Fascia: an oft ignored enigma

Pictured below is a slide from one of the talks at the Fascia Course I recently attended.



Besides the obvious picture of Bruce Lee in this slide, the whole lecture reminded me about fascia-oriented training in Wing Tsun.

Yes. Fascia!

You may have heard of this term before. Traditionally, fascia layers are the thinner planes of connective tissue that we dissect away during anatomy courses to get at the deeper anatomy, the “real money”, in muscles, ligaments, etc.

However, the “fascia” that we spoke of at this conference is a broader definition, including all soft connective tissues containing collagen. This strong, dynamic, elastic network is present throughout our entire body.

This network not only helps transmit forces through our myofascial chains, but much research is underway about many other properties, for example its sensory aspects such as propioception.

Imagine being able to train our fascia like we train our muscles. For any physical activity, here are some points to keep in mind:

- Use the entire functional myofascial chains of our body
- Pre-stretch and load movements
- Keep in mind that this is a long-term goal that requires patience

For Wing Tsun in particular:
- Do the Chi-gung forms
- Try out slow, deliberate waves of movements (to complement the other end of the spectrum)
- Move with a wiggle or a wave, like a wet towel or a flimsy noodle, whatever you’d like to call it

Outside of WT training, try out things such as kettlebells, clubbells, yoga, resistance band training, etc.

Get to know your fascia!

Nochmals!

Training at WT Munich was a last minute decision - am I ever glad that I did!

On the night of Friday March 26th, I took a train from Ulm to Munich for some sight-seeing for the weekend. Since I had already bit the German WT bug in Ulm, I searched and found WT-Schulen via google, and then gave Sifu Sergej a heads-up e-mail.



Late!
On Saturday morning, I ventured out to the WT school. I was late about 15 minutes for two reasons:

#1. I had taken the wrong train line and needed to walk an additional 30 minutes to the school.

#2. After reaching the building that housed the WT school, I then wasted 5 minutes because I apparently don’t know how to open a door! Basically, kind of like the picture below, but I was pulling on the door that actually needed a push. There was no sign on the door, but if there was one it probably would have read in German “Push, you idiot!”



Okay, maybe it wasn’t 5 minutes, but it sure felt like it was.

Warm welcome
Anyways, after getting in tune with my body mechanics and boosting my self-confidence by successfully opening a commonplace door, I was ready for some WT training!

After venturing into the WT gym, I immediately received a friendly welcome by Sifu Sergej, and joined in on the class. We started with large group drills at first, and then continued on with isolated exercises. Great training partners: Max and Alex.

Mobility
A good mix of mobility to start the day. One-line realizations to ponder…

- Footwork: what use is an engine without wheels?
- Forward intention: you can still go forward whilst going backward
- Sinking: the whole entire body can absorb forces and return like a spring
- Pelvis motion: maybe hula hoops should be incorporated in a WT workout, just a random thought

Getting close
The grappling training afterwards was great (or anti-grappling, or anti-anti-grappling, however you like it, or don’t like it, or don’t don’t like it). Thoughts on this training:

- Getting close is uncomfortable but effective at times
- A force vector headed the wrong way just makes things more difficult
- Once the centerline is locked onto though, everything just flows easier
- Any part of the body is a weapon, including the splendid cauliflower ears as mentioned by Sifu Sergej

A very enjoyable workout with lots to think about. Friendly bunch of WT-ers – yes… again, highly recommended!


WT Munich Group – a dummy doll and wooden plank included…

Oh, in case you were wondering about beer gardens in Germany, there was a gargantuan one called Hofbrahaus, with seemingly never-ending rows and rows of benches. Unfortunately, it was surprisingly closed by the time we got there during some late strolling around the city on a Friday night.



Prost!

Lat Sau as a TTT (training transition tool)

After the first WT class in Ulm, I was invited to come again the next night, including the Escrima class held before WT. Unfortunately I only had time to come for the WT class.



Don’t ask me why I took this photo slanted, that’s just where I was standing on the stairs. You’ll have to tilt your head a bit to read it, so please don’t break your neck.

Sifu Bodo was not in again, so it was Sihing Michael leading the class. There were a couple of other 1TGs as well. I mainly trained with Jörg, pictured below.



Ignore the Axe in the corner there. It was only used for punishing really really bad students =).

