My Thought Process

My Personal Thoughts on Wing Chun

2009-06-29T23:37:00.003+08:00

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"

2009-04-12T00:46:00.005+08:00

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

2009-03-30T00:11:00.005+08:00

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?

2009-03-22T01:55:00.003+08:00

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

2009-03-07T21:56:00.008+08:00

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...

2009-02-28T01:34:00.002+08:00

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

2009-02-23T16:37:00.002+08:00

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.

The WOW thing about Chi Sao

2009-02-23T11:19:00.003+08:00

Wing Chun - Chi Sao.
The connection between Wing Chun and Chi Sao is no doubt inseparable. I'm not touching on Wing Chun but rather on Chi Sao in this post.

Initially before I started, Chi Sao was something so amazing to me and I was fascinated to see how people can actually blindfold themselves and successfully defeat his opponent in the practice. I have to admit that it was Bruce Lee who "introduced" Chi Sao to me and to see him take it to another level, it was just fascinating.

It was a few days back when I started hands on training on Chi Sao and it was quite difficult to position my hands at first but I managed to get the flow of it after a while. In simple words, the objective of this drill is to defend against an attack at a short range which I would say is very very useful.

Doing Chi Sao blindfolded is not something to be so amazed about. It is all REFLEX I would say. There is nothing so spectacular, it is just another way to train your reflex and when your partner hits you in a Chi Sao, you would try to avoid the hit. So the more you practise, the better your reflex gets.

To me, Chi Sao is great. It's a very very powerful tool in hand to hand combat especially in Chinese Kungfu. When you fight, it is not necessary to use the "tools" in Chi Sao but it is necessary to apply the reflex system you have trained so hard in Chi Sao.

It looks simple and it looks boring to just roll your hands with your partner back and forth and it certainly serves a great purpose and it's just the core of fighting.

In Addition to "copying" KungFu Moves

2009-01-24T14:31:00.001+08:00

I think I was wrong about "copying what they do" in my previous post titled "Something I Refer to as The Science of KungFu". I was wrong when I said something about understand how and why a movement is as such rather than to copy the moves that you see. Now that I think about it, it would be easier to learn by actually looking at what they do, copying, practise exactly what they do and then try to understand the "how" and "why".

So I guess I wasn't really doing the wrong thing after all =D
Well, GOOD LUCK in learning everyone.

Something I Refer to as The Science of KungFu

2009-01-24T01:27:00.000+08:00

It is not uncommon to learn a certain technique by copying. After being exposed to a particular technique, taking the One Inch Punch for example, I certainly did look up in youtube with the title "how to do a one inch punch". I also have a lot of kungfu tutorial videos which show many different techniques and their applications, I would watch and try to practise what they do. Well, that way I am actually not "learning" but only "copying" what they do.

The Science of Kungfu is to understand the science of movements, particularly how and why. Figure out yourself how the move is executed, why did I say yourself?
In kungfu, all movements are done by the human body. When you think of how a move is executed, you will eventually link a part of the body to the other. As movements are a form of bodily expression and as every individual is unique in their own ways, everybody expresses themselves in their respective ways and because every movement is a mechanism which is an assembly of moving parts of the body to perform a complete functional motion, it would be wiser to actually learn the mechanics of that particular movement and execute it in your own way.

Also, think of why a movement is as such. "WHY" has a lot of reasons. As of now, all I can think of would be:- A proper understanding of why the movement is as such will save you a lot of energy and time. If you have a very fancy technique, lets just say you are standing in front of your opponent then you spread your arms wide to do some eagle wing style and do some other fancy movements to finally strike his face, why don't you just throw a straight jab to his face from where you are to save time and energy? Fancy techniques really do look very cool and I myself love them very very much but in actual fighting, you are not fighting for the audience to see, you are fighting for your live!

Kungfu can be difficult or it can be easy, it depends on how you perceive it to be. It can be difficult because there are so many moves and techniques to learn and understand, it can be easy because every move comes from only 2 arms and 2 legs.. maybe some people use their heads too. It is true that there really are a lot of movements, in Chinese Kungfu itself there are hundreds and thousands of styles, but they all serve the same purpose, to attack and defend.

Kungfu.. Purpose?

2009-01-21T01:12:00.001+08:00

Sorry this post is supposed to be an earlier post before "Maturity...??" but I forgot.

Chinese Kungfu is the ancestor of all existing martial arts. Karate, Taekwondo and all the other originated from Chinese Kungfu. Perhaps some people may disagree with me but I think it's still alright though, you can have your own view but just to let you know, Bruce Lee agrees with me when I say Chinese Kungfu is the ancestor of all martial arts =)

In the beginning, Chinese kungfu came from Shaolin temple created by the monks to defend themselves and the temple. They used only what they had as their weapons like the broom.

So what I'm trying to say is that the purpose of kungfu is actually to defend yourself even if it means to kill. If you understand this, you know that the effectiveness of a particular move is when you are able to defend yourself in a PARTICULAR SITUATION. It's not the martial arts, it's the martial artist. There is no such thing as the best form of kungfu, only the best martial artist.

