Introduction
This introduction may sound like the famous gung fu stories wherein the seeker finds a Taoist or Buddhist sage or old wise hermit. However, it is quite true - I have been blessed by having been surrounded by such people throughout my life. In response to a challenge I once felt unable to overcome, distressed, I said to a very wise man: "I have no power!". His answer educated me. He replied: "You may think you have no power. In so thinking you disempower yourself. You actually have more power than anyone I have met" I was stunned! "Please explain, please teach me my error!", I replied. The wise man smiled kindly in his infectious way, as he was wont to do, and continued: "You have your personal power, the power of your character, the power of all your years of intense training of your body, mind and spirit. You have the power of your extensive education across different cultures, you have the power of all your experience. You have the power of your intuition and insight. You have the power of the love of your family and the respect of your friends. You have your charisma and personal power. How can you say you 'have no power'?" I replied that I was referring to not having power in a different and specific context - economic power and power of control within an organisation. The wise man laughed gently and then taught me about power, its uses and abuses. He taught me that I had disempowered myself by subjecting myself to the power of a situation; the misuse of power by others; and, my own incorrect thinking. At worst, a situation in which one feels powerless may well be one in which it is wisest not to struggle but to leave; resign oneself to the reality of the situation; change one's priorities; or, simply see through the underlying illusory appearances.
"Power" is a fascinating topic and the subject of quite a number of books. People daily use and abuse powers; subject themselves to the power of others; are subjected to the power of others or quest after power to meet their needs - in all these situations, some people are more influenced than others by power. Power is, in fact, a psychological need of all people in all times and cultures. People need a certain amount of power to lead fulfilling lives and to meet their other needs - safety, security and survival; love and belonging; freedom; and enjoyment. Power, however, wrongly used and expressed, can also become a drug which devours all it comes into contact with. It is a useful tool or a deadly weapon depending upon whose hands it rests in and the use to which they put it.
In this article I want to share the teaching I received so that you may apply it to analysing the world of Wing Chun Kuen. The "power" I am discussing, is not the power of striking attackers. That is another topic I may one day write on. The type of power focused on here in this article, wrongly used, can actually do more damage to those involved with it (both on the imposing and receiving end); the gwoon; Wing Chun Kuen; and gung fu as a whole.
Power, as focused upon in this article, is the capacity of an individual, group or organisation to:
- enlist or to coerce others in the pursuit of their aims;
- to prevent others from thwarting the achievement of their aims; and/or
- to prevent others achieving their aims.
We can see examples of all these features in Wing Chun Kuen gwoons and organisations around the world today.
The martial art, gung fu and Wing Chun world exemplify "power" - the physical power of the martial arts. People with the correct mindset undertake martial art training to gain the physical power of self defence and personal development. However, the martial arts world is also replete with the negative power of organisations (some really are, sadly, quite insidious cults); avaricious teachers; and, personalities seduced and grown twisted with power. It is the latter negative aspects of power I will focus on in this analysis, shining the light on the exercise of, and quest for, power by martial artists in their organisations and interactions with the martial art world and the pool of potential martial arts students in the wider world. In doing so I hope to help fellow martial artists see how power can be misused and be inhibiting their acquisition of skill in a genuine branch of Wing Chun Kuen.
In my now nearly four decades of martial arts learning and teaching I have seen many misuses of power - physical power; power of position; power of personality; financial power; administrative power; and media power. Sadly, just as in the non martial arts world, I have far more rarely encountered beneficent uses of power in the martial arts world. It is indeed rare to find a powerful person who is also moral, unselfish, helpful and pleasant.
Anyone who has been involved in the martial arts world can usually think of examples where ego and greed have hurt people and the good standing of martial arts. How do they do this? Understanding how may help expose future abuses and clarify some current ones. Is it not an old saying, in fact, that: "Knowledge is power"? True - in part. It is only fully true when knowledge is shared and properly exercised. So, I will share my knowledge and analyse that form of power in this context so that readers can better see and understand the use and abuse of power in their martial arts interactions.
