pvwingchun

A trick to impress those who don't know how.

Thanks for clearing that up. I had a feeling it really wasn't what it was being portrayed as but you go off of the information given........

I would be very surprised if it were a belt factory. Master Meng runs a pretty tight ship as I know some of his students in Phoenix. But I still don't like contracts.

Don't necessarily discount the HFY because of the pricing. Look into it and if you like it see if you can work something out. There is lots of variety in the WC world so if that is a fir for you.

This is how NAPMA suggests that their member schools market to you the "consumer". They have contracts that lock you in to paying whether you are there or not with each contract being a little longer and a little cheaper. Obviously the prices are not that bad it is how they go about it that I do not agree with. I was once associated with a school that was a NAPMA member and this is exactly what they suggested I am not saying that this school is, it may be pure coincidence. I personally do not feel the need to have a student sign a contract. My students aren't consumers or clients they are students I feel no need to lock them into contracts to keep them. You stated up front it was too expensive for the first month of lessons, another thing typical of NAPMA style marketing they charge you a large registration fee when you could buy what they are selling (a uniform and "some" books) for a quarter of the price. Now you are now saying it isn't that bad with the contracts and you are right there but you will be locked in for that duration if you quit. If they truly believe what they are teaching and selling a good "product", which HFY is, there is no need for contracts the students will stay.

Hung Fa Yi is a great system of Wing Chun, very precise and technical. But it sounds to me like they are using NAPMA business principles to make money. In short that is charging you for everything under the sun and lots of contracts. Which I don't necessarily agree with. I would get to one of the HFY seminars and see if it is for you, if so then sign up.

Too many close minded WC folks out there I do what I do and am comfortable with it. And every now and then I get in a conversation with someone like you that will actually listen and respond without being up on their pedestal all the while telling you that you are wrong.

I am in the same situation and yes many would find me boring because of my willingness to drill something to what many consider the point of boring redundancy but my serious students wouldn't have it any other way. Based on this explanation I agree and teach things very similar to what you are describing. So to my original point it seems that you have nothing that I don't, except for maybe that kick which I wouldn't use because it goes above the waist if kicking at the kidneys. I stand by my comment that it is there you just have to have an open mind and be willing to except things not taught to you by closed minded instructors who only teach what they have been taught and soon it becomes dogma. I would tend to agree that many do not do these things but it is not because it isn't there it is because it hasn't been taught to them, it is there they just have to find it. BTW what is your lineage as I am in possession now of several videos of mainland WC and find it very interesting it seems to have an incredible likeness to Tai Chi.

Don't confuse center line with motherline. You never want to go center to center that is fighting force with force.

I would say that your aim should be to take the opponents core line get them off of your center line, you do not want to go head (centerline) to head (centerline) with anyone. But other than that pretty good short explanation.

Whether one practices QiGung or not is up to the instructor. I for one was taught QiGung and a great importance was put on it but as time went on that importance faded because it bored students. I now teach Qigung as a very integral part of what I teach. It has nothing to do with lineage it has everything to do with the instructor understanding and teaching it. If you cannot list techniques then you are keeping them secret I was simply asking what you have that I don't. Because I for one do not believe that you have things I or others don't. This comes from careful exploration of the system and learning to utilize it to its fullest. My ground fighting is not a fusion of other arts although I believe others do that, I don't. It is based on priciple and yes I have everything on the ground I do on my feet such as strikes and blocks. We also look heavily at vital organ striking. As for kicking I would venture to say that your roundhouse kick is not WC, just my opinion though, I know of several lineages that use a variety of kicks many of which I disagree with that I feel break principle. In order to maintain principle how can you throw a roundhouse kick. If I could see it then I may have a different opinion. As for the punches, a punch is a punch, unless you have developed something no one has thought of. Any attack with the hand is WC as long as it follows principle no matter how the fist is used. I use mine in a variety of ways. I am surprised at the mention of darts I have never heard that one before but I have heard stranger. I am aware of literally dozens of lineages and variations of WC, and to date I am not surprised by some of the things I see. As I am always on the lookout for differences in how others do things. I am always surprised by those that claim to be WC when they aren't or those who claim to have techniques no one else has and then won't describe them or demonstrate because they can't. I do however agree many WC practitioners do not fully understand the jewel they have before them and do not fully explore and utilize what they have and this is not limited to just the Ip Man lineage but seems to based on people who put to much faith in what their instructor teaches them and do not look beyond that. I for one at least try to understand and explore the art by constant practice and looking at things from outside the box......

Please enlighten me on what you have that others don't. So do many others this is not lineage specific but more instructor specific. It efffects the time in any lineage. More specific it is the instructor himself who dictates how long it takes to get students to instructor and the quality of those instructors shows. Many instructors who run commercial schools believe to keep students happy they have to constantly be advancing in rank. I for one beleive they only need to be learning. I have students who have come to me and literally started over even though they have been practicing for two years. Why is this, because they are learning they aren't being advanced simply because of the time put in or the instructors need to keep them happy. Their level of understanding has climbed significantly in my eyes and they tell me themselves that the depth of their own comprehension and proficiency is much higher.

No I do not or have I ever trained with Augustine Fong he is down Tucson way I am over 200 miles north of that. I will agree that many do not know what is in their WC. Many believe that all that is there is what they have been shown. Many water it down for the sake of standardizing and attracting students. And you are right, all of the things you mentioned are in WC you just have to find them. Unless of course your punches and kicks break principle then they are no longer WC. To many think they need to add ground fighting to WC but it is there. It is simply a matter of applying those principles to the ground and getting down there and exploring.

You it is funny I hear that all the time. I don't believe it for a second. It is all there all you have to do is look hard enough and you will find it in Wing Chun, Wing Tsun or however you spell it, it is whether you opt to employ it.

