Training Wing Chun as Chu Shong Tin prescribed can benefit one’s health. This may be the case in regard to any martial art; however the CST method with its emphasis on standing meditation has produced some remarkable results. In this article I will relate just a couple of cases that I have observed first-hand.
Just to be clear, I am not claiming that I can reproduce any of the outcomes I mention. I simply record them as an interested observer with no real understanding of how these effects have come about. Of course there is a science in this type of healing and if any readers have theories about this subject I hope they will comment below.
Naturally I have permission from the people involved in these episodes to tell their stories. They have read through my accounts and confirmed their accuracy. I mention this now because they are extraordinary and I can quite understand any scepticism that may occur in the reader’s mind.
The first case is to do with a back complaint. I know of dozens of people who have been cured of back discomfort or spinal injury through standing meditation. Postural correction will almost inevitably help this problem. However this particular incident is on an entirely different level.
Nic had been training in martial arts for some twenty-five years when he came to my school in Surry Hills. He had started martial arts training in Kyokushin Karate as a 12-year old to alleviate his condition, which came about when he was reversed over by a construction truck as a 5-year old. Advised to build his core strength, he took up Wing Chun in his mid-20’s and managed to progress to the degree that at one time he owned his own school.
His condition became worse over the years and now in his late forties he was in a bad way. The pain he experienced had reached such a level that he required constant medication. Often he would use a cane to get around and on particularly bad days he would be forced to use a wheelchair. Some days he would need to hire a carer to handle his basic needs. Doctors did not hold any hope for recovery and had advised him to purchase a mobility scooter. He was in process of getting his house fitted with ramps and railings and facing the prospect of life as an invalid.
Nic joined my school because he found CST Wing Chun interesting. The health benefits were not a particular attraction. As with all my students I taught him Chu Shong Tin’s standing meditation. Being a talented and dedicated student he soon developed a good level of skill in this way of doing things. Naturally his back condition did improve somewhat and he found that his bad days were less frequent. He was also able to reduce his level of pain medication considerably. However Nic’s story is not about his time with me. Chu Shong Tin is the hero of this tale.
In those days I would travel to Hong Kong three times per year to train with CST. Of course I took along any of my students who wished to come. Generally about fifteen to twenty would make the journey each time. Nic did so several times as well as travelling there on his own to spend several months in that remarkable school with the one of the greatest Wing Chun Sifus in the world. On his first trip, Chu Shong Tin noticed Nic’s back condition and decided to help him. His kindness changed the course of Nic’s life.
Much of the training at CST’s school involved standing meditation. Chu Shong Tin would move from student to student adjusting our postures and helping to raise our spines by touching our backs in a certain way. He described this as guiding the chi.
When he came to Nic he of course noticed that there was a problem. Nic explained his condition and Chu Shong Tin said he would try to help. He zeroed in on where the injury was and began prodding and pressing. Nic told me later that he would not normally allow anyone to do this, as the area was so sensitive. With Chu Shong Tin he made an exception. After a short while Chu Shong Tin said that he would try to help by putting Chi into the damaged part of his spine. He touched a certain point and Nic felt as if he had been stabbed with a knife. CST then said quite matter-of-factly that he “should be fine now” and moved on to the next student.
These days Nic is still a good friend but no longer my student. He now runs his own school again and is an exceptional martial artist. He has complete mobility, to the extent that that he can kick above his head in such a way that makes me green with envy. Pain medication, mobility scooters, wheelchairs and any thought of being an invalid are completely gone from his life. Now in his mid-fifties he has the vitality and appearance of a man in his early forties. The healing skill of Chu Shong Tin has changed his life.
Readers can draw their own conclusions. I cannot explain this but the facts I relate are entirely true and not exaggerated in any way. Again, comments are welcome.
~ Mark Spence