DeLamar.J
3rd Black Belt
1st year/
The many one-step applications found in the first set of Wing Chun will help you to develop the ability to carry your body's momentum for a step's distance.
Begin all new movements no faster than walking speed. Medium and fast speed movements should not be performed without developing the basic timing found in walking speed drills. Fast drills will also lead a practitioner back to walking speed.
Why use a vertical fist instead of a horizontal fist? The developed horizontal fist has about 10% better striking power, but the trained vertical fist has 100% better forearm pinning ability. Use the vertical fist and the forearm as the primary tools in weaponless combat.
Organize the class by having established drills and goals.
When you play as a child, you pivot on the balls of your feet. When you learn Wing Chun, you must learn to pivot on your heels. When you fight, you can pivot on either the ball or the heel of the foot.
The beginning martial artist must learn to train his/her vision. You must develop the ability to see with both primary and peripheral vision. The fighting vision must act as one whole vision. A whole vision viewer can see all the areas on and around the opponent.
When countering an opponent, never look at or into your blocking hand. Instead look over your strike, and you will see your blocking hand as well as all of your opponent's limbs.
Conserve your breath by deep breathing with you diaphragm. Breath is always lost no matter how well your body is conditioned. Conserve by being efficient and effective in combat. In combat, always breathe slightly deeper with you diaphragm.
Multiple moves will require slightly longer discharges of breath. In desperate combat, there is no way to have smooth and rhythmic breathing or movements.
Use no extra or unneeded movements in combat. Useless moves waste time and may cost you your life.
Blow your air out of your mouth when you apply a counter.
Do not over engineer your countering drills. There are single blocking techniques, and sometimes, there can be double count blocking techniques (two blocks). There should never be a three count block (three blocks). The third move must be a strike.
When learning any reflex skill, you must train yourself not to guess which hand or leg will be used by your partner. Train your mind to keep attentive without guessing. Tell yourself that you do not care which hand or leg will attack.
The untrained mind and body will always wonder, become hypnotized, or make a gambling assertion as to which limb will attack during combat. Without proper reflex skills, a person will have to work twice as hard and will take twice as long to perform an action that is too late. This is called being double weighted.
Bandits travel in groups. They often travel on the same road with law abiding people. When defending yourself, first use your mind; secondly, be able to use a long range weapon effectively; thirdly, be capable of using a bladed weapon; and lastly, be skilled at using the Wing Chun hand art. The least of your worries in saving yourself and your family will be what you do while wrestling with one bandit on the ground.
An occasional incorrect technique is not a mistake if you press onward to win.
Develop your focus and breath in each sparring session.
If Wing Chun is your second martial art, you must empty you old cup of tea to truly taste something new. If this is your third martial art, go back to your first art, or you will become a gipsy that has become drunk from his love of novelty.
Wing Chun is a partner system. Find yourself a shadow partner to help develop your skills.
Seek a shadow partner that is willing to give you quality training time without the ugliness of his/her ego. The quality of your skill will depend heavily on the skill and diligence of your shadow partner.
Some movements in Wing Chun share a stronger paired relationship. Remember that the straight centerline punch is accompanied by the pulling Jut Sau. The Tan Sau (centerline-out) is paired with the Pak Sau (outside-to-centerline) to develop the centerline defense.
Understand the "Lin Sil Dai Dar" single count block and strike principles well.
Pivot or step. Both allow the hips to generate energy for movement.
Dismiss the other arts that spend more than half of their instructional time on repetitive movement forms (prearranged dances and katas) in each class.
During application drills, develop the skill of waiting for the strike to get close to your body before you move to counter. Do not move to counter an attack too early.
Train your body to receive fist and leg strikes at moderate levels of impact. Many people have grown up in a world shielded by over protective parents. Their bodies and minds will easily fall into shock even in very minor contact accidents. They have little or no "Body Courage" and will not survive moderate levels of contact found in a typical assault. Train your mind about fear and train your body to tolerate contact.
The most important Wing Chun medicine is Water.
Although a person has a kind heart and is fair to people, he/she must develop intensity and ferocity. Intensity and ferocity will develop into the fighting spirit needed to defend yourself. Ferocity is the corner stone in developing intensity and courage. Survival situations will require courage.
Do not misconstrue the differences between trained and refined courage with the negative aspects found within violence and rage.
Continuous exposure to progressive strikes and attacks with increasing speed and intensity will refine your skill.
Wing Chun is an art form based on well thought out sequence of body mechanics and levers.
After successfully intercepting the attack, engage your opponent closely to prevent his escape.
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2nd year/
Develop the skill and courage to dash forward with full commitment.
Spend time to harden the forearms through contact training.
Free form teachers develop a few good fighters quickly. The majority of the other students become punching bags for the better students and the teacher. Progressive teachers, who make use of traditional methods and modern training principles, develop good fighters at a slightly slower pace but allow the greater majority of the students to reach their own potentials in skill. Self serving teachers keep many secrets about their methods and techniques and only develop weak, worshipful or resentful followers. Choose the correct type of teacher before you train in the Martial Arts.
The Bong Sau and the Lan Sau are sister techniques. Both can redirect an opponent's force. These techniques are partners in horizontal shifting. Both techniques can turn an opponent's corner and cause imbalance.
Experience the many levels of confidence building found through discovery during the numerous countering drills against random leg and hand attacks. Know the inner meaning of being reborn.
Periodic times of frustration (Sticking Points) during periods of training are to be expected. Frustration comes from the inability to meet inner and outer expectations. There is a great chance that you need to return to the basics and to simplify your practice. Learn to slow down your desires and refine what you have already achieved. Regain your training momentum by returning to the basics.
The feel of contact against a bag or mitt will fortify the realities of contact against the body. If you punch in the air at every practice, you are wasting your time.
Wing Chun prefers medium to short range bridging techniques and is inherently a counter fighting system, not an attacking system.
Marry the bridging and shifting in the Chum Kiu set with the trapping and dexterity of Chi Sau.
Everybody experiences sticking points in your Wing Chun training. These are natural plateaus in which your skill progression seems to stop. Do not fear these empty periods. Take the time in these periods to step back and practice your root reflex drills and foundational moves. Be glad that you have these off periods to revisit your basics. (Purposeful Revisited Statement)
Wing Chun makes use of the forearm in hand-to-hand combat. The fist is only part of the forearm.
Chi Sau and the Chum Kiu set are like a lock and key. Each is useless without the other.
