Private Training with my Coach Aaron Baum

 

Aaron Baum Sihing and Alan Orr Sifu

Just wanted to write a blog post on my recent private training down in Brighton with my CSL Wing Chun Coach Aaron Baum, partly for my reference and also to pay respect to a true legend of a man, which sounds maybe a little over the top considering this was only the second time we have trained together, but anyone who knows him will agree whole heartedly I'm sure.

I arrived in a rainy Brighton via 3.5 hour train journey around lunchtime and met Aaron in an underground parking area at his apartment complex with ample room to train undercover from the conditions.

I'll say at this point that when I first met him almost two years ago in March 2020 (Pre Covid19), I found him very easy to get on with, open minded but clearly knowledgeable but had a clear air, confidence (and nose) of a man who has experienced real fighting.

The occasional Wing Chun forum posts I had read leading upto this had sometimes painted a picture of a bully type figure with MMA fight experience who would rough you up so it took some small element of bravado I guess to some degree to meet up and take boxing gloves and a mouthguard with me but all that first meeting revealed is that in this sad internet age, people judge without knowing far too much and he was not like this at all and coached me safely but robustly in the basics of Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun Kuen like we had known each other years.

This lesson we built on that and I now had those two years of Online CSL Wing Chun Course materiel knowledge and testing some of the methods with my students and in daily solo training, which had stood me in good stead but doesn't replace time in the grind in person with someone more skilled like Aaron. 

We began with a light mobility warm up and momentum footwork drills which fire up the 7 bows (arch of foot/ankle/knee/hip/shoulder/elbow/wrist). These drills I had worked before via his Zoom sessions but it was really only today that I began to see the depth and importance of these and how they relate to our Wing Chun body handling.

Aaron then checked and tweaked my Siu Nim Tau and Chum Kiu forms and we covered some stance shifting drills as the turning is quite different from my past Wing Chun training and needed clarification, this was an example of where a good coach can find a method of getting you to feel what the drill is trying to achieve...I was struggling a bit with coordination and feeling the sink press rise and body connection until Aaron handed me his holdall filled with training gear and asked me to do the Chum Kiu turns again...straight away I felt why and how I needed to allow my body to distribute the weight in motion. Simple but gold!!

We then covered a light kicking distance/timing drill dutch kickboxing style (one for one) and layered in some other areas as we went, an excellent way to complete the warm up and something I could take back and introduce in my classes.

Aaron went on to cover close body force and momentum handling work and then we put the mouthguard in and boxing gloves on and worked some body sparring using everything he had introduced in the warm ups, all controlled striking but robust enough to know you had to stay in the game and allow the body to surf the exchange's of force.

He layered in some clinch work to this and the kicking/knees we had covered and explained how to build live drills for learning in an open sparring type format but with limits so focused work gets done and there's no fear or flailing or trying to win, we did this with gloves and bareknuckle as well as isolated clinch games by working for different positions of dominance and reversing them in a constant flow so the working together component is there at first.

Sam Rusbridge and Aaron

Aaron's student Sam came along for last 25 mins or so to meet up in person and train with me for a bit, Sam works closely with Aaron in classes and privately for the last few years and has some solid skills and structure and again was a great, open minded student and good to work with. We did some body sparring, clinch work, how to introduce head shots safely in sparring drills as well as some free Chi Sao with Aaron changing in as the partner every few minutes, coaching all the time.

Overall it was an excellent day out and will certainly be back again soon for more of the same and I would urge anyone to go and see him and train, you wont be disappointed.

I also plan to arrange for him to come to Sudbury and coach a small workshop this Spring/Summer all being well so my students can gain some insight into his way of coaching the system and see what I'm talking about.

Aaron Baum is the Head of CSL Wing Chun UK and can be contacted directly on the details below and holds led Zoom sessions by arrangement and class training in the Lewes Road, Brighton area. 

Ying Hung Wing Chun Kuen is the name given by Sigung Robert Chu to Alan Orr/Aaron Baum as the UK representatives of Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun Kuen system taught in their own ways but keeping true to the teachings and training methods of Robert Chu Sigung. 

Return TO the Jedi - Episode 2 "Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun Kuen"

 

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away.....well...four months ago anyway, as explained in my previous club update I made a return to Applied Body Mechanics Ving Tsun and the Wong Shun Leung system.

