Christmas and New Year ClassTimes

With Christmas fast approaching I thought I'd give a quick update on class times for the next few sessions and start back times for the New Year.

Bury St Edmunds, (Suffolk) Branch closes this year on Sunday 21st December 4-6pm - and we will be meeting up for a Christmas drink or 3 after class if anyone would like to come along..all welcome (Benson Blakes Bar and Grill, St Johns Street, Bury St Edmunds IP33 1SQ..  from about 6.15pm)

Sudbury (Suffolk) Classes (Mon/Weds/Thurs) finish next week on Thursday 18th December 6.45pm - 8pm

We have an exciting time of hard work ahead in the new year with my connection now to the
Wong Shun Leung Philipp Bayer Ving Tsun Method via Sifu Desmond Spencer..and all being well in time he may come up to our neck of the woods also on a Sunday every so often to help us with the transition

In 2015 Sudbury classes start back on Monday 5th January (usual times) and Bury classes start back Sunday 11th January 4-6pm.

Thank you for your continued support and training attendance this last year and hopefully we can really move forward in skill level and understanding of this new method of direct Ving Tsun Kung Fu in the coming year.

See you all soon

Coach :)

New Ving Tsun Lineage/Method Announcement

As many of you know since 2008/9 I have been operating the club independently for the main reasons to allow us freedom to invite other Wing Chun/Ving Tsun coaches to our club so we could see and experience and train other approaches to the teaching and practice of our chosen martial art.
In doing so we have almost totally transformed and better understood our views, practice and how the real concepts of Wing Chun can be applied and for my part taught..due to various members who are connected to the Wong Shun Leung lineage in some way (as you can read about in my previous posts if you haven't experienced first hand within our club sessions)

As of this week I have made initial contact with Philipp Bayer (a direct student of the late Wong Shun Leung and the chief Ving Tsun Coach for the "Ving Tsun Kung Fu Association Europe") who has advised me to contact his main UK representative Desmond Spencer who has been involved in Ving Tsun since 1976 via Victor Kan and Clive Potter until he visited Philipp and never looked back in 1997/8.

On Sunday 23rd November I spoke with Desmond for well over an hour while he explained the key differences in their thinking and training approach as well as questioning me constantly to try and see how my current thinking was and in doing so briefly explained the purpose within their method of the entire system as well as how each area connects.

At that point without yet even meeting him I made up my mind that this is where I can see myself developing my VT from where it is now for the benefit of both myself and my students.

I also have had contact with Philipp's other UK representative Graham Handbury who has also been extremely helpful with the start of my new thinking process and has answered many queries already and I aim to also get up to Stroud in Gloucestershire to train with Graham and his students some time next year as well as the strong possibility of travelling for a short trip to Germany to learn directly under Philipp Bayer.

I am of course fully aware that at this exact point in time this is only words and it cannot be set in stone until I physically put the wheels in motion although I do intend to make my first training visit to Desmond either before Christmas or early 2015 latest and following that in the future he has agreed that he could visit our club at times on a Sunday to help us with the transition to this method also.

So far, what I am most impressed with and fired up about is that this group has already been so open and lacking in the usual BS and only really concerned with how they approach their Ving Tsun for self development and developing each other, no real hierarchy or ego (as many of the WSLVT representatives have been also when approached to be fair)

Desmond and Graham are by all accounts very knowledgeable and skilful and keep a low profile generally, only teaching a selective group with the same mindset and goals.

I truly look forward to very soon being a part of the WSLPBVT family....but the first step is for myself and students to work hard to improve our thinking, understanding and skills.

Philipp's own advice to me was "Look forward...train with Desmond and Graham and with your right thinking you will use the system and no more the system using you!"

http://youtu.be/-LkBrtizNgA

Any questions please feel free to email/call me or address these in class in person.

Paul

Wing Chun/Ving Tsun Terminology used in the Next Level Classes

I thought it would be a handy addition to provide an updated comprehensive list of terms and their respective translations to help the student better understand the terminology involved when learning Wing Chun Kuen.

To make this easier I have sectioned the list off into respective areas such as - form, tool/action, concept, drill/partner exercise...etc.

Obviously with southern Chinese dialect being tonal in nature some words have a distinct pronunciation, and myself not being fluent in Cantonese perhaps at times miss the mark..although having learnt in the past from Cantonese speaking teachers and after much personal research I feel my understanding is adequate for the needs of passing on most of the terms.

I would suggest this list be printed off and kept at hand as and when needed if you so wish for your own betterment of understanding.

