Traning at Home

[Cephalopod]

I'm a big believer in footwork drills such as the ones mentioned above.

Problem is, for a family man/working stiff such as myself there's only so many hours in a day I can devote to training.

I have found, however, that there are some habits I can get into which promote good balance ergo more solid footwork.

First I put some awareness in my posture and the tension in my legs, and then when I move I shift my weight completely to one leg to the other and my unloaded foot hover, barely touching the ground. The key is that I move my body just enough to unbalance myself and then recover my balance by sinking or pivoting just a little. I do this back and forth as I move around. I try to make the movement it subtle enough that if somebody sees me doing they'll barely notice and won't give me funny looks!

It's certainly not as effective as combat specific MA drills. But I've developed a habit of doing it whenever I move around my office or my kitchen, when I brush my teeth or stand in line at the airport etc.

So I figure I've logged a lot of hours training something that's healthy in promoting body mindfulness and balance and I do notice the difference in stability when training.

 

[wingchun100]

I stand in my basic front-facing wing chun stance when I brush my teeth, when I use the restroom (not to give too much info, but when standing of course), when I feel like standing instead of sitting at my cubicle, and so on.

 

[Juany118]

I stand in my basic front-facing wing chun stance when I brush my teeth, when I use the restroom (not to give too much info, but when standing of course), when I feel like standing instead of sitting at my cubicle, and so on.

I kinda chuckled when you said this only because of class the other night. A couple nights a month we have a person granted "Provisional Master" status by Grand Master William Cheung at my school. He said "do the Ma when you can to build strength and help with your structure but we fight in 'these' stances, not in Ma." I assume you mean Ma by basic front stance (because the left and right neutral stances used are the "basic" fighting stances in TWC.)

 

[anerlich]

I practice stance and balance while riding the train. Sometimes. You can take this sh*t too far.

Make your everyday stance your fighting stance, and your fighting stance you're everyday stance. - Mushashi

I'll work on the first bit. I don't want to look like a d*ck while I'm standing at a bus stop.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I'm a big believer in footwork drills such as the ones mentioned above.

Problem is, for a family man/working stiff such as myself there's only so many hours in a day I can devote to training.

I have found, however, that there are some habits I can get into which promote good balance ergo more solid footwork.

First I put some awareness in my posture and the tension in my legs, and then when I move I shift my weight completely to one leg to the other and my unloaded foot hover, barely touching the ground. The key is that I move my body just enough to unbalance myself and then recover my balance by sinking or pivoting just a little. I do this back and forth as I move around. I try to make the movement it subtle enough that if somebody sees me doing they'll barely notice and won't give me funny looks!

It's certainly not as effective as combat specific MA drills. But I've developed a habit of doing it whenever I move around my office or my kitchen, when I brush my teeth or stand in line at the airport etc.

So I figure I've logged a lot of hours training something that's healthy in promoting body mindfulness and balance and I do notice the difference in stability when training.

There are certainly a lot of in-situ exercises we can do to work on balance, etc. If I'm on a subway or train, I'll try standing in different stances, facing in different directions as the train starts, stops, takes curves, and just wobbles while moving. This lets me examine where the weaknesses and strengths are in a stance. I can try widening, lengthening, lowering, raising, etc. to see what effect it has. All becomes input I can use when training, and I'm developing those balance muscles at the same time.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I practice stance and balance while riding the train. Sometimes. You can take this sh*t too far.

Make your everyday stance your fighting stance, and your fighting stance you're everyday stance. - Mushashi

I'll work on the first bit. I don't want to look like a d*ck while I'm standing at a bus stop.

I think the point of the quote is that you should be able to create a personal "fighting stance" that's usable for just standing around. I tend to stand with one hip slightly back, not quite in a hanmi stance, but with enough of the same mechanics to make it possible to use that same stance in the dojo.

 

[wingchun100]

I kinda chuckled when you said this only because of class the other night. A couple nights a month we have a person granted "Provisional Master" status by Grand Master William Cheung at my school. He said "do the Ma when you can to build strength and help with your structure but we fight in 'these' stances, not in Ma." I assume you mean Ma by basic front stance (because the left and right neutral stances used are the "basic" fighting stances in TWC.)

Yes, I meant your Sil Lum Tao stance.

 

[wingchun100]

Foot work, footwork, footwork.

I actually made a "diamond" out of PVC tubing (using Kali sticks as the baseline length) so there are times when I will simply practice proper footwork moving in, out and laterally, 360 degrees around it. You would be surprised, when starting out, how often you will not step around but over the pipes when very close. In a real fight that means you are tripping yourself on your opponent's leg. It's also useful to do this with a partner, both of you "dancing" around it because you have to learn timing as you move back and forth in opposing directions. It gets even more fun if instead of a set pattern you have one partner lead the general direction because that helps you learn to read body language if not leading and how to hide telegraphing if leading

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What's the length of your average Kali stick? I want to finally give this a try.

