Drunken Monkey

just curious. after all, your name kinda says a lot about you and most people would have made a judgement based purely on your nickname. i started here with from the ground up which is taken from one of the wing chun tenets. then along came drunken monkey[/color]. this is one of the things that i got tagged with during my sixth form (um, yr12/13 so i guess, high school for you guys, right?). it was an art field trip to the brecon beacons and well, cheap booze.....

well, everyone not in wing chun would be uncomfortable. hehe, we could go around in circles about this forever can't we... like i said, i'm a small guy. wing chun for me is not going the be same as wing chun for you. that's probably where our differences come from; purely because i have to do things differently to you.

so let me get this straight. your advice for me is to go in chain punching (god knows where the 'saw' part came from) against whatever he throws at me? (why does everything wing chun in english sound so cheesey and crap?) even from your basic description i can point out a couple of things will happen. i) he will either put up a tight guard (because well, you haven't actually gotten into his gates yet let alone his centre) ii) trying to chain punch a hook involves turning stance to face the hook (basic wing chun theory) ADDED to the fact that you haven't controlled the centre yet = strike from side you are not facing with his very, very free hand.

it's not about having faith in the style. i just don't see how, when you are fully aware of what the rules are (and hence able to train for tem), would hamper the way you fight. is it that difficult for a skilled martial artist to say to himself, 'ok, can't use elbows' and then not use elbows? after all, not all thai fights allow elbows but most thai fighters are probably better with them than most wing chun guys. they can do it, why can't we? if anything, rules makes the fights more interesting because if it does limit you from your 'normal' moves, then you have to fight even better than you would normally would. it's all fine and dandy saying that wing chun develops your' autopilot' and that on the street, you are trained to use elbows and whatever to take the pponent down which you can't do in the ring. BUT that suggests that you are no longer in control of the fight and it suggests that your brain is no longer active during the fight. anyway. don't bite my head off. just trying to explain myself. like i said, before, the most interesting thing for me, is how the wing chun guy will deal with the kicks. and how his stance/stepping will hold.

and where do you intend to find snow in london?

139kgs? that's about 21 and a half stone. strange how you mention what are considered 'sport martial arts moves' and not actual karate moves...

y'know, part of this is probably cos i'm a small guy. for me, in order to use any technique, i have to get in damn close.... also, i have said before (elsewhere), different people train differently. i always try to enter with technique as opposed to get in, then execute. if i've entered elbow range, then you're probably already forced to go backwards. (probably misreading you here anyway) as for the history, yeah. that is a whole big mess.

strikes are interchangeable. the main concern is arm extension. if you can do a palm strike, you can do a punch. it wasn't designed for the battle field, it was for 'covert' use in the streets and alleys of china (and also for quick learning and easy 'training') you are going on about specific HAND techniques and forgetting that it doesn't matter what you have on yout hands the arm positions are still going to be strong. you are still going to be able to use your elbows to guide pressure. you are still going to able to receive on your bridge. you are still going to be able to use ALL of the basic positions and strengths. and the examples you mention are 'one and a half beat' techniques. what about the other BASIC mixes of hands? doesn't tan sau chung chui work? doesn't pak sau chung chui work? you can even do receive+press with gan sau (the proper one), turn/press to kwun sau before raising the low bong to bui/lap. i always hear people say that if you have gloves on, you can't do wing chun. i say that is crap. i'll admit that things have to be done differently but wing chun is above all, a set of ideas. ideas aren't hindered by gloves. the most important aspects; straight line, centre+mother line, interruptability, triangles, elbow strength, are not in any way hampered by gloves. what you lose is actually a very small and very specific amount of techniques. many of these things are from biu gee theory anyway. wing chun is supposed to work at all levels. the argument that without these things wing chun doesn't work is saying that basic wing chun doesn't work. this is what i disagree with. the whole point is that is even with sil lim tau you should be able to handle a fight. the quick and simple street fight move is pak sau (maybe add a secondary control, 'tan' sau maybe) chung chui then push in and strike as neccessary. doesn't this work?

hey how about doing a nice photoshop job with a really 'cool' looking 3D max model of a dojo...

no offence but i don't think i've ever come across a good american cheese...... what you got to offer? i'm sure i can persuade my local cheese shop to import some for me!

hmm, how about you consider giving the kid a black belt when he stops asking about it....

somethings always puzzled me about meditation music. surely if you need music to meditate then you're not really meditating....

sorry but that is still a lame excuse. if you have decided to participate in a ring fight then if you don't prepare by finding out what you can or cannot do with gloves/limits then i will say that are ignoring the first rule; make the most of the situation. and no, it isn't like a baseball player playing with soccer rules. the last time i checked, karate guys don't fight with 10oz gloves either. if anything, i say the format of the fight looks like it favours the wing chun guy because it is primarily stand up and clinches are avoided. you can go on about there being no rules in the street but this isn't the street and the guy who enters the ring knows this. i can never understand why people say that wing chun works in real defence but not in a ring fight? i could've sworn wing chun was about rock solid defence, 'superior' technique, simple techinque and above all, total dominating control. if you have to rely on elbows and strikes to eyes, throat, spinal etc etc to win/control a fight then i say you are not in total control. i've said this before. from day one, the wing chun guys learns to punch, usually to the head/face region. why, when suddenly in a ring, you can't win by punches? and like i said before, the gloves might hinder trapping but only in the small circle (i.e small, closed up and tight, trapping or ADVANCED stuff). this still means that the big circle (i.e the basic stuff) is available to you. by saying that gloves and rules hinders you is like saying that basic wing chun doesn't work and that is wrong.

speaking of good books. i think the best martial arts books i have read, have been the ones that avoid filling pages with photos and technical jargon.

cheese? grrrr, what do you guys know about cheese? if it ain't made from unpasturised milk and got blue mould in it, it ain't a real cheese!

gonna nit-pick but kung fu isn't a style. it is a 'name' that encompasses martial arts from one country.

i generally don't have a problem with sparring partners. what i don't like, are training partners who are lazy. those who can't talk and do drills at the same time. those who find any excuse to not do the 'boring' things. those who worm their way out of doing a good exercise to mess about with his mate who is also part of the class (not realising that there is a good reason we try to keep them to apart...)

anyway, what you studying right now? isn't it exam time?

oh god, speed traps, here in uk at least are the biggest con in the world. they serve no purpose and are right up their with censorship as one of the most insulting things to us as intelligent people.

well, we'll see what she has to say about that!

um, there's a little note on the left <------ that says york....

there ARE some things that are more fun than any martial art....

AND it's what makes the bread go soggy faster.... i never understood the point of the salad; it's the first thing that hits the floor. and salad my * just cos it's vegetable does not make it a salad.

hmm, is it me or are there more brits here these days....? kippers? damn them bones. even the so called boneless ones are chock full of them! i'm a sushi addict. all fish is good!

architect... in training. doing part2. in my spare time i do graphics and animations. compulsive art/design/graphics/architecture competition entrant. one day, one of my designs will get noticed...