wing chun kuen man

shotokanwarrior, Many traditional martial artists in Okinawa and China do condition their hands and feet/legs. To prevent permanent damage and problems in later life they use herbal linaments which they rub on the areas they condition both before and after the conditioning exercises. The chinese name for these remedies is Dee Dai Jo (not sure of spelling). I use this remedy regularly in my training. There are some martial artists who also take remedies that are taken internally to prevent internal organ damage from hard conditioning exercises. If your training involves hand and foot/leg conditioning then I would strongly recommend the use of Dee Dai Jo linament to prevent long term damage and problems in later life. Try to find authentic brands. You may be able to find them from local chinese herbalist or if you have a traditional kung fu school nearby then ask the sifu he might know where you can buy the linament. Wing Chun Kuen Man

Try to find a good chi kung/qi gong instructor. Some kung fu teachers give separate chi kung classes which you can take, look around and find an authentic school. It will be well worth it in the end. Usually all you will need is to learn some basic easy Chi Kung exercises CORRECTLY, and then practice on your own every day. Wing Chun Kuen Man

Ki or chi does exist. It takes a long time (many years) for it to manifest and of course that is if you are doing the right kind of training. The basis for internal kung fu styles is the development of chi. The external styles also use chi.....actually if you practice kung fu without any chi/ki/energy training than you are not doing kung fu. One developes chi through chi kung exercises and meditation. Usually the first sensations of chi energy is a tingling sensation on ones skin. This is my level of chi development. The next level is to feel this sensations in ones muscles and the final level is when the chi flows through the bones. When a martial artist has strong chi he is able to deliver deadly blows without the external hard power associated with lethal blows. Have you ever wondered why a lot of the times when kung fu exponents demonstrate forms their punches and kickes do not look as powerful as karate or kick boxing strikes. Well this is because the concept behind them is intenal power. You only "see" their power when you are hit by them, and believe me I have been hit by kung fu punches before, they look soft until they hit you and it really does hurt inside. These type of blows penetrate deep into your opponent´s body and can cause damage to lungs, heart , vertebrae etc. Wing Chun Kuen Man

We could use some of those regulations in the martial arts. I know that it won´t be an easy task and maybe impossible, but it would be very beneficial in the long term. Wing Chun Kuen Man

Karatekid04, Try a web search with the names of the karate styles that interest you. It is fun and you can pick up a lot of info this way. Wing Chun Kuen Man

I trained in Shotokan a few years ago and got myself a red belt (3r belt). Wing Chun Kuen Man

Britnoob, Remember this if you never have a bad lesson then there is something wrong. Bad lessons are a part of learning martial arts as well as anything else. It means that you don´t know and you are going through the learning process. So keep on training and improving. Good luck, Wing Chun Kuen Man

battousai16, Then he must have EARNED his "black belt" in pizza preparation.....lol. That is my point as well, as long as you are taught the way you are supposed to be taught and study the way you are supposed to study then you EARN your black belt or diploma or degree. And then and only then that your qualification MEANS something. Wing Chun Kuen Man

Hello, Can anyone here tell me of GKR´s origins, the founder, country,etc. Wing Chun Kuen Man

Britnoob, Everyone made very good points. What you are going through is normal. Basically all you have to do is always attend your training sessions, be positive and enthusiastic and let evolution take its course. Good Luck. Wing Chun Kuen Man

battousai16, Hello. I do get your point, but no, no, no, when I made my point I did not mean that an Okinawan black belt would win every time, I said there are exceptions, what I meant was that he would win on average. Probably there are Mc dojos in Okinawa but what we have in the west is a plague of Mcdojos and black belts who could not fight their way out of a paper back. I also know there are Mcdojos or more correctly Mckwoons in China and a lot of them cater to martial tourists who learn some fancy forms and go back to their own countries and open up their own Dimmak academies......LOL. However, you are likely to get better and more authentic instruction when you train kung fu in a real kung fu school/temple in China than in the U.S. or Europe. I suppose that the same goes for anyone who wants to learn to play american football. He will find good instruction around the world but he is more likely to find the best in the U.S. On the same note a good (black belt) american football team from France is more likely to loose than win, against a good(black belt) american football team from the US, and that is on average. Pizzas. Wether one likes a certain pizza is a matter of taste. But if you are a badly trained black belt who can´t fight, then you are a badly trained black belt who cannot fight. There is no question of taste, opinion or aroma etc. By the way, about your favorite pizza in Madison WI, is it made by italians or by non italians? Wing Chun Kuen Man

