Sunday, May 1, 2016
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Wing Chun Blog - Sifu Garry in China
WING
CHUN BLOG – SIFU GARRY
Next
Trip to China
I am finally over last November's
China Trip which took the Jee
Shin Wing Chun group to Singapore, Taiwan, Fujian Southern China, Shanghai
and Beijing.
In Singapore we visited Sifu Joel Lee,
In Taiwan we visited Grand Master Lo Man Kam.
In Fujian we visited the Southern
Shaolin Temple.
Shanghai and Beijing were
complimentary places to visit while in transit.
Beijing and Shanghai have extremely significant
historical virtues, so it was a must to visit them as well.
Some amazing memories!
Linda and I have already made
reservations to travel to Guilin in the Gaungxi Province in October, which is
west of Guangzhou in Southern China.
Guilin is supposed to be the most
beautiful place in China. Artist from around the World flock there for its
photographic beauty and splendour.
Linda and I will spend 4 days there
and then 4 days in Hong Kong and staying at the Shangri la Hotels in both
places.
ROOTS
OF WING CHUN
CHINA
TRIP 2018
Jee Shin Wing Chun Association will be
preparing their next roots of wing chun china trip, shortly.
We will be spending the majority of
time in southern China around the Guangdong Province, visiting Gulao Village,
Foshan, Shunde, Panyu District, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and maybe the Northern
Shaolin Temple.
During our trip we visit some
historical places related to wing chun kung fu. There is always time for
shopping and tourism.
More details regarding this trip will
be posted soon.
Monday, November 23, 2015
WING CHUN BLOG 6th ROOTS OF WING CHUN TOUR
WING
CHUN BLOG
SIFU
GARRY’S MEETING WING CHUN MASTERS OUTSIDE OF CHINA
It was extremely exciting getting
ready for my 6th “Roots of Wing Chun” Tour. This tour would
concentrate on Wing Chun outside of China, namely Singapore
and Taiwan. Also, I wanted to visit the Southern Shaolin Temple, having already
visited the Northern Shaolin Temple in 2012.
The Southern Shaolin Temple, according
to Experts today, state that Wing Chun’s origins comes from there.
I do not believe this story. If there
is any truth about wing chun originating from the southern temple, then I
firmly believe there were two factions. One from the northern temple and one
from the southern temple. Grandmaster Lo Man Kam from Taipei, whom is Yip Man’s
Nephew believes Wing Chun’s roots come from the Northern Temple. More about
that in a later blog.
Our first stop was Singapore. Wow,
what a hot and humid City! I am very fortunate to live in Melbourne’s Climate.
Sifu
Joel Lee’s lineage
stems from Leung Ting whom taught Tam Hun Fan. This lineage is very interesting
as it was taught to Leung Ting during Yip Man’s final years alive in Hong Kong.
Sifu Lee style of wing chun produced
different forms to my system. They also had different stances. Jee Shin Wing
Chun has 50/50 stances where Sifu Lee’s students assumed a 60/40 stance with
more weight on the back leg.
My Lineage being Traditional Wing Chun
has its roots with Leung Bik / Yip Man.
My wing chun system has different
forms, footwork and science, so it is fascinating to research other expressions
of wing chun kung fu.
Grandmaster Lo Man Kam also indicated
that his Uncle Yip Man did train under Leung Bik. He stated that Yip Man had 3
teachers but only one Sifu, being Chan Wah Shun. The other 2 teachers were
Leung Bik and Ng Chung So.
Wing Chun is classified as Soft, Soft
and Hard and Hard. Traditional wing chun is Soft and Hard.
It appears that Leung Tings expression
of wing chun is Soft. Soft doesn’t indicate weakness. “Soft in training but
very powerful in application”.
Our next stop is Taipei, the Capital
of Taiwan. Taiwan always had an intrigue for me due to its history with Chiang
Kai Chek being driven out of China by Mao Ze Dong, in the late 1940’s.
Lo Man Kam trained with his Uncle Yip
Man in Hong Kong after the Communists took control of China in 1949.
Lo Man Kam moved to Taiwan in the
60’s.
It was very hot and humid arriving at
Lo Man Kam’s school in Taipei. His apartment is on the 4th floor and
his school is on the rooftop of the Building.
Grandmaster Lo Man Kam was extremely
friendly and hospitable. He shared his knowledge on wing chun. He gave me one
of his books on wing chun and I was very privileged to touch hands with him and
do Chi Sao.
There style of wing chun training is
also relatively Soft.
I did a lot of rolling arms with the
various students training there. We were fortunate to also meet some students
from Hungary, whom were staying there and training for a couple of months.
There stances appear to be 50/50 but
there lead leg is turned in quite far towards the centre.