 This was following a two year stint studying and beginning the process of adapting my Wing Chun via Alan Orr and Aaron Baum of the Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun Kuen family, mainly via his excellent online study courses while putting the lessons into practice with private students and later classes when we were able to in the current Covid19 situation.

All was well and then I began to realise there was a huge amount of depth in their system and admittedly panicked that I would be unable to absorb and pass all of this on effectively and like a security blanket, returned to past training habits.

This is not a post to negatively talk about past training or the politics already rife in WC/VT circles, and Ernie Barrios was excellent in terms of trying to get his thinking and reasoning across to me about the changes he made and why but after a mere four months I had come to the simple conclusion that my Wing Chun views on how the system can be trained and my body handling and coaching had changed too much to return. I always fully agreed with the views and training methods provided by Sifu and Aaron and others in CSL Wing Chun and myself and the students also missed the Chinese Boxing gloved sparring drills and the buzz that provides as well as the carryover into all the other training areas and body structure skills we were developing.

To cut the story short, I exchanged some messages with Alan Orr Sifu about my predicament and he kindly informed me his door was still open if I wanted to return and after discussing the matter with some close students made the decision to cut my ties with the potential learning of ABMVT and set my coordinates for the Dagobah system ...Hahaha (Star Wars reference's ..and if you don't understand shame on you!

The messages of support from other students as well as Sifu and Robert Chu Sigung already welcoming me back to their tight knit family group makes me see what I would have left behind.

The depth available to explore is truly awe inspiring but these layers and details wont or cant be learnt and internalised overnight anyway, so the message is clear, for anyone wanting a solid, fully pressure tested Wing Chun system with something for all there are few if any more complete than what we have here and everyone from part time hobbyist to fully absorbed Wing Chun geek will gain at the very least a very sound foundation of real skill and ability, have fun, get fitter, be taken out of your comfort zone at times but essentially be part of a valuable family unit where we work and grind and grow together.

I'm aiming to meet up with Aaron Baum the CSL UK head representative again within the coming weeks and I've already signed back up to the Alan Orr Wing Chun Academy Online learning platform and have picked the study back up to complement my coaching and solo training. 

We have a great atmosphere in the training sessions, everyone working well with each other to improve, some returning students and new faces as well as the small few that have been a constant for the last 5 years or so. Its a great time to get involved if you're thinking of it now the pandemic situation seems to be easing here in the UK

So enough talk...LETS TRAIN!!! May the Force Flow be with you..always.

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?

Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun Kuen - A New Beginning

As of March 2020, with much consideration I made the decision to change our club direction and become part of the "Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun Kuen" family under the guidance and teaching of Sifu's Alan Orr and Aaron Baum.

Before I continue on this line I would like to say that the last two years of part time research, learning and practice of the Chu Shong Tin method has been thoroughly eye opening and has changed my view of how Wing Chun can be approached forever, Sifu's Daniel Parr, Mark Ho and Jon Jones of Sung Wing Chun in Sheffield have some very special, unique skills and teaching methods via their direct contact with GM Chu Shong Tin and had it not been such a difficulty in being able to spend adequate time on a regular basis due the distance and money involved to learn fully what and how they transfer those skills, I may not have chosen to look elsewhere for future guidance in my Wing Chun. Respect always.

Aaron Baum/Alan Orr

After making contact with Sifu Alan Orr via Facebook and booking into his summer seminar in London this June, I also touched based with his CSL UK representative Aaron Baum, who despite many years learning under Sifu had also MMA fight experience using the system and being based in Brighton where I spent most my youth, arranged an afternoon of private tuition to experience first hand what their system has to offer.

I found Aaron to be humble, genuine and easy to talk to as he met me from the station and we went to a local park to train (new experience for me) and for the next two to three hours he covered a broad look at long, mid and close body momentum ranges of combat via barefist and gloved sparring drills, how to load weight into a dynamic body structure by using the 7 bows (springs of the body) and discussed parts of the 6 core elements that the CSL system is known for and how it relates to the training and system as a whole.

With some past experience of training with boxers and competitive Jiu Jitsu/MMA fighters to a smaller extent, I know they have a certain feel about them, and Aaron Baum has that feel, he's done the hard yards and knows his game better than most from real experience as well as an internal ability on contact that I have only ever felt from the Sheffield coaches in a similar way.  

