Its not unusual for people to come to our
class wanting to learn a few Wing Tsun
techniques to add to their arsenal.
They've heard that WT has quick hands and is very good as close range fighting, so by adding a few of these techniques to their fighting style they will be a complete fighter.
And I guess if we were all Mr. Potato Heads that would work...take this arm and put over there, take this leg and put it over there and *presto* you are now a complete fighter.
But for WT to work as intended it needs to be learned from the ground up. The stance is what gives rise to the footwork, and the footwork is what makes the hands effective. Remove any one of these components from the equation and your're stuck with something that doesn't quite work the way it;s supposed to.
Anyone who's been around martial arts for more than five minutes has heard the saying, "empty your cup". One interpretation of this is to come to your teacher with an empty cup free of preconceived ideas, otherwise there is no room in your head for new learning.
I prefer another interpretation...to get the full taste of what you are trying to learn, your cup must be empty, otherwise you'll never get the complete flavor.
So come to WT with an open mind and an empty cup...on second thought, bring a bucket, WT has a deep well.