What I am trying to say is that if one earns a black belt in a legitimate MA school, with a legitimate sensei or instructor then this belt WOULD have a meaning and this meaning would include the fact that the person was a good fighter. The view that all (or even most) black belts are good fighters would hold weight if in our society if black belts were not given out like candies. And yes there are people who think that if you have a bb then you are a good fighter. Any ignorance on their part does not stem from over estimating the capabilities of black belt holders but rather the overestimating of the standards of todays martial arts schools. Here in Rio, if you say that you are a BJJ black belt , people assume, and most of the time correctly, that you are anything from a good to lethal fighter. The same is true if the case is any other martial art, that is just the image that many people in Brazil have of black belt holders. The same was true when I was living in London, if someone said that they had a black belt in some martial art people thought wow he must be good. Of course the issue is not the belt however, it is where and how one earns it. And I have mentioned the real problem in a previous post. Maybe the layman´s view that black belt holders are good fighters is wrong, but not because of their assumption that black belts are dangerous people rather in the assumption that all black belt holders have actually EARNED the belts that they so proudly wear. If a black belt is earned as a result of years of sweat, tears and sacrifice, then and only then it means something, including the fact that the belt holder is a good fighter. However, if a black belt is earned because of regular attendance in a mediocre dojo then yes it "coud be trouble". Wing Chun Kuen Man

Drunken Monkey, My post to luckyboxer should answer your post as well. Let me just stress that traditionally earning a black belt had had a meaning which meant that the holder would have effective fighting skills (among other "talents"), not the best in the world but effective and sometimes very good. At the same time as you will know, the black belt was regarded as a begining rather than an end. Nowadays in some parts of the west the black belt has lost its meaning. In the orient it has still kept most of its.....that is all I am trying to say....I am not trying to be dumb. Would you put your money on an average ballet dancer from a Moscow dance school or an average ballet dancer from a dance school lets say in Bangladesh? Wing Chun Kuen Man

Lucky Boxer, I was not talking about the best black belts but a typical or lets say an average (random) black belt, there is a big difference. What I am saying is that the Mcdojo phenomenon has taken its toll on the MA standards, more so in the west than in the orient. And this has in turn effected the "performance" of the black belts, leading to some people thinking that "a black belt could be trouble". You probably would not have the same results that you had, if you were sparring with Okinawan black belts rather than the Californian ones. The way they train even today, is very different to the way we train in the west. Some of their training methods could even result in law suits here in the west. Wing Chun Kuen Man P.S. My money will be on the typical (or the best) black belts from Okinawa, wether or not they have won world titles or not.

I think that the problem is simple, if EVERYONE who has a black belt has EARNED his black belt, we would not be having this discussion. I repeat, all martial artists at black belt level should be good fighters and if not they should not get their black belts. As everyone here knows, things are sadly different in the real world. I.E. YES, black belts could be trouble if you have received it in a mediocre dojo with a mediocre sensei (the majority, unfortunately), and NO, black belts could not be trouble if you have trained hard in a legitimate dojo/style with a legitimate sensei, who gives the belts to those who deserve it. You probably could not compare the fighting ability and spirit of a typical karate black belt from Okinawa to that of the fighting ability of a typical black belt from lets say Southern California. There would be exceptions in both cases, but I think we all know where we would put our money. Wing Chun Kuen Man

Good post Drunken Monkey, I think that Chylaxin made some good points, however he generelized too much. There are black belts who cannot fight all over the world, and maybe more so in the western hemisphere where the Mcdojo phenomenon is more dominant but at the same time there are many bb´s that lethal fighters even in the west. I don´t know if chylaxin is critisizing, the traditional MAs or the Mc dojos that give out black belts like candy. However, it is my guess that him having that kind of attitude is not very healthy for him if he ever travels lets say to Okinawa, Japan or Korea. Wing Chun Kuen Man

I will just say this, the fact that you have a black belt SHOULD make you a good fighter, not necessarily invincible or a superman but a good fighter. If it does not, it is likely because you have not practiced a real martial art, but rather a watered down and/or Mcdojo type of MA. That is why sometimes one hears of black belts having their butts kicked in street fights, and then making the assumption that it was because the art itself does not work or because they did not practice bare knuckle contact sparring etc. Wether one practices contact or non contact sparring becomes irrelevant if he or she is doing it in a bad dojo with a bad sensei/instructor. In my opinion this is the main reason why there are unworthy black belts who can´t fight. I do understand however that styles whose only motivation is non contact sport will be weak on the self defense side when compared with the traditional and no nonsense contact martial arts. Wing Chun Kuen Man