Alan Orr and his BJJ Master Leo Negao

As anyone who has trained under me will know, I am forever open minded and in search of understanding as much about other systems of Wing Chun as I can so not only to benefit my own knowledge and skill base but that of any students and not to get too caught up in a bubble of delusion. All of the Wing Chun has been great and has something to offer and perhaps always something lacking, already what I feel I have unearthed this time round is finally a system that appears to have the elements I have read about and searching for, a system that has been combat tested in the best modern way available in the competitive fighting arena, a mix of traditional and modern training methods, from Shaolin Qigong sets to Chinese boxing sparring and iron shirt conditioning, dummy pole and knives as well as kettlebells, bosu balance balls and medicine balls, a system that utilises the whole body and addresses the clinch, takedown and grappling effectively and overall spends the majority of training time in live training with realism in mind and attainable levels of real skills for all .

Sifu and Aaron Baum, and all the established CSL coaches I've made contact with the last few weeks have been so helpful and welcoming and now just want to move forward and grow myself and the club for the years ahead. I plan on visiting Aaron when possible for private training and some of the other UK based coaches and use Sifu's online learning resource to help adjust to the differences and help me coach when we return to classes again.

Sigung Robert Chu (Sifu of Alan Orr and student of GGM Hawkins Cheung and Kwan Jong Yuen)

Obviously exciting times and some changes ahead when we finally get back to regular classes  following this Covid-19 outbreak which has closed down our options for the time being apart from the solo training Wing Chun also affords us.

Please keep in contact via our Facebook page or message me directly about our classes, or joining our group sessions.

For more information on Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun check out Sifu Alan Orr's webpage

https://www.alanorrwingchunacademy.com/

NEW Sudbury Venue/ Wing Chun Kung Fu

Wing Chun Kung Fu is a Southern Chinese Martial Art over 400 years old hailing from the Shaolin Temple.

A close quarter combat system of Kung Fu which employs punches, chops, palms, elbows, knees, low level kicks and sweeps. 
Wing Chun is a pragmatic, concept based system ideal for a hobby and could be very useful for modern day street self defence, developing efficient body mechanics, coordination, balance and improves self confidence, mind/body awareness and offers a lifetime of improvement potential. 

Classes include practice forms, controlled partner exercises, striking to pads and a unique sensitivity training called "Chi Sau" (sticking hands) where you learn how to detect, nullify and control a partners force and intentions on first contact.

With regular attendance and some home practice of what you learn in classes it's possible to become competent much faster than other sports based martial arts that rely on speed, strength and athleticism . In Wing Chun, the more relaxed you are the more powerful and adaptable you can be!!
Wing Chun is said to be the only martial art devised by a woman to overcome larger, stronger opponents so we eagerly welcome new female members to come and join in and keep the guys in line...(haha)

Why not come and find out for yourself...message us NOW to show interest and book a place in our new Beginners focused sessions-



 Wednesday 5th February 6.30pm to 8pm @ Sudbury Therapy Rooms, Unit 5 Byford Road, Chilton Industrial Est. CO10 2YG (Opp the old Strikes Bowling Alley across the road from McDonalds) Ample parking available 

£10 for a trial/no commitment class in this unique martial art made famous by Bruce Lee and the recent Ip Man film franchise. 

Regular Tuition: Covers you for Sudbury and Bury St Edmunds classes in the month.

Adults Fees: £40 per month
15-21 yr olds: £25 per month

Second Visit to "Sung Wing Chun" - Chu Shong Tin Method

I don't understand women....often they are very contradictory creatures, when they say yes they mean no, and when they say no they mean yes...if they say they are "fine" you better run and hide or rapidly begin the ironing!!
Women can be extremely pragmatic, simple and direct in their attitiude and actions but in the same moment be frustratingly complex and challenging.
However, saying all that, I may not understand them fully, but I know they exist and I find (most) women fascinating , intriguing and beautiful and the good ones have the ability to enrich your life while making you a better person just by being around them on a regular basis

Now read again the above blurb but change the "Women" references to "Wing Chun" and you'll begin to see where I am coming from.
You don't need to believe in silly fairytales about a Buddhist nun creating an efficient system of fighting by watching a crane and a snake but still recognise that Wing Chun has many female characteristics in its make up as well as how simple and direct it can be as well as delving into the depths of complexity and shining a mirror into your very being and make up within the training process. It will soon highlight if you're weak, big headed, impateint, lazy, full of excuses, too head strong, over confident or cocky, living in cloud cuckoo land (Ip Man film franchise land) or if you have patience, perseverance, dedication and a work ethic to get anywhere and improve yourself at all.

