Frequently Asked Questions: The Six Skills of a Wing Tsun Master
1. What are the six skills of a Wing Tsun master?
A true Wing Tsun master embodies six distinct yet overlapping skills:
Instruction (clear direction),
Training (embodied repetition),
Coaching (drawing out inner wisdom),
Teaching (imparting new understanding),
Mentoring (guiding through shared experience), and
Advising (offering wise counsel to overcome challenges and guide growth).
Together, these form the complete circle of martial and personal mastery.
2. How is instruction different from teaching in Wing Tsun?
Instruction is about giving clear, immediate direction—especially useful for beginners. It tells someone what to do and how to do it. Teaching, on the other hand, is about helping someone understand what they previously didn’t. It introduces new knowledge, deeper concepts, and layers of meaning within the art.
3. What is the role of mentoring in Wing Tsun?
Mentoring in Wing Tsun is the transmission of skill and spirit through shared experience. It often takes place in Chi Sau and partner training, where the teacher physically helps shape the student's nervous system. But true mentoring also supports emotional, mental, and spiritual development—it’s walking the path together, not standing above it.
4. Why is advising considered the highest skill of a Wing Tsun master?
Advising is where the master steps beyond martial technique and into wisdom-led guidance. It involves understanding a person’s full context—who they are, where they are, and what they face—and offering insights to overcome challenges and make aligned decisions. This is the realm of life application: where Wing Tsun becomes a philosophy as much as a martial system.
5. Can these six skills be applied outside of martial arts?
Absolutely. These six skills are just as relevant in leadership, business, education, and personal development. Whether you're guiding a team, raising a child, or mentoring a founder, these are the same human capacities needed to bring out the best in others. Wing Tsun simply provides the embodied path through which to practise them.
6. Do I need to master all six skills to be a good Wing Tsun teacher?
No—but the more of them you develop, the more transformational your teaching becomes. Many instructors begin with instruction and training. As they evolve, they grow into coaching, teaching, and mentoring. Advising comes later—often as a result of walking the path deeply yourself.
7. Is coaching in Wing Tsun the same as coaching in business or sports?
There are similarities, especially in the use of presence, questioning, and unlocking someone’s inner knowing. But in Wing Tsun, coaching is often rooted in movement and direct experience. It’s not just about mindset—it’s also about feel, timing, and flow. Depending on the context, the coaching can be with hands as much as with words.
8. What makes someone a master instead of just an expert or instructor?
An expert knows. A master guides others to know for themselves.
An instructor teaches techniques. A master helps others transform.
Mastery is not just about skill—it is about how you pass that skill on. It is the union of embodied wisdom, presence, humility, and a deep commitment to helping others grow—not just in the art, but in life.