new regime

[matsu]

hi guys
i have been missing from here just recently and to be honest life has been so mad with work and one thing and another and i have lost my focus on my wing chun,more than i hoped i would.
i generally hit two classes per week and practise another once poss twice on my own either on drills form combos and the wooden dummy-form and drills.
it used to be that one class in five or six would be pants and i would get disheartened but the next would be better and i would know ive improved from the beginning....BUT recently it has been one in five thats been good and the rest were just rubbish!
i know i can do it . and well at times but i seize up i freeze, i think too much and cant get the next move or my footwork lets me down and i,m unable to get the tecnique right.-to the point where i,m almost dreading the class cos i know i,ll be shizen!
so drastic steps have been taken.... i have not been to the gym to do weights/cardiofor 3 weeks and i have got up and worked on my drills my form and the wooden dummy for min of 45 mins every day
i have basically a list of about 25 "drills" or moves that i work through and i do say 5 of each both sides/or i go work through the dummy form and drills on the dummy so i have somehting to connect to.
in my last 3 classes i think i am seeing the benefit of this hard work and focus.
has anyone got any drills or basics that they feel would help me get through this
and to be honest i,m not missing the gym at all altho my fitness level now sux!!
i will also be soon altering my work schedule to try to a do a 2 hour private lesson with s a senior student or a sifu every fortnight
as my lok sau and single chi sau sux and its getting me down!
thank you
matsu

 

[geezer]

hi guys
i have been missing from here just recently and to be honest life has been so mad with work and one thing and another and i have lost my focus on my wing chun,more than i hoped i would.

Sounds like my life. But I try not to let it get me down. These things move through cycles. Eventually you work through the plateaus and continue progressing. I'm trying to be philosophical about it. If my training partners progress faster than I do... at least I won't run out of good people to train with, right?

 

[Tensei85]

Actually I know exactly what you mean: At one time I had the same problem with sparring with gear as opposed to without it was like my body couldn't compensate for the difference (ok, well maybe its not exactly the same lol) So what I did whatever I was lacking I would practice significantly longer which sounds like what your doing. But I would find the things I'm good at and see what's lacking so you can get an estimate of where your at. And have the seniors work with you til you drop, that's what sihings are for... As far as drills it sounds like you have a hard time putting everything together which probably 90% of all students including myself have problems with. So that being the case find a decent skilled partner and in an interactive, realistic envrironment drill everything. Drill the motions, followed by mechanics, followed by reactions and then once you have those train the concepts interact with the system it self. But its important to have realistic training sessions.
I'm not really sure if any of this helps or not, but one final word don't get disheartened your doing great have some confidence, you don't suck! Its just something that every one of us goes through a natural evolution so to say.

 

[KamonGuy2]

Sorry to hear that Matsu. It is rare to get a student who is as dedicated as you, and it is nice to see

However, where I think you are going wrong is that you are training TOO hard. As a beginner (for the first year) I trained perhaps twice a week. I made sure that I never missed a lesson and it was a great way of training

Wing chun is like many arts - it is a time thing. A beginner who trains everyday for two years will probably end up at the same level as someone who trains once or twice for two years, because they aren't being overloaded with knowledge
Even the best boxers in the world rarely train every day

You have to let your muscles rest and absorb the information you are given them

I don't like discouraging students from training, but I would say that you need to relax your training a bit. Once you have built your muscles to understand the wing chun movements, you can start to step it up

I found this when I started other arts - in karate I was training four times a week and realised that I was sending bad signals to my body because I was overdoing it

You can't force your wing chun. You will get good - especially with your enthusiastic attitude

 

[yak sao]

Sorry to hear that Matsu. It is rare to get a student who is as dedicated as you, and it is nice to see

However, where I think you are going wrong is that you are training TOO hard. As a beginner (for the first year) I trained perhaps twice a week. I made sure that I never missed a lesson and it was a great way of training

Wing chun is like many arts - it is a time thing. A beginner who trains everyday for two years will probably end up at the same level as someone who trains once or twice for two years, because they aren't being overloaded with knowledge
Even the best boxers in the world rarely train every day

You have to let your muscles rest and absorb the information you are given them

I don't like discouraging students from training, but I would say that you need to relax your training a bit. Once you have built your muscles to understand the wing chun movements, you can start to step it up

I found this when I started other arts - in karate I was training four times a week and realised that I was sending bad signals to my body because I was overdoing it

You can't force your wing chun. You will get good - especially with your enthusiastic attitude

What he said.....I would recommend form every day and drills every other.
I was down in the dumps a while back and on the verge of hanging it up. But I just stepped back and took a realistic look at it and came to the conclusion that I was discouraged because I wasn't going at it like a madman like I did in my twenties.
It's very easy to become so obsessed with the destination that we lose sight of the journey.

 

[matsu]

thank you for the kind words guys esp KG-you have been a constant help and motivator for me.
i am actually enjoying my wing chun....when it goes well!
and i feel at this time i need to drill it into me almost constantly untill it becomes second nature.
again, big fanx,because of all the help advice and encouragement you have all given bit by bit i wil get to the standard i want.
and i do realise it is a time thing,that patience will be my best friend.
keep the help coming-any little one liners or tips are written down and used.
matsu

 

[Domino]

I can totally relate to what you are saying, easy to walk off your path in life as I have found, you sound like you beat yourself up through embaressment like I am currently doing, a good sifu will be patient and through repetition and good training you will overcome. I recently got told by someone who has trained for 15 years "we will never master these arts, only ever get better".