There were a lot of students on this Thursday night of March 25th. I got very hot just doing Chum Kiu! Doing the forms there, I realized that I miss having a mirror in class. Not that I’m vain or anything…

Then, more Chi Sau, Lat Sau, and the majority of the class spent on random attacks. Jörg was practicing soft take-downs, and I was asked to just respond however I chose to. One lucky thing about being smaller than most of my training partners is the chance to see and feel what is needed, be it footwork or better structure, etc.

Thoughts on Lat Sau
I really see the value of EWTO Lat Sau exercises as a great transition tool, linking what we learn during Chi Sau and what we apply during random attacks.

In Chi Sau, we are already in contact with our training partner. In random attacks, there is only air between us and the opponent. In Lat Sau though, we learn how to respond to pressure that is made at the very moment of contact. We can (and should) train slowly at first with a lot of obvious pressure, and hopefully as we get better we can lighten up and be able to respond with only a slight breeze of the hairs on the skin.

The IWTA 甩手 exercises are a bit different in procedure, but the same in terms of the ultimate goal.



And so that ended my WT experiences in Ulm, Germany. Next up, good times at WT Munich for just one class!

“No blood? It’s okay then”

What an exhilarating experience, to practice WT in another part of the world. I have been lucky enough already to have trained in the main 3 cities of Canada involved in Wingtsun, namely Toronto, Vancouver, and most recently in Calgary.


Now, I can add Ulm, Germany to my list of WT journeys, albeit only for 1-2 classes. Why Ulm? I visited for a very exciting Interdisciplinary Fascia Course as part of my career journey. Interestingly enough, as a side product of this course, I have learned a few things about fascia as it relates to body movement that can likely be applicable to WT. More on this in a future post, including a lecture slide with a photo of Bruce Lee.

Greetings
Before flying out to Germany, I had e-mailed Sifu Bodo of WT Ulm about a possible visit. On the night of March 24th, when I visited the school, I was first met by a couple of students outside. There was lot of sign language for a few minutes mixed with a couple of phrases from the handy “Lonely Planet German phrasebook”. Then another student arrived who spoke a bit more English.


I was then greeted by Sihing Michael, who was generous enough to invite me to train with them. I did not have any of my training clothes, but how could you resist?

It was a beautiful gym with training pads, nice photos, the usual Wooden Dummy, etc. Standardized start of the class with SNT and CK. Then off to various drills.

Summary of thoughts:
- Chi Sau sections, be it EWTO-influenced, IWTA-influenced, instructor-influenced, is only a framework on which to build upon

- The whole body must be taken advantage of, using all of the joints including the back; there were no frozen and stilted bodies in this class!

- Hitting must be practiced in class, to get the feeling of what it takes to move somebody

- Wingtsun is an international language

- Best quote from one of my training partners: “No blood? It’s okay then.”

More sweat
Then, after various chi sau and lat sau exercises, the night was coming to an end! Then Sihing Michael said “Time to work up some more sweat!” Push-ups, leg raises, back extensions, chain punching… followed by some stretching.


By the way, “liegestütze” sounds just as painful and tiring as “push-ups”.

WT Ulm – highly recommended! Tune in for more about day 2 of 2.

"German" WT instructors

I just realized something.

All of the WT teachers I have had so far are Germans (or from Germany), such as Sifu Asad Mir and Si-Fu Ralph Haenel, except for the occasional seminar with Sifu Carson Lau. In case you are wondering… yes, this includes Sifu German Ferrer of WT Calgary, a “German” as well!

Okay, now that the lame pun is over and done with…

As part of my academic interest, I had the wonderful opportunity taking part in the first ever Interdisciplinary Fascia Research Course in Ulm, Germany.

It was my first time in Germany. So, what would you do as a WT student? Well, check out some WT schools of course! I visited the WT school in Ulm twice. I also spent a day in Munich and stopped by Sifu Sergej's WT school for a class.

One word summary: nochmals! (a word I learned from a fellow WT trainee in Munich)

Yes, once again please. I would love to train there again, to experience that wonderful “different but the same training” feeling.

Keep an eye out for a few blog entries about my 3 classes of training in Germany.

For now… I will leave you with a beautiful photo of the Ulm Munster, the tallest church in the world with a steeple of 161.5 metres. Beautiful view from the top after 763 steps.