In Britain, Wing Chun is now the most practiced style of kung-fu, but a close second to it is Lau Gar kuen-shu. This style's main kwoon is in Birmingham, England. It's head-master is Jeremy Yau & he has been teaching since 1961.
I have practiced this style for 31 years. The main emphasis of the style is on defence - including blocking & parrying, bodily displacement & side-stepping, integrated predominately with punching, striking & kicking, although grappling, throwing, locking, holding, trapping, chi-sau & breakfalling are taught later on.
Hand techniques are taught initially at short range & kicking is initially taught at long range. Eventually, through training, the ability to utilize all of these techniques at all ranges is acquired.
The emphasis on sparring & competition, within rules, enables practitioners to experience use of the system under varying degrees of stress. |