My Personal Thoughts on Wing Chun

I was one of those who thought Wing Chun is meant for ladies only. I think it's just a common misperception like what people have on Emei because both styles originated from females. I haven't really seen the Emei style but I saw a lot of Wing Chun, other than its more feminine stances I think every technique and every strike is very deadly and straight to the point without any big movements.

Looking into its first system, Siu Lim Tao, it's actually quite simple to do but you have to understand the science behind the form to actually be able to fully utilize all the aspects of it in a combat. The moves are so direct and straightforward that you cant even see how you are being hit. With the centreline theory being applied, I think it very much makes sense why the system was designed for female. After researching into this system, I realise that with the centreline theory being applied into fighting, you don't necessarily require much movements and in a way save energy as well. With that in mind combined with the vital strikes, this is definitely a very effective form of short range combat.

Like most chinese kungfu systems, Wing Chun is designed to anticipate attacks and is not much of an assault tool. Because of this, it is quite difficult sometimes for an average Wing Chun man to control fights, worse if his opponent is a specialized in maintaining distances. Perhaps Wing Chun is more of a hit and run thing or maybe even a "last resort" kind of tool considering that it was created by a lady and ladies don't usually fight.

There are a lot of Bruce Lee theorists out there but not all are genuine except for those who were there when he founded JKD. I personally think Bruce Lee used Wing Chun as the base system because of its simplicity and directness in application. After learning the applications of Wing Chun, I can say that one has to be calm and learn to feel his opponent's movements to be able to fully take advantage of every movement in every Wing Chun form.

Commitment To "Those Few Moves"

To me, I would categorize fighting into
1. close range combat
2. long range fighting

I don't know how true is this but I think it was due to these 2 categories of fighting which has led to the creation of so many kungfu forms and styles. Looking into the art of taekwondo for instance, it's about 80% kicks and 20% punches. There isn't much about grappling or trapping, nothing much about ground fighting and wrestling either. TKD prepares one for long range combat and because one who practises TKD would be so used to its training system and becomes a long range fighter, he is handicapped. You can have a high degree of black belt and be so good in the art but IF you don't explore enough into the other arts, you are limiting yourself to only a small aspect of fighting.

In contrast, most Chinese kungfu styles were created for close range combat purposes. Very different from the movies, Chinese kungfu fights will usually not last long as all those moves are deadly strikes. Come to think about it, it is very unusual to have a continuous short range fight between 2 people. Taking into consideration the speed of hand strikes, I would say there is a 70% possibility of not being able to defend against hand strikes unless one is specially trained in this manner.

It is a very great disadvantage to be commited in a certain art. For example if you are too commited in TKD which utilizes kicks, you would start to panic when you are out of the kicking range and if your moves are jammed, you would be helpless. If 2 TKD people were to fight, there wouldn't be much of a problem.

I was shown some applications of short range combat moves and the "performer" was saying, "you only have to practise these few moves". I think he was wrong when he said that. You cannot just be good at short range combat with only "a few moves". Let's say you're in a fight and you wanna execute those limited moves but u never get the chance or you happen to miss, you will start to panic and when you start to panic, you would get so furious because you never get to do what you plan to do. You would be on the losing end.

It is very very normal to see some fascinating moves and be so excited over it but never think of those moves as "good" ones. There is no such thing, you have to go with the flow and react according to whatever situation you are in. You don't always get to control the fight, sometimes the fight just controls you.

Keep It As Simple As Possible

I was taught the applications of the kungfu forms I learned during training and it was really an eye opener to see how a simple move could actually be used in such a "big" way without much modification. I've to admit that the person who created that move and also the person who could interpret the move were really geniuses. But as I was watching and learning how to apply the form into real life combat, now my focus in this post is on REAL LIFE COMBAT so please continue reading with your mind set to real life combat, I was thinking a lot about the practical use of the applications.

Perhaps it's a little difficult for you to imagine what I'm talking about. Take a look at this video, you will understand better.



