Alan Armstrong

Practicing self-defense techniques by one's self can get a bit tricky when it comes to wrist locks. I came up with the idea to fill a pair of rubber washing up gloves with rice and tie a knot on the ends. A very inexpensive training aid. I find that it helps me with hand gripping and wrist twisting techniques. Also when practicing self-defense techniques. Can also be great for catching and releasing repeatedly with one hand and switching hands also. Helps me to practice finger and thumb holds as well. I have adapted this idea further by putting arms on the hands with the inexpensive cylindrical swimming floatation device. Also added small elbow pads for the elbows. Wrapped stomach and back support material for the forarms. With 1 kilo ankle weights representing the biceps.

It has been suggested to combine Wing Chun with other styles that are more boxing related. I believe the Wing Chun stylist could be missing out on the body conditioning process that boxing related styles use. Lack of body conditioning could be the answer and not adding boxing style skills. I have witnessed many boxers that have poor boxing skills but have a great conditioned body for fighting with. Also skilled Wing Chun fighters with unconditioned bodies. Wing Chun has a great future without adding other styles to it, all it needs is just more well conditioned athletic type people to bring out the shine.

synchronization between styles depends on what you intend to use them for. Street Self-defense or MA tournaments. Mixing the wrong style for example TKD tournament's with aikido is not thinking things through. Short range styles mixed with long range styles can work well combined with ground work styles. Mixing sports styles with self-defense styles will just get you disqualified. Know what you are training for first then take it from there.

Sensitivity training Within the Wing Chun style is very much in keeping with my theory of being an Oceanic style martial art. Weather and water conditions are always a concern for those on boats or sailing vessels. On dry land conditions are not usually as drastic as for those out at sea. Without the sensitivity and respect for the power of the ocean, a person will not survive for very long. This is why discipline was very strict for military seamen, because of the dangers for them was on many levels. Martial arts is known for it's respect and discipline aspects that increases a person's chances for survival. Sensitivity awareness for the surroundings and situations for all martial artist is the same as for those on boats. The Wing Chun pole is also called a 'Rat Stick'. The problem of rats on boats has always been there, would also come in handy to propel a small boat in shallow waters. The Wing Chun 'Butterfly Knives' would have been also very versitle when on a boat dealing with cutting fish, cutting a path through vegetation on land, or fighting with if need arises. Throwing knives are also a part of the Wing Chun system and are also a part of the boat culture. Flicking of hands in Wing Chun is also the same technique used for throwing knives. Knife throwing practice is also empty hand Wing Chun practice. Having all of the Wing Chun weaponry in cities doesn't make much sense but on a boat in the past they make perfect sense as tools for survival. Ropes and boats go hand in hand. I still suggest the idea to Wing Chun stylists to consider adding exercises with ropes. The physical conditioning aspects of Wing Chun ( I believe ) have been lost or neglected because the daily physical activities were already in place in daily work and now they have vanished. In our modern times physical labor has been replaced by many none physical duties. Fireman use ropes for practical and exercise purposes, so do climbers and outdoor survivalists. All types of ropes thick and thin can be used for any number of different exercise. I believe exercises with ropes will enhance and condition Wing Chung stylists to a higher level. As this style of martial art can enhance anyone's fighting abilities how about with some difficult effort, take Wing Chun to a higher level physically also. Remember the movie 'Enter The Dragon' starring Bruce Lee. Climbing up a thin rope with knots? This is the type of strength a Wing Chun fighter could have! I believe swimming will also enhance the Wing Chun fighter's over-all strength because of it's resistance qualities being different than that of rope work. The buoyancy aspect of water will make practicing Wing Chun techniques more challenging by slowing them down considerably..To be continued

Breathing seems to differ from one ma style to another. Boxers exhale hard through the nostrils to expel any blood. Tai Chi inhale and exhale as if smelling a rose. In Yoga some inhale through one nostril and out of the other one. With Karate inhale fast through the nose and slowly out the mouth. In TKD I would sometimes hold my breath while doing techniques. Bruce Lee would combine breathing with noises or strange sounds. How do you breath as a martial artist? Or how do you breath with in your chosen style?

