Kung Fu Fitness

When first being exposed to Wing Chun or Wing Tsun, you may have heard statements such as: “You don’t need to be strong to be good” or “You can defeat a stronger opponent even if you are weak”. Perhaps this is what attracted you at the start.

Being strong and not being weak are two different things!

How about physical fitness? Do you have to be fit to do Wingtsun Kung Fu?

To be good in Wingtsun Kung Fu, being fit is very important.

Recently, I was reading this textbook from the American College of Sports Medicine. The qualities outlined below are stated to be important for physical fitness:

Health-Related Physical Fitness Components

Cardiovascular endurance: The ability of the circulatory and respiratory system to supply oxygen during sustained physical activity.

Body composition: The relative amounts of muscle, fat, bone, and other vital parts of the body.

Muscular strength: The ability of muscle to exert force.

Muscular endurance: The ability of muscle to continue to perform without fatigue.

Flexibility: The range of motion available at a joint.

Skill-Related Physical Fitness Components

Agility: The ability to change the position of the body in space with speed and accuracy.

Coordination: The ability to use the senses, such as sight and hearing, together with body parts in performing tasks smoothly and accurately.

Balance: The maintenance of equilibrium while stationary or moving.

Power: The ability or rate at which one can perform work.

Reaction time: The time elapsed between stimulation and the beginning of the reaction to it.

Speed: The ability to perform a movement within a short period of time.

Most would agree that strength, body composition, and both kinds of endurance are important for any type of physical activity. Why should Wingtsun Kung Fu be any different?

Do some of the other terms look familiar?
How about if we add: Centreline, Distance, and Positioning. And if we complement Agility and Flexibility with Mobility and Fluidity? And with Power, also Release Power.

Perhaps you have seen Sifu Ralph’s CoreConcepts!!!

Hmmm…

If Wingtsun Kung Fu and self-defense training is a physical activity, maybe physical fitness is important after all?

Restricted freedom

How do you restrict and free a student?

This question came about in September, after teaching students in Wingtsun, as well as students in undergrad.

Whether it is kung fu, music, or any task requiring a new skillset, how do we approach learning it or teaching it?

The goal
We know that there is an ideal goal, the “finished product”, as Sifu Ralph mentions, also stated in his recent blog post. As a new student, at first, we imitate. Later on, we then try to understand. This analyzing and applying phase may last months or years. We are then also influenced by experience, before even attempting our own expression.

Teaching
At some point, in any career, we might be called upon to teach. When we are teaching, we no longer feel that foreign sensation that a new student feels while learning new motions. So, how do we empathize and understand what a new student has to go through?

We want to teach a foundation and base to start with, and thus restriction comes into play. Yet, we also want to allow freedom of expression. Is this done at the same time, or sequentially?

Know your boundaries
Bruce Lee, who was influenced by various philosophers, from Confucius to Krishnamurti, is often quoted as follows:

“Using no way as way, having no limitation as limitation.”

A less commonly heard quote of his is “From form to formless and from finite to infinite”

Two seemingly opposing concepts. The “from” and “to” imply a chronological teaching method. Might they exist simultaneously though?

At the beginning we might need restriction. Learning the rules. Boundaries. Foundation. Structure. In the end, we would like to achieve freedom without form.

In between the two spectrums, perhaps freedom starts to exist within the confines of a defined restriction. Simultaneously.

So?
Going back to the initial question. How do you restrict and free a student?

I started this blog entry in September, and I realize now that there is a flaw in my questioning. Before thinking about “how” in a practical sense, there is something else to think about, either at first or at the same time. Besides “how”, there is also “why” and “when”.

Why do you restrict and free a student?
When do you restrict and free a student?

Before becoming formless, we have to understand, explain, and experience form.

Practically speaking
Yes, it was time for another philosophical interlude. How about something a little bit more practical?

When learning anything new, think about the “why”.

Obviously, there is still much more to learn. Kung Fu is a long journey!

Four principles of ego

I have recently been hinting at a blog post about “Drills and Training Strategies”, stemmed from thoughts I have had about drills with training partners at Calgary WT, and then later being fortunate to have Sifu Gary as a training partner at the WT Vancouver Victoria Day Bonus Class.

When we train, we hope to become better (at least most people want to!). But, we will always train with a variety of partners at different skill levels. So, how do both partners become better?

Tip #1. Leave your ego at the door

If you have heard of the four principles of fighting and four principles of force, you will understand my concoction listed below.

Four principles of ego:
1. Free yourself from one’s own ego
2. Free yourself from your partner’s ego
3. If you can and must (and feel generous), use your partner’s ego against him/her
4. If the encountered ego is too great, give way and find another partner

Note: I wouldn’t suggest adding your own ego or going forward with it.

More thoughts later…

Calgary WT 2010 Spring Seminar

Sifu Ralph of WT Vancouver was invited by Sifu German to Calgary WT for the 2010 Spring Seminar from June 11-12th, with a bonus pre-seminar class on June 10th.



This seminar review is not only influenced by the teachings of Sifu Ralph, but also by training with two great WT Kung Fu Brothers, Sihings Tony and Edmond, who also flew in from Vancouver (pictured below).



Before the first night, I met up with Tony and Edmond for a chat over some snacks and coffee/tea. We ordered the “Flatbread with 3 dips”, one of the dips being garlic-flavoured.

Having garlic-breath was part of my secret plan of repelling any close-quarter attacks from any of my training partners that night. But alas, Edmond foiled my plan with his generosity: some refreshing chewing gum before we headed to class.

