I see more and more people posting on Fabebook and/or YouTube pictures and videos of themselves engaged in the practice of Tit Sin Kuen. I would like to tell them that this act is wrong, dangerous and not in line with our Hung Kuen tradition.
In the Hung Kuen story, TSK is the last and ultimate form to be learned by a pratictioner. But in the serious schools it is not “taught” (nor it is shown or demonstrated), rather it is “handed down” by the good master – in special circumstances by the elder brother – when he considers that a student has attained a full and deep knowledge of the style.
Well beyond the logical differences between the main lineages, I have to say with regret that most of the forms shown online are spurious, if not obviously wrong: The anxiety to to “reach the top” leads people to draw their movements from YouTube or to attend a “workshop”, where a substantial fee allows them to bring home the object of desire. They do not understand that TSK learned in this way is a hoax and has no value, just like a karate “black belt” bought and wore without passing the proper examinations.
I recently saw the photos of a practitioner holding his back in such a position that – combined with an improper muscular contraction – could put at risk his entire column. In addition to this realistic possibility of harming themselves, the diffusion of this bad material can lead untrained people to follow suit, with a deleterious effect on their health and a polluting effect on the Hung Kuen tradition.
Please, for your own sake and for the sake of Hung Kuen: forget YouTube and forget the “workshops”. Focus on the practice of the forms (which are many, varied and fun to train) and forget the TSK, until you find a reliable and authoritative source that believes it’s time to hand it to you.
Thank you.