Chi Sau is rooted in the close and very close ranges of fighting. Do not forget the longer range bridging and kicking techniques. Distance sparring and in-close Chi Sau must complement each other. Chi Sau is nothing without the distance sparring, and distance sparring is incomplete without Chi Sau. For every hour of Chi Sau, spend 20 minutes on open range sparring.
Rolling your arms correctly is the most important Chi Sau technique.
Remember while rolling your arms in Chi Sau or in distance sparring:
1) If your opponent does not attack, you do not move to counter.
2) If your opponent strikes at you, move quickly and more efficiently to make the first strike.
3) If your opponent slips off your arm, strike immediately.
In sparring, timing is the most important factor. Be able to wait, meet, and occasionally attack during sparring.
Develop the art of recovery and escape tactics found in the Biu Jee set.
Find elasticity in your moves by using less tension and become softer.
The Gum Sau pins the arm against body while the Lop Sau jerks the body by pulling away the arm. Investigate this pair of disrupting techniques well and be feared by your opponents.
Blocks against a fist or leg attack are worthless unless you can disrupt the attacker's body posture. Countering is complete only when the attacker's shape (posture) is pushed off balance or destroyed.
Beginning students mistakenly believe they have scored a hit during sparring practice because they were able to touch their opponents. Their infantile experience has yet to teach them that even solid contact can be deflected with little or minor damage to the opponent's body.
Beware of the false confidence gained by fast combinations and punching at air targets.
Combination techniques are of no use if they only block fist and leg attacks. You must defeat the human body behind the fist or leg attack. Destroy the attacker's foundation and body if you want to survive.
To fight when viable options exist is foolhardy. To fight when no viable options exist is to fight for survival.
Timing is everything. Three types of distance fighting include the skill to wait for incoming attack, meeting (intercepting) the attack, and trapping before attacking.
Learn to turn your opponent corners in battle. The corners of the human body are found at his elbows or at his knees.
Weight training can improve body strength. Beware of fast muscle contractions but slow limb movements. It is very important to practice speed drills after any overload training.
Movement in water (water training) should be followed by speed drills.
Develop jamming and sticking ability with your shins. This will enable you to defeat the body shape and balance of an attacker..
You will find all the sudden change techniques for escape and regaining momentum in the Biu Jee set.
Use the Lan Sau to turn your opponent's corner.
Use the Tok Sau to turn a taller opponent's corner.
Understand the principles of half-body fighting.
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3rd year/
Fight leg against leg and hand against hand.
Your most valued and finest Wing Chun moments will be outside the school.
Drink tea with your teacher, for wisdom and insight are often visitors at the same table.
The wooden dummy (Jong) techniques borrow momentum from your opponent. Until becoming informed, the Jong techniques of the Wing Chun school will lack rational use and applicability.
At the age of 25, your career will swallow your free time. You either complete the Wing Chun curriculum before you reach your 25th birthday or wait until you are 45 years old. Better to learn when you are younger but later is better than never.
Be firm, fair, and always friendly to your students and classmates.
By the third year, you are well beyond being "Double Weighted". A Double Weighted posture means your center of gravity must be lowered first before you can move effectively. Having a Double Weighted mind means you have little or no reflex skills and must think before moving. Both Double Weighted activities require an extra act to make a single move.
Practice a minimum of twice a week. Practice three times a week and discover the balance between offensive moves and defensive moves. Practice four times a week and discover that defensive movements begin to dominate. To practice five and six days a week will only perfect the last 5% of your skill potential. Practice seven days a week, and your skill will regress after the first month.
Wing Chun is a counter fighting system. Ninety-five percent of Wing Chun hand techniques are countering applications. Only five percent of the system can be used offensively and then in only the direst situations. The system is heavily influenced by the Buddhist founders and lacks offensive opening moves. In Wing Chun, defense is the offense.
By the time you have reached the end of your third year of training, you will have experienced one or more great expressions of skill. Your finest moments will come outside of the training hall.
The origins of the Yim Wing Chun's snake and crane techniques came from the famous Eternal Springtime Hall (Weng Chun Dein) found within the walls of the Fukien Sil Lum temple. Ng Mui learned her Kung Fu from her teacher in the Weng Chun Dein and later passed the Sil Lum Kung Fu martial art forms to her many followers.
A skilled Wing Chun artists knows when to jam, when to redirect, and when to avoid attacking techniques.
Explore the many uses of the thrust kick to the opponent's Tan Tein, knees, and ankles.
The palm strike is more versatile and deadlier than the fist.
In Chi Sau, use the pulling Tan Sau jerk against opponents who uses a heavy or stiff Fook Sau.
In Chi Sau, use the cross over grab against the opponent's driving Tan Sau.
Techniques repeated three times in any Wing Chun set are significant. The triple repetition usually means that the repeated technique(s) will require three times the amount of regular practice to become proficient.
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4th year/
You must learn to move the base of the staff (Long Pole or Kwan) before you can transmit power to the point.
This is the year that you will discover the realities of elastic strength.
The seven basic movements of the long staff (Six and-a-half techniques) are at the root of the staff techniques, but there are endless methods and uses in a fight.
It takes no less than six months to learn the movements of the staff and a lifetime to perfect the applications. Therefore, enjoy the journey toward perfection and do not poison yourself by searching for quick fulfillment.
The Wing Chun system has many techniques. However, the Wing Chun master uses no more than five general combat hand techniques and only a couple of specialty techniques from each of the Wing Chun forms and Chi Sau.
When using the staff, smash the lead hand of your opponent before striking his body.
The staff training builds body strength and muscle sinew.
Staff training can start after completing the second set.
Lament the arts that have no sets or recorded sequences of techniques. They will have only words to pass on their wisdom and are bound to fade away.
At this juncture of training, you will become aware whether you will carry on the Wing Chun art as a teacher of many or to carry the Wing Chun art as a personal art with few students.
Many poorly applied techniques and inefficient movements are masked by quick (short range) bridging and hurried follow through (chase downs) maneuvers during sparring and Chi Sau practice. These points can be found more during Chi Sau practice. It is important to limit students to the first one, two, or at most three movements during Chi Sau sparring practice. It is important for all Wing Chun practitioners to break down long and fast combinations to refine the individual (component) techniques.
Study the attributes of "Stickiness" found in the competitive contact between arm- against-arm, foot-against-foot, weapon-against-weapon, formation-against-formation, and army-against-army. Stickiness can mean the difference between victory or defeat.
Rehearse your Wing Chun Functions by having a clear mind, quick body shifting, and speed strike combinations.
The most effective technique against a strong kicker is the jamming thrust kick.
A big and barrel chested man is very resistant to regular kicks and punches. When defending against such an attacker, you must strike to steal his wind (breathing system).
Much of the Wing Chun system utilizes the slant body posture to angle away and to redirect strong attacks. However, on occasion, one must use the closed chest (sunken chest) posture when fighting in situations in which you are engaged closely with a fierce and pressing opponent.
Know your Wing Chun kung fu lineage and history. Ng Mui, the nun, escaped the first destruction of the Fukien province Sil Lum temple in 1673. Ng Mui was not part of the second burning of Fukien Sil Lum temple in the mid 1700's. The second burning was a result of monk Ma Yi Fu's treachery.
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5th year/
In the Wing Chun broad swords system, there are eight cutting angles, known as eight chops by some.
Ten sections (not eight sections) are found in the Wing Chun broad swords (Do) set. It will take ten years to become a true master of the Wing Chun broad swords.
You can be good with the Wing Chun hand and leg techniques, but poor in the use of the weapons. You can be a skilled weapons user, but be poor at hand and leg techniques. Likewise, you can be a great staff fighter but only a mediocre knife fighter. You will seldom find a person that can perform all three Wing Chun arts with equal skill.
If two Wing Chun weapon practitioners are equal in skill, the practitioner with the staff has an advantage over the broad sword (Do) user.
Never allow yourself to use classroom instructional time with flashy and flowery movement sets. Avoid flashy or redundant rhythmic techniques that have little or no meaning for immediate combat use. No Lion dancing is permitted in Wing Chun.
Teaching four or more years can lead to burn out. Make sure that you cycle yourself around the various skill groups of students.
Wing Chun is more than a fist art. It is forearm system. Wing Chun relies heavily on the use of forearm levers to control the opponentes arms.
Keep your techniques hidden from your enemies. Bak Mei lost his life because too many were allowed to witness his techniques and tactics. All tournament fighters suffer great grief because they are observed and analyzed by their competitors.
In bladed combat, you can lose your life despite striking first. One may achieve the first blow over another; however, if this first strike is not instantly fatal, the pain from this first strike may not be felt for a second. This delay of pain in the wounded opponent will allow him to deliver a mortal wound to you. It is, therefore, possible that there will be two losers in bladed combat. This situation is called a "Fatal Victory".
When using a blade against the staff, slip inside and chop for the hand and fingers.
When fighting for your life, let no rule restrict your fighting. Do not allow doctrine and practice dogma restrict your ability to survive.
In a set match, it is advantageous to allow your opponent to launch the first attack.
When working with advanced students, it is good to occasionally combine your routine open hand practices with weapons training.
Be happy if your students become better skilled than you. Their skills are part of you. Always encourage your student to do their best. Let your students know when they are as good or better than you. Respect is received when it is given.
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6th year/
forewarned of the negative trappings in your quest for self perfection. As the art becomes increasingly clear with your gained wisdom, you begin to find that your prior practices and interpretations have become inadequate. There is great danger in over engineering the practical techniques found at the heart of the Wing Chun system. Always teach by using the simplest examples and follow proper progression.
Teaching a few quality students is far more rewarding than teaching many mediocre students.
Do not confuse tactics and strategy. Strategy is the big picture, knowing where and when to fight or run. Tactics are the actual actions taken in carrying out the strategy. A person using the correct tactics but in the wrong place may end up dead. Strategy and tactics are paired concepts that are inseparable.
If your are still seeking great masters to learn from at this level, you have not really looked into a mirror. However, seeking great masters as friends will allow you to gain wisdom and companionship.
Having the freedom to make choices means you have to actively create your future. Inactivity will lead to feelings and acts of misery and insecurity. These negative feelings and acts can cause you to make poor decisions in life. Feel the happiness in practicing a martial art. Your art will carry you throughout life's ups and downs.
The ZEN comes to those who practice things on a regular basis each week. Regular practice in the arts will allow the ZEN to visit you again and again throughout life. The personal path that is often visited by the ZEN is called the TAO. Pity those who have felt the ZEN but once or not at all. They have lost their art and have become irregular in life or have become poisoned by searching for the illusive state of mind found in the ZEN.
Martial arts is a life long learning process, not a search for the end. Enjoy the journey of many new experiences for only death is the true end of your earthly experiences.
Teaching is the ultimate skill, and fighting in self defense requires the ultimate in will.
The universal let down for any teacher is when a good student loses interest and quits. Teach only the most dedicated people. Do not baby-sit youth under 12 years of age. Beware of the parents that dump their kids off at your school and leave to play Ma Jong.
In planning for the defense of your town against bandits, train the towns people first with long range weapons. Short range weapons and hand techniques are not as important when there is a limited period of time to train.
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7th year/
Self defense requires maximum commitment.
When you become elder brother/sister to younger students, always share knowledge close to their level of experiences. Only rarely share something beyond their range of new experiences. Beware not to poison your younger Kung Fu brothers and sisters by giving knowledge too advanced for them. Let your younger classmates enjoy their journey through the Wing Chun experiences. If you give too much knowledge away too fast, you will rob the younger students of their experiences and adventures found through self-actualized discovery.
A skilled martial artist must understand the following statement: "I am able to beat anybody with my skill; however, if I lose to an opponent, the opponent will realize how lucky he or she was to win."
A good teacher has a skilled eye and mind to see errors in physical movements and incorrect attitudes.
Watch carefully the advanced students under your supervision. Some of the students will learn faster and flower quicker. Many will take longer and benefit from the longer processes. Other students will become dishearten and fade away. Still others will self destruct because they gauge themselves against the best and wrongly poison themselves as under achievers. This last group tend to have egos and expectations beyond their real abilities. They will no doubt find greater fulfillment at the movies.
The most dangerous types of people are young men looking for a name (fame) and women looking for security (looks can kill). A successful teacher must be able to weed out hidden agendas, destructive egos, and seductive acts.
Know the appropriate weapon to use when fighting for your life. The long pole techniques are best against horse mounted bandits and in one-to-one combat situations. The double broadswords are best used against multiple attackers or in places where space is restricted.
Always allow for a path or act of redemption for students and classmates who have fallen from your trust.
Beware of things that are too heavily emphasized in your teaching. Over emphasized techniques and methods may steal from the student's ability and opportunity to experience the realities found in diverse combat situations.
Always help a student on the wrong path, but never prevent a student who is determined (despite your teaching) to do something short sighted. The resulting crash and burn from short sightedness is a form of education needed to be learned by the youth. After initially trying to help a wayward student, never intervene to prevent the student from learning the hard way, for he/she will not appreciate your actions, nor will he/she learn the full lessons. Teachers, who repeatedly rescue their students from their short sighted acts, have stolen the needed realities from their students. These teachers will suffer with their students the anguish of failure.
Your best students will be the graduates who leave your Wing Chun school, only to return years later, made wiser and more mature by Father Time.
One of the most important rules in Wing Chun is to inform your graduating students that they must differentiate between the whole art and their personal fighting combinations. In fighting for your life, there are no rules to restrict your personal fighting methods. Use whatever techniques that work for you. However, there are working guidelines, proper progressions, and rules for teaching new students.
It is important to encourage students with five or more years of experience to strike out on their own and to explore another art. This will prevent tunnel vision by the students and broaden their experiences.
Knowledge itself can be known without the actual experience. However, a wise martial artist must have enough experience to understand the knowledge. It is very important not to poison beginning students with too much knowledge when they lack experience.
Experience is incomplete if the gained knowledge is forgotten or unrecorded. Without historians, past wisdom is lost to future generations.
In clinched combat, remember the following: You do not need to move first if your opponent does not strike. If your opponent strikes, move quicker and hit first. If touching contact is lost or broken, strike!
The most difficult person(s) to teach is your own son(s). Should this become your predicament, send them off to see your Kung Fu brother.
No matter how good you are, there are always better and luckier people.
Never forget that guns and cannons were used in the destruction of the Sil Lum temple in Fukien. In modern times, one must have a working knowledge of one (minimum) firearm for personal safety and survival.
"Teaching Momentum" - The progressive acts of motion (movement) in the Wing Chun kung fu system must be understood. The Sil Lim Tao set contains all the single step ideas for the beginner to use against an attacker. The Chum Kiu set teaches the student to carry his/her body momentum over several steps. This set contains all the multiple steps used to engage and redirect the opponent. The Biu Jee contains all the techniques to sudden change a losing situation in which you must regain your momentum against an opponent. The Biu Jee techniques are to be used only in emergencies that require turning a losing situation into a winning or to escape a desperate situation. The wooden man (Mok Yan Jong) techniques train you to keep proper distance from your attacker so that you can ride-on or around his attacking momentum. Both the Biu Jee and the wooden dummy techniques require a high degree of proficiency and lots of experience. Some teachers stress the Jong techniques before the Biu Jee while others teach the Jong last. Either method will provide the same outcome.
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8th year/
In Wing Chun, never set your goals to stay within the realm of past achievements. Always refine and polish your skills as your body and mind will change with time. Far too many people plan their futures from the highs of their past and only to repeat their past, again and again, never to grow beyond their faded memories of old experiences.
One of the greatest joys on earth is sharing an art form with many others. Always be a people person. The rich man may have more but may not appreciate what he has; a poor man may have less but appreciates all he has. Joy and happiness come from learning, knowing, and sharing. It is far better to have a wealth of friends and some money than to be wealthy and have few, if any, friends.
Study and understand the five elements of Chi circulation. Know how Chi circulation flows to and from the organs of the human body. Take special note of which paths stimulate the organs and which paths numb the organs.
If you teach Wing Chun, teach all the techniques of Wing Chun, not just your preferences. Your students will no doubt bloom and refine themselves over the years. Many students will continue the Wing Chun tradition while others will devise new arts. Variations are expected in the changing world of evolution. A great majority of Wing Chun variations are personal manifestations and are created by individuals to fit a certain body type and mentality. These Wing Chun hybrid forms are acceptable (tolerated or even desired) processes of self actualized expressions.
If you change the Wing Chun techniques, then you must also change the name to give the art new meaning.
Be selective in the people you teach. Teach to propagate the Wing Chun art. It is best to teach between four and eight students at any one time. Eventually these students will become teachers of their own students.
The art of being a teacher's teacher is a difficult task. Make sure that the many teachers under you prevent their own students from changing or jumping around between different teachers.
If you respect someone, you will not accept his/her students without a personal referral.
When you are young, you fight with your heart; when you are older, you need to fight by using your brain.
Know the gates of blood flow within the body.
Tone vibrations from certain notes of music or vocal origin can bring your inner self into harmony with the physical self. Experience the sound of choice while moving the body. Later, experience the effect of sound during meditation. Your mind will let you know which form(s) or type(s) of sound it needs to harmonize the inner well being. Lucky are those who are aware of the effects of musical tones and rhythm. Certain tones work well with certain Wing Chun techniques.
Use the postures "Lifting the Heavens" and "Hands Floating on Water" to begin sensing the flow of Chi in your body. Breathe evenly and keep your mouth closed so that your tongue is lightly pressed against the roof of your mouth. The sensation of flow will begin at your finger tips, fingers, and your palms.
Develop your "Phoenix Eye" punch for precision strikes.
In Wing Chun Dim Mak, study the poison strike points around the body. The most important points in combat are the points on the foot and head. Know the antidote medicines before you injure somebody or yourself.
Stay close to the techniques found in the Wing Chun hand sets if you intend to teach only close-in self defense. On the other hand, concentrate on the bridging and sparring techniques if you need to fight other martial artists. Only five or so techniques, out of the many Wing Chun movements, need to be mastered in either case.
All is well when awareness of the many experiences, great and small, begin to naturally unfold to the students in your class. A great master does very little, yet so many things blossom as the passing months turn to years, and the years turn to decades.
A great master eventually lets go and allows the next generation to flourish.
A great master's name becomes written in history. For with the master's name comes identity and legitimacy for the succeeding generations.
Experiences...discovering and self actualizing experiences bring fulfilment to one's life.
Appreciated how the six tones effect your well being.
As the years pass, it is always nice to visit and enjoy a simple Chi Sau practice session with the younger generation of your Kung Fu brother's class. You can feel the eagerness and enthusiasm in their hearts. Sometimes you can escape recognition by the youth and really feel light hearted and refreshed. You must allow yourself to become young again in their presence.
The happiest teachers teach as expert hobbyists.
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By John F. Di Virgilio
The many one-step applications found in the first set of Wing Chun will help you to develop the ability to carry your body's momentum for a step's distance.
Begin all new movements no faster than walking speed. Medium and fast speed movements should not be performed without developing the basic timing found in walking speed drills. Fast drills will also lead a practitioner back to walking speed.
Why use a vertical fist instead of a horizontal fist? The developed horizontal fist has about 10% better striking power, but the trained vertical fist has 100% better forearm pinning ability. Use the vertical fist and the forearm as the primary tools in weaponless combat.
Organize the class by having established drills and goals.
When you play as a child, you pivot on the balls of your feet. When you learn Wing Chun, you must learn to pivot on your heels. When you fight, you can pivot on either the ball or the heel of the foot.
The beginning martial artist must learn to train his/her vision. You must develop the ability to see with both primary and peripheral vision. The fighting vision must act as one whole vision. A whole vision viewer can see all the areas on and around the opponent.
When countering an opponent, never look at or into your blocking hand. Instead look over your strike, and you will see your blocking hand as well as all of your opponent's limbs.
Conserve your breath by deep breathing with you diaphragm. Breath is always lost no matter how well your body is conditioned. Conserve by being efficient and effective in combat. In combat, always breathe slightly deeper with you diaphragm.
Multiple moves will require slightly longer discharges of breath. In desperate combat, there is no way to have smooth and rhythmic breathing or movements.
Use no extra or unneeded movements in combat. Useless moves waste time and may cost you your life.
Blow your air out of your mouth when you apply a counter.
Do not over engineer your countering drills. There are single blocking techniques, and sometimes, there can be double count blocking techniques (two blocks). There should never be a three count block (three blocks). The third move must be a strike.
When learning any reflex skill, you must train yourself not to guess which hand or leg will be used by your partner. Train your mind to keep attentive without guessing. Tell yourself that you do not care which hand or leg will attack.
The untrained mind and body will always wonder, become hypnotized, or make a gambling assertion as to which limb will attack during combat. Without proper reflex skills, a person will have to work twice as hard and will take twice as long to perform an action that is too late. This is called being double weighted.
Bandits travel in groups. They often travel on the same road with law abiding people. When defending yourself, first use your mind; secondly, be able to use a long range weapon effectively; thirdly, be capable of using a bladed weapon; and lastly, be skilled at using the Wing Chun hand art. The least of your worries in saving yourself and your family will be what you do while wrestling with one bandit on the ground.
An occasional incorrect technique is not a mistake if you press onward to win.
Develop your focus and breath in each sparring session.
If Wing Chun is your second martial art, you must empty you old cup of tea to truly taste something new. If this is your third martial art, go back to your first art, or you will become a gipsy that has become drunk from his love of novelty.
Wing Chun is a partner system. Find yourself a shadow partner to help develop your skills.
Seek a shadow partner that is willing to give you quality training time without the ugliness of his/her ego. The quality of your skill will depend heavily on the skill and diligence of your shadow partner.
Some movements in Wing Chun share a stronger paired relationship. Remember that the straight centerline punch is accompanied by the pulling Jut Sau. The Tan Sau (centerline-out) is paired with the Pak Sau (outside-to-centerline) to develop the centerline defense.
Understand the "Lin Sil Dai Dar" single count block and strike principles well.
Pivot or step. Both allow the hips to generate energy for movement.
Dismiss the other arts that spend more than half of their instructional time on repetitive movement forms (prearranged dances and katas) in each class.
During application drills, develop the skill of waiting for the strike to get close to your body before you move to counter. Do not move to counter an attack too early.
Train your body to receive fist and leg strikes at moderate levels of impact. Many people have grown up in a world shielded by over protective parents. Their bodies and minds will easily fall into shock even in very minor contact accidents. They have little or no "Body Courage" and will not survive moderate levels of contact found in a typical assault. Train your mind about fear and train your body to tolerate contact.
The most important Wing Chun medicine is Water.
Although a person has a kind heart and is fair to people, he/she must develop intensity and ferocity. Intensity and ferocity will develop into the fighting spirit needed to defend yourself. Ferocity is the corner stone in developing intensity and courage. Survival situations will require courage.
Do not misconstrue the differences between trained and refined courage with the negative aspects found within violence and rage.
Continuous exposure to progressive strikes and attacks with increasing speed and intensity will refine your skill.
Wing Chun is an art form based on well thought out sequence of body mechanics and levers.
After successfully intercepting the attack, engage your opponent closely to prevent his escape.
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2nd year/
Develop the skill and courage to dash forward with full commitment.
Spend time to harden the forearms through contact training.
Free form teachers develop a few good fighters quickly. The majority of the other students become punching bags for the better students and the teacher. Progressive teachers, who make use of traditional methods and modern training principles, develop good fighters at a slightly slower pace but allow the greater majority of the students to reach their own potentials in skill. Self serving teachers keep many secrets about their methods and techniques and only develop weak, worshipful or resentful followers. Choose the correct type of teacher before you train in the Martial Arts.
The Bong Sau and the Lan Sau are sister techniques. Both can redirect an opponent's force. These techniques are partners in horizontal shifting. Both techniques can turn an opponent's corner and cause imbalance.
Experience the many levels of confidence building found through discovery during the numerous countering drills against random leg and hand attacks. Know the inner meaning of being reborn.
Periodic times of frustration (Sticking Points) during periods of training are to be expected. Frustration comes from the inability to meet inner and outer expectations. There is a great chance that you need to return to the basics and to simplify your practice. Learn to slow down your desires and refine what you have already achieved. Regain your training momentum by returning to the basics.
The feel of contact against a bag or mitt will fortify the realities of contact against the body. If you punch in the air at every practice, you are wasting your time.
Wing Chun prefers medium to short range bridging techniques and is inherently a counter fighting system, not an attacking system.
Marry the bridging and shifting in the Chum Kiu set with the trapping and dexterity of Chi Sau.
Everybody experiences sticking points in your Wing Chun training. These are natural plateaus in which your skill progression seems to stop. Do not fear these empty periods. Take the time in these periods to step back and practice your root reflex drills and foundational moves. Be glad that you have these off periods to revisit your basics. (Purposeful Revisited Statement)
Wing Chun makes use of the forearm in hand-to-hand combat. The fist is only part of the forearm.
Chi Sau and the Chum Kiu set are like a lock and key. Each is useless without the other.
Chi Sau is rooted in the close and very close ranges of fighting. Do not forget the longer range bridging and kicking techniques. Distance sparring and in-close Chi Sau must complement each other. Chi Sau is nothing without the distance sparring, and distance sparring is incomplete without Chi Sau. For every hour of Chi Sau, spend 20 minutes on open range sparring.
Rolling your arms correctly is the most important Chi Sau technique.
Remember while rolling your arms in Chi Sau or in distance sparring:
1) If your opponent does not attack, you do not move to counter.
2) If your opponent strikes at you, move quickly and more efficiently to make the first strike.
3) If your opponent slips off your arm, strike immediately.
In sparring, timing is the most important factor. Be able to wait, meet, and occasionally attack during sparring.
Develop the art of recovery and escape tactics found in the Biu Jee set.
Find elasticity in your moves by using less tension and become softer.
The Gum Sau pins the arm against body while the Lop Sau jerks the body by pulling away the arm. Investigate this pair of disrupting techniques well and be feared by your opponents.
Blocks against a fist or leg attack are worthless unless you can disrupt the attacker's body posture. Countering is complete only when the attacker's shape (posture) is pushed off balance or destroyed.
Beginning students mistakenly believe they have scored a hit during sparring practice because they were able to touch their opponents. Their infantile experience has yet to teach them that even solid contact can be deflected with little or minor damage to the opponent's body.
Beware of the false confidence gained by fast combinations and punching at air targets.
Combination techniques are of no use if they only block fist and leg attacks. You must defeat the human body behind the fist or leg attack. Destroy the attacker's foundation and body if you want to survive.
To fight when viable options exist is foolhardy. To fight when no viable options exist is to fight for survival.
Timing is everything. Three types of distance fighting include the skill to wait for incoming attack, meeting (intercepting) the attack, and trapping before attacking.
Learn to turn your opponent corners in battle. The corners of the human body are found at his elbows or at his knees.
Weight training can improve body strength. Beware of fast muscle contractions but slow limb movements. It is very important to practice speed drills after any overload training.
Movement in water (water training) should be followed by speed drills.
Develop jamming and sticking ability with your shins. This will enable you to defeat the body shape and balance of an attacker..
You will find all the sudden change techniques for escape and regaining momentum in the Biu Jee set.
Use the Lan Sau to turn your opponent's corner.
Use the Tok Sau to turn a taller opponent's corner.
Understand the principles of half-body fighting.
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3rd year/
Fight leg against leg and hand against hand.
Your most valued and finest Wing Chun moments will be outside the school.
Drink tea with your teacher, for wisdom and insight are often visitors at the same table.
The wooden dummy (Jong) techniques borrow momentum from your opponent. Until becoming informed, the Jong techniques of the Wing Chun school will lack rational use and applicability.
At the age of 25, your career will swallow your free time. You either complete the Wing Chun curriculum before you reach your 25th birthday or wait until you are 45 years old. Better to learn when you are younger but later is better than never.
Be firm, fair, and always friendly to your students and classmates.
By the third year, you are well beyond being "Double Weighted". A Double Weighted posture means your center of gravity must be lowered first before you can move effectively. Having a Double Weighted mind means you have little or no reflex skills and must think before moving. Both Double Weighted activities require an extra act to make a single move.
Practice a minimum of twice a week. Practice three times a week and discover the balance between offensive moves and defensive moves. Practice four times a week and discover that defensive movements begin to dominate. To practice five and six days a week will only perfect the last 5% of your skill potential. Practice seven days a week, and your skill will regress after the first month.
Wing Chun is a counter fighting system. Ninety-five percent of Wing Chun hand techniques are countering applications. Only five percent of the system can be used offensively and then in only the direst situations. The system is heavily influenced by the Buddhist founders and lacks offensive opening moves. In Wing Chun, defense is the offense.
By the time you have reached the end of your third year of training, you will have experienced one or more great expressions of skill. Your finest moments will come outside of the training hall.
The origins of the Yim Wing Chun's snake and crane techniques came from the famous Eternal Springtime Hall (Weng Chun Dein) found within the walls of the Fukien Sil Lum temple. Ng Mui learned her Kung Fu from her teacher in the Weng Chun Dein and later passed the Sil Lum Kung Fu martial art forms to her many followers.
A skilled Wing Chun artists knows when to jam, when to redirect, and when to avoid attacking techniques.
Explore the many uses of the thrust kick to the opponent's Tan Tein, knees, and ankles.
The palm strike is more versatile and deadlier than the fist.
In Chi Sau, use the pulling Tan Sau jerk against opponents who uses a heavy or stiff Fook Sau.
In Chi Sau, use the cross over grab against the opponent's driving Tan Sau.
Techniques repeated three times in any Wing Chun set are significant. The triple repetition usually means that the repeated technique(s) will require three times the amount of regular practice to become proficient.
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4th year/
You must learn to move the base of the staff (Long Pole or Kwan) before you can transmit power to the point.
This is the year that you will discover the realities of elastic strength.
The seven basic movements of the long staff (Six and-a-half techniques) are at the root of the staff techniques, but there are endless methods and uses in a fight.
It takes no less than six months to learn the movements of the staff and a lifetime to perfect the applications. Therefore, enjoy the journey toward perfection and do not poison yourself by searching for quick fulfillment.
The Wing Chun system has many techniques. However, the Wing Chun master uses no more than five general combat hand techniques and only a couple of specialty techniques from each of the Wing Chun forms and Chi Sau.
When using the staff, smash the lead hand of your opponent before striking his body.
The staff training builds body strength and muscle sinew.
Staff training can start after completing the second set.
Lament the arts that have no sets or recorded sequences of techniques. They will have only words to pass on their wisdom and are bound to fade away.
At this juncture of training, you will become aware whether you will carry on the Wing Chun art as a teacher of many or to carry the Wing Chun art as a personal art with few students.
Many poorly applied techniques and inefficient movements are masked by quick (short range) bridging and hurried follow through (chase downs) maneuvers during sparring and Chi Sau practice. These points can be found more during Chi Sau practice. It is important to limit students to the first one, two, or at most three movements during Chi Sau sparring practice. It is important for all Wing Chun practitioners to break down long and fast combinations to refine the individual (component) techniques.
Study the attributes of "Stickiness" found in the competitive contact between arm- against-arm, foot-against-foot, weapon-against-weapon, formation-against-formation, and army-against-army. Stickiness can mean the difference between victory or defeat.
Rehearse your Wing Chun Functions by having a clear mind, quick body shifting, and speed strike combinations.
The most effective technique against a strong kicker is the jamming thrust kick.
A big and barrel chested man is very resistant to regular kicks and punches. When defending against such an attacker, you must strike to steal his wind (breathing system).
Much of the Wing Chun system utilizes the slant body posture to angle away and to redirect strong attacks. However, on occasion, one must use the closed chest (sunken chest) posture when fighting in situations in which you are engaged closely with a fierce and pressing opponent.
Know your Wing Chun kung fu lineage and history. Ng Mui, the nun, escaped the first destruction of the Fukien province Sil Lum temple in 1673. Ng Mui was not part of the second burning of Fukien Sil Lum temple in the mid 1700's. The second burning was a result of monk Ma Yi Fu's treachery.
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5th year/
In the Wing Chun broad swords system, there are eight cutting angles, known as eight chops by some.
Ten sections (not eight sections) are found in the Wing Chun broad swords (Do) set. It will take ten years to become a true master of the Wing Chun broad swords.
You can be good with the Wing Chun hand and leg techniques, but poor in the use of the weapons. You can be a skilled weapons user, but be poor at hand and leg techniques. Likewise, you can be a great staff fighter but only a mediocre knife fighter. You will seldom find a person that can perform all three Wing Chun arts with equal skill.
If two Wing Chun weapon practitioners are equal in skill, the practitioner with the staff has an advantage over the broad sword (Do) user.
Never allow yourself to use classroom instructional time with flashy and flowery movement sets. Avoid flashy or redundant rhythmic techniques that have little or no meaning for immediate combat use. No Lion dancing is permitted in Wing Chun.
Teaching four or more years can lead to burn out. Make sure that you cycle yourself around the various skill groups of students.
Wing Chun is more than a fist art. It is forearm system. Wing Chun relies heavily on the use of forearm levers to control the opponentes arms.
Keep your techniques hidden from your enemies. Bak Mei lost his life because too many were allowed to witness his techniques and tactics. All tournament fighters suffer great grief because they are observed and analyzed by their competitors.
In bladed combat, you can lose your life despite striking first. One may achieve the first blow over another; however, if this first strike is not instantly fatal, the pain from this first strike may not be felt for a second. This delay of pain in the wounded opponent will allow him to deliver a mortal wound to you. It is, therefore, possible that there will be two losers in bladed combat. This situation is called a "Fatal Victory".
When using a blade against the staff, slip inside and chop for the hand and fingers.
When fighting for your life, let no rule restrict your fighting. Do not allow doctrine and practice dogma restrict your ability to survive.
In a set match, it is advantageous to allow your opponent to launch the first attack.
When working with advanced students, it is good to occasionally combine your routine open hand practices with weapons training.
Be happy if your students become better skilled than you. Their skills are part of you. Always encourage your student to do their best. Let your students know when they are as good or better than you. Respect is received when it is given.
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6th year/
forewarned of the negative trappings in your quest for self perfection. As the art becomes increasingly clear with your gained wisdom, you begin to find that your prior practices and interpretations have become inadequate. There is great danger in over engineering the practical techniques found at the heart of the Wing Chun system. Always teach by using the simplest examples and follow proper progression.
Teaching a few quality students is far more rewarding than teaching many mediocre students.
Do not confuse tactics and strategy. Strategy is the big picture, knowing where and when to fight or run. Tactics are the actual actions taken in carrying out the strategy. A person using the correct tactics but in the wrong place may end up dead. Strategy and tactics are paired concepts that are inseparable.
If your are still seeking great masters to learn from at this level, you have not really looked into a mirror. However, seeking great masters as friends will allow you to gain wisdom and companionship.
Having the freedom to make choices means you have to actively create your future. Inactivity will lead to feelings and acts of misery and insecurity. These negative feelings and acts can cause you to make poor decisions in life. Feel the happiness in practicing a martial art. Your art will carry you throughout life's ups and downs.
The ZEN comes to those who practice things on a regular basis each week. Regular practice in the arts will allow the ZEN to visit you again and again throughout life. The personal path that is often visited by the ZEN is called the TAO. Pity those who have felt the ZEN but once or not at all. They have lost their art and have become irregular in life or have become poisoned by searching for the illusive state of mind found in the ZEN.
Martial arts is a life long learning process, not a search for the end. Enjoy the journey of many new experiences for only death is the true end of your earthly experiences.
Teaching is the ultimate skill, and fighting in self defense requires the ultimate in will.
The universal let down for any teacher is when a good student loses interest and quits. Teach only the most dedicated people. Do not baby-sit youth under 12 years of age. Beware of the parents that dump their kids off at your school and leave to play Ma Jong.
In planning for the defense of your town against bandits, train the towns people first with long range weapons. Short range weapons and hand techniques are not as important when there is a limited period of time to train.
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7th year/
Self defense requires maximum commitment.
When you become elder brother/sister to younger students, always share knowledge close to their level of experiences. Only rarely share something beyond their range of new experiences. Beware not to poison your younger Kung Fu brothers and sisters by giving knowledge too advanced for them. Let your younger classmates enjoy their journey through the Wing Chun experiences. If you give too much knowledge away too fast, you will rob the younger students of their experiences and adventures found through self-actualized discovery.
A skilled martial artist must understand the following statement: "I am able to beat anybody with my skill; however, if I lose to an opponent, the opponent will realize how lucky he or she was to win."
A good teacher has a skilled eye and mind to see errors in physical movements and incorrect attitudes.
Watch carefully the advanced students under your supervision. Some of the students will learn faster and flower quicker. Many will take longer and benefit from the longer processes. Other students will become dishearten and fade away. Still others will self destruct because they gauge themselves against the best and wrongly poison themselves as under achievers. This last group tend to have egos and expectations beyond their real abilities. They will no doubt find greater fulfillment at the movies.
The most dangerous types of people are young men looking for a name (fame) and women looking for security (looks can kill). A successful teacher must be able to weed out hidden agendas, destructive egos, and seductive acts.
Know the appropriate weapon to use when fighting for your life. The long pole techniques are best against horse mounted bandits and in one-to-one combat situations. The double broadswords are best used against multiple attackers or in places where space is restricted.
Always allow for a path or act of redemption for students and classmates who have fallen from your trust.