We can simplify power for the purposes of the discussion here, at least, by dichotomising it into two types: (i) "power over a person" (disempowering) and (ii) "power exercised in concert with a person" in pursuit of a moral aim (empowering). A "moral aim" is simply one which does not hurt oneself or others. The former, "power over", though necessary in many interactions in a hierarchy or hierarchical relationship, lends itself easily to abuse, the latter is almost always beneficial provided the aim of the exercise of joint power is morally correct. There are eight sources of power, each of which can benefit or harm those tapping into them and/or others.
Financial power
Financial power obviously stems from wealth. It is rarely mentioned in discussions of power in professional psychological literature and, in my opinion, I think this constitutes a marked oversight. We feed a myth in the modern Western world that we have some form of egalitarianism beyond (often theoretical) human rights - in fact this is obviously false and those (individuals, group and countries) with more financial power have the capacity for greater freedom and ease of meeting their own needs and frustrating others in meeting theirs simply by using their financial power. Whilst money may not be able to buy love, it can certainly buy power. In fact, it is the easiest way to obtain power. It has, countless times throughout history, bought thrones and bought and sold lives. Throughout Wing Chun history, whether we like it or not, it has been the exception rather than the rule that Wing Chun skill has only been able to be literally bought by those wealthy enough to meet the high price! How should we feel in today's world where this is still the case?
Wealth can obviously be used to benefit others and the art or to accumulate yet more wealth - as if it were an end in itself! The line between financial well-being and security and avarice has often sadly been lost by most Wing Chun teachers I have met. "When is enough, enough?" we might ask. Many teachers are actually more famous for their utter avarice than their gung fu skill and many others would be just as infamous if the wider world knew the true extent of their pervasive greed. Wing Chun, amongst all the martial arts, seems especially to suffer from this evil. It is a source of bewildered amusement and distress to me that great masters can, on the one hand, spout the line that "the art cannot be bought for gold", yet, on the other, sell it to the highest bidder low life of their choosing. Others, of course, are actually simply not great masters, despite their grandiose pretensions, and still overcharge the poor gullible student. Obviously, the more money a teacher or organisation accrues the more they are able to afford to promote themselves and the more students will hear of them and their claims and want to join them. I have occasionally seen that this is regardless of the genuineness or comparative quality of their Wing Chun. In time, in some cases, their financial power and political influence, through their capacity to exercise influence over the martial arts media to gain more exposure (foolishly and totally illogically equated by the reader public with quality of martial skills and knowledge) increases.
Position power
Power obviously stems from position or authority. We have examples of this fact throughout all societies. Hence, organisational positions or roles are associated with certain kinds and amounts of formal power and that power can by implication extend beyond the area in which it might legitimately operate (the organisation) into the real world outside. The attempts of some to title themselves "master"; "grandmaster"; "historian"; "researcher"; "guardian"; "successor" etc obviously fall into this category. This is especially so, as such power-drunk people often tend to do, if they claim authority beyond their own organisation or variant of Wing Chun or other gung fu. Those who name their organisations with titles which imply objectivity, openness to public scrutiny or in terms which imply universal coverage or uniqueness, originality or exclusive "genuineness" fall into this category. Typically, the higher their position in a formal organisation the more power the incumbent can draw upon. We can readily see examples of this in Wing Chun gung fu organisations where there is a multi-level series of (paid) steps to negotiate in order to climb the power pyramid. Examples are available of those who have climbed only to be pushed off when their personal power threatened the ego, control and finances of those higher up. Position power is highly seductive as very few of those who rise to positions which bestow power have had the appropriate training to cope with its exercise.
Information or expert power
This form of power can be personal, decreed by an organisation or a majority of practitioners of an art, and can be genuine or based on falsehoods. There are examples in many martial arts of those who claim expert power simply because they were students of a certain teacher. This is absurd on the face of it. Think on it - the teacher may have been a fantastic martial artist (in some cases I know of they were not necessarily so but their myth has grown with the years since their death as students exaggerate the teacher's accomplishments to enhance their own standing) - and may have been a fantastic teacher - but this does not automatically mean any or all their students (or relatives) automatically became great. The person themself must be able to perform and to explain the art - it is not their sifu who must fight for their life if they are attacked but themselves! Such claimants may have had only a short period of training with the famous teacher in reality or simply have been yet another also ran student amongst many.