I am a firm believer of a natural
50/50 weight distribution, stepping toe first as not to be over committed which
will have a major impact on speed and of course interrupt ability.
After we left Taiwan, we stayed in
Fuzhou, preparing to travel to Putian to visit the Shaolin Temple.
I am slowly posting photos on my facebook wall. Please feel free to go there
and make a comment or just have a look.
Stay tuned to my next post on the
Southern Shaolin Temple.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Wing Chun Blog - Guarding Arm
Wing
Chun Blog – Sifu Garry
Wing Chun Guard
(Wu
Sao)
Different
lineages of wing chun generally demonstrate different arm positions for their
guard.
Why,
should there be so much disagreement with a simple arm position.
A
protective guard is hardly used in a real combat situation.
Try
it out!
Someone
shoulder butts you as you walk past. You turn and he pushes you back with a
single arm push. As you step with his force, he throws a punch which you block.
You are not aggressive so you decide to be defensive. He throws several more
punches and you block them easily. On the third punch you block and counter
with several punches and a takedown.
Where
was the guarding hand? It wasn’t used at all! In a real street situation, if
somebody harasses you the last thing you should do is put up you guard.
This
will tell your opponent all there is to know about you and how you fight.
(art
of war) “to defeat your enemy, you must know everything about him”
If
my attacker faces me with a guard, I will know if he is a boxer, muaythai
fighter, karatedo, kick boxer, etc. This is actually what I want, but I don’t want
to give him information about me.
A
fighting guard is conceptual in wing chun kung fu.
If
you opponent is a huge guy, your guard will be higher to protect you head and
brain. If your opponent is smaller than you, you can afford to lower you guard.
So,
you see, a wing chun guard should be very adaptable.
The
wing chun guard does have a deficiency, though, as do all guards.
In
wing chun kung fu, the Guard protects our Centreline. Therefore, our flanks can
be open to attack.
Another
example:
A
person walks up to you and accuses you of chatting up his Girl. He throws 3
punches at you. You step back and block each one with Bill Sao and then finish
off with 3 wing chun punches.
Where
was the Guard?
As
you can see, a guard is hardly used in a real situation.
In
Competition, guards are used all the time.
If
several perpetrators are attacking you simultaneously, you will use both arms
to protect your head, but this is not a formal martial arts guard.
It’s
easy to be a critic or couch professional, but, I have real life experiences to
call on.
I am
an expert in street survival, street tactics and the psychology of fighting.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Wing Chun Blog - Wing Chun in Competition
Wing
Chun Blog – Sifu Garry
Traditional Wing Chun Competition
When
entering a Tournament, a Competitor must play by the rules of the day, or LOSE!
With
the advent of the Internet and Youtube, there have been a lot of videos
uploaded portraying wing chun fighters against other denominations, eg, muaythai,
kickboxing, even Karate and Taekwando.
The
biggest mistake I see when viewing these videos is:
1:
what experience does the wing chun person have?
2:
with boxing gloves, one has to change his tact.
3:
you can use wing chun principles when fighting in a full contact tournament,
but it would be a danger to the wing chun fighter, relying solely on wing chun without
incorporating other ideas.
4: A
wing chun fighter must change his guard to cover upper and lower gates and
especially the flanks.
5: A
wing chun fighter should fight South Paw. Most kick boxers, etc, generally
fight in an orthodox position.
6: When
preparing for a full contact fight, fitness and power are paramount.
7:
If my fighters cannot reach a certain level with VO2max, they cannot compete.
8:
Full contact fighters are psychologically prepared for hard hits to the body
and face. Wing Chun fighters are not.
9: A
wing chun gym is not necessarily geared up for full contact training.
10:
A ring is an advantage especially if you are training Muaythai.
So,
if you want to put your Ego on the line and prove your wing chun is superior to
other martial arts, always ensure you are prepared. Martial arts is only as
good as the Individual using it. If he is weak, his martial arts will be weak,
also.
Make
sure when competing there is equality with experience levels. For example, both
have equal time in training experience.
If
one is in a Muaythai competition, he or she must utilize take downs, knees and
elbows, otherwise he will not win. The Judges and Referees want to see Muaythai
techniques.
Martial
Arts are about sharing common grounds. It is not about proving which martial
arts is better, because it is the Student or Person whom makes the martial art,
not the martial art itself.
Let’s
face it, if Bruce Lee had been involved with kick boxing, kick boxing would be
at the forefront.
Fortunately,
Bruce Lee had a passion for Wing Chun Kung Fu.
He
did challenge many denominations with great success, but that was Bruce Lee.
]
Use
Martial Arts to help people, not to hurt them.
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