Styles and Systems

I have often made the statement that a style is distinguished by its appearance and a system is distinguished by its results. What I’d like to do is explain what I mean by this statement.  For the most part there are two different methodologies when it comes to martial arts training. The stylistic approach is more specific looking at specific responses to specific combat scenarios. The systemic approach is more general, building general skills and or attributes that can be useful for combat. With that being said there are few if any martial arts that are 100% stylistic or 100% systemic in their approach. Some fall somewhere in between, some lean more in one direction than the other.

Often you will find curriculums that start with one way of training and then change to the other as you get further along in the curriculum. In some martial arts curriculums you can spend 5 to 10 years learning nothing but technique, again by that I mean specific responses to specific attacks. Later, at the more advanced stages of training you will learn the underlying principles that explain why those specific techniques work. Also you will learn how to generalize on that principle and create techniques on the fly as the situation dictates.

The systemic approach can be more difficult especially if the student has no previous martial arts experience that allows him or her to put what they are learning in context. There are many martial arts system that teach you the skill of taking balance, or the skill of using sensitivity to maintain a mechanical advantage, positional advantage, or both. The exercises and drills used to develop these types of skills are often somewhat abstract and may not even have a direct correlation to some type of combat scenario. This can cause even more difficulty for the student who will often lose interest, being unable to make the connection.

This I think is the reason why many teachers in the old days would change how they taught based on the inherent mental and physical attributes of the student. Say for example your curriculum contained forty empty hand forms, each one emphasizing a different area of martial application and physical expression. Some might emphasize power, others speed, and others agility. Often the teacher would prescribe which forms the student would learn based on what they brought to the table. The big strong guy would learn the power forms. The small quick guy would learn the speed and agility forms. Only the student who was being trained to be a teacher would learn all the forms. For anyone else it was really unnecessary. In addition to that, not only would teacher customize the material, he would also customize the teaching method. Let’s be honest, everyone has a different style of learning, and some of the knives in the drawer are a little bit sharper than some of the others. A good teacher can take these things into account and teach the student in a way that produces results. Some people may not have a grasp or appreciation of scientific thinking or philosophical abstraction, so a more technique oriented pragmatic approach is better. Others may be able to appreciate a broader more abstract approach, for those people a more systemic approach is appropriate.

As I have said in previous post, it is important to understand who you are and what you want as far as your martial arts training. Having a good deal of self awareness will help you to determine what is best for you in both what you want to learn and how you want to learn it.

Punching & Kicking

Ving Tsun Kung Fu is more than just punching and kicking, yet if you don’t have powerful, explosive punches and kicks then your Kung Fu is not so good. Even if you manage to control the line and strike your adversary, it will make no difference if you punch and kick like a two year old. Here are just a few ideas for developing powerful punches and kicks.

Punching

First, start of with air punches, you want your chain punches to be loose, relaxed, and well timed using optimum hand replacement. The set I have my students do is what I call a counting set. You start in yee jee kim yueng ma and begin to count. When you say one you throw one punch, two, two punches, and so on all the way up to ten. After you get up to ten drop and do ten pushups, which would be one set. When you can do five sets in a row you are doing great. (Extra credit: how many punches and pushups is that?)

You can also add a focus mitt to this drill; have your training partner hold a focus mitt in front of you for you to punch as you perform the exercise described above. Your partner should give you a little pressure on the focus mitt and you should time your punches so that the focus mitt does not have the opportunity to move forward. See if you can come up with your own variations of this drill that include shifting and foot work.

You may also want to invest in a Sao Bao which is a wall bag that you can fill with whatever you like. My suggestion is to start with something soft like sand or rice and the very gradually, say every month or so move up to coarser materials like gravel. You want to condition your hands so that they can withstand the force of punching but at the same time you do not want to damage your hand. What good is it if you can smash a cinder block but you can’t sign a check?

Kicking

Can you play Siu Nim Tau on one leg? It’s not easy and it’s a great way to develop your horse and build the foundation for powerful kicks. Start off playing just section one, try to play all of section one, first on the right leg and then on the left. Each month add another section with your goal being to play the entire form on one leg at the end of three months.

Another exercise is to have your training partner hold a kick shield, stand in Hau Ma (a rear stance) in front of the kick shield. Raise you leg and touch the shield with Dim Gerk, make contact with the entire surface of the bottom of your foot. Do not use any power and do not use the shield for balance. Also do not straighten the supporting leg. Do ten of these on each leg, feel the burn!

Alright…get busy!

 

 

Exploring Applications

 

Once you have reached the Chum Kiu/Chi sao level of your training it’s a good idea to collaborate on a regular basis with a few reliable brothers and or sisters and experiment with applications. What I would like to do is briefly outline a method for doing that. Before you get started there are a few things you should already have.

1.       A note book

2.       Eye protection, some sort of sport goggle, even lab goggles work well

3.       MMA style gloves , padded knuckles, open fingers

4.       Shin guards (consider a groin cup as well)

5.       Chest protector

You need the note book in order to keep track of what you are doing and what discoveries you make. To get the best results it is a good idea to treat this like research, honestly that’s what it is. At first you may not need any of the safety equipment as you may want to start off with low speed and low energy, just exploring timing, distance, and position. As you become more proficient it will be necessary to use safety gear. Do not attempt to train above your skill level, take your time and be patient.

