YouTube is a horrible Sifu!

One of the best things and at the same time one of the worst things to happen to Ving Tsun and even to martial arts in general is YouTube. On the up side, it's great to see what other martial artist are up to, also some people have been generous enough to post rare footage of old masters and obscure rarely seen styles of martial arts. This has both a motivational and educational value. On the downside the level of discourse on YouTube is often juvenile at best. There exist a multitude of people who are willing to share their uneducated opinion on just about any topic. In addition, somehow the fact that you are typing on a key board and not speaking face to face has made civility and good manners completely irrelevant.

Another trend that I find somewhat disturbing is the idea that you can completely forgo any form of traditional martial arts instruction and learn completely from YouTube. I'll admit there are some things that can be learned from watching videos. To that admission I would add the caveat that the more hands on face to face instruction and experience you have had the more educational value you can derive from a video. But, with no previous training and no experienced expert instruction from someone who has learned in a traditional manner it will be difficult if not impossible for you to reach a high level of skill and understanding in any given martial art.

This is especially true for Ving Tsun as a large portion of the learning comes from having first hand experience of "touching hands" with someone who is better than you. That person may be your Sifu or a senior classmate. Of course you could easily imitate Ving Tsun forms up to and including the Bot Jahm Do, but more than likely your knowledge and skill will be superficial at best. An intelligent and talented person may even be able to use a good amount of Ving Tsun techniques that they learned simply from watching videos. However this person would immediately realize they were lacking something upon meeting a true expert trained in a traditional manner.

I have sympathy for those who might want to learn Ving Tsun but have do not live within a reasonable distance of a competent Sifu. Had my Sifu not traveled 2 to 2.5 hours (one way) on a regular basis to learn Ving Tsun there would probably be no Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu in my area. So what does one do, if you have no choice but books, and videos? It depends on what your goals are. If you are not that serious and it's only a casual hobby for you then by all means try your best to see what you can learn from just books and videos. If on the other hand you are serious and want to learn authentic Ving Tsun Kung Fu you should get a group of guys together and see if you can sponsor a Sifu to come to your area and assist you in organizing a study group. I hear this guy is pretty good www.vtkfsystem.com ;o)