In the “It Can be a Religion if You Want’: Wing Chun Kung Fu as Secular Religion,” it is clear that the relationship of people with Wing Kung could be said as religious, and the life evolving around Wing Chun was complex. These themes of the spiritual and religious sensitization surrounding the life of Wing are found in the biographical accounts of martial artists. The history can be found in the genres of people like Polly, Powell, and Preston. It was noted that the literature that the martial practices would at sometimes perfect to form a spiritual perfection. However, the choice is influenced by the concepts of motifs, Buddhist, and Taoist, in which the mixture of the culture led to an outcrop of new social and religious movements (Jennings, David, and Sparkes 557). Some practitioners of martial arts came as a form of religion.
A good example is Wing Chun Kung Fu, which originates from the Chinese tradition. It directly translated to significant achievement through virtue as we see “it comes from the Chinese tradition of arts that are known as Chinese Kung Fu.” The Wing Chun’s Chinese history is fragmented, and west at some time influenced it. Again, other ranges of versions of Wing Chun were also developed. Martial arts of China, Hong Kong, and Vietnam are different (Jennings, David and Sparkes 560). Primarily, it is Bruce Lee who brought the western culture in China. He learned of Wing Chun with Hong Kong Master before moving to the United States. Using the Wing Chun Martial as a base, he developed his martial art system of Jeet Kune (Jennings, David and Sparkes 540). Wing Chun is a transcultural practice, and can as well be used as a description of the multidirectional flow of social-cultural institutions.
One of the plausible emergences about Wing Chun is that it was practiced as a form of religion for its practitioners. The participants in the study used various terms to different to sustain their argument that Wing Chun KungFu as a religion (Jennings, David and Sparkes 544). The religion in practice was used to denote the sense of gravity and deep devotion to the practice they say it is “ ‘Casual metaphor’ by people in late modern societies and confers a sense of gravity and deep devotion. However, it developed beyond the mere description of a way of life to a modern life or a form of secular religion. Wing Kung Fu functions as religion to the lives of the people.
“Wing Chun was a religion to the people” training hall had a shrine
Ritual practices surrounded the training sessions. It was not the typical training sessions. For instance, focusing on the chapel Kwoon, which is usually referred to as the material heart of Wing Chun, it was mainly used a place of worship. For example, the focal point of the hall is used as the Buddhist shrine, and a posture of Great Grandmaster Yip Man (Jennings, David and Sparkes 547). These generic and specific training materials make the place unique for training and show dedication to the practice. The uniform worn by the students has meanings, as such, they have to wear a colored sash and a unique shirt with a logo of Bridge’s Wing Chun. Those with great prowess and authority have different clothes.
“Spiritual Kung Fu Training Session.” Can the Wing Chun be a secular religion?
Again, Bridges Wing Chun can also be understood as a secular religion which denotes meanings of every day’s life. It can be said as a medium through which religion is expressed. Sheer intensity and devotion were attached to the practice. They always engaged in intense training sessions as it was means of expressing their beliefs. The religion led to the sacralization of the practice, as they concentrated on the force that enabled them as they say “This is the process of sacralization, rendering something sacred” They believed that they were protected and motivated by sacred forces.
Works Cited
Jennings, George, David Brown and Andrew C. Sparkes. "It can be a religion if you want’: Wing Chun Kung Fu as a secular religion." Ethnography 11.4 (2010): 534-557. Print. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/24048025>.