Thanks Thuggish, I believe that we think alike. The importance of the first strike when a threat is perceived cannot be overstressed. All the awareness in the world will not be good for anything if one does not use it to gain the upperhand with a pre-emptive strike to finish off a would be attacker. By the way your punch to the neck or throat technique, is it from your kung fu training or does this technique exist in Muay Thai as well? Wing Chun Kuen Man

Hello Heian, Thank you for your response. It looks like you are practicing a REAL style of karate, that has the bushido spirit and great variety of techniques (grappling and etc.) making it a complete system. I think the image of shotokan just being sport is a result of Shotokan´s popularity in the west where winning competitions has become the main focus of many practitioners, at the expense of the martial side. Mcdojos have played their part probably (as always). Funakoshi and his son did water the style down a little bit, if not in technique maybe in the way it is taught. I am sure there are other members in the forum who can correct me or give more info on this. Despite its sport image I have always believed that taught the correct way (the Oshima way in this case) Shotokan karate is a lethal self defense system. One more thing, when you said punches in the face are allowed during sparring, did you mean bare knuckle? Wing Chun Kuen Man

By the way, who is Frank Dux?

I have seen a short film clips of one of these encounters, where Mas. Oyama wrestles the bull down and chops his horn. Wing Chun Kuen Man

Hello Heian, I don´t know anything about the Oshima style of Shotokan, is it more tradition/martial oriented than the JKA variety? Do you have full contact sparring? Does your style follow the "one punch one kill" philosophy? I am just very curious. Your comments will be appreciated. Wing Chun Kuen Man

Lucky, My comments on Bruce Lee´s power are based on his friends´ and training partners´ comments in interviews. Apparently for his size he was very powerfull, also anyone who is good in Wing Chun will have powerfull punches in his or her arsenal. For someone like Bruce Lee to get through to an opponent even without one punch KO power, it could mean 5 or more SOLID punches connecting with target in 1 second i.e. probably a KO. I think that the present state of karate and other traditional martial arts is sad. Some of it is due to economic realities, as you mentioned in your post where even good and well qualified senseis or sifus have to bring down their standards just to survive. On the other hand, just like any other profession there are the opportunists who see martial arts as a way of making a quick buck and hence the Mcdojos and their influence on the MAs and the general public´s perception of them. These Mc dojos create competition for the real ones who sometimes have to reduce to their standards to compete with them. Very sad indeed. Luckily there are still real and authentic dojos and kwoons in most larger cities for those who search a little. Wing Chun Kuen Man

There are situations where running is just impossible and that one has no choice but to stand and fight for his life. In times like this that the "one hit one kill" abilities taught in some traditional kung fu and karate styles come in very handy. The knowledge of vital areas and more importantly the ABILITY to hit them accurately and effectively under stress, is an important factor as well. All the above have to be combined with a cool head. Yes I know that it is easier said than done but if you aim your training for real martial abilities and power there is no reason why you should not create some destructive weapons other than the KO punch on the chin and the kick in nuts (useful as they may be in certain situations). Not everyone is going to be a Mas. Oyama but even Mas. said that there was a technique behind his power - a way of hitting, tensioning etc.- it is all a matter of correct training with a real instructor, who knows his MA, and of course a matter of priorities. Another important factor is hitting first when you have a chance. Some times street fights start with verbal comfrontations, eg "I am going to break your......" or "give me your money" etc. If you are well trained and aware you should not even let them finish the sentence and hit them when and where they are most vulnerable. In a situation like this your first hit should put the first guy down, and while he is on his way down you should be hitting the second guy in a vital area. Taking the initiative when there is no other choice, and having the skill and training to back it up can save you from getting beaten to a pulp. Last week, here in Rio, a friend of mine told me that a Karate black belt (did not mention the style) friend of his was approached by a man who pulled a knife in an apparent mugging attempt. The black belt did not wait and put the mugger down with a single punch. The criminal was taken to hopital with liver damage. Just an example. This guy was no Mas. Oyama he was just a well trained black belt whose training gave him the ability to put an armed mugger in hospital with one blow, (I wonder who called for the ambulance because I wouldn´t), and at black belt level one should be able to do that. I think that if one studies the martial arts for self defense then one should give priority to the martial aspects and consequently strive to create destructive power, speed and the warrior spirit before anything else, because there are days that for whatever reason one just cannot run and has to stand and fight to survive. Wing Chun Kuen Man

Lupin3, Glad that the info was helpful however, I do believe that you can get a lot out of Yip Man Wing Chun if you find an authentic sifu. But, as I have said before it is not the complete style as taught on the mainland of China. I hope that all goes well with your interview. Wing Chun Kuen Man