FORMS:

Siu Lim/Nim Tau - Young idea/Little idea

Chum Kiu - Seeking the bridge

Biu (yuet) Ji - (moon) Pointing fingers

Muk Yan Jong Faat - Wooden Man Pile/post methods

Luk Dim Boon Gwun - 6 and a half point pole (1/fong lung cheung (dragon spearing) 2/ ping cheung (level spearing) 3/ Leung Yi (two motions/taan related) 4/ lau sui (flowing water) 5/ kam gwun (covering pole/fook related) 6/ dang (tiu) gwun (ascending/nailing (pick up) pole 6.5/ Che cheung (descending spearing action)

Conceptual Pole terms; Tai (raise) Laan (bar) Dim (point) Kit (deflect) Gwat (cut) Huen (circle) Lau (flow)

Baat Jaam Do - Eight slashing knives/blades (1/Biu chit (point slicing) 2/ Jaam (slashing) 3/ Pek (chopping) 4/ Waat (sliding) 5/ Jut (choke) 6/ Chai (stamping) 7/ Waang chit (side slicing) 8/ Man do (under the bridge cut)

STANCES/FOOTWORK/KICKS:

Yi ji kim yeung ma - Character two goat gripping horse/stance (basic stance)

Saam gok ma - Triangle stance

Saam gok bo - Triangle step

Juen ma - Turning stance (pivot action)

Dui gok ma - Side facing stance

Chum kiu ma - Seeking the bridge footwork

Seung ma - Forward advancing 

Tui ma - Push step (side angled retreat)

Huen ma (bo) - Circle stance (step)

Sei ping ma (gwun ma) - Quadrilateral level stance (pole stance)

Diu ma - Hanging stance

Baat gwa bo - Eight triagrams step

Dang geuk - Ascending heel nailing kick

Waang geuk - Horizontal/side kick

Chai geuk - Stamping kick

So Toi - Sweeping/swing leg

HAND ACTIONS/TOOLS/WEAPONS:

Man sau - Asking/inquisitive hand

Wu sau - Guarding/protective hand

Yat ji (jik) kuen/(choi) - Sun character (straight) fist/(nature of hammer)

Lin wan kuen - Linked chain punch

Taan sau - Dispersing/spreading hand

Fook sau - Subduing hand

Bong Sau (Yi/Paau/Dai) - Upper arm deflection (Shifting/Throwing/Low)

Bong chor sau - Upper arm wrong hand

Paak Sau - Slapping/clapping hand

Laap sau - Deflecting hand

Huen sau - Circling hand

Jing Jeung - Vertical palm strike

Waang jeung - Horizontal/side/lying palm strike

Che jeung - Descending palm strike

Dai jeung - Uplifting palm

Po Paai jeung - In-line palms 

Fak sau (Fung hau/Pek jeung/Saat geng sau) - Whisking hand (seal the breath/chopping palm/Killing neck hand)

Man geng sau - Neck pulling hand

Jum sau - Sinking arm

Laan sau - Barring/barrier arm

Soh sau/Gum sau - Pressing/Pinning hand

Jut sau - Jerking/dragging hand

(Seung) Gaan sau - (Double) Dividing/splitting/cultivating hand

Quan Sau - Rotating hand

Biu sau - Thrusting hand

Naat sau - Extinguishing hand

Daan sau - Rebounding hand

Senk sau - Scraping hand

Pei jaang - Hacking elbow

Gwai jaang - Kneeling elbow

Yi Ying sau - Shape recovery hand

Faan sau - Returning/replacing hand

CONCEPTS/SAYINGS:

Chung seen - Centreline

Chiu ying - Facing the shape/shadow

Joi ying - Chasing the shape/shadow

Bai ying -Recover lost facing of the shape/shadow

Loi lau, hoi soong - Meet/receive what comes, escort/follow what goes

Lat sau jik chung - Upon loss of contact attack instinctively

Lin siu dai da  - linking defence to create offence

Cheung kiu faat lik - Long bridge power energy

Duen kiu lik - Short bridge power

Yiu (kiu) ma - (saam) hap yat - Waist (bridges) and horse (stance) combined (three) as one

Chor hoc mo yung lik - Beginners must not use strength

Da sau jik siu sau - Hitting hand also defends

Jeurn jaang - Turn in elbows

Jum jaang - Sink elbows

Lok bok - Drop shoulders

Ho chuan - hollow chest

Fo bo - Curved back

Tun tau - Absorb and release

Sei mun - Four gate theory

PARTNER TRAINING DRILLS:

Paak Sau - slapping hands timing drill - begins stationary - the punches and the paak sau are the same action - in time "opens up in a random fashion" to encourage timing of entry, angle and attack line acquisition, facing, lat sau jik chung and lin siu dai da concepts

Flow Drills - Varied beginner level drills to encourage the relaxation and flow when attacking and defending encouraging the correct use of force, angles, stepping at the correct time and assisting the hands to work together on the same task while the concepts and Wing Chun thinking are being introduced as well as key practice form applications.