Thaegen please explain how you feel WT is more aggressive than WC. I will only say this if your WC/WT is not realistic and combat oriented you need to find someone who teaches it that way. There are many out there who do not teach it that way because they believe it will scare potential students away that they have to teach to the 90% that walk in the door and don't want that kind of training. Not necessarily bad but definitely different.

Hudson There in lies the problem with point sparring or sparring in your training where you do not train with what I will call intent. The old adage "Train like you fight, fight like you train", is very true in this respect. To many people spar without that intent and so when it comes time to utilize what they have learned training takes over and they simply are not prepared mentally and physically to fight. My students know if they don't block they will get hit and it is going to hurt and conversely if they throw a punch and it hits me it better hurt, also we wear no protective equipment which conditions the mind to taking a shot. This isn't to say that we beat the tar out of each other but the intent is there. It is a much smaller step to take in a real life situation than the one where you have trained to essentially hit and step back to one, take the point or two see what happens or how your opponent reacts. Sparring is only effective if it is realistic and and essentially uncontrolled in a controlled environment, for lack of a better way of explaining it. To many folks spar in a controlled setting under controlled conditions and that is not representative of a self defense situation. John

The idea is to keep your center line on your opponents mother line. It is not advisable to go into a confrontation with your center line on your opponents center line. We use what we call a flanking step to accomplish this. If you look in the photos section of our website under students you will see an example or two of it. YGKYM is just that a training stance. We do use the triangular footwork that we teach but only once we have control of center and have flanked our opponent.

Jow should be applied especially when using the Mook Yan Jong as a beginner. It builds up in the system and helps the conditioning of the hands and arms. Wingchunner you are correct in the beginning you should work the dummy and not concentrate on force but that does not mean you shouldn't apply jow. Pay close atttention to the lines and angles. Remember always maintain center even with the most basic of drills.

Lineage is only important to you the student on a personal level. Lineage means nothing when it comes to training. What is important is the competence of the instuctor and your desire to learn. Just because Ip Man was a great fighter and some of those he taught were great fighters does not mean you will be. Too many people put too much importance on lineage and in my opinion those people are selling lineage and not good WC.

Lots of Dit Da Jow. Look at this article on the dummy for a little insight....and humor. http://www.wing-chun.us/mookyanjongorwoodenman.htm

Again lineage means nothing. This school actually looks like it is geared more towards children not fighting and self defense as they claim, they may be but ask lots of questions. Look around some more and don't commit to anything at that school until you have given it the once over.

Just because it is of the Ip Man lineage is no guarentee of quality. Any lineage of WC should be carefully checked. There are dozens of lineages and they are all Wing Chun so don't be fooled by those who tell it has to be of a certain lineage to be authentic. Also many will tell you we are the only ones authorized to teach under a certain lineage when that happens take note and be aware. Lineage means nothing to someone trying to make a buck. Good Wing Chun is Good Wing Chun no matter the lineage. Pay close attention to what they do vs what they say.

The UFC and all the other's K1, NHB etc., have rules and are not realistic combat. These guys train for that ring. Although I agree I wouldn't want to meet one of them in a dark alley. Again I will have to refer you to an article on our website on Combat Efficiency. There is a big difference between a street confrontation and the ring. So no it is not a good guide.

There are as many different histories of WC as there are lineages. I have said this before and I will say it again, WC origins are shrouded in myth and legend. Ng Mui, Yim Wing Chun and Pak Mei who some claim is also Ng Mui, they are all "rumored" to have existed yet we have no actual records of their existence to my knowledge. There is much research being done now by several credible sources as well as those that have a vested interest in how it all turns out but at the same time you cannot discredit their work either just how it is put together. Rene Ritchie probably has the most complete information on his website at this time of the various lineages. There is also another out there by the name of Hendrick Santo who seems to have access to information that no one else has and understands what it means and his theories are quite expansive. The Ving Tsun Museum under the direction of Master Benny Meng has also done work in the history. The VTM has some very credible evidence that a man by the name of Tan Sao Ng existed and several other opera performers who may have a hand in the development. I will tell you this if you look at the Mainland China, particularly the Fatshan WC you can see the White Crane as well as Tai Chi influences. There also needs to be more research done into the village of Yong Chun and its connection, IMO. As most know martial arts were passed within families and village's and based on that the village or town whatever it is these days may hold some amazing clues. I do not doubt though that it is possible for one person to have had a hand in creating an art that flourished yet with time came to be known and develop into many different systems or styles through what Hendrick Santos calls, I believe, localized evolution. That would explain common ancestry, yet at the same time I have a hard time believing it is that simple. I do believe though that we need to tell the history as it was told to us by our ancetors. Yet at the same time we need to keep an open mind to the possibilities that it may not be what we learned.

This is from an article on our website. "I will start by mentioning that hands on training is the most needed, and in many cases the most neglected in many schools. Many use chi sau as a means of training combat efficiency; unfortunately great chi sau doesn’t correlate to great combat skills. In fact nothing could be further from the truth. This doesn’t mean that much needed skills aren’t obtained through chi sau; there are many skills to be gained through this exercise. Some being, sensitivity, understanding of lines, angles, forward energy, and absorption of energy, redirection and the list goes on. In reality no fight begins in a chi sau scenario, and not to mention chances are your opponent doesn’t play in the chi sau rules anyway. Free flow fighting must be taught, this starting from a distance of each other and with no pre-arranged drills." Yes I would agree to a point but without the WC priciples and foundation you can't learn chis sau. You see to learn what you want to learn you simply need hands on training with lots of sparring and free flow fighting. Chi Sau isn't just about sensitivity and trapping. Chi Sau training doesn't start for over a year this isn't to say that there isn't other types of sensitivity training.