While walking through the park where I do my training, a man was looking a bit out of place doing some odd looking shadow boxing without the boxing. Unlike practicing set moves, it was as if he was being bothered or being attacked by an invisible man. I watched for a while and sat close by until he finished. It looked like a type of free style Tai Chi without the style or Tai Chi; but I knew that was not it. Some onlookers could think that he has behaving a bit crazy! If I started to pretend to catch flies in the air, we both would eventually be carried off to a nearby rubber room. When the man had enough of what he was doing, I asked him if he was doing Tai Chi. He said no "Yi Chuan"

Long time ago while taking Shotokan, some students there were from Thailand. This was my first contact of what Thai-boxers were capable of. The Korean/Chinese/Japanese ma styles about 40 years ago were known to us through the movies. Thai-boxing went buy seemingly unnoticed. My sparring experience as a Shotokan student against Thai-boxing was a great wakeup call for me. Pound for pound they were more stronger/faster/agile than me. They trained harder than I have ever witnessed. My attitude was not as intense as theirs. Sure I wanted to become tougher but they seemed committed to be like human weapons. Their techniques are committed also with full power and speed, while I was taught to show control with punches and kicks. The training ethics of Shotokan and Thai-boxing are distances apart. My nose getting busted a few times from them gave me a new perspective about Thai-boxing and a free facelift. IMHO Learning Muay Thai is time well spent for any type of martial artist.

Making your opponent less sensitive is one thing and making him overly sensitive is another useful tactic. Having your opponent over react is another sensitivity option for the Wing Chun fighter. A regular feint is one option but in Wing Chun a feint with sensitivity still wins the day. A palm press feint is only one of many that can be used against those unfamiliar with Wing Chun methodology. Press or put pressure against some one and their natural reaction is to put pressure back. As you feel the pressure being returned that will be the right moment to slip around that pressure and grab with that hand the opponent wrist and attack with the other hand. As you and your opponent are looking at each other eye to eye, you don't need to look down, as he needs to do, to see what is happening, because sensitivity training has given the advantage to you. If pressure is put against a Wing Chun man, he will also be able to seize the moment to his advantage. By simply turning softly and slipping away with the pressure applied against him on one side while the other side is going to be dramatically different attacking with force. As the attackers touch has set in to motion the Wing Chun man's counter attack responses, developed from pressure sensitivity training. To be continued ...

Continuing and focusing on this Wing Chun sensitivity aspect, hopefully will help you to appreciate some finer points of this Kung Fu system of fighting. Usally fighting is associated with toughness and not sensitivity. Sensitivity can be associated with weakness but from a Wing Chun fighter's point of view, if done correctly, it is a winning hand. If a Wing Chun man is investing his time practicing and appreciating the sensitivity aspects of his style to be a complete style the opposites need to be taken in to consideration. So how does the Wing Chun fighter do this. He tries to make his opponent less sensitive than himself. The slap block is how. Wing Chun has the inside and outside slap block at his disposal. The slap blocks are intended to desensitize his opponents defensive arms. This way he gains another advantage over his opponent. The slap will numb that area rendering it temporarily stinging and momentarily stunned giving the Wing Chun fighter more possibilities to attack or counter attack and less possibilities for the opponent to react. The initial slap can easily change in to a grab or punch. As Wing Chun is based on touch and speed, this stunning effect can be used very effectively with an attack strategy. A very quick ( with one hand ) five slaps per-second to the opponent's face makes for a very good initial opening tactic. To be continued ...

The Wing Chun ready position differs greatly from one person to another. What I believe to be the right position is not how it looks when practicing on the wooden dummy or while doing a Wing Chun form. It is actually an intense combat ready position. With the back arched forward, making for bad posture but combat ready. Shoulders hunched forward causing a hollowed out chest effect. The head is pointing forward and the neck is curved forward following the curve of the spine. Arms are placed on the centre line in the on guard position, with one hand behind the other. Now here is what differs from the sensitivity point of view, the wrists are kept loose with both hands aimed towards the opponent, in a ready to shake hands type of way. Some people actually make their hands shake to put them in a type of ultra readiness state. Once there is the slightest touch from the attacker, the wrists flick the hands up, that sets them in motion for action. If the hands are already pointing upward and tense with the fingers spread out, like many people do, they will miss out on this very quick touch and flick reaction. This whole ready for action combination of body posture is not pretty or artistic to see. Practicing this posture is not recommended from an exercising or correct body posturing perspective. This Wing Chun bad posture on guard stance is intended for fighting and not for anything else but to win fights. The sensitivity starts from the split second initial contact of an opponent and it doesn't stop there. To be continued ...

I would suggest in time to open a small fitness club specializing in burning calories while practicing none contact boxing and kickboxing. Targeted towards office workers that want to get into shape. Going to need his and hers showers/changing rooms and soap/towels. Also have for sale hand wraps and gloves. Have your students exercising, puching and kicking the bag to music. Keeping it upbeat, interesting and challenging. Start of with about ten bags. Keep it moving by having hourly classes; as many as you can assign people to in a day. All the best!

