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Archive for February, 2009

Who Would Want What I Make?

26 Feb

Original post in a previous weblog: Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Since Monday’s post, I have received a lot of emails from various practitioners asking more about creating books, videos, etc. Most of these focused on the tools, etc., but some were more geared for “what kind of projects could I really create, and who would want what ‘I’ make?”

That is a good question; after all, it is rather egotistical to think that everyone will beat down your door for something just because “you” created it.

Or is it?

Look at it this way: who knows better than you what you are thinking and how you do things? Many people will rarely give themselves the opportunity to experiment “outside of their box,” so if you do not think you have what it takes, then it will not be created. And if it is not created, then no one gets to see it!

If you want to create something, then make the decision and go for it. Sure, it takes a bit of learning new tools, the process, and also trial and error. And when you are dealing with an art like Wing Chun and the varying lineages, naturally not everyone is going to be interested in what you produce because it will not be of their lineage.

However, it is like everything in else in life in that there is no ”one thing” that will appeal to everyone.

So the big question of “who would want I make” is basically irrelevant. Some will want what you make and some will not. But trust me, there is a great demand among practioners to experience what other people do, and they want to get your take on things. That is how we all learn. Naturally some will want nothing to do with it so do not take it personally. Those that do, however, will become your biggest inspiration for making what you “do” create even better.

Now, once you do make the decision to create it? Do not be half-assed about it. Either do it or do not do it. There really is no middle ground there, because it is a VERY long process (as anyone who keeps up with what I create knows). Sometimes a project can be out in as little as a few weeks, and other projects can take months just to create the outlines (with no production element involved whatsoever).

My rule of thumb to stay motivated is to create what “I” would want to use myself. I never release anything to the public that I would not use for my own training, because if it is not good enough for “me”, then how could I expect it to be good enough for someone else?

And real quick about tools and such…

Find what suits you in terms of money spent to acquire what you need “and” the time you have to learn it, as well as the simple question of “will it accomplish what I need it to do?” And you can answer these questions by:

  1. Find an HTML editor, a video editor and audio software that
    1. You can afford, and
    2. You have the time to learn.
  2. Dedicate the time needed to learn these tools. Almost all of them are MORE than what you need, but you can only learn the ins-and-outs by sitting down with them. And most of them can do things pretty quickly once you get the hang of them.
  3. Ask your friends what they use, check the Internet bulletin boards, and also the product sites themselves. They will usually have community help areas, site support, etc., and you can get a good feel for something by reading through the posts (then you’ll know what to expect).

Lastly? ENJOY WHAT YOU ARE DOING! Creating any publication, video, etc., is a lot of work. It is tedious, it can get boring, and sometimes you just want it to be over. That is par for the course so expect that right off.

But if you put your heart and soul into it? That is where the real payoff is.

I cannot tell you how good it is to get an email from someone who uses one of my training publications and was able to use what they learned to protect themself (or in a sparring session). It is a great feeling to know that something I made helped someone else stay safe.

So who would want what you make? The person that used your product and was able to protect themself because of it. That is who.

posted by AWCA @ 3/22/2006 09:36:00 AM

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Posted in eBooks and eMedia

 

The Purpose of Annual Gatherings

21 Feb

Note: Originally posted on a previous weblog: Tuesday, March 14, 2006

As many of you know, Dai Sifu Don Grose, Headman of the Tucson Ving Tsun Academy and President of the International Ving Tsun Kung Fu Federation (IVTKFF), hosts the Annual Southwest Wing Chun/ Ving Tsun/ Wing Tsun Gathering. These events are always very informative, but their primary goal is to bring the WC/VT/WT families together in order to get to know each other and our various schools/lineages.

It is no secret that past rivalries between the lineages have detracted from progressing the art to the populace, but many of those barriers have been removed due to events such as the annual Gathering.

But what do these types of events really mean in the long-term scheme of things?

I remember our first Gathering in 2004 when Dai Sifu Don said that there was a time when getting the families together would have broken out into a fight. :)  And he was absolutely correct.

There was a time when getting multiple lineages under the same roof, for one, was almost impossible, and two, if it did happen, more than likely the police would be called.

Sad but true. Here we are, practitioners of one of the most well-known and effective methods of self-defense with a distinguished history of extremely competent fighters, yet putting our various family members together in the same place at the same time is a problem. I guess in one way it is understandable to a certain degree; after all, ”family pride,” “lineage pride,” etc., is present in all martial arts. But at the same time, we as martial artists and members of the Wing Chun/Ving Tsun/Wing Tsun families should be bigger than that, you know?

I liken it to raising a child: you do everything you can to ensure that they get everything they need in order to be prepared for the world. You nurture them as much as possible while also teaching them how to live in society and be a good citizen. And when it is time for them to go out on their own, you hope they make the right choices in life.

Sometimes those choices are good and sometimes they are not, but in the “not so good” choices, you hope they learn from them and do not make the same mistakes repeatedly.

