[bamboo]

WC vs WT = politics and ego.

[zefff]

Wing Tsun is the same as Wing Chun.

When written in Chinese the characters are the same, its just the transliteration that differs - more importantly, Leung Ting is a Yip Man disciple. Maybe the spelling comes from Leung Tings pronounciation as he does seem to have an odd accent (when speaking English of course).

[Gazelle]

Thank you.

Bamboo - politics and ego?

[zefff]

Leung Ting claimed to be the last 'closed door' student of Grand Master Yip Man (the guy who brought various Wing Chun practices together and created a unified system of Wing Chun that was based on scientific fact and tested continually with his own experiences in Police force etc and later, with the help of renowned students like Wong Shun Leung). Althought Leung was a student of Yip man, it is debated as to wether he was a closed door or first generation student. He apparently chose to spell his art oddly (in English) to differentiate it from all other Wing Chun on the international scene.

[peajay]

Been a while since I posted to this thread!

I have now got all of Siu Lim Tao under my belt...
Not that I'm claiming to be the most elegant or profiscient in it... but I know the form and run through it at the beginning of each training session.
(often getting almost all the way through and thinking - hang on, I missed the Bong Sau bit again)

Getting my brain fried by starting Chi Sau... I must try and disconnect what my brain is saying to what my arms are doing! When I look away and let my arms look afterthemselves, I get so much more co-ordinated!!!

[dscott]

I just started Chi Sau again last week and it was making me go crazy. I couldn't concentrate on both arms at once. So I was trying to work on my right arm and my left would go to shit and vice versa.

[zefff]

Forget all that, dont worry about it. Concentrate on your attacking abilities over the defensive stuff.

At the end of the day its all about punching a man in his face.

[The BadBoy]

It's about punching and not getting hit. i feel too many gyms concentrate on the attacking part without giving the student a good solid struture from which to deliver his strikes. Hitting is good but not if you leave yourself open to easy counters. Now I wont get started on how wing chun fits into the scheme of things. You all know my feelings on that one.

[zefff]

Originally Posted by The BadBoy

It's about punching and not getting hit.

Of course all MA striking strategies are about hitting while not getting hit but you have to accept you are gonna get hit sometime so you better be able to maximise your strikes to make the most of your chance.

Originally Posted by The BadBoy

i feel too many gyms concentrate on the attacking part without giving the student a good solid struture from which to deliver his strikes.

Maybe you misread into my post but the way I 'concentrate on attacking' is to focus on the basic structure, mechanics and dynamics of my entire body. If I focused on the fist or arm alone that would be wrong IMHO but I didnt say they should do that. To focus on striking IS to focus on the whole body and how you apply it to a target.

I know you know that already but I want you to know I know it too.

Originally Posted by The BadBoy

Hitting is good but not if you leave yourself open to easy counters. Now I wont get started on how wing chun fits into the scheme of things. You all know my feelings on that one.

Yes hitting is good thats why I say start with it - then build on that by moving unto dealing with strategies like counters. If you start off being concerned with more complex techniques like counters you will find it hard to become the aggressive type...which we all need sometime.

I think the wider problem with WC is that many schools holds onto this robotic, stiff movement and when combined with poor training methods and no sparring this produces weird fantasy warriors.

I think the answer is a combination of more gruelling training and conditioning, more focus on actual aggressive techniques rather than passive, responsive ones. More alive padwork, more duelistic sparring and more animal day type sparring and pressure testing....same as any art really.

Ive said it before too but I also think WC attracts people who are actually afraid of fighting and want to defend themselves. The thing is they dont realise that to effectively, physically defend yourself you need to actually fight!

I think a lot of these people have gotten through the system over the years and are now teaching others like themselves so what we have is a load of people in a system who actually cannot perform as well as they might like to think because they are deep down, afraid and fearful of fighting. Regardless of wether you can or cannot utilise your most dangerous weapons in a sparring match you still need to develop a relationship with fear and pain to be able to overcome it when you need it most...IMHO.

Not all schools are alike!

[The BadBoy]

So what does a Wing Chun School taht teaches functionality look like? You know of any? If so do they have a web address?

Also I agree with you who heartedly that if your gonna fight then your gonna get hit. Where I disagree with how things are taught is that you can minimise being hit. I do not feel that schools teach beginners enough about defence so that they aren't afraid to get hit. What they get taught is a load of nonsense that will not aid them and that is why I feel that a lot of places concentrate on teaching hitting first.