Assuming that at 0:18, the lady in black is throwing a punch with her left hand. Sifu has to deflect the punch using his right elbow and then turns his body way into her punching range, putting his left foot behind her left foot and finally brings his left arm to his back to put it in front of her belly to prepare for the throw. Notice that all these are done with his eyes taken OFF his target. He also makes a lot of explanation before going in for the throw. That means to execute such delicate move like this, one needs a very high level of expertise. I agree that this is absolutely a beautiful move and it has a very smooth flow. It is no doubt a useful move to take a person down but to put it into real life combat, how will an untrained mind be able to execute such a fine move? Also, you have to think that punches are also not thrown at a slow speed.

Now watch this second video I have found. (Only the first 8 seconds are important.)



I'm using this video as a simpler alternative to the throw in the previous video. See that the person on the left blocks the punch with a very simple block which everybody knows how to do and just moves in for the takedown WITH his eyes on his opponent. This is relatively easier if compared to the move in the previous video.

When you learn any form of application/self defense, it shouldn't be too fancy but just focus on its practicality. To me, every move is useful. I don't see any move as useless but it's just how well can you train your mind to execute the moves you want to learn. As for me, I still prefer to keep it as simple as possible.

The above videos are taken WITHOUT any discrimination to anybody or any martial art. It's just about giving an idea of what I mean by simplicity of movements.

What is Right and Wrong?

I was throwing some air punches one day and then there was one guy who was an experienced martial artist came to me and said, "You need a sandbag for that, punching in the air is practically useless." As much as I like to learn, I like taking advices and exchanging knowledge even more.

I said to him,
"Punching in the air serves its purpose too. As there is no target or a barrier which stops you at the end, you have to judge for yourself when to stop your arm from reaching too far out as that would damage your joints and you also develop a sense of control over the amount of strength you need to execute a punch. Punching in the air also allows you to develop your strength (which I don't really know how but I know it does)."

What he said to me was "No no, that isn't true. You cannot improve your strength doing air punches and you need a sandbag for that" and I can't remember what more he said because I wasn't paying much attention.

Well, he is partially right about the sandbag but sandbags don't have a meter which tells you the amount of strength you have put into a punch but you can hear from the sound it produces after the contact.
Sandbags help to harden your knuckles but don't provide training for speed.

If you think of doing forms for instance, you don't have a sandbag in front of you do you? So why are you still putting so much strength into your kicks and punches? Are you wasting strength just because you are doing a "form"?? No, you're definitely not!! What you're doing is you are TRAINING.

There is no such thing as RIGHT or WRONG when it comes to training because you have to find what is suitable for you. Initially, you will learn the proper form and style or the right method but when you know what you're doing you have to take it to your own way.

Back to Basics - Straight Punch

I remember saying a punch is just a punch and it doesn't have such thing as the right or wrong way of punching but after trying to "teach" a punch, I figured that I didn't put much thought into what I was saying when I said it.

Now that I've thought of it, I would say "a punch is just a punch and it doesn't have such thing as the right or wrong way of punching" is meant for those who already know how to execute a punch "properly".

"Properly" here means .. with strength, power, force but requires the most minimal effort. I know it doesn't make much sense to say it like this but if you're a martial artist and you've mastered a punch, you'll probably know what I'm saying.

When I taught someone to do a jab, I noticed a problem. I noticed that his punch is a little distorted and I tried explaining and showing him the "proper" way but he just couldn't get it straight. So I went back to the most basic punch form, the ever basic waist punch.. or whatever you wanna call it. For simplicity, I'll call it the traditional punch.



It may look a little silly to be punching like that but this is the easiest way to get someone to understand how to execute a straight punch. I thought about this for quite some time. I don't know why all these martial arts teach people to punch like that but my own theory would be:-

It looks good, at least I think it does, to put both your fists at your waist before punching and I think it's the best position to place your fists. It would be rather inappropriate to leave your fists hanging or hide them at the back or whatever other position you can think of.

As to why punches travel from the waist to the target, let's just assume the target is at the shoulder level, it saves time and there is more power and it's definitely easier and faster for a beginner to master a straight punch. I do understand that not everybody practises punching that way but if you start by doing the muay thai style,
it would more difficult for a beginner to learn to do a straight punch.

