my thoughts on Ving Chun Kuen and other Warrior stuff. copyright 2012 Awatea Edwin)