Trauma Informed Approach in Rhi Wing Chun Kung Fu

There has been a lot of advancement in trauma research over the past couple of decades, that highlight the therapeutic value of martial arts to support those with lived experience of trauma and/or other mental health considerations (Van der Kolk, 2014). 

Rhi Wing Chun Kung Fu school is not a therapeutic group, however adopts a trauma informed teaching and training approach with the understanding that people are more likely than not to have experienced some form of trauma in their lives; most commonly through violence. 

A person does not need to identify with trauma to attend class, as everyone can benefit from a trauma informed approach. 

The core guiding principles of a trauma informed approach are: safety, trustworthiness, collaboration, empowerment and choice, and respect for diversity. 

Rhi Wing Chun Kung Fu is committed to non-violence, including physical, psychological, emotional and cultural. Rhi Wing Chun Kung Fu is the art of consensual fighting, which is not to be mistaken for acts of violence, which are non-consensual. 

Rhi Wing Chun Kung Fu school never positions those who have or are experiencing violence as responsible for their own protection and self-defence. Those who choose to use violence are to be held accountable for their actions. 

Women, girls, and those from the LGBTIQA+ community are disproportionately at higher risk of violence.  Rhi Wing Chun Kung Fu was established to specifically cater for this population. 

Van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking.