Training will begin again for the next round of grading examinations at the end of March. If you wish to grade then please let me know and if I feel you are ready we will begin to prepare  you by working on the specifics for that exam at the beginning of February.

Sifu J

A workshop covering the “Gates Theory, Perimeter Defence, Common entry moves and Hidden striking tools”will be held at the studio on the 10th March. This will be covering many  training strategies in un-armed combat.Most of the content is outside of the normal training timetable so I would encourage all students to attend. If you would like to attend email me with your details and payment before the 29th Feb. Limited places. There will be a handout covering all the points of the day available after the event.

Location: The Lincoln Kung Fu Academy

Time: 12 – 3.30pm

Saturday 10th March 2012.

Price: £20 Members: £35 Non Members.

How do you train striking power in Wing Chun?

The first point of training is usually the wall bag. This piece of training equipment essentially represents the strongest, most grounded opponent you will ever meet. In Wing Chun we learn to drive all our body power into the wall Bag, which soaks up the impact force without yielding, this in turn puts stress on the joints of the body and over time strengthens them, it also conditions the striking surface of the hands. From extensive wall bag training, the Wing Chun practitioner develops very strong punching power and body structure.

Further training for striking power and techniques comes from pad and bag work and of course we have the wooden man which again is unique to the Wing Chun system in terms of its use, which is again representative of a very strong opponent. This teaches us correct footwork and positioning with co-ordinated body structure and bridging power. I often see Wing Chun punching demonstrated incorrectly, looking more like a hammer blow, which detracts from its effectiveness, the punch should always be thrown straight out and up wards with the legs supporting the elbow.  When it connects, its power and feel is very different to a punch thrown from the shoulder. The wing chun punch feels like being hit by a battering ram. Even from an inch away, I’ve not met many people that wanted it demonstrated on them twice  If you practice Wing Chun, get yourself a wall bag and train it every day. Practice at least 500 strikes per day and use a good liniment rub to aid recovery in the arms and hands. If you feel sore, allow your hands to recover before further practice. Build the power in your wrists, elbows, knees and ankles slowly. Rushing it will only cause un-necessary injury.

Sifu J

A question often asked is “why bother training sticking hands, isn’t it very unrealistic”? well, watch any fight and one consistency is in the fighters arms making contact. This contact is what we call “Bridging” and from this bridging, we learn how to feel the movement and intent of our opponent and deflect, neutralise and counter our opponents actions, this is the skill ‘Chi Sao” imparts. When done correctly someone with no experience of Chi Sao is always totally overwhelmed as they cannot get their arms free to strike, which includes experienced fighters and martial artists of other styles This is particularly relevant when dealing with strikers. Wing Chun Chi Sao to the un-initiated looks like two people happy slapping each other, with no apparent strength in the movement. The reality is physical terms is very different. Practice of Chi Sao is highly enjoyable when done in the right way, it is not sparring, but an exercise in perfection of our defensive and offensive actions, it should be practiced with a sense of co-operation between practitioners.

Great new resource launched for all Wing Chun practitioners. Check out the website, video gallery is great and hopefully will be added to. Shows some of the most respected “Masters” of the system doing their interpretations of the Wing Chun forms. You’ll notice they are all slightly different! Understand those differences, and your skills grow further. Follow the maxims of the system and you will eventually know Wing Chun.

I also downloaded the “Wing Chun Masters” app to have a look at. It’s pretty basic and some of the techniques are not the way I would recommend them done but for our beginners, it’s definately worth a look. only £3.99. If you want to check it out on my phone just ask! It has a version of the dummy form on there also.

There is also an app for this site. Download it and you can then download the magazine to your phone, ipad etc. The magazine itself has movie segments within the pages of the articles featured in the magazine, click the movie segment and you are treated to a short tutorial. This is a fantastic feature, wish this had been around when I was first learning, its truly helpful. Thanks to El for the heads up on this one!

Key Elements for successful practice of the first form.

Keep the body structure and energy connected.

Remain relaxed and focus energy in the Mai Jarn.

Perform the first section slowly and develop the Yi.

Perform the (Gum/Soh) sao set with long energy.

Once the deflecting and striking angles are well trained and accurate, perform the final actions in the form with Fa Ging.

Practice it daily!!!

Jason Bradbury’s challenge was to learn Wing Chun Kung Fu during 8 weeks of training, at the end of which, culminated in a fight with a kick boxer with 30 years experience. It was a great effort, catch the repeats on channel five!

Super grip, ultra light, these training shoes are perfect for what we do, improving stance, footwork and the feel for the floor. LIghtweight and durable, they are perfect for fast kicking techniques also, if you haven’t already, do yourself a favour and order yourself a pair today. For £18.00 they are seriously good indoor training shoes!

Curious about real Kung Fu, want to try it out, well don’t put it off any longer, come down for a free trial session, you are guaranteed to enjoy it, probably more than you realise. Come and have a life changing experience, it’s fun, challenging and highly rewarding training, and your first session is free, so get in touch today!