 

[Juany118]

What's the length of your average Kali stick? I want to finally give this a try.

~28 inches or so.

 

[geezer]

What's the length of your average Kali stick? I want to finally give this a try.

28 inches is fine, but it really depends on what you are training. Some FMA systems train with very specific sizes of stick.

We on the other hand generally use sticks between 4 inches and 7 feet in length.

For bastones, lately I've been ordering a shorter size, 2 feet long, and a little heavier, say about 1-1/8 inch diameter, to add a little heft. But our system considers the stick just a training device for whatever you might have at hand to grab. Or for empty handed defense. So stick size is de-emphasized.

 

[wingchun100]

28 inches is fine, but it really depends on what you are training. Some FMA systems train with very specific sizes of stick.

We on the other hand generally use sticks between 4 inches and 7 feet in length.

For bastones, lately I've been ordering a shorter size, 2 feet long, and a little heavier, say about 1-1/8 inch diameter, to add a little heft. But our system considers the stick just a training device for whatever you might have at hand to grab. Or for empty handed defense. So stick size is de-emphasized.

Fair enough, but I was asking for it in terms of constructing the training tool that I could put on the floor to help me train footwork.

 

[geezer]

Fair enough, but I was asking for it in terms of constructing the training tool that I could put on the floor to help me train footwork.

Try chalk. Sticks roll around!

 

[dudewingchun]

Pretty late response to the original Op. Surprised there is no mention of doing physical conditioning.

You will get tired in a fight no matter what IMO.

 

[JR 137]

Pretty late response to the original Op. Surprised there is no mention of doing physical conditioning.

You will get tired in a fight no matter what IMO.

The original post mentioned stuff like 500 punches, kicks, bag work, etc. Pretty sure everyone took that as he's getting in his conditioning.

 

[wingchun100]

The original post mentioned stuff like 500 punches, kicks, bag work, etc. Pretty sure everyone took that as he's getting in his conditioning.

I am guessing he means working out, but exercise will not improve the martial art skills itself. It will improve my physical health, yes, but not my Wing Chun skills.

I was asking about things that I could to supplement the fact that I don't get to train with others. (Obviously you can't do chi sao or sparring alone. I mean, people have suggested shadow boxing, but to me that seems to be limited by your own imagination. And not for nothing, but there's no way you can judge correct distance and timing through that.)

 

[JR 137]

I am guessing he means working out, but exercise will not improve the martial art skills itself. It will improve my physical health, yes, but not my Wing Chun skills.

I was asking about things that I could to supplement the fact that I don't get to train with others. (Obviously you can't do chi sao or sparring alone. I mean, people have suggested shadow boxing, but to me that seems to be limited by your own imagination. And not for nothing, but there's no way you can judge correct distance and timing through that.)

No argument from me.

How's everything been lately? Training going ok?

 

[wingchun100]

No argument from me.

How's everything been lately? Training going ok?

Meh. That is a long, sad story that I would rather not air here. I know in the past I have said some things in public that others might not (for example, in my thread about how mental health is the most neglected area of training), but there are certain things where I will draw the line about discussing out loud. LOL

 

[JR 137]

Meh. That is a long, sad story that I would rather not air here. I know in the past I have said some things in public that others might not (for example, in my thread about how mental health is the most neglected area of training), but there are certain things where I will draw the line about discussing out loud. LOL

Sorry to hear that. Keep your head up. We're here for you.

 

[wingchun100]

Sorry to hear that. Keep your head up. We're here for you.

Thanks, man. I appreciate it.
It's good to know SOMEONE is.

 

[wingchun100]

I plan on adjusting the training I do at home, meaning in terms of the forms I focus on.

1) I was doing all 3 empty hand forms 3 times a day, but I am thinking about letting go of Biu Jee for now. I really need to focus on the stance/rooting developed in SLT, not to mention I sometimes still lose my balance when I pivot during CK. Those issues need to be addressed in a major way.

2) My wooden dummy is nearing completion, so I plan on doing that form too. Why? Because it will help with timing, distance, and the proper release of energy into a target. What I mean by that is that sometimes, when I play the dummy form and I do a move like "po pai," I find myself rocking back...because I am not releasing it properly. Also, after watching footage of myself on the dummy, I can see that it looks like I'm not really getting my entire body into the movements.

3) Other than the above, I also mix in things like footwork, practicing all techniques (punches/kicks/simultaneous attack and defense) throughout the day.

NOTE: I am not sure if that is the correct romanization of "po pai." Hopefully it is close enough so that those of you who know the move will know what I mean.