Defending against the roundhouse punch

This seems to be a common topic of discussion for many self-defense situations. The search for solution is apparent in many youtube videos from WC to VT to WT.

Examples:





I definitely like the ideas and have trained similarily.

In fact, I remember initially learning about the body mechanics of training against a roundhouse punch. Chum kiu step, palm strike or punching with the inside hand, and the outer tan/fook sau as a barricade. The key was to be close and driving the center. Later on, I've also learned about driving into the source of the punch at the shoulders, shocking the opponent's core, etc.

But - it's hard to do! Especially with a strong opponent.

Also, I've realized that a good roundhouse puncher would not necessarily telegraph that obviously. If in close quarters, with a short turn of the waist and boom, the punch is there!

And, sometimes, the force is so great that the arm may just loop around, hinge at the elbow and clip you in the face, with a good amount of force there still.

Demos of defense against a telegraphed roundhouse punch are similar to demos of defending against an ugly poorly timed slow spinning back kick. Yawn.

It's hard to defend when done the attack is done well.

Here's a good video by a WT practitioner I've only met through some recent videos this year - Sifu Riis:



Here's another video of him:



That video reminded me of meeting Sifu Ralph for the first time, when I learned that the classical WT defensive starting position can be too "perfect".

Sifu Riis seems to impart a similar sarcastic humour as Sifu Ralph:



Happy training!

If I were to learn a martial art for self-defense...

I have been attending a teaching course, the most recent one being about effective presentation skills. One of the recent assignments was to do a 10 minute talk on a topic of our choice.

I decided to do a talk about Wing Tsun Kung Fu. It was a combination of powerpoint slides to outline the history of WT, a short demo of the four principles of combat and strength, and a worksheet/handout.

One of the pre-presentation questions on the worksheet was to complete the following sentence:

If I were to learn a martial art for self-defense, I would want it to be...

These were the answers from the group:
- non strength dependent
- easy to learn
- proven effectiveness
- non-violent
- easy to apply

And also a footnote: *in an unfit person

Does your training fit with this small survey of answers?

Happy training!

Non-coding Wing Tsun

We have millions of base pairs of DNA, yet only 22,000 genes or so from so-called coding DNA. The rest of the DNA? Initially termed "junk" non-coding DNA by some.

We may not yet understand the function of this DNA yet, thereby calling it junk. Some researchers have looked into the splicing characteristics of these regions of DNA, magnifying the number of possible genes a-hundred-fold, all with different functions at different times of need.

A comparison, hopefully not too much of a stretch...


We have many ways of expressing WT, yet perhaps only 108 or 116 movements (for the sake of argument), in a form.

Do you understand every single movement in the forms? Not just the obvious punches or palm strikes or ____-saus, but every single movement from every single angle at every single moment?

Or how one movement can lead to the next?

What about how multiple different movements can either form into or result from multiple different actions?

Do you understand the non-coding portions of Wing Tsun Kung Fu?

The third formless form

Happy 2011!

For the first time, I have learned something from a movie that actually made me think about Wing Tsun Kung Fu.

Well, it was a movie about... you guessed it - Wing Chun. Kung Fu Wing Chun (功夫咏春):

If that doesn't work, try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MADTyp5dBA
[Updated 2014 October 21st with updated youtube clip]

Although it started off with a bit of silliness (as per many Chinese movies), and contained some wire-fu, I actually enjoyed it more than older movies such as "Wing Chun" starring Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen, the Prodigal Son, Warriors Two, or Stranger from Shaolin. Nothing so far beats Yip Man (2008) with Donnie Yen though, even with the fictional storyline. I don't watch these movies to critique the Wing Chun Kung Fu itself or for a realistic documentary, because these are films... for entertainment!

Anyways, in 功夫咏春, there is a scene where Ng Mui starts teaching Yim Wing Chun. Ng Mui has Wing Chun mirror the Siu Nim Tao form, and explains about how something so simple can contain so much. She then explains how the Chum Kiu form helps train the bridging arms and turning forces of the body.

When it comes time to tell her about Biu Tze, she doesn't show her a form. In fact, she only says that it can be used for long bridging, and stressed that it does not have a form, and evolves as needed.

Interesting!

Ultimately we want to be formless, to become Wing Chun (the kung fu, not the lady herself). "Formless, shapeless, like water... etc." - Bruce Lee

Sure, Biu Tze has some different "moves", like the hook punch, elbows, etc. And it does help train body movements in a vertical plane, amongst other things. But all in all, it's almost like a form of freedom with the goal of freeing the Wing Tsun to a point of formlessness and directness.

Over-thinking a simple comment from a movie? Perhaps...

Here's to a good year... in life, as well as in Wing Tsun Kung Fu!