Since I have written about WCK power and body structure for may years now, the term “body structure” has become a bit of a buzzword. Since I am now semi-retired and not often teaching WCK, I decided to part with some of the secrets that I have been holding close to the vest…

Many people think, “Because I have a body, and it is a structure, I must have body structure!”

Or they think, “Well sifu, put me in this pose, so this must be what Robert Chu and others are talking about…!”

But what is real body structure is not a form. It’s not even a body, or a structure!

What is it?

Keep reading »

I demonstrate a movement for the group to work on. They break up into pairs to try it out. And they end up doing anything but.

Sure, they may go through the motions once or twice, but inevitably, they want to immediately know how to counter the move they just learned, and how to counter the counter, and “what-if” this and “yeah-but” that. They want to do everything but train the move.

Keep reading »

What’s the bio mechanics involved with using the Yee Ji kim Yeung Ma as moving horse (yee ma)?

Yee ma, like all other horses, is derived from and extends YJKYM, so the body mechanics are the same, only used for propulsion rather than stabilization.

When doing yee ma, you propel your body by pushing off the rear foot? Or do you step with the front foot then drag the rear foot up?

My understanding is that the Kim in Kim Yeung Ma represents clamping or compression, so if we imagine two equal stabilizers being drawn together, the moment stability is changed in one, it is equalized again by the other.

Likewise, I lift one leg, the released compression propels me, and then the other leg is drawn after (though it would admittedly be funnier if the first leg merely snapped back, rubber band style, like it would in some cartoon world!)

How does the YJKYM best generate/ delivers power for the hit?

“Best” depends on the individual, I use it as a way to hold the hammer of my body before I drive the nail of my fist.

Sunday, 27 April 2008

Nope.

From Jon, via the WCKML:

I have finally put together a line up for the next Wing Chun Day
seminar in Leicester.

The course will take place on Sunday 7th September.
The three featured instructors will be:

Alan Gibson – Wong Shun Leung Method
Mark Hobbs – Vienamese Wing Chun & Yip Man Foshan Wing Chun
Paul Elston – Elston Combat System

Mark is the owner of Pagoda Imports, he will have a range of dummies
and othere wing chun products with him on the day.

There are booking details on the website at:

http://www.wingchunday.co.uk

Marty Goldberg via the WCKML:

Here’s the rules for the full contact knives competition in Madison,
Wisconsin on May 3rd for anyone who’s interested:

Southern Double Knives Competition Rules

The intent of this division is for the competitors to explore the
concepts they learn in their weapon sets in a live environment against
a resisting opponent. Since this is a double weapon division,
competitors are judged more favorably for using combinations rather
than single weapon hack and slash techniques, or wild flailing. Note
also that since the weapons are bladed weapons, competitors must treat
them as such – blunt edged “stick fighting” style techniques will be
discouraged.

Ring Size: 16 x 16 ft.

Match Format:
This will be a performance and score limited competition. The match
will be awarded to the competitor reaching full score first.

• Competitors will start each exchange with at least one foot on the
  edge of their respective ring sides.
• Competitors will wait for the judge’s signal to begin, at which
  point they may engage.
• Competitors are separated after a 5 second exchange period, or after
  a “kill” shot is achieved during the five second exchange period.
• Points are awarded to each competitor after each exchange.

Scoring:
Full score will be a total of twelve (12) or (21) points depending on
the number of competitors and set at the discretion of the judges.
The entire body is a legal target. However, scoring follows the
following format:

• Clean entry/controlling slash followed by a secondary slash or stab
  to lethal area: 3 points
• Clean entry slash followed by a secondary slash or stab to a
  non-lethal area: 2 points.
• Clean single slash or stab to a lethal area: 2 points.
• Clean single slash to a non-lethal area of the body or legs,
  followed by backing off: 1 point
• Disarm: 4 points
• Simultaneous kill shots: No points, each cancel the other.
• Competitors leaving the match area 3 times are deducted 1 point.

Lethal “kill” areas are those designated by:

• The head and neck
• The middle of the torso via a stab
• Major artery areas of the arm and leg.

Judges:
There will be 3 corner judges, one middle referee, and a time keeper.
Equipment:

• Lei Tai Style Helmet (provided)
• Forearm padding (provided)
• Approved foam padded weapon (provided)

Protective Gear:

• Groin Protection (mandatory, not provided)
• Chest Protector (optional, provided)

Second Lunar Cycle, Year of the Golden Pig: 

Slurping silver needle beneath the skyless clouds. Five Elders potluck never fails to entertain.

Bak Mei’s little minions chitter on again about their ultimate secret fist, unseeable by eye, ungraspable by mind. Chi Sin’s disciples, as always, abandon their own training to lose themselves in pointless argument, to do battle with ghosts.

Yim Wing-Chun stays quiet. Even she knows: A ghost hungers for substance; feeding it only makes it stronger; to kill such a ghost you do not feed it; you starve it.

I laugh until the silver needle spurts from my nostrils.

Why isn’t Wing Chun like other Chinese martial arts. In other arts, the sets teach combinations of techniques–good forms are really chains of related techniques. It may be a chain of 2, 3,4 or more postures that are designed to deal with an opponent’s counterattack. Why isn’t Wing Chun like that?

Yes, Wing Chun forms don’t do combinations in the sense of earlier Chinese martial development. If we look at Changquan or even Hung Kuen as poetry, Wing Chun forms translate closer to an alphabet and grammar guide.

It’s basically a decomposition of core movements, tokenized, indexed, and presented in a bare-bones progressive training system.

This means you can’t rely on combination memory burned into you through simple set repetition, but gives the advantage that, since there will always be near-infinite combinations in application, it forces you to transcend pattern much earlier along the learning curve.

Harder to learn, but time-saving if you can learn it.

Via KFO, enjoy!

Sifu Wang Kiu – Video Footage Finally Online – Kung Fu Magazine Forums

Hello everyone.

The foundation Wang Kiu Wing Chun SWK has put some footage of Sifu Wang Kiu online for the first time ever Normally this kind of footage is never brought to public, but its the wish of his students and Sifu himself to show us his way of Wing Chun. Its not the right or wrong way, its the Wing Chun as he was taught by Yip Man.

Joseph Wang Kiu was one og the core 5 private students of Yip Man together with Leung Sheung, Lok Yiu, Wong Shun Leung and Tsui Sheung Ting.

On this moment, Sifu Wang Kiu is already 84 years old as of 2008 and lives in The Hague, The Netherlands for allready about 40 years.

Sifu Wang Kiu gave exclusive permission to the foundation Wang Kiu Wing Chun to put some of his private footage online in the next years. Just for sharing to see where his roots are from.The first small video is online now presenting Sifu Wang Kiu in the 80s doing the first 30 Dummy Works as he was taught by his teacher Yip Man.The Dummy Works are always like a mirror. What you do left, you do right.

You can watch the footage on www.wangkiu.nl his personal website and www.vechtsport.org website of the foundation Wang Kiu Wing Chun.

We are planning to put some more videos online in the near future, but then especially with all the explanations from Sifu himself, because video only doesnt tell you/us much. Theres so much Wing Chun on the internet that its hard to really understand how the principles of the system work and thats why we will put the videos on www.wangkiu.nl with English explanations of the movements.

Enjoy watching