Forum Activity

I and welcome from NY STATE

Hi Jason and what a fantastic intro!

And thank you for your kind words too. 🙂

Have you asked to join our Facebook group yet? I’ll pop over there next and take a look.

Sifu

To search for a better understanding of the art is never a bad thing.

Best of luck. 🙂

Thank you, sifu. I will take care not to take the critisisms of others so personally.
I still would like to run those studies, though, if only for my own edification and that of other Wing Chun practitioners. Perhaps I can talk to one of my lecturers about getting set up to perform initial testing.

I think I mentioned before of WC being like blueprints that you can apply over any other style.

I just stumble over a clip where, this first move, to me at least, is clearly a Bong, Tan, Jeng Sau (Spade hand), or a simple Palm if you like.

Forget the bit where he would be getting shot in the face. LOL

Hey Tom,

It is nice that you are passionate about this but ‘choose your battles’, do not go looking for them.
When you say:
‘some criticisms hold validity in terms of outsiders looking in’
Who cares?
Their lack of knowledge is not your issue, these are the kind of people who laugh at seeing a boxer skipping?

Again, when you say:
‘a desire to…[Read more]

I suppose a lot of my feelings about this topic come from being so enamoured with Wing Chun, but seeing it constantly looked down upon by practitioners of other arts, and seeing other Wing Chun practitioners reduced to McDojo-esque practices and bickering about lineage.

I think a small percentage of criticisms hold validity in terms of outsiders…[Read more]

I am sorry that you have had these situations and that they have stayed with you, I hope over time you will be able to relax the demons.

It is worth remembering that attackers/muggers are opportunists and rarely go out seeking the big guy, they will look for the one who carries themselves in a shy way, therefore as your confidence grows within…[Read more]

Thank-you for the reply, sifu. It is heartening to see that you seem amenable to the idea of pressure-testing WC when so many are dimissive of it. I’m glad that I’ve found, purely by chance, a style and school so suited to my own philosophies regarding martial arts.

I myself am learning both for self-improvement and -defence. I find martial arts…[Read more]

Hi Tom,

First of all we must consider what we are learning OUR Wing Chun for.

If it is for personal health, mobility, energy levels and general day to day well being then the sparring side is not so important, but if you are wanting the style for self defence reasons mainly then I do agree with you, however, my concern is with cross…[Read more]

That’s a great way of putting it, Lee. I’m fortunate enough that my fiancée has been training alongside me, so I have a partner at roughly the same skill level with whom I can freely drill and spar.

I just see a lot of Wing Chun practitioners who weakly handwave at the mere idea of actually pressure-testing techniques rather than drilling or chi…[Read more]

Hi Tom

Not to impose my opinion more than anyone else’s. But I’m with you. You need something more tangible. For that a partner is needed.

I can tell you when I go to my class those guys are more advanced than me. They really understand maintaining centre line more than me. But they have been doing it longer and can go to class twice a wee…[Read more]

I understand the sentiment behind that post, sifu, but I feel like a lack of sparring leaves us unprepared for a non-compliant opponent. When I studied Taekwondo, we also were taught that we should aim our kicks at the knees and jab our fingers into the eyes. Our sparring included an exercise where the aim was to tap just beside our opponent’s…[Read more]

Cross Style Sparring, Good or Bad?

Hi Guys,

Started replying to this, and then stopped.

Decided instead to honour your request and write a blog on this for you, look out for it later in the week.

Sifu

A person trains or crosstrains in several styles and gets proficient at them.
Then gets into an altercation, you never know what will come out;
until the issue is dealt with.
eye gouge, broken knee cap,broken nose broken wrist,the possibilities are endless.
pray for peace, prepare for war.

A follow-up informed by sibling Lee C’s post: I cross train the arts I do because, like Lee, and Like Jesse Enkamp-sensei learning Muay Thai, White Crane (apparently also started by Ng Moi), Taekwondo, and so on: I see the Wing Chun within these arts. The style of Arnis I study uses the principles of simultaneous offence and defence, and Karate…[Read more]

Hi Nick

Yes I think it’s good.
More to it than meets the eye.