Club Training Update

 Just to update members and friends of the club that after some consideration I have made the decision to leave the Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun training under Alan Orr and Aaron Baum and return to the Wong Shun Leung training methods that I have explored since 2008.

The Online courses via Alan Orr's Wing Chun Academy website were really pivotal in my understanding and was amazed at their depth of what they have to pass on from Qigong training, iron body conditioning, aspects from the Ip Man, Yuen Kan San and Gu Lao Wing Chun systems on top of the Chinese Boxing syllabus, clinchwork, breathing focus and much much more. I cannot fault the content only the sheer amount of it was too much for myself or any of my current student's to take on board and I felt I couldn't justify what I was teaching under that system which is very different than my 25 years of past experience.

What we have gained from this time is better full body use and handling, a way to safely train gloved sparring drills with Wing Chun theories in mind

Alan was very supportive and understanding on hearing the news and told me the door is always open if needed.

I have been in talks with Ernie Barrios and Ged Kennerk from ABMVT "Applied Body Mechanics Ving Tsun" about returning to train with them again under their coaching guidance and they have both been fantastically open minded and helpful already and we plan to transition me in this direction slowly over the coming months if all works out. 

ABMVT take the blueprint of what Wong Shun Leung left us as a guide and develop and modernise the approach and is a training method not a style or lineage, the full traditional core system of forms, main drills, dummy, pole and knives are taught through the ABMVT filter as well as western boxing style padwork, dynamic footwork, kicking ,clinch and conditioning protocols using geometry and science over Chinese terms -there are no myths, titles, belts, certificates or gradings - just real training for real people.

For me its all good, and its a journey of open minded discovery, learning and growth and I want to develop my coaching alongside my teams personal development - keep it fun but train hard to improve as always. 

We have a great small group of beginning level students currently who are working together and this is what it should be about. As always if any past students or new ones wish to join us get in touch and make it happen.  

Ged Kennerk - ABMVT Manchester

Fast and Furious - Fantasy and Reality

 

Perhaps you're wondering why the title of this post? Well its just how my mind has been operating since restarting classes again following the Covid 19 situation and an influx of past and new students trying out what we teach.

Just as a wide eyed, 17 year old might sit with his mates one evening and watch one of the many "Fast and Furious" franchise films, feel his heart rate rise, get absorbed in the excitement and special effects and state afterwards... "Man, I must start learning to drive so I can do this myself by next year!!!"...they take the steps needed, pry money (lots of it) off nervous yet supportive parents and book themselves in...very shortly the reality hits...

They are not in a high speed chase in a designer sports vehicle with long legged blonde ladies or fit bronzed men depending on their persuasion....they are sitting in a Vauxhall Corsa with Brenda, 58, stuttering around an industrial estate in second gear and struggling to even take that in

In Wing Chun terms people join classes for a variety of reasons from self defence ideologies to self improvement, to confidence issues or a Bruce Lee fixation or simply a hobby that seems different..all are fine and to be expected as we all started for one or all of these reasons but again the reality soon hits that you have to stay fairly static and learn to release tension and relax into the actions and partner exercises you are learning - it is not "Fight Club", nor is it professional MMA or a 6 week self defence immersion money making scheme - you have entered a lifelong process of self discovery, development, higher state of consciousness, solo practice, tolerance, self discipline and a whole host of frustration along the path - it is not just kicking and punching and nothing ever worthwhile happens overnight (kung fu - a skill of time spent and effort)

Just like a new Shaolin disciple who thinks they will be flipping and twirling over buildings and learning 18 new weapons forms  - the reality is they have to sit in a low horse stance for possibly a few years before much else is taught, by then they will have shown they are physically and mentally committed enough to be taught - saying "Nah mate..I just wanna punch and kick stuff" clearly wont flush

In a podcast I listened to the other week the master with over 40 years training stated "If you want to learn a Traditional Japanese system you are looking at 3 hours per day in the Dojo - 5-6 days a week for years, often twice per day...in Traditional Chinese Martial arts being a family type make up they are built around practice forms, dummy, weapon's and solo training that you learn in class or private, take away to work on and then meet up with the club family during the week to practice and keep the family strong (as one of my Chu Shong Tin teachers said for them class is where you have you homework marked and develop the next layer of skill) its not a supermarket where you pick and choose what you like and neglect the other stuff that doesn't appeal.

I'm also fully aware that time is a precious commodity these days, people are busy and stressed and pressured and their hobby takes a back seat so honestly do have empathy for those trying to learn - setting a 10 minute a day training habit is a start - nowhere near enough ideally but better than nothing, attending class as often as possible is also key - out of 168 hours a week if you have such a disorganised life that you cant spare 2 -4 hours something is very wrong or you have to accept that hobbies and martial arts aren't for you - those people certainly wont have Netflix or Facebook as they haven't even got 10 minutes.

So the fantasy and reality title is quite self explanatory - forget the bigger picture and questions of how to deal with the myriad of street attackers which haven't attacked you or anyone you know for the last 15 years or becoming the next Bruce Lee, face the reality with an open mind, work on yourself, strive to be consistent and better than you were last week in your chosen martial practice and many of those questions will be answered by your experience in training - you may even get some Bruce Lee type skills???

Class wise we have a new location on a Wednesday evening at The Stevenson Centre, Sudbury, several new students and returning students as well as some who learn with me privately and the class feel is generally good when we get consistency of attendance - we are working the Siu Nim Tau level of Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun and Chinese Boxing syllabus and I am working through a simple to follow Beginners introduction for new starters to provide a wider look into what's to come and give them at least a spark of that excitement that they probably signed up for.

Learning and training for me has been as consistent as ever (since I started  in the 90's actually as that what I was told is needed)- I do some training daily on top of teaching 4 or 5 sessions a week and this might be running, squats/deadlifts, form and standing practice, wooden dummy, heavy bag rounds, shadow boxing, footwork, weapons on top of online learning via Alan Orr Sifu's courses and aim to get my own private lessons in again when I have the funds from teaching to pay for it - learning never stops.

Why not join us?