Most people view art as a means to express creativity or originality. So it may seem surprising to some that martial arts could be counted as part of the so-called “arts scene.” Ving Tsun Kung-Fu master William Moy certainly thinks so. A kung-fu instructor that has taught in New York for over 25 years, Moy believes that despite martial arts’ association to rigid tradition, they still have room for creative expression for any practitioner. This is a very interesting thought because Ving Tsun is known for its scientific and efficient approach to combat. It emphasizes simplicity and directness so in other words, there is only one “correct” way to handle an incoming attack.
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Tsang: What is kung-fu and martial arts to you?
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Moy: Let’s distinguish the different words you mentioned. Kung-fu is a part of martial arts. Martial arts are systems of style that develop the individual mentally, physically, spiritually, etc. And martial arts have many different kinds of systems and styles. So kung-fu is a system and a style. It is like a category – a certain type of martial art. What kung-fu is to me is that it is a tool to improve and enhance the individual through physical training and mental training. The exact meaning of kung-fu is hard work and effort, both of which equals to skill. That is what kung-fu is.
Q.
Tsang: Since you say that kung-fu is under a broader category of martial arts, do you think it can be considered as part of the arts scene like painting?
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Moy: Yes. Let’s look at what art is. Art is something that you use to express yourself. It is through different mediums. When we talk about art, like how a painter does art, he uses the mediums of brushes and colors and canvases to express his feelings and ideas. So kung-fu can be the same thing. A person could use kung-fu to express his individual ideas, concepts, or his feelings. When people practice some forms of martial arts, they can also play around with it. They can interpret the movements according to how they feel about it. Some movements can be very strong, while others can be very light and loose. So yes, kung-fu is an art when considered in that manner.
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Tsang: Do you approach kung-fu in this way? Or as a Ving Tsun practitioner, is it always just scientific and practical?
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Moy: I think I move from one area to another depending on my role, meaning that if I’m playing kung-fu for myself, that’s just for myself. If I’m doing kung-fu as an instructor, which is my career, I’m doing it in a different way. So if I’m doing it for myself, I can say it is more my style, my individual art. But if I’m doing it as a kung-fu teacher, it’s less of an art because I’m presenting it in a way so that there’s none of my expression of what I think it is. I present the kung-fu as a system where I don’t change it. It’s the same way that I learned it. There is already a set pattern and curriculum that you follow. But there can be an art in the teaching. Sometimes I might have a certain style of teaching for a certain class or for certain people. I might teach it this way or that way. So that becomes more of an individual interpretation, more of an art too.
Q.
Tsang: What do you hope your students will take away from you, besides self-defense skills?
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Moy: I don’t have anything per se – no one idea. My job is not to have my goals reflected upon my students. It’s whatever my students want from kung-fu, that’s what I hope they’ll get from it. But if I could interject my goals or my desires, I would hope some of them could pass on the art and be a sifu [master] so that the art doesn’t disappear. But in the way I teach, I will give you what you want to learn from the kung-fu. That is very important. As a student, you have to know what you want from the art – not the other way around. When you decide to learn kung-fu, you need to know what you want from it. If you don’t, spend some time thinking about what you want from it. Then you can really benefit from kung-fu.
Q.
Tsang: Can you characterize your personal art, your approach to kung-fu?
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Moy: My father was my teacher so his teaching and his style influenced me very heavily. So I think the way I look at my Ving Tsun as a style, is very similar to my teacher. We both draw a lot from the Ving Tsun kung-fu. I think we like to do things simple and direct. It helps us achieve a great degree of relaxation. So when you’re relaxed, you can be more creative. That’s my style: being simple and direct.
Q.
Tsang: How creative can you get in such a rigid system like Ving Tsun?
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Moy: Most people think that when you learn something like Ving Tsun, you cannot have freedom to express yourself. That’s if you only look at the more practical side of the system. How we do things here is that we make it more of an art so that there’s more creative freedom. But even as an artist, you still need to know your rudiments. How can you be creative if you’re missing an element? You still have to know how to make a line, know how to do shading, and understand colors and their complements. And once you know that, then you can break the rules. But you have to start from somewhere and have a foundation. For kung-fu, the foundation is not very creative. You don’t have too much freedom because you need to acquire the foundation. But once you get basics, you can be very creative and you should be. And even as you learn the foundation, we try to emphasize that you should still be relaxed and be creative – be yourself. We do want you to have that freedom, but you have to have the foundation. If you don’t have anything, what can you compare yourself to? Being creative is doing something different, something that nobody has ever done before. But if you don’t know what other people have done before, how can you be creative? How do you know what’s different? You have to start from somewhere: the foundation. Then you can branch off and be creative.
Q.
Tsang: Can you give some examples of being creative after knowing the fundamentals?
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Moy: Let’s use our art as an example. We have an exercise called “chi sao” where two partners touch hands and make contact. They make movements and work on attacking and defending. So when you learn the basics, you learn all the parts and skills of the chi sao. And when you do chi sao, you can be creative. You can attack or not attack. You can wait or be aggressive. There aren’t rules of how you should operate. You don’t have to follow patterns. Just play it in your own style and your own way. That’s what art is: expressing yourself. Some people do chi sao and become more proactive or passive. In this exercise, you have that freedom.
Another example is the training device we have called the wooden dummy. It’s a piece of wood with arms and the practitioner plays techniques on it. When you have the rudiments and basics, you can play the wooden dummy with any sequence you make up. We have eight sections but within those, you can mix up those sections to practice what you want more of. So there’s more freedom in that. If you want to practice kicks, just play the section with kicks. You don’t have to play the whole sequence in order.
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Tsang: How different would your life would be if it wasn’t for Ving Tsun?
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Moy: It would be very different because most of my life was revolved around Ving Tsun. I know I would not have the tools I have now; I would not be as relaxed or as focused as I am now. I don’t know if I would be happier since I like to think of myself as a creative person. So to me, having focus and relaxation is very important for creativity. So I think kung-fu centers you, grounds you. I don’t know if I would’ve gotten that from anything else. When I started out, I was very busy. Kung-fu centered me and allowed me to bring all my energy to what I needed to focus on. So that’s a very powerful tool. If I didn’t have these tools, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve as much, both in life and my career.