These visits from WT Vancouver are never disappointing. Day 0, as I call the informal pre-seminar class, was followed by the official 2-day seminar.

All chockfull of WT goodness.

As I usually like to do with seminar reviews, instead of a chronological summary, here are some random thoughts I had:

Purpose

If we don’t understand the purpose of a drill, exercise, or whatever we are training, how can we understand the benefits?

One example is understanding the Lat Sau program.

As mentioned in a previous post, in Lat Sau, we start disconnected from our partner. Then we engage. But, sensitivity and pressure-reaction-training are not the only things we train in Lat Sau. We can learn many things in this program: positioning, footwork, timing, seeing openings, mobility, etc. So many things to think about.

Some may not like the Lat Sau drills because they seem static, but it is likely as static as it was taught. If you find someone like Sifu Ralph who understands the purpose of Lat Sau, and knows the many intricate details within these drills, you have yourself an amazing dynamic training tool that will improve your WT.



We are not just limited to thinking about Lat Sau in this manner. Why not analyze whatever exercise you are doing?

“The usefullness of a cup is in its emptiness”

Scenario:

Instructor shows a new drill to practice. Result: Students do something different.

Instructor gives a reminder about drill both visually and verbally. Students do something different yet again.

Instructor shows what NOT to do. Students train exactly that… what NOT to do!

Why does this happen?!

I think it has a lot to do with being comfortable with familiar surroundings, movements, and reactions. It is never easy to learn something new, especially when it comes to moving differently than how we are accustomed to. So how do we counteract this? After looking within, here are some ideas I came up with…maybe they will apply to others who find themselves in a similar situation.

#1. Empty your cup



(or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NOH6kOr8eY if you can't see the embedded video)

Be open to new ideas. You are still allowed to think about the “whats” and “whys” in the drill. Ask questions!

#2. Don’t be shy

There’s no one really watching you. You won’t make a fool of yourself by moving and wiggling your body or what-not. Just try it!

#3. Look beyond the motions

A bit esoteric I know. But valid I think. We should not only want to learn the specific techniques and methods, but what lies beneath them.

Look beneath to look beyond. Huh?

Observe, think, wonder, imagine, discover. Is there something else that you can learn from the drill that is not visually obvious the first time?

Hopefully, you find these suggestions helpful. Would love to hear your thoughts.

(More in a later post on “Drills and Training Strategies”… still in progress)

Other final thoughts

Edmond’s nickname is “Wooden Arms”, but I think I felt “Cinder Blocks” on my neck.
Tony (Leung) is the one of the most patient WT training partners I have had.
Sifu Tony (Tam) was excited to share more of his thoughts and ideas again, even getting a bit more actively involved during the seminar; it is always very interesting to hear about another lineage of Wing Chun from Fatshan.



Another spring, another seminar, another dinner, another step towards “becoming WT”!

Knockout breakfast-making power

Short preview of what a seminar by Sifu Ralph can do for you.

The morning after day 1 of the seminar at WT Calgary:



Breaking a knife while cutting some cheese for a sandwich (not grilled cheese though...)

Are you ready?! www.wingtsunkungfu.com

Next up: seminar review
(drills and training strategies still pending)

See it, feel it, do it

On May 24th of 2010, I had the opportunity to attend Sifu Ralph’s bonus outdoor Victoria Day class at WT Vancouver.

What more could I ask for? The warm shy sun sneaking out from behind the clouds, a slight cool Vancouver breeze, a fun and knowledgeable teacher, a helpful training partner… okay, enough extravagant compliments by moi!

The worst part of the morning though? After a quick 90 minutes, class was dismissed!

So, which secret deadly technique did I gain this time in Vancouver? Sure I can tell you all about our training of the intense jum sau, smooth gwat sau, viscious fak sau, go-crazy-on-you-sau, etc., but what would you really gain from a few short paragraphs about these techniques that need to be physically practiced?

This blog post is about Secret Deadly Technique #147: Visualization

In sports, you may have heard about the mental aspect of training being as equally or even more important than the physical aspect of training. But does this apply to WT?

I’m no sports psychologist, but just here to tell you what I learned and gained from a simple comment by Sifu Ralph when talking about a fak sau strike: “… like a heavy weight.”

Have you ever swung one of those hammers at a carnival? (or in Canada: PNE, CNE, Calgary Stampede… eh?)



I found that visualizing the forearm (from the elbow downwards) as a “heavy weight” helped adjust any inefficient tension in the forearm, wrists and hands, so that the shoulders, back, and body could do a lot more of the work.

So how do we become a heavy weight as a whole? Some examples:
- drop our shoulders
- fire our pecs, lats, back muscles
- tighten our abs
- bend our knees
- etc.
- in other words, sink our whole body

This is just one scenario to imagine. We can visualize anything of course.

Visualize …
- … the energy traveling from your ankles up the pathway of your body all the way to your fists
- … punching right through your opponent
- … whatever else you need to help your training

Here’s a photo to help visualize the great bunch of WT Vancouver that made it out to the Victoria Day bonus class (thanks to Sifu Ralph for the photo).



Happy training!

Next up…
Drills and training strategies

Soft sardine strikes

And now for something completely different...

The classical WT training comparison: “patty-cake” / “tag-you're-it” love-taps vs. powerful meaningful intended hits, summed up in a nice Monty Python scene...



What kind of striking power are you training for?

Just some fish for thought…