Beware of patterns that do not translate well to other patterns or other conditions.
Hi Guys, as we go into this “Hard Lockdown” we will all have plenty of time, let me know of anything you would like to work on and I will knockout a video, I have time as well, right now this is just to keep us all in the loop, nothing new just a recap on STANCES.
Areas to think in…
Movement.
The number one function of our brain is to control our movement, we know that not only is there a brain-body connection but also a body-brain connection that using our body in different ways stimulates neurogenesis, stimulates neuroplasticity is stimulates Brain-Derived Nootropic Factors which is the fertiliser for making new connections [synaps?] so we have to move.
Observe the movement taking shape. Become curious about what is happening. Be kind to yourself.
Frugality matters, reduce complex problems down to their simplest elements, even the most complicated relationships and problems have identifiable underlying patterns.
Beware of patterns that do not translate well to other patterns or other conditions.
They will create cross pattern interference that our Brain has to somehow resolve
Understanding the work.
What is true interpreting energy?
If your vision and hearing have no basis, it is difficult to achieve accuracy.
When your vision takes in far and near, left and right; when your hearing takes in rising and falling, slow and fast; when your understanding of movement encompasses evading, returning, provoking, and completing; and when your sense of action embraces turning, exchanging, advancing, and retreating, then this is true interpreting.
We must internalise and focus on the core concepts of the art.
Never forget that all styles are created to deal with certain real yet local problems,
as our problems change so does the art need to, it is evolution.
It is vital to understand the environment that our practice will need to perform in.
BODYWORK AND INTENTION
The difference between bodywork and intention is that although the movement is the same they are fundamentally the opposite of each other.
Bodywork tends to focus on the process, the “HOW”.
Whereas Intention focuses on the product, the “WHY”.
A lot of people that struggle to make the transition from Form to Function do so because they tend towards thinking that Process and Product,Form and Function are the same things because they share the same movement, this is understandable and happily also avoidable.
STAY HEALTHY EVERYONE.
Learn the form, but seek the formless. Learn it all, then forget it all. Learn The Way, then find your own way.
Any finish to movement should be brought about by contact with the target.
Hey guys, who would of thunk it, another 2 weeks at least, I will post at least once week through the Lockdown to try to keep the juices flowing.
This is just a bit of general stuff but I am awaiting the delivery of my Rubber Mallets from Bunnings hopefully they will work out for use as a Clubbell substitute.
Just to clarify something, when I talk about some Biu Gee movements that extend out of the Goldilocks Zone it is that they are allowed free passage of movement to end range, but they make contact inside the Goldilocks Zone, for any movement to stop at a certain place it would need to slow down first, not what we want.
Any finish to movement should be brought about by contact with the target.
Once we miss a planned session not only do we disappoint ourselves emotionally but we increase the chances of missing more.
It looks like we could be in lockdown for a few more weeks, fifty {50} new community transmissions overnight, things look grim, so we need to be sure that we keep our spirits up and we can help this by keeping up some level of training.
There is plenty of things we can do solo, good things that can improve what we do and what we know, the danger to our solo training is boredom and procrastination.
DEFEATING PROCRASTINATION.
Set aside a few slots of time to train and stick to it, do not be over ambitious and think that you will train for an hour each day, that is a recipe for failure.
Once we miss a planned session not only do we disappoint ourselves emotionally but we increase the chances of missing more.
Allow yourself 30 minutes 3-4 days a week, if you are in the groove, enjoying what you are doing you can extend the session to be as long as you can keep focus. If you are into it.
When we consider the different ways we can approach the work it is easy to find something different to do every day, even if it is only 10 minutes a session.
DEFEATING BOREDOM.
Create a mini-program that works on completely different things each session.
Awareness/stillness exercises.
Awareness/movement exercises.
Band work.
Pole work.
Form/structure work.
Mix and match sessions.
If you begin every session with 10 minutes of standing awareness, especially if you are doing this outdoors early in the morning the benefits to your mood and overall well being will be enormous.
Set aside time for some related research, thinking, contemplating is a big part of all Martial Arts.
Try not to get stuck just surfing the net.
Make a list of different categories of interest and tag them to the active sessions.
Youtube can be a great training partner.
Resources we should assemble are sites that provide good information on
I do not recommend visiting other Wing Chun Schools sites, we all do things differently to a certain degree and there is a real chance of seeding confusion, but visiting other styles can oddly enough help us see what our style does.