Since I last travelled to Sheffield to have an introuction into the Chu Shong Tin Wing Chun methods , a year has passed and in that time in my classes we have been working towards opening up our Wing Chun thinking and applying as much efficiency into whatever we do, from impact pad striking, to partner drills, form pathway tests and Chi Sau.
Obviously with only a very small amount of insight I am not in the position to pass on any part of their method with anything more than my interpretation of what I experienced, but thats really what we all do as we learn from others and I feel we made some progress along the lines of being more balanced, aware and efficient if nothing else along with a better understanding of when we were jamming up, fighting against force and overly relying on speed, structure and alignment - all aspects their method does not require to the same degree or in the same way as any other Wing Chun ive encountered in over 20 years.

I had however begun to get a bit desponant due to the distance and cost for me to learn this method to a good enough degreee to be able to pass it on and had started to look around for other potential clubs to visit.
However personally I was still very intrigued to learn more and meet up with Dan Parr, Mark Ho and Jon Jones again as they were so very helpful and genuine as were their students on my last visit, so I arranged this trip and took another two days off work to go up with an open mind to see if anything they showed me last time had sunk into my grey matter.

 Sung Wing Chun Instructors Dan, Mark, Jon and students

My itenery was similar to last time, travel up on a Tuesday, have an afternoon private lesson with Mark Ho as soon as I got there, book into my AirB&B and then attend their Tuesday evening class, before a very comfortable sleepover and another private lesson this time with Dan Parr on the Wednesday morning before returning home.

So not to completely parrot what I wrote in my previous blog I will try and condense this part but bear in mind over these two days we covered only 4 or 5 areas and I wrote 13 pages of notes on this alone!
Mark again warmly welcomed me into his house with a large pot of hot Chinese tea and we sat and talked for a while on what had happened since my last visit and many aspects of how Chu Shong Tin taught and approached his Wing Chun in the last decade of his life which they aim to pass on as accurately as possible. We again covered the essence of the method via standing practice, fundamental sung actions, Yi Sik (intent methods) accepting force exercises using your body as a conduit to receive and issue as well as how this applies to the Siu Nim Tau actions and Chi Sau (mainly Tan, Bong, Fook)
I began to recognise that although in my classes we had opened up and had more ability to handle greater forces and allow joints to open and rotate, there was still too much structure, muscle activation and alignment required for us which Mark doesn't need in contact, he felt immovable again yet soft and present and breaking contact or speeding up for me would have been fruitless, he was there and had my balance before I knew Id begun to lose it...all with a smile and no real apparent  intent.

Mark Ho being taught by Sifu Chu Shong Tin

I left buzzing again and went for a two hour walk around that area of Sheffield for something to eat and clear my head a bit after an already long day, then walked a couple of roads up from where I was staying to Dan's house and a lift to the evening class. I will say at this point that I feel very comfortable in the company of Mark and Dan (and Jon) who accept ive been around the Wing Chun block a few times but are not ever trying to impress or compare what they do, only try and help you improve your understanding and skills and explain how they practice and teach Wing Chun.

The first hour was comprised mainly of standing practice and forms training. (Standing practice is a whole body awareness scan to recognise and release tensions in the body and joints which also centres your balance and settles and focusses the mind before form practice and training).
Their classes are conducted in an open Hong Kong style where students come in and train what they require and want to train for their level, past the new starter stage anyway, train with who they want to train with and the three Sung Wing Chun instructors are on hand to help and adjust and advise as needed.
Dan spent quite a bit of time with me kindly at the start, pulling and prodding my arms, shoulders, back, neck and hips, like being at a chiropractor but without the pain to loosen the joints up and show once loose you can accept an incredible amount of force without it affecting you in the slightest and no need for stance or power from the ground or any of that usual Wing Chun dialogue (certainly no references of jin flow pathways and sinking the chi - although sinking the Brie or Tea and exploring pathways to Gin seems pretty viable up in Yorkshire thankfully)

I spent some time sticking hands with all the instructors and 3 or 4 students of varying levels all of whom were very polite, helpful, informative and skilled - a real good indication of how they are taught, and was pleased this time round that I handled myself much better in these rolls than last year when I literally couldnt do a thing with anyone, although at times just getting close to touching them you bounce off this invisible solid rubber wall and take yourself off balance in the process...impressive and useful self defence skill indeed.

