What Do ‘YOU’ Think Martial Arts Are About?
Is it fighting, or not fighting?
I recently announced some big changes to WingChun.Online, aimed at solo training, entitled:
Want to learn Wing Chun but have no partner?
While at the same time offering a deal for fast-track training, with the idea of teaching the full system in just twelve-months, over 300hrs, and for just $1,950 (I will leave the image at the bottom of this post).
At WingChun.Online we are not just looking to help students who wish to improve upon their classroom skills (I opened my school in Feb 1991 (over 34 years ago, on the request of GM Ip Chun) and have taught well over 10,000 students), or those who have a partner but no school to attend, but for those students who have neither school, or partner.
Students who wish to be pioneers in this, first of its kind journey.
Helping you to take Wing Chun all the way to the top, but solo, delving further into elements of the system which many people overlook.
Well, within minutes, as usual, the keyboard warriors are jumping toward their keyboards with their nasty comments, along the lines of, ‘That’ll never work in the street’, ‘You’d never knock someone out with that’ and so on, all around the idea of fighting??
Thank you for your contribution
To explain what we’re about:
When I started training, back in 1982 (43 years ago), like most people, I was greatly interested in the street, combative, self-defence elements of the style, but way back then, I knew there was far more to this than met the eye.
It seemed that every man and his dog had watched the Bruce Lee movies and wanted to be just like him, although at that time, little was known of his teacher, Ip Man, including myself.
Little did I know that, not only would I soon get to know of him, and in detail, but that I would be invited by his eldest son, Ip Chun to be his disciple in Hong Kong!
One of only thirteen in the world at that time.
It is true that Wing Chun is a great form of street self-defence, but that should not be your only reason for learning it:
“Do not train your Wing Chun purely to fight, if so,
you may train for ten or twenty years for a fight that lasts just a few seconds.
Or it may be that you practice all your life for a fight that never happens!
But then again, you may train for just a matter of months, and it could save your life”
Ip Chun
Wing Chun will train your mind and your internal health too, as well as maintaining general mobility. Someone once asked Master Ip Chun, if Wing Chun was a hard or soft style of martial art, to which he answered:
‘It cannot be categorised as either because it is both,
it can be soft on its movement but hard on its impact’
Wing Chun is unique, and for so many reasons, its basis being on ‘Conservation of energy’ and ‘Minimum movement’, no kicking needed above the waist, being the only style to be invented by a woman, and that it can be studied at any age, Grandmaster Ip Chun was still teaching/training in his late 90’s (he is now resting, aged 102!), to name just a few of the points Wing Chun has to offer.
“You do not stop Wing Chun because you got old,
You got old because you stopped Wing Chun”
Ip Chun
When people think of learning Tai Chi, QiQong (Chi-Gung), Aikido, Hapkido, Wu Shu and the likes, their main reasoning is not usually for fighting reasons, so why does it always seem to get labelled as such in Wing Chun?
We are training a beautiful art aren’t we, not simple thuggery
In 1989 Wing Chun helped me through cancer, when I dropped from 14 stone down to 7, due to a tumour the size of a golf ball inside my head. Battling major surgery twice (in both cases being give the last rights and requested to, ‘Get my affairs in order’, going through five operations (two of which being involving untested ideas), and then having the maximum dose of radiotherapy. At this time, I was told I would lose my hair, I did not, in fact my hair got thicker, andmy health improved.
We have testimonials from students who have use WingChun.Online to help them with Aspergers, PTSD, depression, dementia, trauma and physical rehabilitation, and it for these reasons that I think Wing Chun should be used for far greater purposes than just the possibility of a Saturday night punch-up.
Through our training we will of course approach self-defence concerns, with specially designed training methods that not only develop the reaction skills, but also how to spot and avoid needing to use them, again, all solo.
After completing all levels, we will continue to help you study, to gain an even deeper understanding of your abilities, and of your true potential.
At this time, what you then decide to do with this higher knowledge is up to you, and do know, we will still be there to help and guide you in your plans should you ever wish to help and train like-minded students.
In Asia, this would be described as you ‘Sharing your experiences with others’, in Western society, this may be termed as, teaching.
We are not professing to create super street-fighters, solo training is about sharing Wing Chun for its health and wellness qualities, rather than promoting it based purely on its combative elements.
It is quite likely that those who are simple minded, bull-headed and carrying nothing but negative attitudes, will not have read this far anyway, but if this thinking appeals to you, why not take that first step, get in touch and join our growing community today at WingChun.Online
Thank you for reading and I wish you every success in whatever you do.
