Mastery Of The Art
The Master Level is the last of three levels which together make up the complete Training Programme of the Federation Wing Tsun System.
The purpose of the master level is to accumulate experience, gain wisdom, and appreciate relationships in all things. By definition there can be no formal training programmes within this level – because if there are still set programmes to be trained, one cannot have mastered the system.
Remember that achieving mastery of an art does not grant you mystical, all-powerful status, sadly. In any system of learning there is a finite amount of skill and knowledge to be acquired, and once you’ve internalised it, your training is complete. Well done, but that’s just your training – now your real work begins! Talk to any martial arts master (and I am fortunate to have many of them in my contacts list) and they will tell you the same. Once you know what you’re doing, the real effort comes in constant practice, continual refinement, endless questioning of your own knowledge, and just years of growing experience.
Master Stages
An actively teaching and training master-level practitioner of the art will discover that their personal experience within the realm of mastership can be marked by progress through four distinct stages of development, as follows:
- Physical Stage – understanding of all physical relationships within the art.
- Spiritual Stage – understanding of all theoretical relationships within the art.
- Philosophical Stage – understanding of all moral relationships within the art.
- Sage – awarded upon retirement only.
Master Grades
You will notice that there are two grades contained within each of the master stages. This is simply to cope with the rare situation of greater experience: If someone has held, for instance, Master Grade 5 for several years, and is then joined there by a newly-promoted Journeyman, clearly the “newer” master will possess less experience within the system, so in such situations the “older” master would receive a promotion to Master Grade 6, to preserve the hierarchy.
| Physical Stage | Master Grade 5 Master Grade 6 |
| Spiritual Stage | Master Grade 7 Master Grade 8 |
| Philosophical Stage | Master Grade 9 Master Grade 10 |
| Sage Of Fenghuang | Master Grade 11 |
How Long Will It Take?
There is no average duration or set period for individuals to remain within each of the master stages.
Either one gains the attributes necessary to continue growing within the art of Kung-Fu as the years pass, or one does not. There is no automatic ascension to higher stages after a certain amount of time.
Where Next?
| Level | Contents | ||
| 2 | The Training Programme | ||
| 3 | Apprentice Level | Journeyman Level | Master Level (you are here) |
| 4 | Foundation Stage Basic Stage Intermediate Stage Advanced Stage |
Water Stage Earth Stage Wood Stage Metal Stage |
Physical Stage Spiritual Stage Philosophical Stage Sage |