Leadership responsiveness

Every and all things trigger a response: action ~ reaction.

Pretend that, while walking on an icy road, you slip. What is your reaction, your response? Mostly, we are so caught by surprise that we become stiff. That is followed by a fall. Frequently we land on our hands and, if we are lucky, only hurt ourselves and not broke wrists. If we had a knowledge how to “properly” fall, we would have “let go” and yield ourselves to a fall. Most likely, no harm to our body would be done, we would only get wet. Which we get anyway.

“The grasses abate in the direction the wind blows.” says a Chinese proverb.

Wing Chun basics 4 Leadership

In the book Leadership by Virtue I refer to martial arts philosophies and Wing Chun principles with regard to a personal growth for those who strive to become an outstanding leader. Here I’d like to share some Wing Chun basics to illustrate this relationship:

Efficiency and effectiveness are both the hallmarks of Wing Chun. Out of these hallmarks spring three main principles: central line, economy of movement, simultaneous attack and defense. And these principles serve right only if you have cultured three roots: balance, structure and stance.

A correct stance is like a bamboo, firm but flexible, rooted but yielding. It gives us power to either deflect external forces or redirect them. Balance is connected to a structure that is embedded within a stance. A correct structure is not important just for the defense, but also for the attack. Being effectively ‘rooted’ or aligned against the ground enables the force of the hit to be taken and absorbed by the ground. Why a good leader has to have a stable stance I have already explained in my Leadership and stability blog post.

Martial arts philosophy

Better sweat in practice than bleed in battle (Wǔ Shù wisdom)

The combats and strategies were a constant topic through the human history. In China only there are seven important military texts. First is from worldwide well-known Sun Zǐ, (The Art of War), the next are from general Wèi Liáozi (The Art of War), Wú Qǐ (The Art of War), Sīmǎ Fǎ (The Marshal's Art of War or The Methods of the Sīmǎ Fǎ), the legendary figure Jiāng Zǐyá (Six Secret Teachings), general Zhang Liang (The Three Strategies of Huáng Shígōng), and finally: Questions and Replies between emperor Táng Tàizōng and general Lǐ Wèi Gōng. The texts were practically canonized under the name “The Seven Military Classics” already in 11^th century, and were later on included in most military encyclopedias. In military spheres it was as important as Confucius’s work is for the bureaucrats.

Better spend three years looking for a good master than ten years training with a bad one (Wǔ Shù wisdom)

In China a philosophy does not come only from the country’s rich culture but also from martial arts. The keystone in Chinese philosophy is a strong humanism that became a focus of numerous Chinese philosophers throughout the ages. This humanism does not imply exclusion or indifference to a supreme powers and the nature. Instead, the general conclusion goes towards the unity of human and ‘heaven.’ This spirit of synthesis has characterized the entire history of Chinese philosophy.

A range of similarly motivated philosophical doctrines is covered by Daoism. Two great philosophical systems of China stand alongside: Daoism and Confucianism. Somehow less influential and less important to the development of Chinese culture are ‘the School of Mo’ and ‘the School of law’. The latter was a utilitarian political philosophy that did not address higher questions like the nature and the purpose of life. Both of them evolved at about the same time as Confucianism and Daoism during the ‘Spring and Autumn Period’ (770–476 before our era), and ‘Warring States Period.’

Gong Fu (drinking) tea

The traditional way or the Chinese method of tea making is called gōng fu chá or meaning “making a tea with great skill or great efforts.” It is as much about escaping the pressures of life for a few moments as it is about enjoying every drop of a tea.

 Tea and coffee bear some similarities. The energizing effect of the coffee bean plant is thought to have been discovered in Yemen in Arabia from where the Muslims spread coffee first to Italy, then the rest of Europe, and finally it was spread throughout the world. In English and other European languages, the word coffee derives from the Ottoman Turkish kahve.  As for tea, there are at least six varieties of tea: white, yellow, green, oolong, black and pǔ’ěr. Just to name some: jí pǐn lóng jǐng or Dragon Well, high-grade green tea that was granted the status of luán chá or imperial tea during the Qīng Dynasty and is nowadays frequently given to very important visitors of China; a tiě guān yīn tea – a wǔ yí wū lóng or oxidized oolong tea with a creamy taste; refreshing nutty taste and aroma tea lì zǐ xiāng that translates as “fragrance of chestnut” is a green tea from the Guangdong province; cultivation of pu’er, also known as Yunnan tuó chá, can be traced as far back as the Han Dynasty and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for generations to build up internal energy and to invigorate the activity of the spleen and stomach. All teas are made from the same species of plant, but processed differently. And there are others which are not to be mistaken by a ‘herbal tea,’ or an infusion that is made from leaves, flowers, fruit, herbs, or other plant material that contains no Camellia sinensis as coffee and tea do.