After you have mastered the straight punch the traditional way, it's easy for you to throw a straight jab right on target without any distortion. The reason a straight punch is IMPORTANT is that it travels the shortest distance and it's lighting fast. If you snap at the end of it, it can be a very devastating weapon.

I Stand to Kill...

The title may seem a little too serious but think about it, your reaction and your reflex is largely affected by the way you stand - your READY STANCE. Does this make any sense at all to you??

If you wanna minimize your fighting effort, standing on your two feet while getting ready to strike and defend is a serious research to do. You wouldn't know what I'm talking about until you get used to fighting. Just briefly, if you stand on one leg coz you think you can kick faster with your other leg lifted up, how about if someone pushes you? REMEMBER, if you fall you're as good as dead - NEVER EVER hit the ground.

For a start, perhaps you can try to follow this and see how things will work for you.

1. HEAD: Avoid blows by bobbing and weaving.

2. RIGHT SHOULDER: Slightly raised and chin slightly lowered to protect your
chin and part of your face on the lower right side.

3. RIGHT HAND: Heavily depended on for striking. It protects your face and your groin.

4. RIGHT ELBOW: Defends the midsection and the right side of the body.

5. RIGHT KNEE: Slightly turned inward to defend the groin area.

6. RIGHT FOOT: At a 25 to 30 degree angle and depended on heavily for kicking.

7. LEFT HAND: Heavily depended on for defense. It protects your face plus your groin.

8. LEFT FOREARM: Defends the midsection of the body.

9. LEFT ELBOW: Defends the left side of the body.

10. LEFT FOOT: At 45 to 50 degree angle and the heel is raised for greater mobility. It has to be ready to trigger your body forward like a coiled spring.

I took this from a website I found, I think it'll be useful for a start. The ready stance is not just a pose for photography purposes. When you are comfortable in your own stance, it becomes your vehicle and this vehicle is your ONLY medium of mobility. All your reactions and reflexes are merely follow ups and these follow ups depend greatly on the vehicle you're riding on.

I did try to follow Bruce Lee's stance but it's just not suitable for me. I have developed my own ready stance over the years but I don't have any photo to explain at the moment.
Please wait for the next post, Thank you.

The First Weapon I Learnt - Nunchaku 双截棍

In case you are wondering where this weapon came from, it is from China. Who ever said nunchaku is from Japan? Just because "nunchaku" sounds Japanese doesn't mean it came from there, after all Japan came from China too.

The word "nunchaku" actually came from the Min Nan dialect nng-chiat-kun which means two poles. It was traditionally used to thresh rice and soybeans that is to separate the grains from the husk. Which farmer would actually thought that this would be such a deadly weapon?

There has been quite some research done on nunchaku and the effectiveness of it. Discovery Channel said that this isn't a good weapon because of its momentum or something like that but I would strongly oppose to what has been said by them. This is probably because Discovery Channel got a martial artist to show them the usage of this weapon and then tried to study it from the physics point of view. The truth is not everything can be explained with science. I suppose the problem is that these people who conducted the study did not know how to use weapons at all or had no martial arts background. If I give you a gun and you hit it off target, it only means you don't know how to use it, are you gonna say that a gun is nothing but useless?

Taking a fierce weapon for instance, the Sabre, 刀. Do you believe that your spirit lives in your own personal sabre? It has a kind of "killing energy" that lives in it.

That means if you know how to use the weapon, it is a good weapon. It's is YOUR weapon. Don't go around searching for what weapon is good and what is useless, there is no such thing. All you need is patience and training, lots and lots of training. A nunchaku is a very simple weapon but is lethal. A simple strike can rob a person of his live so should you need to use it, use a foam one. I have hit myself with my metal nunchaku so many times that I have lost count. Most importantly, respect and honor your weapon. It is part of you and your energy lives in it. Put it at a right place, disrespect it and you will lose all your energy and trust me, you will actually feel that your weapon has turn it's back against you.

Here's a very good nunchaku video I found.