W
hen hearing the
Cantonese term
gwaan muhn —
literally ‘closed
door’ — in relation to kung fu,
one imagines a select group of
students designated as the ‘chosen
ones’, anointed by their master to
learn Wing Chun’s hidden secrets
to the exclusion of other students.
Although true to a certain
point, the term has much deeper
significance in traditional
Chinese martial arts culture
and history. In the old days in
China, martial artists who were
considered ‘invincible’ were few
and far between, but if a master
developed a skill or technique
that was uniquely effective or he
had unusual ability, he would
have to worry that spies from
other schools would steal his
methods. Such masters were
concerned that once their
unique fighting technique was
known by others, it could be
rendered ineffective in a real
fight, because an opponent could
prepare to counter it and nullify
any advantage.
While it was common
in open-door training
environments to show off your
skills, what you didn’t want to
let others see were your training
methods and how you got to
your high level of martial arts.
In such settings, the skill set
shown to outsiders and students
who had not yet proven their
loyalty was often not of a very
high level or even ‘real’ kung
fu. Or, in some cases a master
would simply not openly teach
the real application of certain
movements or techniques.All of this makes sense if we
recognise that, in those days,
having a competitive advantage
in martial arts was an important
means of survival, not just in
a fight but in business. Being a
good martial artist meant you
could make a living, protect your
family and gain social status and
respect — i.e. it had social and
monetary value.
So, when a master taught the
real thing, it was usually only to a
select group of students who were
considered loyal and trustworthy.
If you were lucky enough to be
chosen, you were considered a
closed-door student. Those not
invited were typically not senior
enough or hadn’t earned the
trust of the master. This system
also tested students’ dedication,
commitment and loyalty.
But gwaan muhn also had
another important meaning in
martial arts society: it referred
to a master who was no longer
accepting new students, usually
because he was getting ready
to retire and was in the process
of appointing and preparing an
heir for his particular lineage
and style. There was usually no
public announcement of who
the successor was, and training
would be done behind closed
doors in order to pass on various
‘secrets’, which may include:- Herbal medicine and
dit-da (bone-setting) skills.
These were important because
a master would not want his
students visiting another master
for medical treatment if he got
injured or sick, so he needed
to be able to treat and cure
them himself.
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