Beware of things that are too heavily emphasized in your teaching. Over emphasized techniques and methods may steal from the student's ability and opportunity to experience the realities found in diverse combat situations.
Always help a student on the wrong path, but never prevent a student who is determined (despite your teaching) to do something short sighted. The resulting crash and burn from short sightedness is a form of education needed to be learned by the youth. After initially trying to help a wayward student, never intervene to prevent the student from learning the hard way, for he/she will not appreciate your actions, nor will he/she learn the full lessons. Teachers, who repeatedly rescue their students from their short sighted acts, have stolen the needed realities from their students. These teachers will suffer with their students the anguish of failure.
Your best students will be the graduates who leave your Wing Chun school, only to return years later, made wiser and more mature by Father Time.
One of the most important rules in Wing Chun is to inform your graduating students that they must differentiate between the whole art and their personal fighting combinations. In fighting for your life, there are no rules to restrict your personal fighting methods. Use whatever techniques that work for you. However, there are working guidelines, proper progressions, and rules for teaching new students.
It is important to encourage students with five or more years of experience to strike out on their own and to explore another art. This will prevent tunnel vision by the students and broaden their experiences.
Knowledge itself can be known without the actual experience. However, a wise martial artist must have enough experience to understand the knowledge. It is very important not to poison beginning students with too much knowledge when they lack experience.
Experience is incomplete if the gained knowledge is forgotten or unrecorded. Without historians, past wisdom is lost to future generations.
In clinched combat, remember the following: You do not need to move first if your opponent does not strike. If your opponent strikes, move quicker and hit first. If touching contact is lost or broken, strike!
The most difficult person(s) to teach is your own son(s). Should this become your predicament, send them off to see your Kung Fu brother.
No matter how good you are, there are always better and luckier people.
Never forget that guns and cannons were used in the destruction of the Sil Lum temple in Fukien. In modern times, one must have a working knowledge of one (minimum) firearm for personal safety and survival.
"Teaching Momentum" - The progressive acts of motion (movement) in the Wing Chun kung fu system must be understood. The Sil Lim Tao set contains all the single step ideas for the beginner to use against an attacker. The Chum Kiu set teaches the student to carry his/her body momentum over several steps. This set contains all the multiple steps used to engage and redirect the opponent. The Biu Jee contains all the techniques to sudden change a losing situation in which you must regain your momentum against an opponent. The Biu Jee techniques are to be used only in emergencies that require turning a losing situation into a winning or to escape a desperate situation. The wooden man (Mok Yan Jong) techniques train you to keep proper distance from your attacker so that you can ride-on or around his attacking momentum. Both the Biu Jee and the wooden dummy techniques require a high degree of proficiency and lots of experience. Some teachers stress the Jong techniques before the Biu Jee while others teach the Jong last. Either method will provide the same outcome.
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8th year/
In Wing Chun, never set your goals to stay within the realm of past achievements. Always refine and polish your skills as your body and mind will change with time. Far too many people plan their futures from the highs of their past and only to repeat their past, again and again, never to grow beyond their faded memories of old experiences.
One of the greatest joys on earth is sharing an art form with many others. Always be a people person. The rich man may have more but may not appreciate what he has; a poor man may have less but appreciates all he has. Joy and happiness come from learning, knowing, and sharing. It is far better to have a wealth of friends and some money than to be wealthy and have few, if any, friends.
Study and understand the five elements of Chi circulation. Know how Chi circulation flows to and from the organs of the human body. Take special note of which paths stimulate the organs and which paths numb the organs.
If you teach Wing Chun, teach all the techniques of Wing Chun, not just your preferences. Your students will no doubt bloom and refine themselves over the years. Many students will continue the Wing Chun tradition while others will devise new arts. Variations are expected in the changing world of evolution. A great majority of Wing Chun variations are personal manifestations and are created by individuals to fit a certain body type and mentality. These Wing Chun hybrid forms are acceptable (tolerated or even desired) processes of self actualized expressions.
If you change the Wing Chun techniques, then you must also change the name to give the art new meaning.
Be selective in the people you teach. Teach to propagate the Wing Chun art. It is best to teach between four and eight students at any one time. Eventually these students will become teachers of their own students.
The art of being a teacher's teacher is a difficult task. Make sure that the many teachers under you prevent their own students from changing or jumping around between different teachers.
If you respect someone, you will not accept his/her students without a personal referral.
When you are young, you fight with your heart; when you are older, you need to fight by using your brain.
Know the gates of blood flow within the body.
Tone vibrations from certain notes of music or vocal origin can bring your inner self into harmony with the physical self. Experience the sound of choice while moving the body. Later, experience the effect of sound during meditation. Your mind will let you know which form(s) or type(s) of sound it needs to harmonize the inner well being. Lucky are those who are aware of the effects of musical tones and rhythm. Certain tones work well with certain Wing Chun techniques.
Use the postures "Lifting the Heavens" and "Hands Floating on Water" to begin sensing the flow of Chi in your body. Breathe evenly and keep your mouth closed so that your tongue is lightly pressed against the roof of your mouth. The sensation of flow will begin at your finger tips, fingers, and your palms.
Develop your "Phoenix Eye" punch for precision strikes.
In Wing Chun Dim Mak, study the poison strike points around the body. The most important points in combat are the points on the foot and head. Know the antidote medicines before you injure somebody or yourself.
Stay close to the techniques found in the Wing Chun hand sets if you intend to teach only close-in self defense. On the other hand, concentrate on the bridging and sparring techniques if you need to fight other martial artists. Only five or so techniques, out of the many Wing Chun movements, need to be mastered in either case.
All is well when awareness of the many experiences, great and small, begin to naturally unfold to the students in your class. A great master does very little, yet so many things blossom as the passing months turn to years, and the years turn to decades.
A great master eventually lets go and allows the next generation to flourish.
A great master's name becomes written in history. For with the master's name comes identity and legitimacy for the succeeding generations.
Experiences...discovering and self actualizing experiences bring fulfilment to one's life.
Appreciated how the six tones effect your well being.
As the years pass, it is always nice to visit and enjoy a simple Chi Sau practice session with the younger generation of your Kung Fu brother's class. You can feel the eagerness and enthusiasm in their hearts. Sometimes you can escape recognition by the youth and really feel light hearted and refreshed. You must allow yourself to become young again in their presence.
The happiest teachers teach as expert hobbyists.
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By John F. Di Virgilio
