today, we go over how to use the “swinging gate drill” to get us into medium range and also how to use the swinging gate drill in your sensitivity training.
Swinging Gate drill is a good way to practice when to use the lop sau hand. It also allows you to get alot of repetition. This is a very effective way to deal with a boxer’s parry hand, when they go to defend your punch. I use this alot during sparring, but make sure that [...]
This concept of 3 beats in training, is IMO at the heart of all the bickering in the wing chun community. The younger, faster chunners see wing chun as “offense is the best defense”. but the older chunners see wing chun as “defense is the best offense”. because of these conflicting differences, they argue amongst [...]
so far, we’ve focused alot on developing the body structure and how to apply it to the upper body. But what about kicking? How do we develop power in our kicks? Guess what, it’s the same as always. Nothing should change, why? because Chinese Boxing is a “concept” based martial art. So whatever applies to [...]
the #3 line of attack is something that is very specific to Hawkins Cheung’s method, i have never seen it in any other wing chun method. It’s a very crafty line, and is great when combined with the “jamming” concept and in combination with the #2 line of attack.
But remember that “jamming” can only work [...]
Hawkins Cheung teaches 3 lines of attack, the first line is the centerline, this is the line that every wing chun practitioner uses and is familiar with. But the 2nd and 3rd lines are usually not part of the wing chun curriculum. These other two lines are very specific to Hawkins Cheung’s method.
The 2nd line [...]
Huen Sau or circle hand is one of the most repeated movements in siu nim tau, so it must have an important meaning. Developing a strong “front door” is a very important strategy as a Chinese Boxer, by utilizing the Huen Sau let’s a weaker or smaller individual to defend their centerline while maneuvering to [...]
Today’s video deals with the many different ways to utilize the Pak Sau movement and how to practice it with a partner or with a basketball!
Hawkins Cheung likes using basketball as a way to explain certain concepts and movements. I wanted to share one of his analogies with everyone today to help develop a good [...]
Fuk Sau can be used in many different ways, today, we will be looking at “catching” a straight punch and absorbing the energy by utilizing the fuk sau movement.
this is a very important drill especially if you are a small frame individual. make sure when you practice this drill to focus on defending your centerline [...]
this is a great way to start developing both hands while adhering to the concepts and principles and utilizing triangle footwork. basically, a “moving” siu nim tau with a partner.
in grappling, there is a saying, “position before submission” and IMO wing chun should also be about “position before striking” and not the other way around. [...]
this video is about how to handle a Boxer’s hook punch using the “short bridge” concept. It also explains the differences between the “long bridge” and the “short bridge”. it’s a rather long video, but there’s alot of good information here so i didn’t want to edit any of it. think of it more like [...]
Many questions have come up in relation to the straight punch, so i decided to address some of the common mistakes that i see people make and how to correct them. it’s a long video, i didn’t edit any of it, but it’s full of good information for everyone.
it’s 3:30am and i’m too tired to [...]
De La Riva Guard is a versatile position when on your back. Of course, in a self defense situation you don’t want to ever go to the ground, but things happen and when you do fall on your butt, you want to know an advantages and safe way to get back to your feet without [...]
The Romanian Deadlift or the Straight Leg Deadlift is a variation of the Standard Deadlift. This particular movement helps to strengthen the “core” area which is the entire “belt” area of your mid section including your lower back. remember that it isn’t about how much weight but the form and full range of motion that [...]
In my years of wing chun experience, this “shovel” concept IMO is one of the most important. Hawkins Cheung puts alot of emphasis on this concept, especially if you are a “small frame” individual. this becomes very important when you have to “hold” an opponents pressure.
hopefully you understand now why the “deadlift” and “squat” are [...]
Jon explains how to correctly perform the Deadlift exercise without hurting yourself. this is one of my favorite exercises because it involves the entire body and also strengthens the “core” and the “pelvic tilt”, which as you now know, is very important to developing the wing chun structure.
pay attention to the detail of this exercise [...]
Mike competes at his first submission grappling tournament at the Grappler’s X held in Long Beach, CA this sunday and takes Silver Medal, great job, Mike!
song is “Wake Up” by Arcade Fire
some of you already know that am a Marine Corps Veteran, i did “Search & Rescue”. I also graduated “Honorman” out of bootcamp, which means that i was always put into leadership positions, so they would send me to classes and courses on “how to lead”. it was in one of these courses that they [...]
Side Mount, Side Control, Side Position, Keep that Mofo on his Back, whatever you want to call it, is a very dominant position in grappling. what i wanted to convey is how i use many wing chun concepts and apply them to my grappling. to me, this is “chi sau” or sensitivity drills using the [...]
This tutorial keeps growing…
i’ve now included a “Physical Fitness – Exercises” category in the drop down menu. It will pertain to exercises, conditioning, nutrition etc…that i personally follow and that works for me to enhance my martial arts training.
Today’s subject has to do with “how to do the squat movement” correctly, to avoid injury. you [...]
