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Where's Pronias gone?
Just back from a weekend at a caravan park, a present from the inlaws, I feel like I've left a little bit of my soul and my dignity behind.
Anyway back ontopic Wing Chun. The basic principles I have been taught are pretty much what pegs has outline:
1.Stay with what comes
2.Follow as it retreats
3.Strike when the hand is free.
This when put into practice means for me:
Utilising the centreline line as the main line of attack. The reasoning is that most things worth hitting are on the centreline of the body, although many people like to draw it around the abdomen area as there is not much point in hitting someones' six pack when there are far better bits at either side.
The three principles, from what I understand, are only to be used if you do not land the hit. If I try a straight punch to the face and encounter another limb along the way the idea is to feel the direction & energy of the limb then find the easiest way to move it out of the path between my fist and the opponents face. I would not conciously throw an attack or defence, I would throw my hand towards the target - if it hits it becomes an attack if it meets an obstacle it becomes a block.
Most of the videos around are of people doing chi sau(sticky hands) a training drill somewhat similar to Tai Chi's pushing hands but with more emphasis on speed and straight lines of attack. It is fantastic for training sensitivity. The main area used for sensitivity is the wrists - perhaps explaining my reluctance to were watches, wrisrbands of any bulky clothing. Using the wrists to feel enery, direction and tension allows me to make lighning fast decisions about wether to move, move with or move around a limb.
Disco mentions that it looks like wing chun does not really use the whole body, I'd have to agree but of course looks ain't everything. Wing Chuns' body mechanics are rather clinical and to the point. I realise I may be going over what is well known to many who do martial arts but here goes:
When moving, hitting, blocking or pulling wing chun favours speed and postioning. The punch should land whilst the wrist is moving upwards, the elbow joint straightening, the shoulder moving forwards, the hip rotating and the knees and ankles moving in way I can't quite descibe this means that the actual speed of the hand at impact is pretty fast and if it has a decent structuce behind it the opponent should feel like they've been hit by a fast move section of floor, or almost hit the floor with a whiplash effect if you're pulling. Orchastrating all this at the same time and using wing chuns minimum effort philosophy means it looks like we carry out very little movement at all.
If you want to be thrown on the floor stick with Aikido. If you like the idea of taking everything to it's conclusion any reasonably skilled wing chun instructor should be able to slap you repeatedly - it really is amazing how much 10 or 12 slaps to the same area of the face can improve your technique, although you'll probably require a few slaps to the other side of the face to retune the balance. Chi Sau is also very good at simulating various aspects of fighting at very high speed in reasonable safety, most clubs I know punch to the chest or use light slaps to the face.
The simplicity is also evident in the fact that there are only three hand forms:
1. Sil lim Tao. Done standing still moving only the arms. The fist third of this form is considered one of the most useful parts of any form in any martial art and will be taught in the first few lessons, well worth it. This form contains pretty much everything needed for one on one combat.
2. Chum Kui. Teaches foot work and how to use the body to generate power, as opposed to just a solid platform for punching from. Developed, I think, with more than one opponent in mind.
3. Biu Jee. Flee to this form if you fuck up. Much secrecy and hidden meaning surrounds this form, it was traditionaly only taught to the top students. As far as practice goes I only know this form on a fairly surface level, It helps me generate power..
There is also a wooden dummy form, probably only worth it if you have very regular access to a dummy. Butterfly knives and the six and half point pole, as there are only six and a half moves. Much of the weapon forms can be used empty handed and give another angle on the fighing. I appreciated doing a little of the knives and pole as I'd feel a little more comfortable picking up a makeshift weapon if the need arose and most importantly there's nothing like playing with an eight foot pole at sunrise/sunset.
Chain punches seem to one of the main selling points of wing chun, you certainly see people who've had two lessons come back after six months as chain punches saved their lives. I never seen them as much more than an emergency measure. If you've punched someone three times in a row at high speed and you have to keep puching you need to be remedying your rather shit punching ability.
I will now cease my monologue.
Good luck with whatever you choose Disco.
Last, but not least, I'd go with whatever art had an instructor I felt more inclined to train under. |
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