Have you ever experienced the "No Mind"? It is to do with focusing on something without any outside distractions. It is said that 'the empty mind is more dangerous than the 'empty hand' Also have you ever experienced the sensation of moving or sparing in 'negative space' or in the void? I know this is some very trippy stuff but talking from experience; it actually works!

Sensitivity training starts with practicing balancing one forarm on a clothes rack or a bar for example. While out shopping with my wife in a ladies wear store, it is an ideal opportunity for me to practice my Wing Chun. Casually resting my forarm on a clothes rack. I am not holding my arm there, I'm actually resting it there, being careful not to put any pressure on it or lifting it slightly would be wrong. It would also be wrong to use any muscle or force whatsoever. What I'm doing is practicing having my arm in a neutral position. By practicing this technique of resting my forarm in this neutral position, I will be able to sense any movement. As my arm is not moving but resting in neutral when or if in a clinch, I will be able to sense my opponent's immediate intensions. Giving me countering advantages. Also try switching forarms replacing one with the other. Try to do it in such a way as if your opponent cannot feel or notice the change. This is only one small but important part of understanding the sensitivity aspect; there is more to it than that. In Wing Chun, the real practice sessions, start with drills, these sensitivity training sessions is called 'sticky hands' it is also called 'Chi Sao' it is done with a partner. ( A spider on it's web doesn't move. It remains nutral so it can be able to sense any movement that is not it's own ) This neutral touching concept is used in Tai Chi 'push hands' practice also. To be continued ...

Thank you Nidan. Your BJJ benefits from Yoga practice I'm sure but have you tried to use Chi Chi Kung also? The issue I'm making is that there are hundreds of Chi Kung exercises to be explored. You have many valid points Nidan. Chi Kung is also used as a supplement for many Chinese martial art styles. Chi Kung can stand alone for health benefits also. I witness personal trainers every day in all seasons of the year. Mostly from my point of view too young and lacking in experience. They the trainers do a fantastic job with people their own age. When I see them doing the same exercise techniques with the senior crowd it amazes me how out of touch and inappropriate they are. Also for instance in the park, Chi Kung is never practiced on a windy day because the energy is scattered in the wind, yet this doesn't stop or deter some trainers at all. Doing resistance training with thick rubber bands on a cold day, the senior citizens should be some where warm drinking hot tea. Tea drinking happens to be a Chi Kung technique. You would not expect to see Yoga practiced in the cold and neither should Chi kung.Chi Kung works well for the older crowed because of many factors. A few examples are the internal massage benefits. The practice of swinging arms in a relaxed way for circulation purposes. Breathing techniques that help to relieve tension in the body. Personally after a fulfilling week of exercises I can hardly move to get out of bed. I don't turn to Yoga for help instead I use Chi Kung. The older generation imho should be taught Chi Kung. Trainers should learn Chi Kung and help the aged properly instead of missing the point with resistance training. Yoga and Chi Kung have there place. I switch between the two regularly during my workout sessions. If you practice Yoga, meditate on this "Chi Kung involves far too many advantages for martial artists to ignore"

Hi Hudson. I suggest you take up some Okinawan weapons training for starters and round it off perhaps with some Samurai.

I'm pushing 60 and getting my feet back on the floor after an awesome workout the day before is not always easy. Applying oneself to do it again can be hard but not impossible. Before you know it what seemed almost impossible a few months earlier is now too easy. Stay out of the "comfort zone". Challenge yourself to do things just a little bit harder each time and you will grow from the experience of doing what once seemed impossible.

TKD is a sport and Karate is not. Being talented in TKD may not hold true when switching over to Karate. Both styles attract very different types of people. TKD has no weapon training when Karate does. This difference makes Karate fighters more lower in their stances in general to compensate for weapon techniques. TKD fighters in a Karate dojo will soon realize that take downs are acceptable, but when in a TKD kwon that's not very sporting like behavior.

Propreceptive skills is how I view Wing Chun. The power to be touched and also touch transmits powerful Information from one human to another. We generally live in a none touch society. There is acceptable touch and of course none acceptable touch also. Wing Chun is based on touch and speed. When a Wing Chun man touches his forarm to yours he can gather and process that information very fast to win a fight. As in the every day world, touch is not analyzed or perceived differently for most people but to a Wing Chun martial artist the power of touch is like having second sight. If a Wing Chun man's forarm touches yours (lets say in a block for instance) you will feel the contact and he feels the same right. So now you are both for an instant are connected with each others forarms. A skilled Wing Chun fighter can slide his forarm on top of yours to deliver a punch to your face. The reason for this is because your brain has registered the pressure of the Wing Chun man's forarm but has not registerd any movment by him, because he has skillfully kept the same pressure touching your forarm. You can see the punch coming towards you but your brain is not able to react quick enough to the skilled misinformation tactic used by the Wing Chun fighter... To be continued

Some call it cross training I simply call it getting more experienced. If I live my entire life in one country and never stepped outside to explore other civilizations first hand I will never know or appreciate the differences those other country's my offer. Same holds true for different styles of martial arts. Single style martial artists can be as patriotic as they like. Personally I like to travel.