Da Sei Mun - 4 Gates/corners drill - similar purpose and function to Paak sau but versus round attack lines, again at first static and predictable heading towards random

Dan Chi Sau - Single Sticking/clinging arms - basic reflex sticky hand training with use of the "3 seed" tools of Taan/Fook/Bong and to put these tools we have learnt in Siu Nim Tau into close quarter action - static at first with stepping motions and responses to follow

Padwork Impact Drills - Use of pads for timing, accuracy, angles, footwork with a degree of impact development when a wallbag or dummy is not available

Poon Sau/Luk Sau - (Seung Chi Sau) - Rolling hand (double sticking hands) - initially the exploration of the 3 seed tools with both hands connected in a pre set routine where changes, attacks, defections, reflexes and Wing Chun concepts can be explored and understood..but the idea in time is to learn and feel how to un-stick the hands so not to chase hands but centre of mass with the aid of lat sau jik chung development taking the path of least resistance (also the above and below drill ideas can be further explored at this stage within the roll as well as testing for natural forward feeling/springy force and key attack based entry methods and their counter measures as well as common error corrections)

Bong Laap Sau - Deflecting hands drill using Bong Sau as a key component - teaches to activate the elbow when control of the wrist is lost or taken and in turn replace the less than efficient Bong with a more efficient simple structural tool as the punch with the aid of Laap sau to open an attack line...change of sides/angles as well as simple entry methods and responses can be drilled 

Concept Chess - A drill name I have coined myself whereby partners start from any single bridge position and explore the concepts (mainly Taan & Fook, Chiu and Joi Ying, LSJC) to obtain a dominant attack line and control of their partners centre - initially one move at a time, hence the chess analogy. A lighter contact Gwoh Sau (free application hands) preparation stage

Gwoh Sau - see above - best seen as competitive Seung Chi Sau - Wing Chun sparring from a Chi Sau platform NOT fighting

Po Paai Drill - Exploration of the 8 Po Paai Jeung actions/applications

Gaan/Quan/Bong/Huen/Jut/Dai Jeung/Seung Che Jeung/Seung Waang Jeung

Chi Geuk - Sticking legs drill practised separately outside of Chi Sau to facilitate and make use of the legs to sweep, unbalance, pressure, reposition and counter leg attacks as when needed

Pole vs Pole and Knife vs Pole - Understanding and application of weapon form aspects, purpose and concept to supplement the forms and individual conditioning drills these two weapons require

First Next Level Wing Chun Academy Grading and end of year Chinese Meal.

Pictured left to right; Mike Mowat, James Eardley, Lee Wallis, David Ardley (all successfully passed Technical Level 1 Grading) and Ollie Jacques and his father Richard Jacques who both passed Foundation Level 1 after 5 months of training in the Sudbury classes

Congratulations to those named above who stepped forward and chose to be graded on your respective levels.
I was very pleased with the standards produced on the day and the hard work in the previous months to drill in the key aspects required for grading.

Grading, as I've explained in past posts is not currently compulsory in my Wing Chun classes and is certainly NOT our main focus in training but can and does act as a good general guideline to reaffirm what you have learnt and still have ahead of you in your practice.
The added pressure of knowing you are being critiqued and still producing results is a good test of character and shows a full understanding of the subject matter.

There will be an opportunity for those who still wish to grade in December and again in April 2015.


End of year Chinese Meal

As most of you know we are due to have another Next Level social event following Sunday class on 16th November 6.30pm at Full House Oriental Buffet
http://www.yell.com/biz/full-house-oriental-buffet-bury-st-edmunds-4921209/

This will be the 4th time we have dined out here and mainly because the food and service is very good and it can easily accommodate our class..at time of writing we have 14 confirmed..so if you're name is not down and you would like to join us please let me know asap so I can book the table.

Lastly I will be making a club uniform order after 9th November so please get monies and orders in if you need any kit -
T shirts (White/black print for beginners and Black white print for intermediates) £15
Sweatshirts (Grey/black print for beginners..Black/white print for intermediates) £20
Hoodies (as above) £25

Foundation Level 1&2 = Beginners (White/Grey with black print)
Technical Level 1&2 = Intermediates (Black/white print)
Advanced Level 1&2 = Advanced/Senior (Red/black print)
Instructors = (Black/yellow print)

Keep training hard and attending classes regularly when you can..regular attendance is a must to be eligible for grading assessment for those it applies to

Sifu

NEW Grading Syllabus

Following a number of requests from the current student base and in line with the new classes that have opened, I have decided to implement a "Student Grading/Assessment Syllabus" to provide a guideline for learning our Wing Chun system and mark what you have covered to a certain required general standard of competence and understanding and also what you have ahead of you to learn at any time.