Watching other styles gives a good view of how other people may use their body.
WARRIOR SPIRIT.
Ultimately this is central to what we do, it is a huge field that we all address differently, just google it and find something that resonates.
Do not underestimate the training benefit of research, before we can do anything with our body we need to engage our head.
Knowledge is power.
Learn everything you can, become as powerful as you can be.
If you guys have any questions on any aspect of Martial Arts / Self Protection hit me up on the Whatsapp group or email me if you want to keep it private.
All I can tell you is that it is not a physical thing, it is not a secret technique that I have been perfecting for the last 40 years in anticipation of this day.
There is a great quote that I have always attributed to Helio Gracie, founder of the Gracie Ju-Jitsu clan that goes…
“Learn to fight like an old man because one day you will be”…
… but in trying to verify it I cannot find any reference at all on the Internet.
Perhaps I dreamt it, still a great quote.
Well, today, JULY 8TH, is my 68th birthday.
That day is this day.
So what does it mean, to fight like an ‘old man’?
I first heard {or dreamt} this quote when I was around 30, and like all young men that wake up one day to discover that they are 30, I was feeling old.
At that time, my thinking was the quote counselled that technique was superior to force, that patience was a better strategy than haste, that being first was far more useful than being fast.
I still hold with and teach all of these IDEAS, but at 30, I was not an ‘old man’, surely this could not be it.
Perhaps the answer lies in seeing what I am doing today that I did not do when I was younger?
I am slower, for sure.
Everything is done with less intensity, no surprise there.
Otherwise, everything is as it has always been.
What is it?
All I can tell you is that it is not a physical thing, it is not a secret technique that I have been perfecting for the last 40 years in anticipation of this day.
It is an attitude.
If I found myself in a bad situation my first choice would be to not fight at all, that is a complete no brainer, and to be honest, not an option I would have considered when I was 30.
Could this be it?
If it is not my choice, keeping in mind that this thing we do, Wing Chun, is a ‘counter-attacking martial art, I would be responding and not reacting, all the same I would want to end it instantly.
Anyone I will be in conflict with will be younger, fitter, stronger to choose any other option would be suicide.
So perhaps this is how to fight like an ‘old man’…
On the first strike, unload everything.
Looking at this, yes, this fits the quote, maybe.
The thing is I have always done this and think it is great advice for everyone because we never know who the ‘Bad Guy’ is or what he knows.
Still looking backwards the first fighting advice I ever received was from my Grandfather, Jack Finn.
Jack was a genuine ‘old man’ as all Grandfathers are, he was not a martial artist but had served and seen action in two world wars, he knew what a fight was.
He told me when I was about 7…
“it is the height of bad manners to hit a man that is looking at you”
…this makes even more sense than my idea of going in first and going in hard, clever ‘old bastard’.
Is it even something that we do?
Wing Chun is a counter-attacking martial art so in the end we will only be able to work with what the ‘Bad Guy’ gives us.
My feeling today, as an official ‘old man’, is that the real understanding of ‘fighting like an old man’ is to simply never stop training, even once you are an old man.
“ Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.
How we train and what we train is not Wing Chun. Wing Chun is just a tin of tomatoes.
Lockdown.
The most valuable thing we can do at this time is to spend some time sorting out what it is we think we are doing.
What it is we want to do.
And find a way to get there.
Going into this post there are three things that I want you to take away from it for future reference.
They are more what the recently departed Edward de Bono would call a ‘provocation’ than information.
First off: In 47 B.C.E. Gaius Julius Ceasar, after a swift victory against Pharnaces II at the Battle of Zela, reported to the Roman Senate the words Veni; Vedi; Vici. I came, I saw, I conquered. Considering that he was ‘greatly’ outnumbered he would have been more accurate to say Veni; Vidi; et bonam fortunam, I came, I saw, I got lucky.
Secondly: The great S.African golfer Gary Player once hit a seemingly impossible shot from a deep bunker straight into the hole, as he walked out of the bunker, a spectator shouted, ‘That was a lucky shot, Gary’. Player turned to the fan and said ‘It sure was and you know what? The more I practise the luckier I get.
Finally: A poem I heard from Spike Milligan. My Brother Tim had a tomato thrown at him, while tomatoes are soft and wrapped in a skin, this one was especially packed in a tin.
How we train and what we train is not Wing Chun. Wing Chun is just a tin of tomatoes.