The Honest Attack

For starters, have your training partner feed you an honest attack. What I mean by that is your partner will try to punch/kick/grab you with the idea that he has no idea of what you are going to do, but if you do nothing you WILL be punched, kicked, or grabbed. Again this is why we start off slow with low energy and work our way up to more energetic practice with safety equipment. Your job is to figure out how to deal with that honest attack. The person feeding the attack should not unrealistically track his/her training partner, or make things unreasonably difficult for the skill level that their partner is at. For example you might experiment with Pak Da. You would feed your training partner a straight punch that they must neutralize with Pak Da. Start off slow so they can get the timing positioning and footwork down. As they get better increase the energy to see if they can use their structure to dissipate the energy of the oncoming punch as they play the Pak Da.

Feed Back

The person feeding the attacks should also give feed back as to what felt like it would have been effective and what does not seem to be working as it should. The idea is to work together and fine tune each other’s technique based on continuous experimentation and feedback.

Follow Ups

Some questions to consider in your research…

If the attacker is diminished significantly by your initial response, what next?

More striking, a sweep, a takedown, some form of control technique?

If you are successful with your initial response, but the attacker is not diminished, what next?

Can you deal with a second or third attack from this position after the initial engagement?

Are you training so that your strikes are physically and psychologically devastating?

(In addition to forms,drills, and exercises, are you training for strength and endurance?)

Have fun.

A few words about Chi-Sao.

Chi Sao is the signature training exercise of Ving Tsun Kung Fu. It is an exercise in which we examine energy, timing, positioning, and structure. It develops a skill set that is useful in fighting but it is NOT fighting. It is a game, a game with rules, ideally the participants have an implicit agreement as to what the rules are prior to playing. I'd like to make 5 quick points about how to get the most out of your Chi-Sao training.

1. Unless otherwise stated, the si-hing (senior student) always functions as the aggressor, the si-dai is simply to try his best to hold the line, maintain good structure and proper hand positions. With your si-hing's permission you can work on trying to take the line and move forward.When you are done playing make sure to get some insight from your si-hing about what you need to improve.

2. It is just as important to know when you don't have the line as it to know when you do. Again, Chi - Sao is not fighting. If your training partner captures the line and plays a valid technique, acknowledge it. Also, any technique that relies purely on strength and or speed is not a good technique. Don't force your strikes! Use sensitivity, timing, and positioning.

3. Don't worry about getting hit and don't worry about hitting. This has a lot to do with ego, and how it creeps into our practice. "He hit me, so I need to hit him back", this way of thinking is not constructive and will take you off purpose. Your purpose is simply to occupy the line, anything that happens should be as a result of you staying true to your purpose. Don't chase your partners hands, play the line, all the time.

4. Do not attempt to defeat the drill (do not use "unstoppable techniques"). There is a video by Grandmaster Moy Yat where he discusses unstoppable techniques. People see a title like this and become very excited. I mean c'mon, who wouldn't want to be unstoppable? In reality, Grandmaster Moy Yat is discussing bad Chi - Sao, he is highlighting techniques you should avoid because although they may work in the context of Chi-Sao they require no skill to perform and thus they do not develop any skill.

5. Keep a note book, this is very important. As time goes by you will find that there are certain places where you get stuck. You may find you are repeating the same series of movements over and over again. Keeping a note book will help you examine and get past these dead ends. Also it will help you keep track of where you have been and help you establish where you need to go in your training. We often get comfortable with what we are good at and stay in the zone of comfort. Keeping a note book will help you to map out the areas where your Kung Fu is weak and determine how you might address those issues.

Now, go play Chi Sao!

YouTube is a horrible Sifu!

One of the best things and at the same time one of the worst things to happen to Ving Tsun and even to martial arts in general is YouTube. On the up side, it's great to see what other martial artist are up to, also some people have been generous enough to post rare footage of old masters and obscure rarely seen styles of martial arts. This has both a motivational and educational value. On the downside the level of discourse on YouTube is often juvenile at best. There exist a multitude of people who are willing to share their uneducated opinion on just about any topic. In addition, somehow the fact that you are typing on a key board and not speaking face to face has made civility and good manners completely irrelevant.

Another trend that I find somewhat disturbing is the idea that you can completely forgo any form of traditional martial arts instruction and learn completely from YouTube. I'll admit there are some things that can be learned from watching videos. To that admission I would add the caveat that the more hands on face to face instruction and experience you have had the more educational value you can derive from a video. But, with no previous training and no experienced expert instruction from someone who has learned in a traditional manner it will be difficult if not impossible for you to reach a high level of skill and understanding in any given martial art.

This is especially true for Ving Tsun as a large portion of the learning comes from having first hand experience of "touching hands" with someone who is better than you. That person may be your Sifu or a senior classmate. Of course you could easily imitate Ving Tsun forms up to and including the Bot Jahm Do, but more than likely your knowledge and skill will be superficial at best. An intelligent and talented person may even be able to use a good amount of Ving Tsun techniques that they learned simply from watching videos. However this person would immediately realize they were lacking something upon meeting a true expert trained in a traditional manner.

