AWCA Notebook

Wing Chun focuses on borrowing the force of our opponent, which requires that we give way to that force.  This “giving” can be in the form of side-stepping, as well as stepping backwards in response to heavy-hitting opponents (and we have no where else to go).

However, side-stepping is not always the most advantageous. Standing our ground and driving directly forward can be the simpler path, which makes it the most efficient. Chi-sau is the vehicle for guiding us through the opponent’s actions, but it is also the primary factor of telling us how to approach it in the first place.

For example, Chi-sau teaches us to use the opponent’s actions back against him. If he hooks, Fook-sau can halt or re-direct it, but it is also telling us if his momentum is coming forward. If so, we may need to step out of the path so that we do not collide with it. And if his momentum is not coming forward, e.g. his body is not coming forward, then the angle of his hook punch is different. Instead of the entire arm coming forward, some of that trajectory is coming from the outside in (across our center) and that means we can either drive in to shorten the distance or stay put. Staying put, we let the hook pass and then follow in as it goes by.

Where “standing your ground” comes into play is that many times, a practitioner will get so caught up in “giving way” to the opponent that they find themselves moving all over the place. So where is the common ground? How do we know when to keep driving forward and when to step to the side or backwards?

That is something I will let you ponder for a while. I have a few ideas about it but I would rather wait for a bit and give you time to think. In a couple days, come back and we will see where it leads us.

I receive a lot of emails through the month covering a wide variety of issues, but some of the more common involve fitness and Wing Chun training, specifically how to train.

“How” to train might sound a bit generic, but I mean it in the terms of “what is the approach to use for personal training?“

Whether you train at a school or by yourself, home training is extremely important. How we approach home training, however, is sometimes seen as boring or non-effective for a lot of people. For me personally? I never get bored because it is my private time to analyze the things that I have questions about. I get to work at my own pace, too, vs. the clock on the wall during class.

My personal approach goes something like this, and for this example, I will use an entering drill to focus on and how I would approach training it during home training.

First, I will set up my camcorder so that I can move it to various locations. I do this so that later, I can see for myself what, if any, mistakes are being made. You can watch someone’s performance and point out obvious errors, but naturally it is a bit tough if you are by yourself. Having a camcorder allows you to review your own performance and make adjustments along the way. And once it is set up, off I go.

I approach every drill in the same fashion:

1. Understand the concept being trained
2. Working the movement(s) until they are fast and fluid, and
3. Applying those movements to the wooden dummy (if appropriate). When you work a drill, sometimes your original perception of a concept will change, which in turn can change your drill and how it is applied to the dummy.

For entering, I know that I have to get to my opponent fast and hard. That means my footwork has to be explosive but also move me forward without bouncing my body (which gives my opponent an indication as to what I am doing).

So, I will start with basic stepping for about 5 minutes and then increase the speed until it is where I want it to be. Generally I will include a light punch or even stay in Man-sau, but the focus right now is on the feet.

I will review this performance quickly on the camcorder to ensure that it is what I want it to be. If it is, I will move on. If it is not, I stay very patient and work on what I saw that needs fixing. If I do not take the time to fix it, the only one it is hurting is me, and if I need to use it someday, I will I had spent the time to train it right the first time.

Next I will work punching into the explosion steps which will coordinate the movements and learn to counter any “off-balanced” actions that might be happening. You can do one thing really well, but adding another element can throw it off. Taking it step-by-step limits the bad habits and helps increase learning at a rapid rate.

Again, I will do a quick review of the camcorder and make sure everything is ok.

After this is competent, I would then apply this same movement to a wall bag so that I can learn to overcome the rebound. It also gives me a target, as well as helping me to visualize where my opponent is at.

At this point I am still focusing on entering and exploding into the opponent, but I am also getting in some punch training, as well as strengthening the foundation to hold me in place when I meet a wall that is not going anywhere. So at this point, my focus is still on the drill at hand, but other variables are also being learned.

Another review of the camcorder to make sure things are ok, and then it is either repeating this on the dummy or spending some time updating my notes with “what’s what:”

• How did I do?
• What was confusing at first?
• What took time to train in order to understand it?
• Did I go into the drill with one view but finish with something completely different?
• Did I encounter something I was not expecting? If so, what was it, and why possibly did I not originally see it the first time?

These are just a few of the things you need to analyze in order to really understand what you are doing. Anyone can mimic a physical movement, and over time, be quite good at performing that movement. But mimicry can only go so far, and I am not willing to gamble my safety on that. Instead, I want to really understand what it is that I am doing, because if I don’t, then at least as I see it.

If you approach your personal home training in a similar fashion as above, you will be suprised at how wonderous and exciting Wing Chun can be. Home training most certainly does not have to boring, and it isn’t… provided that you actually DO IT.