Hopefully, this will all make sense in the end.
Back in the day, 15 or 20 years ago,I asked my teacher…
‘what is needed to become a Wing Chun Master’?
He said ‘there are no shortcuts or secrets, just turn up to training and pay attention”
Very wise words that have since proven true.
Then he winked, handed me a tin of tomatoes and said ‘don’t leave home without it’.
HOKKA HEY.
Something to consider.
If we find ourselves in a violent situation either we did not see it coming,
if we had we would have surely avoided it completely,
But if you have been there done that my advice is to work on your overall conditioning, below are a couple of good places to start..
And for pure entertainment here is a video about Cassius Clay and Sunny Liston, I remember all of this so well, what a circus, what a fight.
Hopefully I will see you all soon.
If you are not on the clubs Whatsapp group hit me up.
“Every day, the antelope wakes knowing it must run faster than the fastest lion to survive. Every day, the lion wakes knowing it must run faster than the slowest antelope to survive.”
There is a Wing Chun Maxim that states ‘every step is a kick and every kick is a step’. Add to this that we all know that our kicks [sic] are ‘no shadow’ kicks.
In the last post I omitted some important information, I have shared it before, many times although usually when talking about stances but in truth it is Chum Kiu information.
The fundamental knowledge of our kicking is in Chum Kiu, or rather the fundamental knowledge of our Jamming is in Chum Kiu.
Wing Chun very rarely kicks in the way that most other Martial Arts think of kicking.
After all we are a ‘Counter Attacking, Close Quarter Fighting System”.
Kicking is long distance and always concerned with ‘balls out attacking’.
It is easy to lose this fundamental truth when training to kick pads that someone that would prefer not to get hurt is holding for us and as such does not try to get a piece of us, and even if it is not deliberate tries to be out of range.
What we do is ‘JAM’ our opponents kick with our foot or ‘JAM’ our opponents body movement with our shin, knee or foot.
This is what a ‘Counter Attack’ does.
Our opponent feels as if we kicked them, it is just that they supplied the grunt.
There is a Wing Chun Maxim that states ‘every step is a kick and every kick is a step’.
Add to this that we all know that our kicks [sic] are ‘no shadow’ kicks.
No shadow = no back lift.
No backlift = no overt movement.
No overt movement = no attack.
No attack = no kicking.
No Shadow Kicking, non telegraphed movement is at the heart of our “Fist Logic” that states Wing Chun does not fight.
Wing Chun becomes a great deal easier to understand and operate when we truly understand what “Counter Attacking” means.
It does not mean simultaneous Attack and Defence.
It means firstly stopping the attacker, and then becoming the attacker.
I really do understand that this can cause moral issues with people.
Get over it or get done over.
Develop your own version of Trunk Monkey.
TOO MUCH CAFFEINE . LOL.
The first commercial is the Trunk Monkey we need to become.
Richard asked if I could put a post up to cover as much of Chum Kiu as I could, I am pretty sure it will be of use to a few of you.
First off, when listening to anyone about any Form from any style stay aware of the fact that a Form is nothing more than a structural framework that allows the concepts to be laid out in a way that makes sense to the right person at the right time.
In due course we will all interpret the information [any Form] in a way that fits the way we think and compliments the way we move.
Remain mentally flexible.
Let’s get to it.
What is the best way to approach Chum Kiu?
We can approach Chum Kiu in as many ways as we can think up, it can be super simple such as “How many new moves are the in Chum Kiu that I need to understand”?
The answer to this is just 2?!
Pivoting and Shifting.
Or we can dig deep into every nuanced interpretation and now there are millions of ways.
The best is, as with everything, start small and grow, from the super simple to the insanely complex.
It is your journey and your choice.
CHUM KIU- A CLOSER BRIDGE.
There are some personal picks from the archive below that will help your journey and save you making a detour into the past posts department.
FROM THE ARCHIVE.
Here are some earlier posts that will help with the work and the training of the aspects we explore with Chum Kiu.
I recommend reading the text to the posts as it sometimes adds clarity to the context of the video, but if you are stuck for time, as we all are, just watch the vids.
Do you know your weaknesses, more importantly, do you know how to avoid them?
There is something that we should never forget, and that is…
why we are training?
We are learning to defend ourselves against a persons or persons that intends us serious physical harm.
Despite that training is fun and enjoyable, as I think it should be…
We are not playing.
