How do you change formlessnessessess...?

Time for a short philosophical break… put on your thinking caps please…

This blog entry stemmed from thoughts related to this post by GM Kernspecht: http://www.wingtsunwelt.com/news.php?id=1780&PHPSESSID=c635d776eeafa99d54bfd318ed875227

1. If the goal of “becoming” Wing Tsun is the same for all, does it matter what kind of path you take? Why shouldn’t there be different journeys to the same goal?

2. Teachers adapt to the different learning styles of students. This can and should apply to martial arts training too.

3. If everyone has different body builds and characteristics, etc., then Wing Tsun can look very different. Depends on the scenario as well. Adaptation, anyone?

To me, “changing” Wing Tsun means changing the way to get to Wing Tsun. And that’s okay!

Have you got what it takes?

Every now and again you might hear a question comparing WT with MMA or what not, or how WT would be in a tournament. I’m not talking about the silly chi sau tournaments here. Nor am I talking about love-tap fights with a point system. I’m talking about being locked up in a cage with another experienced, ruthless and belt-hungry fighter.

Queue the screeching brakes.

We have to remember what we are training WT for. How about this: self-defense when caught in an unexpected potentially violent situation. At least for me, I’m not training full-time to be in a professional ring where I’ve studied my opponent’s videos beforehand, and I’ve been studied in detail, both of us needing to obey various rules, etc.

I remember watching an MMA fight, where one fighter accidentally ran his eye into the other guy’s thumb (yes, not the other way around). “Ow! (Sniff, sniff)” Fight delayed. Groin shots in those fights are always classic as well.

Note: Yes, I realize that there are lethal techniques in other martial arts besides WT.

Let’s turn to a lesson from Master Wong.

Maybe a bit too much swearing for some, but I love watching the sarcastic tone of his videos. You’ll have to watch some of the other ones to understand his animosity towards his student.

This video has a clear message for me – it’s not about what kung fu versus MMA, my style versus your style, etc.

It’s about the person who is training in the martial art.

So, what else is new? Let’s train hard!

In a self-defense situation, we are assuming that:

• Your attacker is bigger
• You were chosen as a victim (despite your confident air about you)

You were also assumed by the attacker to be weaker with no fighting experience. When physical violence ensues, your WT training will hopefully kick in. But, despite all of the training, do you have a greater hunger for survival than your opponent? (On the other hand, do you have enough control re: “excessive force” with all of the adrenaline rushing through?)

I see I have dodged the question a bit of whether WT work in a cage fight. I think it’s because it’s an entirely different scenario. Do I think someone could incorporate effective WT training into their MMA training? Sure! Put a hard-training devoted fighter through WT and no doubt there’ll be improvement. Chinese boxing – why not?

But I guess I really won't know until I see it. Until then, I'll spend less time thinking about that and more time training in an effective self-defense system. What are your thoughts?

I hope you enjoyed that video. There are lots of amusing quotes in there. He has also been posting this entertaining “Wing Chun Apprentice” series for 2010.

And to end, because kung fu is not only about physical fighting, let’s broaden our thinking a bit. I think this lesson is a valid point in all aspects of life.

How much effort do you put in to attain your goals?

Lessons from Leung Kwok Wah in 1 minute

I encountered a video on youtube by Sifu Leung Kwok Wah of Hong Kong. I thought it had some great teaching points that I’d like to share with you.



Face your opponent

At the very beginning of the video, he asks his students to face your opponent. Paraphrased:

Why aren’t you facing your opponent? You need to have forward intent. If you don’t face him, your concentration will be broken.

I don’t know why but when I see people doing chi sao exercises with their heads turned left or right, I think of a movie star holding a gun sideways, trying to look cool. The bit about focusing on forward intent by actually facing your training partner makes sense to me. Plus, as much as we want to rely on our sensitivity, we can’t ignore the amazing benefits of the visual input from our central and peripheral vision.

Continue to flow and spring forward

About 20 seconds in, he asks them not to stop, and continue. Paraphrased again:

Don’t stop. If you are turned and then stop there, a fighter is just going to push you around and you’ll get hit.

Also, at 2:30 or so, one of the students gets pushed away. His response:

Thrust back to him. Oh, you missed your chance. Okay, now you do it after I say it…

This is hard to do when you get tired I guess. It’s one thing to be able to dissolve a force, but another thing to still have forward pressure, or spring back after the force is dissipated. If we dissolve only without returning the favour, we’ll get slammed. And if we get pushed away, make sure those hands are up to defend against a follow-up attack, or just go back into the fire!

