Wing Chun Ideas Exchange - Part 3

Group photo at the end of the session

During October 2012, Sifu Chris Thompson asked once again (3rd visit in 3 years) to bring a few of his regular students up to our club in Bury St Edmunds to afford them the opportunity to experience different teaching styles and opinions on how Wing Chun can be practiced.

The key aspects covered on this training day were;
1/ Generating simple attack lines
2/ Bypassing defensive barriers
3/ Structural springs and leverage

The students were given partner drills to develop structural integrity using the Fook Sau (subduing) concept to cut off an opponents straight attack using power from the elbow, generated use and connection of the waist and support from the ground, working on the basic idea of attacking the attack rather than the often used, less direct method of - defend with one hand while striking with the other.

"Next Level Wing Chun" student Phil Kotval (R) drilling Fook Sau Concept Punches with a visiting student

As the drills opened up and the partners began to respond being forced to defend themselves, we covered how to bypass these barriers by taking a new direct attack line, minimizing the need for additional Paak (slap) or Laap (pull/deflect) actions, instead utilizing Jut (jerk/drag) when the initial punch was forced out from centre.
This led nicely onto the importance of maintaining a simple attack minded approach when barriers present themselves and also the need for correct distance to allow for the full use of leverage and structural springs to assist in taking and controlling the partners centre of mass, keeping them off balance to prevent them successfully defending or counter attacking at close quarters.

Myself (R) and Andy Beverton going through some finer points of structural integrity of the Wing Chun shapes

Sifu Chris Thompson's students are always an open, receptive group to teach and the feedback was very positive with some interesting ideas for them to take away and research, yet all along similar lines to how they are currently being coached. Hats also go off to Chris who himself had just got off a flight back from Hong Kong and Thailand earlier that morning and was a little blurry eyed yet still made the effort to help out where needed during the session.

We all look forward to the return visit down to sunny Southend to see their new full time training  facilities and martial arts supplies shop (Shaolin Martial Arts Supplies - Southend)  in the coming year.
More info for Sifu Chris Thompson's club can be found at www.southendwingchun.co.uk

On a last note, the club T-Shirts and Hoodies have been ordered now so should be with us by early December all being well i'm told.
Sunday classes break up for Christmas on Sunday 16th December (last class) then we restart on Sunday 6th January 2013 for another progressive training year.

New Members and Training Overview

Firstly, apologies for the lack of posts this year...due in part to not always having access to a computer to be able to keep the blog updated.

After a pretty rocky start to 2012 with more than a few regulars moving away from Wing Chun for various reasons we are beginning to see classes flourish once again with the addition of 6 new starters to the 'Next Level Wing Chun Academy'.

I have also sent a message out to previous members who have shown an interest in returning to Wing Chun in the future with an offer of reduced tuition fees for the remainder of 2012 to try and reignite their interest, two of which have already agreed to return in the coming weeks.

Training wise due the new influx, focus in class has been on recapping the fundamentals of theWing Chun first form Siu Nim Tau (little/young idea) as well as the footwork, hand skills and partner drills associated with the early level and practical applications of aspects and concepts from the form.

My teaching focus is currently a mix from my previous experiences in Wing Chun and takes aspects from traditional Ip Chun Wing Chun, some previous Kamon Wing Chun ideas as well as the core of what we have picked up of the direct Wong Shun Leung Ving Tsun approach via Alan Gibson in his many visits to our club over the last 3-4 years.

For me my teaching now makes more sense and from the student feedback i'm getting the results are clear with understanding and skill level clearly improving - I admit it can be a juggle for a beginning student (or even an intermediate/advanced student) to comprehend how the jigsaw of Wing Chun fits together and realization that the simplest ideas are often the most effective yet can be the most difficult to implement, such as the Fook Sau (subduing hand) and Taan Sau (dispersing/spreading hand) concepts along with Chiu Ying (facing) and triangulation, yet with simple promts to 'attack the attack' and 'disrupt the centre of mass' gradually close quarter Wing Chun begins to gel and make sense...of course with the requisite relaxation, structures, intent that are introduced at the same time and developed within the form practice.

Repetition - Repetition - Repetition! :-)

Students have also been schooled in the practice of partner flow drills to aid in the relaxation and 'flow' of attack sequences and also to concentrate under relative pressure with both arms supplementing each other. These skills can be vital in the flurry of arms to help gain, regain or maintain an attack line when drilling becomes more open and random or when the attack line has been shut off or jammed.

Training to come in the next few months will involve the Paak Sau (slapping hand) drill which helps train the 'Lat Sau Jik Chung' (lost hand thrust forward) concept as well as 'Lien Siu Dai Da' (linking defence to bring in offence)...as well as Combination drills, Chi Sau, application scenario training and the second form of Wing Chun, Chum Kiu (seeking the bridge) which trains turning, kicking, tracking a moving opponent and builds on the concepts introduced during Siu Nim Tau.

A busy and exciting time ahead with hopefully some more new faces and seminars in the new year with other members of the UK Wing Chun community teaching their interpretation of the skills of Wing Chun via invite to our school.

Lastly, I will be making a club T-shirt order again either before the Christmas break or into the new year, prices are £15 for adults and £10 for children and payment is needed upfront with a minimum of 10 orders before it can be submitted..so let me know in class if you want me to order you one. Sweatshirts may be an option for the winter months but im still haggling the price down with our supplier to make them as affordable as possible.

See you in class soon and keep training hard and focusing on personal improvement.

Sifu