We are not learning to dance.
Question? Do you know your weaknesses, and more importantly, do you know how to avoid them?
How can we plan for something that we do not even know is going to happen?
Let’s start with the worse thing we can think of, it will be different for all of us but be honest to yourself, there is no need for anyone else to know, we all have one darker fear and if we are ever slipping towards it, we will panic big time if we have not at least played it out in our minds a few times.
My favourite military maxim that should always be considered is …. ‘no battle plan survives contact with the enemy’.
This is not about being real, it is about being semi-prepared, engage your imagination, if in doubt about what would happen in a real situation pick the worst option you can think of.
I will use my worst fear as an example, but it is just the thought process that is important, develop, ask and answer your own questions.
My biggest worry is that I am on the floor!!!
Question #1. How did I get here?
Did the Bad Guy knock me down? Did he catch a kick I attempted and threw me? Did I trip over my own feet?
Most fights that end up on the floor are there because people fall over much more than someone does Ju-Jitsu.
Whatever caused this problem becomes an area for involvement in our training, develop a style that kicks less, stays out of reach of your partner, and develops a better, more well-balanced movement.
Question #2. Could I have prevented this?
If it was something the Bad Guy did what happened that allowed him to be in a position to do that?
Was it his skill and speed or was it a case of me being inattentive or late to respond?
Either way, this problem was caused by not being in control of my personal space and something I can take into training is the question “what does it mean to control my personal space”?
As a training exercise in Chi Sau get a friend to continuously press you and work on maintaining the same shape, position and distance from them at all times.
Ask yourself can I control my personal space by standing in one spot while my attacker is mobile, there is no correct or incorrect answer here, just a specific personal idea that we can train to be more natural.
Question #3. Was he fast or was I slow?
We can always work on our speed, especially the speed we think, our body only ever works at the speed of our thoughts, to a very large extent being quick is about having fewer choices to deliberate on.
Do not waste valuable mental processing time on trying to develop or use ‘Mind Force’, be deliberate and only think about things you can do that will actively help.
If we do not know how to transition from one situation or one position to another we will be stuck in both time and space and an easy target.
Again as a Chi Sau drill work on changing shapes, stances, and positions in space.
Create a drill in Chi Sau where one partner applies a strong forward drive, and the other partner tries to find a way to get behind the aggressor, do not be nice to each other, make it a win / lose game.
In training we usually tend to just do as we are told, often there is no genuine connection to what we as students think may happen, or what we may need, and very rarely is there any student input to reflect a personal worry or experience.
As Instructors we should encourage this type of engagement, as students, we should force ourselves to ask questions, even when we think they may be stupid.
Nearly everything we do in Wing Chun falls under the umbrella of simultaneous attack and defence, in so many street situations this is a practical impossibility. The IDEA is sound, but how close can we get to it?
In street situations the attacker has no time to try to find the best shot, there is no feinting, no dodging and weaving patiently seeking a better position, it is just a flurry of whatever and it is instantly in our face.
Most street violence that Wing Chun would engage with, the average mugging, for instance, is over in less time than it takes to read this sentence.
I am serious, if we lose control of the first 4 or 5 seconds it is ‘lights out and go home’.
If we do not see it coming we are not going to stop it from happening, this is an alarming thought, but it is what it is.
There is a saying in the Boxing World, “it is the punch you do not see that knocks you out”!
Question #4. Why was I unprepared?
No one can teach functional situational awareness because the situation changes from day to day and place to place, because of this most situations we find ourselves in will appear to be almost out of nowhere.
Unpreparedness is our default position, get used to it, train it.
If our regular training does not include ways to regain a good position from a bad position then the prognosis will be terminal, do not fall for the fantasy that Biu Gee teaches emergency techniques, find a way to make space and regain balance.
Question #5. How did this situation arise?
The only way to avoid potential problems is to see them as they evolve, and leave before conception.
Most people that fail in a violent situation do not fail because of a lack of skill or ability, it is usually a lack of trust, or a lack of confidence all made more destructive by the shock inherent in being attacked.
There are hundreds if not thousands of violently effective people who have no training at all in our world, but they are courageous to the level of foolhardiness, they will walk into our fists, we have a huge advantage if we can only bring it to the fore.
Think.
Plan ahead.
Survive.
This is what all training should be. Any other approach is leading to the wrong choice at the wrong time.
Wing Chun Sydney, Australia 