AWCA Notebook

With 2010 just a couple of weeks away, I thought I would give you a sneak peek into some of the many things I have in store for AWCA’s media and various projects.

AWCAOnline Website
Even though we have a variety of training workbooks and programs available, AWCAOnline is first and foremost a Wing Chun training site. In that light, I am expanding the Forms and Drills areas to include more drills and videos, as well as expanded text that goes into the concepts for each element of section 1 of every form.

I like AWCAOnline. There is a lot of good information there and I want to make even more available vs. only through the eBooks, etc. So I have decided to push the site even further in 2010 by finishing up all elements, plus expanding them along the way.

eBooks
One of the driving forces of our media is the eBook Training Series. As most of you know, our current workbooks (Volume 1: Siu-Nim-Tau, Volume 2: Chum-Kiu, Volume 3: Chi-sau) have been available for quite some time now. And admittedly, I have been so busy for so long that I have not had the time to complete the rest of the series.

Well that changes in 2010. You will soon be seeing the release of the long-anticipated Volume 4: Biu-Tze and Volume 5: Muk-Yan-Chong, as well as major updates to all currently-available workbooks. I have been devoting more time to these areas and will be releasing it all within the next couple of months.

The rest of our eBook offerings, such as Fitness Training for Wing Chun, How To Create Martial Arts eBooks, and How To Create Online Videos will also be seeing the light of day in 2010. These are topics that many of you are interested in, as well as areas that are very important to what we do. I know you want to experience them as much as I want to make them available, so you will finally see them.

Distance Learning Program
Our Distance Learning Program has seen some phenomenal skills being created all over the world, and our yearly training camps are proof that the program does everything we say it does.

2010 will see a LOT of new filming techniques being put into place, including multiple angles and picture-in-picture, so for those currently a part of our DLP, get ready for even more involved training.

I want to encourage those thinking about joining the DLP to do so soon, though, because I can foresee the day when I will no longer be accepting new members. There is a cut-off point in order to ensure that we don’t get so bogged down that I cannot handle the myriad of video feedbacks, emails, etc., and I am positive that that will happen in 2010.

So if you are thinking about enrolling? You will want to do so soon, because 2010 will probably be when we close the doors to new members.

Wing Chun Virtual Trainer
After a very long wait, 2010 will see the opening our Wing Chun Virtual Trainer, a website dedicated to step-by-step, in-depth video training in Wing Chun Kuen. Rather than the entire system laid out as with our Distance Learning Program, the Wing Chun Virtual Trainer hones in on refining a variety of areas that all levels experience.

For example, beginners are sometimes confounded with what the basic footwork accomplishes, so a full series of narrated full-motion, multi-angle videos explains footwork in its entirety.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, advanced practitioners sometimes do not learn the intricacies of how the dummy relates to grappling, anti-grappling, and short-range power. For this topic you will see a range of videos explaining point-by-point how the dummy’s construction and angles achieves this, as well as how to train it both on the dummy and with a partner.

Over 40 videos are already filmed and ready, but there’s still a bit of work to do because each set of videos comes with printable PDF training programs, as well as a variety of MP3 audio downloads. So while the WCVT trainer is getting closer to launch, it still has a bit to go. Have faith, though, that you WILL see it launched in 2010.

AWCA Notes
“Where is AWCA Notes and why haven’t we seen any issues this year?” Like other projects, I have been so busy that I have not had the chance to publish a single issue in 2009. And for a while, I pondered if I should keep producing them since it means even more time away from the eBooks and other media.

AWCA Notes is very important to me, as well as to you. Therefore, I will continue to publish the newsletter on a monthly basis beginning January 2010 again.

Because of the time involved, though, it will go back to being photo-illustrated vs. video-illustrated. With so many videos in other areas, “something” has to change, and that change will be AWCA Notes. It will pick up again next month but go back to photos only vs. photos and videos.

In this way, the newsletter continues to provide free monthly training and continues to be made available, while I get more time to focus on additional projects and get things finished up for 2010. I will also be making the free eBooks and Wing Chun Curriculum Builder available again, too.

Once these projects are completed I might revert back to videos in the newsletter, too, so all is not lost. But for the time being, I have decided to revert back to photos vs. videos so that at least the issues are published and out on time.

So there you have it. A look at what you can expect from the AWCA in 2010. One of the things we have always prided ourselves on is that we are constantly working to make training available in a variety of ways vs. having a stagnant, never-changing website.

Admittedly, I stretched myself a bit thin this year and engaged too many projects simultaneously without completing one and then moving to the next. I learned my lesson the hard way because another year has passed without any significant measure of achievement.

I guarantee that that will not happen again, and 2010 will become the benchmark of what we produce. You will see all ETS workbooks updated, you will see the DLP becoming even more engaging, and the Wing Chun Virtual Trainer will become a resource that you will never want to be without. Our media has set the standard for what many are now trying to reach, and we are about to set the bar even higher.

You have heard me talk a lot about it this year, and in 2010 you are going to see it. I am confident that the work will pay off, and very soon, you get to reap the benefits of it!

For those unaware, AWCAOnline has most of its media currently available (except for a couple of issues of AWCA Notes). The last 2 months of back-issues are almost ready for release, too, so that will bring us current.

For the updates, you will now find that January – April 2008 of the newsletter is available and focuses on section 1 of the wooden dummy. Click here to go to AWCAOnline’s Muk-Yan-Chong section for more information about the wooden dummy.

June’s Video of the Month is also available and discusses how a Wing Chun practitioner “might” approach a kick defense. Note that “might” is used here because every situation is different and rarely will one movement or concept be the appropriate “answer” for every encounter. On the whole, however, the concept of how we approach our kick defenses is related, which will help to assist those curious about how it really happens (as well as “why.”)

I am also working as quickly as possible to make Volume 4: Biu-Tze and Volume 5: Muk-Yan-Chong available from our eBook Training Series, so look for that announcement soon. It has been a long road developing both for today’s PC systems, but they are finally closing in on the finish line. Hopefully you will think it was worth the wait as much as I do.

Also, get ready for some really great articles being posted here on the AWCA Weblog! In my spare time (as little as that is, of course) I have been working on some in-depth training segments to be posted here that will “up the anty” for your training. The trick, however, is to ensure that information is not repeated in multiple venues.

For example, we have the Weblog, plus AWCA Notes, plus AWCAOnline, plus our Video of the Month. Whereas most WC-related websites have only one medium for training (and sometimes not even that), we have four. While that sounds great, it is also quite hectic to keep moving forward and to ensure that information is not repeated throughout each venue.

But where the Weblog is concerned, this is a great place for meeting, so look for those entries to be made available very soon.

Lastly, we have a brand new version of AWCAOnline almost ready to be made available. With the “social networking” scheme of things becoming a literal way of life for some, I have created a brand new site from the ground up that includes various avenues for taking advantage of this.

For example, many of our pages will be made available on sites such as MySpace, Digg, etc. While I personally am not much of a fan of “social networking,” it does come in handy for helping everyone reach their target of learning by giving them a voice on what they want to see. Granted, things will – overall – still be related as I want it to, because in the end, it is how I believe it should be related and how I learned it.

In that, however, I am also quite open to relating the training areas that many of you seek, so I have made concessions for that by building it into the new site design.

I am quite excited about making it available, too! Very clean, easy to read, and easy to navigate in order to find what you are looking for as quickly as possible.

So, those are the basic updates for now, and more information will be related as we get closer to the release dates. Stay tuned, ’cause it is going to be a great ride in 2008!