The club will be closed between 16th December 2010 through to 10th January 2011.
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Archive for the ‘All’ Category
Christmas Holiday
Wednesday, December 15th, 2010Technique
Saturday, December 11th, 2010Techniques, which include positions, movement and structure, can be used for defence, attack, or both at the same time. For example, a deflective move and a strike are often done together to fully take advantage of a situation, as simultaneous control and attack is better than just doing one thing after another.
Whatever the moves, techniques take time to understand and develop. As a matter of fact, as you delve into the concepts of techniques, the subtleties can be quite complex and difficult to refine, but once mastered you will appreciate that they are an eye opener for development of further techniques.
When new students are first shown a technique they can become put off since they find it hard and awkward to do, and give up before giving themselves a chance to cultivate their true potential. But the reason why they find it hard to grasp is down to the fact that their bodies are not used to the new type of movements they are being shown body motions that are unfamiliar and have as yet not been committed to muscle memory.
What they may not realise is, that to fully master techniques ultimately demands all the key elements to work effectively together, and this cannot be accomplished in a matter of weeks, it can take a life time to perfect. Nevertheless you would surprised us how quickly people improve through practice.
In other martial arts the component techniques can be are relatively longish sequences, in order to achieve a particular result (such as compliance), whereas in Wing Chun these are much shorter movement of a certain nature, that are not necessary going do much on their own. But as with all component techniques taught, in particular via Chi Sau training, these will be shown how to be applied in many different ways and with many other other combinations to achieve results.
It is through this on-going variety of practice that techniques improve rapidly as the body becomes more accustomed to required movements, at the same time the speed at which new techniques are grasped becomes significantly better.
Techniques are interdependent on the overall structure and moment of the entire body, which comes from stance and footwork practice. So the overall effectiveness is based on all of these improving.
Principles of Chi Sau Part 2 (Evolution of Progress)
Thursday, December 2nd, 2010It has taken me quite some time to put together this rather complex topic and finally, after much deliberation, I have decided to explain my thoughts on the typical evolution of progress through Chi Sau training. Ultimately all elements correlate to advance, not just an individual’s Chi Sau skills, but in fact their Wing Chun as a whole.
These elements are progressively developed, where each represent a level of attainment that are constantly improving through practice. Elements highly are interrelated. Consider for example muscle memory relies on technique. Through repetition of a technique, in time the action becomes embedded in muscle memory.
The following diagram is a guide of how elements are associated with each other. The combinations are not a golden rule rather a way of gauging progress, where the solid arrows are typical of higher attainment and the dotted are common development routes which contribute help to reach that higher level along the way.
Right now I am focusing mostly on the “concrete” external aspects and will be covering each. I also plan to cover the “abstract” internal path later, which is just as important and interrelated, but it is very much a personal journey.
Lesson Plan and Progressive Approach
Saturday, November 6th, 2010Every martial art is different, and there are many ways you can go about teaching. Wing Chun by its very nature has very few, if any, set in stone sequences. You learn basic techniques and you apply them through Chi Sau. You will go over basics time and time again because you can always improve. We encourage training with people of different qualities and abilities, as this makes the students more aware and capable.
We have a balanced regime of warm-ups (including joint rotation, stretching, strengthening, etc), relaxation and breathing, line and partnership drills, in depth lessons, Chi Sau /free sparing practice, and form. We have a strong emphasis on coordination drills, which are based are around prototype moves of Wing Chun, and are practised over and over.
Here is a rough idea of the lesson plan, allowing for plenty of flexibility:
Warm Up
Relaxation, Meditation, & Stance
Coordination Air Drills, Pad Work & Footwork
Main Lesson
Chi Sao, Free Sparring, Form
Over the years we have evolved and refined the way we teach, to the point that we now have something that works really well. Wing Chun lends itself to an ad-hock approach. However if is too informal it is very difficult to track progress, and also provide an even curriculum, so there need to be a balance that allows for variety and structure.
Our curriculum is based on progressive exercises, that use a root move, or concept to build on previous knowledge. These are sometimes called “numbers exercises”, and they get more advanced as you progress. There are plenty of these, and very quickly you will find that it all relates.
The benefit of this system, is it allows flexibility for a student to progress at their own rate.
We also try to give a broader overview of Wing Chun, so a student can appreciate what it is they are working toward. Therefore we will teach some advanced concepts from the start, as it would not be useful to withhold this knowledge.