In my opinion grading is merely a guideline and checklist of your skill base and knowledge to date, so both myself as the teacher and yourself as the student can amend any areas of weakness and plan for the future.
I don't see grading as a cash cow or a system of "you pay your grading fee you get your grading" therefore the cost will be minimal to cover certificate printing and students will only grade when we both agree they are at the particular level they wish to grade for.

I also will be assessing people on a constant basis during classes and monitoring class attendance and attitude in class which will all be factors to you taking and achieving a grade level. In this way students will earn their grading over a period of time which also gives me the freedom to award a level randomly should it be deserved in my opinion with those factors in mind.

The Next Level Wing Chun Academy grading syllabus is comprised of 8 Levels as follows:

Foundation Level 1 & 2 - Beginners Wing Chun Fundamentals and Siu Nim Tau (White T-shirt black logo)
Technical Level 1 & 2 - Intermediate Wing Chun drills, Footwork, Kicking, Single/Double Chi Sau, Applications and Chum Kiu Section 1 (Black T-shirt white logo)
Advanced Level 1 & 2 - Chum Kiu and Biu Tze, Anti-grappling, sweeps/takedowns, Chi Sau/Gor Sau, Muk Yan Jong Sections 1-4 (Red T-shirt black logo)
Black Belt/Sash Level 1 & 2 - All empty hand form demonstrations, Chi Sau, Luk Dim Boon Gwun and Baat Jaam Dao forms

* Please note minimum requirement for Assistant Instructor is Technical Level 2 (Red sash) and Instructor is Advanced Level 2 as well as being assessed while teaching 3 x 2 hour classes *

Students will be given exact grading requirements for each level in class at least 8 weeks in advance and obviously if you have already been training with me for over 18 months you wont be required to pay for the Foundation Levels but will still be awarded certification for this as long as I feel you have a good understanding of that level. The majority of my students are around Technical Level 1 or 2 so these are the first levels most of you will be graded on in July/August.

I will point out that although I will be recommending students be graded it is not compulsory in my classes..I am here to guide you in your Wing Chun journey and trying to implement this system to help not hinder you, but if you are totally averse to the idea it wont be held against you and you will be covering the same syllabus regardless.

I will post details of our first Grading Date soon on our Facebook page and will have content details in class in due course.

On a last note I am planning on holding a mini Wing Chun Summercamp Training Day in Sudbury this Summer (August) on a Sunday for 5 hours, ideally outside on the Sudbury meadows if the weather is nice enough. The cost is £40 per person and content will be forms, partner drills, circuit type training, sweeps/takedowns and anti-grappling. If we get a minimum of 6 students this will go ahead so please give me some feedback in class.

See you all soon

Sifu

NEW Classes added!!

Sudbury "Next Level Wing Chun" Classes:

I have decided to open some further classes in Sudbury, Suffolk at my home for the summer months initially to gauge interest and provide existing students more training opportunities should they wish to get more practice in.
These classes will be held in my large outbuilding at the foot of my garden (which I am in the process of totally clearing out and eventually matting) or in the garden should the weather be suitable.
Numbers will be limited to 8 students on a booking in basis in the Sudbury classes.
Parking is available locally, three spaces on my driveway or in the Sainsburys car park opposite my house.

I also would like to begin to grow the "Next Level Wing Chun Academy" for a stronger future and develop a training network so we all have more people to train with and classes running throughout the week within a 30-40 minute drive.

These new sessions are due to start on Monday 5th May 2014 (Bank Holiday) - times and details are as follows as well as the class information section on this Blogpage as well as our Facebook page "Next Level Wing Chun Academy"

Monday: Beginners Wing Chun - 6.45pm - 8pm
Wednesday: Mixed Level class - 6.45pm - 8pm
Thursday: Beginners Wing Chun - 6.45pm - 8pm

For existing Bury St Edmunds students who pay monthly wanting to attend they have a choice of either paying £5 per session on a pay as you go basis or pay £40 per month for ALL classes inclusive (Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury)

Classes will be held at my home @ 82 Cornard Road, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2XB
Please aim to arrive 5-10 mins early for classes.

Any questions or information needed please call me or contact me via the details above or Facebook