The Importance of Sensitivity

The ability to respond immediately and effectively to an attack is key to defending one's self in a combative situation. In any moment of time during a fight, the opponent will have some sort of action whether it is a slight movement, a pronounced movement, or no movement at all. This action may serve as a stimulus for a response and can be monitored by the sense of touch. In the martial art of Wing Chun, sensitivity is the term that describes the ability to be aware of what is happening through the sense of touch. The goal of developing sensitivity is to get an instant and accurate assessment of what is happening in a fight so that an immediate and proper response can be performed. There are many things during a fight that a combatant needs to be aware of that can be recognized through sensitivity. Sensitivity gives awareness of the ever-changing positions between a fighter and his or her opponent. A fighter needs to know when the opponent is in a strong dominating position, a weak vulnerable position, or both. A fighter also needs to know his or her own strong and weak positions in relation to the opponent. This knowledge is gathered from the sense of touch and processed through the subconscious so that the correct response is put into motion at the right time. When discussing the importance of sensitivity in a fight, the question of what to do when there is no physical contact to sense arises. This usually occurs at the beginning of the fight when the combatants are at a longer range and a physical attack has not yet been made. At this point, the sense of sight is the primary tool to recognize the stimulus that will evoke a response. In Wing Chun, the concept of mok lik is used to describe eye power.