Competition Winner!
Monday, March 22nd, 2010Congratulations to our winner Raheem Pillay of our competition to win a year’s free tuition!
He has already got stuck in and is showing lots of promise.
Principles of Chi Sau Part 1 (Purpose and Aims)
Monday, March 22nd, 2010Fight situations are unpredictable. You cannot predict what or how things will occur in the future, all you can do is be prepared to handle to what is thrown at you. Predefined, choreographed moves are unusable since there are so many variables involved e.g. enviroment, number of people and thier ability/experience, shape, size, strength, any weapons, and particularly the unpredictable human actions. The only way to handle such unpredictability is to react according to the moment without consciously thinking what to do; focusing on your opponent and being in control with via the conditioned, disciplined instinctive reactions you can develop. Wing Chun uses Chi Sau to develop these aspects.
Chi Sau is unique to Wing Chun. It is not a method of fighting but a method of training. Its ultimate aim is to train a practitioner to react instantaneously in a fight situation. The intention of Chi Sau is to eventually help the practitioner get the job done faster with minimum effort and maximum effect. A Wing Chun practioner uses Chi Sau as the basis to launch Fan Sau (returning hand) overwhelming an attacker with barrages of simultanious controll and attack, which is continued until the opponent is totally neutralized.
To sum up, the main purpose of Chi Sau is to instill an ability to go into autopilot, which is achieved through constantly practicing techniques in different ways, against different opponents and with varying non-premeditated situations and responses. Chi Sau develops the ability to breakdown both an opponents’ attack and defensive actions.
Free Year (in association with South London Press)
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010Getting fit and healthy doesn’t have to be a drag…Why not fulfil your New Years Resolution by learning a martial art?
February is FREE plus a chance to win a YEAR of lessons!
If your fitness regime involves driving to the gym and then running on a treadmill, or you are just looking for a more interesting way to exercise then try WING CHUN.
There is no gimmickry involved and this is not “fit boxing”. You will be learning a genuine martial arts system with all the benefits of improved self defence, coordination, proprioception, confidence, and health. Wing Chun is not simply about getting buff, Wing Chun teaches you to be fast, agile and do more for less, relaxing muscle tension in the process.
If you just want to drop in and try it in February, we won’t charge you. Those who attend are automatically entered in the prize draw to win a year of lessons.
Applications of Wing Chun in Every Day Life
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 
Wing Chun is a fighting system that demands relaxation and calmness especially when under pressure whether physical or mental; physical relaxation must be conjured where force is being used and mental calmness when fear is brought on by the flight or fight response.
In Wing Chun relaxation and calmness have to be developed through training but can however, be applied in everyday life.
In today’s society we are constantly and frantically rushing around, not giving our mind or body the proper relaxation time these require. The end result can be stress. So why not try calming your mind and relaxing your body?
First breath normally, then relax the face muscles, and in order, relax your neck, shoulders, arms and hands; the rest of the body will follow. A calm mind will make you more open and clear for thought; it will allow you to decide on the best access course of action, it will allow you to observe yourself from a mental distance like reading a book where you are the main character. Try this next time you are frustrated, under pressure, or fed up and you will find that just maybe things are not that bad. You could do this any time whether lying, sitting or standing. It’s a matter of getting used to it and practice makes perfect.
Remember a calm mind is as essential as a relaxed body to counter provocations and also stops a bad situation becoming worse.
Christmas Holiday
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009The club will be closed between 17th December 2009 through to 12th January 2010.
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
If You Benefit I Benefit
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009… If I benefit You Benefit. With partnership training there should be cooperation and not tit for tat competition. When practicing Chi Sau and provoking a competition just to get a strike in, this becomes the only purpose followed. You will be focusing on exchanging strikes but not how to handle what can follow. Training colleagues may end up distancing themselves from you, as they feel that they cannot practice their skills, or once they have discovered your methodology you don’t interest them anymore; they find no benefit from training with you.
When sparring take the opportunity to discover and improve upon your weaknesses and let your opponent counter a technique to see how you can handle the response; they learn their counter and you will learn your counter. By extension you will begin to experiment to see what works and what doesn’t, correct yourself and your partner, and exchange ideas. You will improve dramatically this way.
Always remember that in partnership training remember you are both there to learn, it becomes a case of:
If You Benefit I Benefit, If I benefit You Benefit
