As early as 1996, Prof. Keith R. Kernspecht laid the foundations for a more academic approach by the EWTO when he and his team presented WingTsun at the Bulgarian State University in Plovdiv and established the first contacts.
The subsequent cooperation with universities and his own doctorate in science (Dr. sc.), together with various courses of study in WingTsun (Bachelor, Master) inevitably led to an altered perception of the entire WingTsun system.

One of the results of these scientific studies were "The Big 7 capabilities":

1. Attention, attentiveness, imagination

2. Suppleness, dexterity, flexibility

3. Balance

4. Physical unity

5. Perception, interaction of the senses

6. Timing and sense of distance

7. Fighting spirit

I constantly encounter the same misconceptions concerning the capabilities required in our WT – e.g. when reading examination essays for higher EWTO grades.

An interesting phenomenon is increasingly noticeable: since the EWTO has placed its focus on the teaching of principles and capabilities, and intensively publicised this accordingly, similar points of view have begun appearing on the websites of many competitors.
Competitors are increasingly adopting our EWTO list of capabilities. Naturally not without adding a few and leaving others out, and possibly without first thinking about why precisely these capabilities are indispensable and conducive to the goal.
Usually there is lack of understanding why we in WingTsun require the "Big 7":

The goal in WingTsun is to defend ourselves effortlessly with the help of the "Big 7 capabilities".

This applies to the inner, principle-oriented WingTsun of the EWTO!
 

Misconception No. 1:
"All martial arts require the same essential capabilities as our principle-oriented EWTO WingTsun.“

A competition martial artist recently said to me: "Oh, these are just the capabilities that we need in our martial art as well."
– In my opinion it is however improbable that someone needs the very same capabilities as us for his martial sport. I reckon he needs e.g. strength, endurance and speed training to win his competitive bout.
It is just these capabilities that are missing from the list of the "Big 7" in EWTO WingTsun. Why is this?

Muscle-power is replaced by physical unity in WT. This also makes it possible for people who are not particularly strong to stop an opponent effectively in an emergency.

In our specific WingTsun we replace speed of movement with timing (and short distances). Thanks to economy of movement, sheer speed of movement is not the deciding factor. Speed is also dependent on age, i.e. it declines steadily as we age. So anybody relying on sheer speed will one day find himself bereft.

Endurance is a capability that is needed in e.g. sporting competition. The advanced WT fighter is able to end a serious confrontation in a few seconds, however. So endurance is not a decisive capability in this case, at most perhaps for training.
 

Misconception No. 2:
"Surely there are some capabilities missing!"

So further capabilities are constantly being added, in line with the motto "more is more". However, these are unnecessary as fundamental capabilities to achieve the goal of effortless self-defence using WingTsun, or they are already contained in the capabilities listed.

Some competitors are proud to have found out that power, speed and endurance are decisive for their "ing" or "un" style.
They may be right for their own particular style, but not for the requirement profile of EWTO WingTsun. Anybody who sees power, speed and endurance as essential capabilities for self-defence in his own style is practicing an "ing" or "un" style that seeks to compensate the lack of other capabilities (e.g. tactile sensitivity and flexibility) with precisely these capabilities. If I am unable to give way sensitively with my entire body, and unable to remove myself as the target from the line of fire, then I need to compensate this with power or be faster than my opponent. But if the opponent is stronger or faster, this unfortunately fails to work.
 

Misconception No. 3:
"Balance exercises for Taekwondo and Judo are also right for WT."

Another mistake is to generalise these capabilities too much. There are students, for example, who think too little in WingTsun-specific terms when interpreting suppleness or dexterity, and believe that by performing the splits or practicing yoga exercises they can attain the specific flexibility required for WT. This also applies to e.g. balance. Standing on special balance beams is by no means enough to achieve the specific balance for WingTsun. The best training for WingTsun is to perform WingTsun fighting movements themselves. A surfing instructor undoubtedly has very good balance on a surfboard, but if he were to be pushed by a WingTsun instructor, he would quickly lose his balance. Conversely, a WingTsun instructor is (unfortunately) not able to surf well automatically. We should therefore mainly practice what will really be required later. If we have a great deal of time available, everything else can be done in addition, but not as a substitute for actually practicing with a partner.
 

Misconception No. 4:
"I already know what is meant by balance and attentiveness."

In daily life we do not weigh our words carefully, but we need to do so in our investigations. In the case of the "Big 7" we need to explain what we mean by the terms used, for example 'balance' means physical balance but also mental balance.

Attentiveness or attention is another example. In his trailblazing book "Psycho-Training in WingTsun, Taichi and Budo Sports", Prof. Dr. Horst Tiwald distinguishes between various terms that are applied in this field. We must distinguish between attention (distracted or externally induced concentration on a specific detail) and self-induced attentiveness (which does not focus on a specific object and therefore neglect other information channels and input).
Here is one of many examples: I fully concentrate on my opponent and fail to notice another opponent approaching from the side.

It would be beyond the scope of this editorial to list and explain all the attributes, so I refer the reader to GM Kernspecht's new book.
 

Misconception No. 5:
"If I practice only the solo and partner forms assiduously, the 7 capabilities will be acquired automatically."

In the 1970s we uncritically accepted the naive view of Chinese masters that constantly practicing the solo and partner forms of WingTsun (= skills) automatically brings about the necessary capabilities. This view has proved to be completely mistaken, and this has led to a massive change in our teaching methodology. Some people continue to cling to the old way of thinking, although it has long been shown that while the forms are e.g. outstandingly suitable for storing/memorising techniques, being able to retrieve them when required is another matter (see "The Essence of WingTsun" by Keith R. Kernspecht). On the initiative of my SiFu, the EWTO has now amended or added to some of the teaching programmes (though not to WingTsun). This means that not only the talented (with natural torso flexibility) are able to reach their goal.
 

Misconception No. 6:
"The sequence in which the 7 capabilities are trained for is immaterial."

Most of the capabilities are of course interdependent, and balance during a fight is not possible without suppleness, physical unity, timing etc., therefore the Big 7 cannot be arranged in sequence but more appropriately in the form of a circle. However it must all begin with the 1st capability, the mental power that controls everything. It is only this that creates other capabilities such as physical unity etc., and frees us from blind, automatic responses born of habit. The circle of "Big 7" capabilities as recognised by GM Kernspecht closes with the 7th, fighting spirit.

The above list of misconceptions makes no claim to be complete, but fortunately my SiFu is already working on his next book, whose subject is "The Big Seven Capabilities" and which describes and explains his choices in detail.
 

Guest editorial
Dr. Oliver König