Stamina

At about 40 seconds one of his students says "I'm breathing hard". Paraphrased response:

Of course! We are training stamina here with this chi sao exercise.

'Nuff said.

Every now and again, I’ll post some interesting videos I find from various Sifus. You can see how there are many teaching points common throughout various "lineages". There is much to learn out there in the Wing Chun family.

What am I learning, anyways?

As you know, kung fu has traditionally been passed down from generation to generation with no noticeable structure per se. Students did not sign up each semester for Kung Fu 101, then 102, then 201 and 202, etc. I wonder how people knew their progress then? Perhaps they got into a lot more fights and random challenges with other styles back then e.g. “Bei Mo”. Before, perhaps teaching was more individualized, and students were taught when they were presumed to be ready. Sifus either passed down kung fu to their own family members, or only had a handful of students, not like nowadays.

Now though, with so many schools and students, how would the Sifus and To-dais keep track? WT has been touted as having a more structured approach with a standardized curriculum. Theoretically, you should be able to go anywhere around the world with your WT Passport and continue training in your own program. I’ve never really tried that out actually. A balance of being both between standardized and individualized.

A skeleton

Now that I think about it, whenever we had guest instructors in Toronto, there may have been differences in the specific details of each technique that may not have seemed standardized. But, in the end, the framework was actually there. I’ve come to realize that the so-called structured program is just a skeleton on which to build upon, since everything that we learn is so spread out across the whole system of levels.

Checklist

On the other hand, having a checklist for each level has been useful for me in the past. It told me what the basic requirements were for each grade. Like pre-requisites for the next course. Plus, I’m sure everyone has enough unpredictable and unstructured things in their lives already, be it at home or at work, so it’s nice to have some structure in one’s life. It also gave the instructor an idea as to where the students were at and what they haven’t learned yet.

However, it’s not like after you tick off the checklists, then we are done with it! Also, in mathematics, when we learned long division, you still had to use addition and subtraction. Okay, bad example… how many people whip out their cell phones now for calculations?

Progress

So, how do we know that we are getting better in WT? Why, get into a random scrum at the bar of course! Just kidding - if you want to talk about unpredictability and unstructured, that approach is highly not recommended.

Well, we can simulate the realistic and practical side of assessing progress throughout our training. In Toronto, we routinely practiced defending against “random attacks” to test our skills. That way, we can try and apply and test out our skills. (As an aside, that’s another great reason to have a variety of students with other martial arts experiences in the class, because they can throw a proper TKD kick, or boxer’s jab/punch, or Jiu-Jitsu take-down, etc. )

Then there is formal testing to advance levels of course, as a standardized way of saying: “Now you are ready grasshopper, to start learning the next technique… monkey plucks two peaches!” Students become aware of what they have accomplished. Everyone needs some encouragement and confidence now and again as well. A sense of pride and achievement. Plus, some credentials for teaching and passing it on in the future.

Overall though, I don’t care much about a label, as long as I know the skills are there. Someone once told me (paraphrased): “having a technician suit doesn’t help my WT when I have to use it.” What do you mean, you could take that jacket off, throw it at your opponent to blind him right before your pummel him with chain punches!

Anyways, as long as I keep a record of my training, and spend the time re-thinking and recalling what has been taught, that helps me identify gaps and weaknesses. Then, just train harder!

What are your thoughts?

Check out these older posts at Grasshopper 2.0 and WT Vancouver with a similar theme:

WT Structure

Columns of Wing Tsun training and How to train

Sifu Ralph's CoreConcepts

Behave!

When you were a kid, and you weren’t in your parent’s sight, how did you behave? Did you paint chocolate pudding all over the walls? Did you eat all the candy that you could find?

I guess it’s a stretch of a comparison, considering we're talking about training in martial arts.

How about this? You are a nomadic warrior who has traversed through snowstorms and climbed thousands of rock-faced cliffs to see a kung fu master in the hidden mountains. He teaches you a handful of techniques and tells you to return in 1 year for more tutelage.

Or maybe this. You have a life-long dream about becoming a martial artist, but live hundreds of kilometers away from the closest teacher. So, you only have enough time to visit a few times a year.

Or maybe something else more realistic. You are a regular person with a job or two, a family, other hobbies and interests, and also train in Wingtsun Kung Fu. Your instructor happens to be away for a short while.

In all these scenarios, what would you do?

1. You could relax and enjoy your other aspects of life, ignoring all Wing Tsun training. A holiday! Then return and expect to pick up where you left off.

2. You could train with other partners, repeating drills as you recall them. Or maybe look through your detailed notebook for the drills, because you know _everyone_ keeps a WT notebook…

3. You could analyze various movements of the drills and thus focus your training, breaking them apart and think about what they are, what they are for, why are they done, etc.