Power flows to those who know things others value or want to learn or know. Shifts in the environment or organisation can obviously produce power shifts. I am not personalising the examples here but we do not have to look too far back in Wing Chun affairs to find examples of this state of affairs. Many of us have probably even been victim to small scale examples of this ourselves. Generally, those who fall from power in an organisation threaten in some real or imagined way those with position power who then exercise it to isolate and discredit the threat to their own power. It almost inevitably involves ego and money. Those who are outside an organisation but who manifestly know where the skeletons are buried or simply have a greater knowledge of the art and who threaten those within an organisation are vilified and subject not to attack on their statements or logic as much as on their person. This is often the case even if they and their skill level are completely unknown to their detractors! Wing Chun has seen examples of this frequently enough.
Expert power is interesting in today's martial art world because we have to ask: "Who is truly expert?" The answer, in modern terms, may really simply well be he who is published in martial arts magazines most often. This is certainly the case in my country where by far the best Wing Chun practitioners teach privately if at all and are completely unknown to the general public by comparison with those who market themselves in the martial arts media! It seems to be true for some other arts too. Another example: I know of examples of powerful and well known martial arts organisation administrators who transparently pose as expert martial artists simply because of their administrative position in the organisation. Others trade on their longevity. They have been training a long time so they simply assume master status. Some once trained but stopped years ago, far short of mastery, and still pose as "masters". Others are more cunning and hide their ability (or lack of it) and hope others will assume they are masters if they don't demonstrate ("too humble", "too secret", or "people won't understand the subtlety", see?) and simply talk interminably about the great masters who are their best mates (they may have even met them once!). This is sadly laughable in the cases I know of as these folk are mediocre at very best, buffoons at worst. And, of course, it is about power - the desire to be seen as an expert or the "top master" and to have status, control and earning power as a result. In what other area are the administrators claiming to be top flight practitioners - it would be laughable! Look at sports like the Olympic sports - who are the best practitioners - the "masters" - the actual athletes or the coaches and administrators? Yet martial arts administrators continue to suffer from this ego dysfunction!
Reward power
Those who can deliver rewards - status, shared power, jobs, money, political support, recognition, accreditation, rank - are considered powerful in martial arts, as elsewhere. In the martial arts world this translates not only to power both within an organisation but, if the practitioner is well known enough, to power across an art. The famous receive a voice in the media and in the forums of organisations, the unknown are simply that. Which unknown could be allowed to criticise a "master" whose stories have been published many times, sold many magazines, and who has a large following of magazine and/or book and video buying supporters? With martial arts magazines often also selling videos and books it simply would not be allowed to happen. There is, unfortunately, no journalist in the populist martial arts media who seeks more than sensation and publication. (True some more specialist publications such as "Tai Chi" are ethical and provide a credible and non-sensationalist, educative coverage - but these are the exception). Most populist martial arts media articles are in fact written by representatives of the school or person they are focused upon and claims are not checked. How would you feel if all our newspapers and magazines were written in such a fashion? There are simply no investigative reporters akin to those working for "The New York Times" working in martial arts media. Perhaps this is just as well for the charlatans of the martial arts world! But, they know this, of course, and can continue their abuse of power unhindered by the threat of exposure for fraud.
Coercive power
Coercive power is the power resting on the capacity to constrain, block, interfere or punish. In the martial arts world this often takes the form of verbal or physical threats or, in some cases, even physical assaults. However, it can also be exercised through the patenting or copyrighting of certain names or symbols, through franchises or their more traditional martial arts counterparts - expensive "discipleships" or admission to an "inner core" of selected students. Coercive power can also be exercised against would-be breakaways with attempts to dissuade them from shifting alliances or forming their own group ranging on a scale from argument through verbal threat to legal challenges or threats of bankruptcy from legal battle costs to actual assault. Coercion can be more subtle too, with approval or acknowledgement being the bait. This is quite common with organisations which provide accreditation - the implication always being that those not accredited are illegitimate, illegal or inferior rogues of some sort. Of course the approval and acknowledgement cut both ways with the clear implication that those seeking accreditation endorse the legitimacy of those accrediting.