How does that relate to Wing Chun? Because we have those same choices.

We can choose to either make friends and learn from our families, or we can keep the barriers up and make what I believe is a “not so good” choice.

Provided that any event in which we can share information with each other is not abused, the events can go a long, long way to removing some of the barriers we all still encounter periodically. I have learned a great deal from my teacher, as well as teachers of other lineages. I have had the fortune of training with some truly exceptional practitioners of many different lineages, and the one thing I can say is that everyone – regardless of what they believe – had something of value to pass on. What we do with it after we have learned about it is entirely up to us, and personally, I would rather pass on a good view of our art to my students and those that follow us vs. a “back biting” attitude or one of discontent.

We all make our own choices, of course, but in that choice, we make known our inner selves.

So what do events like these really do over the “long haul”? They bring us together, which is still very new to a lot of people. And those that make these attempts – people like Dai Sifu Don Grose - should be commended for making the continuous effort of bridging the gap between the families and making us a whole unit vs. a “collection of parts.”

If there are schools in your area, go over for a visit. Introduce yourself and your students so that you can create a more close-knit bond with your fellow practitioners. Whether you agree or disagree with what they are doing, who cares? Does it really matter if they teach something different than you? Of course not. They have their views about things, you have yours. But that does not mean that there has to be animosity at any level.

I have met some practitioners here in Arizona that I did not entirely agree with, nor they with me. But we remain good friends in spite of that and even periodically train together. That only proves to everyone that with an open mind, willing to accept what someone else does because we share the common bond of being WC/VT/WT families, we CAN overcome these limits.

It simply takes time, and patience, and the willingness to want to do it. But it all has to start somewhere, and that is really what events such as the annual Gathering accomplish.

posted by AWCA @ 3/14/2006 06:24:00 AM

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Posted in Events/ Seminars, Lineage

 

Our Environment

19 Feb

Note: Originally posted to a previous weblog: May 8, 2006

When most of us train, it is usually against another Wing Chun/Ving Tsun/Wing Tsun practitioner. It makes sense, of course, because it is practical. At the same time, however, if we do not get exposure to anything outside of our normal training, what might we encounter?

Some will say that if you train with realism and dedicated persistence, you have no need to experiment with training against other styles. While I can understand the argument, I personally feel that it short-changes your skills if all you ever do is work against the same-style partners.

Over time with the same people, you learn their quirks, especially what they are strong and weak in. They will favor their strong points (particularly if they begin losing) and neglect their weak points. At that point, “tactics” will tell you to exploit their weaknesses vs. barrel into their most closely-defended structures.

Because of this, we can unknowingly create a false sense of security since we are never breaking out of what we are already familiar with and never pushing ourselves to grow in the realm of what really works in today’s world of fighting.

Because there is still somewhat an “air of superiority” in the Wing Chun world, sometimes a practitioner will think that just because they are “Wing Chun,” they will automatically win. 

And anyone with real fighting experience will tell you, this is not the case. The “art” has a lot to do with it, but there are many other factors that contribute to success or defeat.

We see it repeatedly, too, when someone who has trained for years gets pummeled by a simple haymaker coming out of left field, or some punk kid who threw a wild hook and dropped the “master.”

How is that possible? A lot of reasons, really. For starters, the art and method is only as good as the person training it. It can be the best thing since sliced bread, but it still has to be trained in order to work.

Additionally, environment and pure luck can be factors, also. We can never pick-and-choose when, where or how we are attacked, and some things are just simply out of our control. It may be a losing situation right from the start, and these are things we can never know until the hammer falls.

It is close to impossible for a practitioner to be at their very best 24×7, and everyone hits a low point. Illness, injuries, emotional states, etc., will all play a role in fighting, as well as experience both within and “outside” their chosen art.

When we take all of these factors into account, we can readily see that “fighting” is more than just simple actions. It can be easily argued that unless we push ourselves to the fullest with each session, and experience how other fighters will respond to our methods (and what we can do about it), we can rarely reach a point of excellence.

If you do the same thing over and over, you tend to get used to it. And if you get used to it, it is easy to get relaxed with training. Like the saying goes, “If all you do is what you’ve always done, then all you’ll get is what you’ve already got.”

Many Wing Chun practitioners wonder what they would do against a Muay Thai fighter, or a mixed martial artist, or a karateka, or a TKD fighter, or even a western boxer. Well, rather than “wonder about it,” I recommend finding a school that will work with you and then experience it for yourself. Not all schools will be open to that, of course, because many are very protective of what they do (especially when working with someone other than their own students).

But if you are lucky enough, they are out there.

Some of the best experiences I have had were working with the many schools around Phoenix, San Diego and Las Vegas. Some great folks out there, let me tell you, and very open to working with non-students. Provided that your attitude is in check? You would be amazed at how friendly and open a lot of folks are.

posted by AWCA @ 5/08/2006 09:50:00 AM

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Posted in MMA, Training - Reality

 
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