Martial arts in the East are connected to their faith also. Are we in the West maybe missing out on the mind and body connected to our spirit? Personally at some brief moments while competing in martial art tournaments consciously or unconsciously I have connect the three. These experiences have expanded my perceptions of reality to a higher level. Maybe we in the West connect the idea of our spirit more with happiness than with spirituality.

The anxiety you are feeling from intensive training is a natural phenomena. Due to the fact of working out to exhaustion has made you feel vulnerable if attacked. You have the 'afterburn' effect also throughout your body trying to recover from the stress and tension that your workouts have put you through. Acknowledge that you need recovery time because you earned it. Treat yourself to something relaxing none competitive like swimming or casual scenic walks. We already live in the stressful modern age and for fun as martial artists can take that stress to the max. Nature should be a part of every martial artists life. If all else fails just breathe! All the best.

I never talked about Wing Chun on a boat idea with my instructor. He is on the third level of Wing Chun. His teacher's teacher was Ip Man. The sensitivity training my Wing Chun teacher taught to me was very intriguing. I showed him my Wing Chun library, thinking that it would show how interested and keen I am in the style. He told me to "throw them away" He believed that Wing Chun can only be transmitted from teacher to student and not from books. I learned from him the sensitivity aspects of Wing Chun. Over time I have elaborate his teachings in other martial art ways. The touch and speed aspects of Wing Chun can make a martial artist with practice a formidable opponent. The sliding feet is bad form from a boxing standpoint but makes perfect sense within the Wing Chun system. Pivoting while stationary makes techniques quicker to deploy and more stable as opposed to lifting one foot off the ground. Having both feet touching the ground as much as possible, is just the start to explain one of the many propreceptive aspects of Wing Chun. Explaining the sensitivity aspects of Wing Chun is going to be a challenge for me to explain and without physical contact will not be easy for you to understand. With a little time and patience, most difficult things are possible. To Be Continued ...

Can karate forfill the mind, body and spirit. Or is this concept only a myth. Don't we need many things to forfill our lives with other than karate. I'm sure that Karate can have health advantages. For the mind the discipline aspect works for me. The spirit issue, Karate lifting my spirit. Personally that one is questionable.

Seems most people are slightly informed about Yoga and dramatically less informed about Chi Kung. Chi Kung is what Chinese martial artists practice to improve their chosen style. I do not fully understand why many martial artists turn to Yoga to for fill missing gaps in their style. Chi Kung can be practiced as soft as silk or practiced as hard as iron. As gentle as a summer breeze or as dramatic as a thunder and lightning storm. Chi kung can be practiced solely for: health, beauty and longevity. Chi Kung is interconnect with martial arts when yoga is not. Yoga has been around in popular culture in the West since the Beatles. Mass marketing has done a great job for instilling in peoples minds the flexibility aspects of yoga. Pilates is now the fashionable alternative to yoga. Also Yogalates if you feel the need to blend the two. Yogarate is the term I've come up with for those that feel the need to add Yoga to improve their Karate. Yogitsu the combining of Yoga and Jujitsu is more understandable because of practicing both mostly on ground level. Getting back to Chi Kung, it's very much about breathing techniques also. Storing energy in the body and circulating or directing energy in the body as well. Talking to sports trainers, health club owners, they have never heard of Chi Kung. It is estimated that sixty million people practice Chi Kung in China. I'm sure that more people practice Yoga in India than Chi Kung in China. Have you heard more about Yoga or Chi Kung?

Had joined a Karate club 40 years ago. I could never get in to a full split far from it actually. Three months in to the karate classes, I was put in to a full contact tournament. Seemed very sudden but I went for it anyhow. Arrived at the building that was holding the tournament at 11:30 A.M and started stretching out. I had no idea when my turn would be to go on. Naive as could be I continued stretching off and on all day long. Finally It was my turn to fight. I did my final warm up at 7:30 A.M To my amazement, for the first time ever I could do the splits completely all the way down touching the ground. Eight hours of stretching accidentally payed off. Adrenaline, nerves, heat, anxiety, excitement, putting it all together turned out to be a gift, never to be for gotten. Do you have a flexibility story or issue with it?