Alliance and network power
This is really self explanatory and is seen in those group which give and gain power from association. These can be within a gwoon, within a lineage or across an art. This form of power can be quite subtle and is often invisible to outsiders. It is also changeable as today's friend can become tomorrow's enemy. It is often abused by martial artists who claim a special (usually secret) relationship with a deceased sifu who can no longer deny it. It is also abused by those who, unable to gain the recognition they crave elsewhere, form mutual backslapping associations to endorse each other's legitimacy or proclaimed skill. We are also seeing a relatively recent and fascinating phenomena emerging now in Wing Chun - an alliance of students wronged by their sifu. Apparently for years the students could not or would not see what everyone else did then suddenly when they personally are hurt or threatened in some way, all becomes clear! Very amusing to the onlooker who can only be left shaking his head!
Agenda control power
This is a subtle form of power employed by those who want to control a situation to their benefit. They do this by defining the limits of a situation or extent of a topic of debate, arbitrating on what can and cannot be open to discussion or dissemination. They seek to control the terms of a discussion or debate to grounds on which they think they can win. We can often see this in articles in martial arts magazines that either explicitly or implicitly state that the organisation or master in question has some exclusive knowledge; accrediting authority; or, skill and that others do not. I have found the majority of such such claims to not be even remotely correct.
Control of meanings, symbols and history
This form of power is also subtle to those unaware of the meta-agendas of those employing it. Sometimes we see martial artists claiming they and they alone have the correct, heretofore unrevealed history of an art or an exclusive set of ancient (ergo, "valuable" and "exclusive") teachings. These folk will sometimes even attempt to amass collections of materials - videos, writings, artefacts under the pretext of preserving history but if one delves beneath the surface it is easy to see that there often is an insidious agenda of control and exploitation beneath the surface expression of "altruism" for "the art". This is a very cunning use of power.
Personal power
I was involved in a dialogue with a very famous Tai Chi Chuan master recently and he expressed the opinion that there were a number of unknown and unrecognised masters in the world who were simply too busy and/or too poor (or simply couldn't be bothered) to obtain the required media imprimatur to be recognised world-wide today as a master yet many less skilled practitioners were getting often inordinate media exposure and thereby becoming even more famous and endorsed and therefore more powerful. He noted that it is rare for anyone getting media attention to note that there are more accomplished masters extant - especially if they wish to state or imply they are paramount. Some will not even acknowledge their sifu but concoct patently fantastic stories to support their marketed uniqueness. I guess if you cannot demonstrably be superior you have to distinguish yourself in today's commercial martial arts climate with fantastic fiction! Sadly this is often done by persistently perpetuating falsehood until many believe it. It then becomes a "catch-22": the media promotes a "master" or "grandmaster" and that person is then sought out for comment or their articles are more readily published and they are thereby made more famous yet often true masters whose skill exceeds those the media chooses to promote, often by a factor of ten or more, are ignored, remain unknown or are silenced. I was encouraged when the Tai Chi master used exactly the same words I and a number of my more ethical fellow martial artists have used to describe the motivation of today's false masters - greed and ego! He even noted these people will hide beneath a veneer of false good-nature and an expressed interest in promoting "the art" and co-operate ferociously with all who acknowledge them when their real intent is simply avarice, control and pride and their real impact on the art is ultimately destructive. I was pleased I had met yet another wise man in this brother martial artist from another art!
All sources of power are used beneficially when they are used to guide others and assist them in learning and achieving their goals, to help and not to hurt and not to misrepresent. Unfortunately this is rare in martial arts in my experience and a person who uses power appropriately ought to be seen as a gem of great worth. In our Wing Chun world we sadly see more abuses of the various bases of power than appropriate and moral uses. Hopefully, knowing more about the types of power may enable readers to now spot them and beware of being caught up in them either as victims or accomplices and to seek ways to tap into them to help themselves and others to become better martial artists and better people.