My private lesson before leaving Wednesday lunchtime was with Dan Parr in his garage training space, equipped like my personal training shed with wooden dummy, poles, knives, pads etc and thankfully a heater and hot cup of tea. Mark, Dan and Jon all approach teaching the method in a slightly different way but all arrive at the same destination. On top of force handling, joint release and Chi sau that we covered,  I wanted some questions answered despite feeling how powerful and effortless this internal Wing Chun method was in the form tests and Chi sau practice, myself and many of my more experienced students had the obvious doubts to if it could potentially stand up to some nutcase grabbing you round the throat, smashing you against a wall and trying to remove your head from your shoulders!! (ie..can it work against smackhead psychos?)

Now although ive been punched in the head more times than I like to remember in boxing and milling (no rules boxing) in the Royal Marines, kicked in Muay Thai classes by professional fighters and experienced street level violence on three occasions, as well as being choked almost unconscious and physically dominated in jiu jitsu and been hit close to full power lots of times by Wing Chun instructors far better than myself over the years with aggression, power and speed ...Dan calmly adapted his Man sau and Wu sau hands in more of a Geoff Thompson type fence and applied Wing Chun method and theory to close down any options and space I had and stole my balance and position in an instant making me feel more threatened than I ever have with no real effort or intent ...but he also explained that nothing is infallible, Mike Tyson in his prime got hit thousands of times every fight, Bruce Lee got hit too and their club are not into teaching "Psycho Wing Chun" to smash the living granny out of people...

An attacker on the street is aiming to put force of some type onto you to affect you..whether thats a push, pull, punch, kick etc...its still force..and will have to be in your personal space, onto you very much in Chi sau range...this method involves sensible and objective training to defend yourself with better use and access to your whole body mass and develop the ability to handle more incoming force, control the opponents balance and actions and also to hit with unimpeded power should the need arise ...on the flip side the Wing Chun martial art can be practiced and explored for a lifetime if you have the dedication and persistance to walk the path and put the required time and effort (kung fu) in for the majority that have no intention of wanting to learn how to fight and survive a street attack anyway
Those that do can do so and pressure test as they see fit until confidence is improved and questions answered, once the basics of the method have been learnt and internalised (you cant be a formula one racing driver if you cant drive or have the opportunity to drive and never get in your car ; read, turn up to training regularly)...its good but its no magic wand.

Another simple way to improve self confidence for fighting as Dan mentioned and I have alluded to many times in class, is to spend a month or two hitting the wallbag several thousand times every day, or hit a heavy bag in the same way...that way even if you cant defend anything you will know you can hit without thought hard and effectively (ps YouTube not required)

In closing, as you may be able to tell and like Brittany Spears sang about...Oops they did it again, I was very impressed and returned on the train once more feeling like a better person and itching to get some hands on practice. Mark and Dan were more philosophical about my potential transition to this method and said obviously it will be a process and take time but whatever I wish to cover in my classes is upto me but to try and follow the path set out, make what we do more efficient and tweak things as needed as and when I can return upto them, which will be in a few weeks time at their long weekend "Sung Wing Chun International Gathering" with over 40 people to train with, all of whom have experience in the method, many with Chu Shong Tin directly in the last 10 years of his life.

I also have invited Mark and Dan to come down to Bury St Edmunds one Sunday this year to hold a 3 hour seminar so you have the opportunity to feel some of what I have yourself ...details and dates to be confirmed.

This is the path of Wing Chun practice I wish to explore and intend to do so but as my current students know I am an open book and happy to cover in class whatever I know from my experience to help you all improve while im on the path to improving myself and own Wing Chun.

"Do basic stuff better" Mark Ho