by Robert Chu

Since I have written about WCK power and body structure for may years now, the term “body structure” has become a bit of a buzzword. Since I am now semi-retired and not often teaching WCK, I decided to part with some of the secrets that I have been holding close to the vest…

Many people think, “Because I have a body, and it is a structure, I must have body structure!”

Or they think, “Well sifu, put me in this pose, so this must be what Robert Chu and others are talking about…!”

But what is real body structure is not a form. It’s not even a body, or a structure!

What is it?

It’s energy.

Or rather, taking a person’s energy and intention into the ground to root you and allow you to manipulate it to control a person, break their center of gravity, or throw them about, or issue force on them. It also allows you to pound them at will and control their whereabouts and set up your next shots.

Many have asked me, “Do I have to stay rooted all the time?”

My answer is no, otherwise how can you move?

I often get other questions like, “What is it like?”

Its like a big spring – you press on it, it receives your force; when you let go of it, you go flying or falling down immediately.

How does one do this?

In the first step, it does require a knowing teacher to show you the way. Afterwards, it’s a matter of practice with application. Of course, proper WCK practice is required. If you have unrealistic practice and lack of knowledge here, better to seek out adequate instruction.

Many ask about the leg positions –

I tell them, there are no stances in WCK – it’s a mistranslation. It actually means steps and in WCK it means that the horse is alive, like riding a skateboard or surfboard.

But people will ask, “It doesn’t quite look the same as Yip Man or my sifu or sigung did…?”

Yip Man’s mastery of WCK was very clear. A look see at the famous picture with Bruce Lee in Luk Sao position tells it all. Also, recently, I spent some time with Mark Hobbs, a student of Lun Gai in Futshan, China, and saw the early teachings of Yip Man up close and saw the elements of structure throughout the teachings. Yip Man had it. Now if your sifu or sigung learned from Yip Man, there’s no guarantee you have structure, as Yip Man taught hundreds of students.

Often, my sifu Hawkins Cheung would appear to not have any appearance of body structure at all, appearing to only be standing. When I attacked, it was so real – he was linked from the ground up and rooted so that the direction of my force would be dissipated into the ground and neutralized.

Many mistakenly take the external shape and forms of WCK and can’t see the real teachings. Its just about the same as reading about the real teachings and not having an idea of what they are. If you have real body structure, you know exactly of what I am talking about, and if you don’t, well…perhaps its time to seek adequate instruction.