It is very common to hear "self defense for women." A lot of women would probably be interested and I was also once asked to teach self defense. To what I think, it is very difficult to teach a particular way of defense because when you teach that, you show how the attacker attacks and also how to defend. Criminals aren't called criminals for a reason, they are getting more creative and they can just attack you in many different ways and you can't expect it so how is it possible to teach a certain type of defense to suit only a certain type of situation?

When you panic, when you are nervous, how much can you remember? How much muscle memory do you have left to react? You don't have time to think and you're lost and you say that self defense school is no good.

Kungfu is kungfu, it is not a product but it is a process. (quoted from Bruce Lee)
You can't just learn a part of it, it has to come to your own senses when reflects are concern. It would be wiser for me to teach you how to fish than to give you a fish.

Maturity...??

2009-01-21T00:49:00.002+08:00

Dearest readers,

I would most probably say, a lot of people does not realise that maturity plays the MOST IMPORTANT role in martial arts. ------------------ I paused a while just now, I was thinking that maturity can also be linked to UNDERSTANDING.

Alright, for the sake of simplicity I'll just say MATURITY. I remember once there was this 12 year old asking me to teach him kungfu after watching some kungfu movies and well yea, I did try teaching him a little and then I said "I guess I can't be teaching you after all."

I was actually showing him siu lim tau, the first form in the wing chun system, and I was doing this fook sau..he watched Ip Man too.. (if you don't know what it is, it's just a movement which doesn't look at all like an attack or a defense to a non martial artist) and he said to me, "hey this is not even kungfu, what are you doing?" and I just stopped. You see, kungfu requires a high level of understanding and understanding comes from maturity. He told me he wanted to learn Chinese Kungfu so I taught him Chinese Kungfu according to the Chinese system and this system obviously starts from the very basic horse stance, switching to arrow and all the other stances. He failed to understand and wanted to be a Bruce Lee in the shortest time possible and I just told him that it's impossible.

Well if you are gonna tell me that Bruce Lee took the horse stance out of his program, yea I know that but it's not what I'm trying to stress.

Alright, sorry I've deviated so much from my "Maturity...??". I was once asked by a friend to teach him a punch but what he didn't realise was that he could learn to punch by himself. A punch is actually just a punch, you don't need a specific way or a specific method to execute one, and why bother remembering all those fancy names like maybe a super duper twister punch when the MOST important thing of a punch is to hit your target. Like Ip Man said, "da dou ma tuck lor" (my jyutping may be wrong) which means... "as long as you hit your target will do"

Don't think of kungfu as something so complex, trust me it's just "da dou ma tuck lor"..

Generally.., KungFu

2009-01-21T00:30:00.001+08:00

Well, if you know what kungfu really means, it's actually martial arts in Chinese. A lot of people, when spoken of kungfu, tend to think it as Chinese martial arts but have you ever come across the term " Chinese Kungfu" ?? and why "Chinese Kungfu"??

Does it make any sense now? Kungfu actually means martial arts :-)

A lot of people say it's better to start practising kungfu at a young age, perhaps as soon as you can walk but it just depends on what aspect you're looking at. If you have a kid and you want your kid to be a kungfu movie star, then it's an added advantage to start young because the younger you are, the more flexible you are and the more flexible you are, the more pain you can withstand and the more pain you can withstand, the faster you'll progress.

Flexibility does affect one's performance in a BIG manner but lets just say you practise kungfu solely for self defense or just as an exercise, what role does flexibility play?

Why did I say that one should start young to be a kungfu movie star? It's just an example though. When I said "movie star", it can mean a lot of things. You can be a good performer, a good actor.. anything. As the old saying goes "Effective kungfu don't look cool and cool kungfu aren't effective"

If you are a performer or actor, you have to look good then you have to be flexible so you can do all those fancy movements. On the other hand if your main aim is for self defence, why bother being flexible? If someone grabs you, holds you, chokes you, are you gonna swing your leg to the back of his head and knock him unconscious? If you say yes, I would say by the time you make such a big movement, you would have been dead by then.

There obviously are a lot of aspects in Kungfu which affects one's performance but I would stress on 2,
1..... Interest
2..... Maturity

Interest.. yea, quite common as you would hear. If you go to a school teaching a lot of different styles of Chinese kungfu you would probably be asked what kungfu would you like to learn or which school of style are you interested in. Well, that's primarily interest, I'm sure you'd be smart enough to understand this.

Maturity... Hmm hmm it's way too long to actually write it here. I don't want you, my reader, to give up reading it =)

I'll see you in the next post.

My KungFu Blog

2009-01-21T00:15:00.001+08:00

Hi guys, thank you for reading my first post.
I've been involved in martial arts or kungfu as how I like to call it, for almost 15 years now. Well initially I set up a martial art website but I dropped the idea after writing a few pages. I guess it's probably because I find it rather tedious to have to keep changing the info in it because my ideas change from time to time.

My Thought Process is solely based on my own views and ideas on kungfu which aren't scientifically proven and I hope that my readers would comment and share their knowledge with me because I can't always be right =)

I guess I would update my blog from time to time and everything will just be based on how I think without bothering to prove my thoughts scientifically, I would explain further why I say this, and I hope you will enjoy it~