giang_hu

Another important aspect of the jong which I have not read anywhere in this threat yet, but must be mentioned, is intent. I have mentioned this in another thread before. Intent is a major part of the jong form. This is why every movement must be as clear and precise as possible. Speed and force are not necessary and are certainly not determinants of how good one's jong practice is.

Hung Gar Kuen is an exceptional style. BJJ is fine to learn from another school, but remember that traditional kung fu looks down upon learning more than one style at a time from different teachers. This is because one should master one style before learning another one. After mastering HGK, I doubt you will want or need to learn another style.

^_^

I posted the first posture. The second is to hold your hands out in front of you as if you were holding a large ball. However, the palms are facing outward and are parallel to your chest. Shoulders are relaxed and the elbows never go above the wrists or shoulders. The third posture is the same as the second, except the arms are directly overhead. The fourth posture is the same as the second, except the palms are turned towards you (shoulders relaxed, palms parallel to chest, etc.). The fifth posture is the same as the fourth except the hands are lowered to your tan tien (your center of gravity when standing upright, which is about three finger-widths below your navel and three finger-widths towards your spine). The fifth posture looks like you're holding up a beer belly.

I heard a lot of the monky/ape styles can be used for ground-fighting, contrary to the "myth" perpetuated by BJJ practitioners that kung fu has no ground-fighting (not that good kung fu practitioners need to know ground-fighting, of course).

I think lineage is somewhat important. For example, would people respect Leung Ting as much if they knew he is the lowest si dai out of the Yip Man bai-si?

A good practitioner of wing chun will only need to use cheung choi to defeat an opponent. A true master of wing chun will only need to use the horse.

UFC has too many rules. Real fights have no gloves and no rules.

Rings can also help to train claw-shaped hands (Dragon, Tiger, etc.). Rattan rings like those used in wing chun help to train lok sao positioning. Though I am against the use of the rattan ring in wing chun because it does not teach a student forward energy.

http://froogle.google.com if eBay doesn't work. Amazon or B&N might have rare/used books like that. I can't imagine that you didn't check those sources...

Whatever floats your boat, I guess. What is important with any dummy is INTENT. What are you intending when you strike/grapple/whatever a dummy? Let me take the example of wing chun. Anyone can buy or download a video/movie of the jong sequence, however, one will not know what each movement is for. As long as you are training with the dummy with an idea of what you could potentially be doing to an opponent, then the dummy is good.

This "energy" you are feeling is blood flow. Examine Wing Chun's tan sao. If, instead, the fingers were to be a fist, you would not feel the "energy" in your forearms as much. This very minute, almost non-existent, tension or "energy" is what gives the tan sao its power. In Monkey kung fu, the hook also serves to give "energy" to the forearm when diffusing a strike.

Even after 10 years training dilegently in a martial art, one will not understand how to use chi in that aspect. I have come to the conclusion that it is not actually a substance. It is a state of mind used to help our bodies tense or relax certain muscles in a specific sequence with a specific timing, in response to an opponent's attack/defense, to generate a certain effect such as rooting or uprooting another person (PHEW!).

One of the qigong exercises I do at my school is to hold certain positions for as long as we can. A simple one I can teach you is to stand in a horse and hold your arms out to your sides as if you're being crucified. Instead, however, have your palms facing outward and have them perfectly perpendicular to your arms. Relax the shoulders, of course. Try this for one minute each day and then increase by one minute each week. There are other positions too but I'm too lazy to describe them now.

I don't think I necessarily changed my manners. For me, I just learned that older people often times have something to offer. I have greater respect for knowledge. When it is passed on to me, I thank those who give it. Too bad I can't do the same for school work!

Even a practitioner of 10 years will not fully understand how to use chi.

you will not forget anything if you practice every day.

Many wing chun drills are partner drills that are just as effective to train in combat situations as sparring is. In fact, these two-person drills have an advantage over sparring in that your sifu can point out your mistakes and correct them and at the same time you get the feel of combat. In wing chun, a two-person cheung choi (the chain punch) drill starts off at the beginning levels with contact mainly closer to the wrists. More advanced cheung choi involved the practitioners to be closer together and the contact is closer to the elbows on the forearms (in other words, if your cheung choi is bad, you WILL get hit!).

it is not so much the potential speed of tai chi that makes it deadly. tai chi is a soft, internal style. Tai chi uses similar if not the same principles of sensitivity that Wing Chun utilizes. Against a tai chi practitioner, you can fight fast or slow, it will not matter to him or her. He or she will always be relaxed and be sensitive to your every movement. A tai chi master will be able to uproot you regardless of his or her speed.

jabs are one of the fastest martial arts techniques and so is wing chun's cheung choi. remember that everything is forward energy. pak da which becomes cheung choi works just as well as tan da. jaat da is also good against uppercuts. remember that technique from the jong that can lift and push an opponent really far? that technique is everyone's nightmare.