I have sympathy for those who might want to learn Ving Tsun but have do not live within a reasonable distance of a competent Sifu. Had my Sifu not traveled 2 to 2.5 hours (one way) on a regular basis to learn Ving Tsun there would probably be no Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu in my area. So what does one do, if you have no choice but books, and videos? It depends on what your goals are. If you are not that serious and it's only a casual hobby for you then by all means try your best to see what you can learn from just books and videos. If on the other hand you are serious and want to learn authentic Ving Tsun Kung Fu you should get a group of guys together and see if you can sponsor a Sifu to come to your area and assist you in organizing a study group. I hear this guy is pretty good www.vtkfsystem.com ;o)

The value of Kung Fu training.

So, one may ask, why bother to study Kung Fu. I could just buy a gun if I wanted to protect myself, why go through all the trouble, time, and expense. To a degree, this is a logical way of thinking and really it depends on where you are in your life and what you want out of your life. If all you are interested in is protecting your self or learning how to fight then there are easier ways to go about it than learning Kung Fu. Ving Tsun in particular can be somewhat difficult to learn, you could learn it on a superficial level and have a certain degree of success, but to really understand it and become skillful will require time and effort. Is it worth it?

Of course my answer to this question is going to be yes since I am a lifelong martial artist and Ving Tsun instructor. Let me explain my answer and hopefully it will be helpful to those who might be considering starting out on this path.

First, if all you are really interested in is fighting then it would  be a waste of time for you to read any more of this, find a good Boxing, MMA, or Krav Maga school and enjoy. However if you are interested in martial arts and Ving Tsun in particular as a practical form of metaphysical study then you are in the right place. By studying Ving Tsun and applying it's principles in your everyday day life you can reap a great deal of benefit, and this is a benefit that increases over time. I have three criteria for evaluating any form of metaphysical study. Through the study and application of any particular method you should be able to observe and measure growth in the following categories.

1. Health and Vitality

Through the practice of Ving Tsun it is possible to improve your health, develop more muscle, lose weight, gain better body awareness. If these are things that you want, they can be acquired through the study of Ving Tsun, but you must apply yourself and train specifically for the things you want out of your training. If your goal is Olympic level performance, it will require Olympic level effort. On the other hand, training purely for enjoyment at least twice a week at the school, and on your own when you have time will produce significant results. Again it all depends on what you want and the level you are willing to train at.

2. Quality Relationships

Through your training you will develop a better understanding of your self. We gain insight into ourselves through our interactions with others. As we learn and grow through these relationships within our Kung Fu family there is a parallel and simultaneous effect on our relationships outside of the Kung Fu family. The people you deal with in your everyday life should notice a difference. You should be noticably more centered, calm, and caring.

3. Personal effectiveness

Ving Tsun is about efficiency in everything we do, not only that, we become more efficient at being efficient. The principles and concepts we experience in our physical practice begin to extend in to how we live our lives. We begin to become more mindful, and with mindful awareness we strive to take the appropriate action in all circumstances. We are able to efficiently accomplish what it is we set out to do!

Use this offer from Groupon to start your training!

http://touch.groupon.com/deals/moy-yat-ving-tsun-kung-fu 

The Importance of Siu Nim Tau

I think it is impossible to overstate the importance of Siu Nim Tau in the study of Ving Tsun Kung Fu. The meaning of Siu Nim Tau can be translated as "small thoughts" or "small intention". It is the first of three empty hand forms in the Ving Tsun Kung Fu system. The average student takes about two to four weeks to learn it. The form is divided into three sections and is taught one section at a time based on how quickly the student can digest it. To the uninitiated it seems like an odd set of movements with no obvious application to fighting. In a way, this is true, Siu Nim Tau in and of itself has nothing to do with fighting. What Siu Nim Tau does is introduce the most important elements of the system in a way that is physical and tangible so that over time these elements become innate to the student.

In section one we learn the characteristic stance associated with Ving Tsun, Yee Jee Kim Yeung Ma (character two adduction stance, "goat clamping"). This stance is essential for developing strength in the legs, the ability to redirect force into the ground, and the ability to push off the ground and generate force through the body into the hands for striking. In section one we are also introduced to center line which I have spoken about in a previous post. In addition to center line we find nim lik (strength of intent) combined with forward energy. These concepts are trained with slow deliberate movement back and forth on centerline.

Section two contains simultaneous movements of both arms in a relaxed and coordinated manner; we define our boundaries in all six directions of three dimensional space, forward, backward, up, down, left, and right. We also examine how both arms can share centerline.

Section Three looks at more complex expression of the basic movements combined with the understanding of mental force and our boundaries in 3d space developed in sections one and two. The movements look simple but are more difficult than they appear. Siu Nim Tau also lays the groundwork for the student to be introduced to the set of skill development exercises leading up to Chi - Sao. Without a strong foundation in Siu Nim Tau it is difficult if not impossible to gain a high level of skill in the Ving Tsun Kung Fu system.