4. You could incorporate numerous things you have learned in the past, and see how they can connect together. Then train to help this consolidation.

5. Better yet, a combination of everything above.

6. Your comments?

Now, many moons have passed. It is time for you visit the wise kung fu master again in the high mountains: “Let me see how you have improved...”

WT journey thus far...

2004 to 2008: Baby steps

Finally, my dream of learning Bruce Lee’s original kung fu comes true. While I was in Toronto in 2004 I had the time and money to start training in Wingtsun.

When I first started out in WT Toronto, I only had some basic training in Hapkido/TKD from the odd session run after classes in high school with 2 of our social studies and science teachers (ninjas in disguise). Lucky for me, there was not too big of a cup to empty prior to learning WT.

So, I was introduced to things like IRAS, advancing stance, footwork, chain punching, etc. More awkward and uncomfortable than a silent moment on a blind date. Just for your interest, I attended the Calgary Stampede last year and noticed that they really do use the IRAS stance in sheep shearing contests (In Chinese, the name for IRAS is actually “character two sheep grasping stance”).

Soon after starting, I injured my right MCL while playing Ultimate Frisbee. I almost didn’t continue with WT, but was reassured I could. And so I continued training with this knee brace on. Thanks for the encouragement Si-Hing/Sifu Asad!

I still remember my first test in February 2005 with Sifu Lau: “More fierce!” Whenever we “screwed up” a defense/attack and stopped (you know, don’t you stop and pose in a fight for the photo shoot?), he wanted us to just plow through and go ahead. More fierce! (it sounds better with a Chinese accent...)

Also, whenever visiting Vancouver from 2007 onwards, I had the occasional training session / tea-drinking conversation with Si-Hing/Sifu Steve. Fun times! My first visit to WT Vancouver was on Boxing Day of 2007. I still remember my “initiation ceremony” of chain punching to Sifu Ralph’s chest to no avail. And when faced with a grinning menacing Mr. Hyde, I started backing up with my hands up “I don’t want to fight”, until I found myself trapped between him and a closed door (which was probably locked – yikes!). “Be aware of your surroundings…”

Anyways, I found Calgary WT in January of 2008 while I was in town. I recall having food poisoning and still wanting to meet up with Si-Hing/Sifu German. Vomiting in a Kung Fu teacher’s bathroom – bad idea. Even better, thinking I could stomach dinner afterwards and having to excuse myself after the 4th shrimp wonton. What a great night afterwards… walking out in the -40 weather to buy bread and lots of Gatorade.

Then, just when I was about to start assimilating everything together to adapt and flow more, I moved from Toronto to Calgary in July of 2008.

2008: Freeing myself from my own force

So, I started attending Calgary WT, and met most of the students in group class - the “initiating ceremony” here being partnering up with Craig (a ninja in disguise as a ninja).

This was a good year - trying to get that body moving more and to start getting rid of all those tensions throughout my body. Started this blog in 2008. First seminar with Sifu Ralph.

2009: Upgrading the foundation, seeing the blueprint

An even better year - going back to the basics: structure, foundation, rooting. Big anniversaries in Calgary and Vancouver. A WT vacation.

Also, I was able to plan the WT road ahead by finally realizing what lies beyond.

2010: Back to square one

I’m looking forward to building up everything again from scratch, hopefully with a stronger base of support. Plus, applying the principles of how to best train with each other. Analyzing and answering the question “Why?” Opening my eyes more to Chi Sau training methods.

Exciting year ahead… I can feel it. Maybe almost taste it. And it doesn’t taste like chicken…

Good kung fu!

Cardio fitness in martial arts

Do you incorporate cardio fitness training in your martial arts workout?

Back in Toronto, 1 out of the 3 classes each week was devoted to pad-work, bag-work, and cardio training. In Calgary, we occasionally mix it up with some pad-work training.

I visited Vancouver again during the Christmas holidays, and unfortunately missed out on Sifu Brian Yam's cardio class on December 23rd at Wing Tsun Vancouver. I even brought my gloves and shin pads. You know how busy the holidays can be though.

But... today, I tried out a cardio kickboxing class, which was a great 1-hour intense period of not only boxing, but leg-work, ab-work, core-training, isometric exercises, etc. I felt both alive and dead at the same time! The ultimate balance between yin and yang.

Techniques can only get you so far. Power aside, if you don't have the stamina to finish the deal, then those techniques won't get you very far. What if you're too tired to even run away!

An additional side effect of cardio workouts: good for your health!

Time to take a nap on the flight back to Calgary...

Happy New Year!