Julius is a good friend of mine and what makes him great for this video is that he is not a Wing Chun guy, on the contrary, he is a “brawler” and a grappler, aggressive and very very athletic. I asked him to join us for the video because so many wing chun videos out [...]
developing “rooting” power is a VERY difficult “little idea” to tackle, and can be a very “advanced” concept which also opens up whole new set of “questions”, and to be honest, most instructors don’t have a clear and concise way to teach this concept or don’t fully understand the concept or worse, they contradict themselves [...]
Knowing how to shrimp is a very important movement, because it is used in many different situations. The concepts of how to shrimp are very similar to the wing chun structure, especially, how the elbows are used to maintain proper body structure.
you can practice this by doing the shrimp movement down the length of a [...]
this is something that i feel is lacking during wing chun sensitivity training, so i thought i would address it. Make sure that you are going slow enough with your partner so that you can constantly do the “checklist” that i talk about in the video.
find someone, anyone, to train with, there’s no other way [...]
First of all, please let me know if there are any problems technically with the video quality. Okay, back to the Fuk!
Fuk Sau is often referred to as the “controlling hand”. And if you understand the shape, you can see why they would call it that. Fuk Sau was really challenging to keep on a [...]
When Hawkins Cheung teaches, he rarely ever uses Wing Chun terminology. It never really occurred to me why he didn’t do it until one day he explained himself. He wanted us to find our own “tan sau”, “fook sau” etc…he would say that if i labeled this position and give it a name, you’ll become [...]
This is one of my favorite clips from the “Kung Fu” series. The reason i like it so much is that it coincides with what makes my “method” of teaching and training unique. My primary goal is to “listen” rather than “talk”.
“listen” meaning developing sensitivity in your training, “talk” is all the punching, kicking, elbows, [...]
Welcome to the website! It’s finally up and running…sort of.
There’s still alot of content that will be added as time moves along. But I wanted to get things rock’n and roll’n. What’s great is that all of you get to experience the changes and growth right along with me.
Just like you though, i will be [...]
Today’s video deals with the many different ways to utilize the Pak Sau movement and how to practice it with a partner or with a basketball!
Hawkins Cheung likes using basketball as a way to explain certain concepts and movements. I wanted to share one of his analogies with everyone today to help develop a good Pak Sau to stop an opponents low groin kick and continue to “medium range”.
practicing this way will also improve your understanding of the pak movements in your siu nim tau form and teach you how it should “feel” when performing the action during practice.
dribbling a basketball while adhering to the concepts and principles that i keep repeating will help you to realize how the pak sau should “feel”, instead of just knowing what the pak sau should “look” like.
this reminds me of the scene in “Enter the Dragon” where Bruce Lee approaches his student after a side kick, Bruce Lee says “how did it feel to you?”, the student replies, “let me think”. That’s when Bruce Lee slaps him on top of his head and says, “don’t think…feeeel!”
how a movement should “feel” is one of the hardest challenges of an instructor to teach their students. i hope you enjoy and grow from this video.
December 18th, 2009 at 6:33 am
Hi Jin,
Really interesting analogy! I
When first teaching us two handed chi sao, my sifu made us hold a rugby ball (amercian football) with both hands and roll. the slant on the rugby ball denoted the forward energy, rather than sideways energy and the size of the ball meant that the student realised the two palms must be closely aligned.
Anyway, good sifus have good analogies and i like you style as always.
Take Care Saj
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Jin Reply:
December 18th, 2009 at 10:01 am
rugby ball, nice, i like that. keep it up, Saj!
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December 18th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Hey Martin!
here is my mail, “alex.loch@gmx.at”
if we have luck and we are situated nearly we can come together
greetz
alex
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Jin Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 3:31 pm
great to see you guys getting together to train!
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December 18th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Thanks again Jin, great video.
We do variations of this kind of thing with sparring; one guy throws just kicks and the other guy practices getting in.
…problem is, I get kicked more often than I would like. I think my timing and ability to work with a straight kick isn’t as good as with punches. Any advice as to how to improve on that? I keep practicing with folks in my class but I feel like there’s something I’m not getting.
Anyway, really liked the explanations and ideas here, and if you decide to expand on kicks and so forth I wouldn’t mind.
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Jin Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 3:33 pm
focus more on maintaining the proper range, which is half step outside of kicking range. once you can do that, then closing becomes much easier.
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December 19th, 2009 at 5:57 am
wow sifu jin this will really help a lot cause a lot of filipinos are really into basketball (including me) so thank you very much, have a merry christmas and a happy new year!:)
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Jin Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 3:33 pm
nice!
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December 19th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Great lesson Sifu Jin!
Will this work at really close range if you pak just above the knee as it comes up?
lol “Just keep eating his face.”
I think if everyone kept he drilling/center-chasing principle in mind, they would do really well In a fight and not have to worry about all the fancy stuff they spend so much time learning. This is why I love wing chun.
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Jin Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 3:34 pm
lol..you answered your own question, nice! keep training and keep growing!
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December 21st, 2009 at 6:20 am
Serious I am supposed to be, grateful.
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Jin Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 3:34 pm
you’re welcome!
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December 21st, 2009 at 7:29 am
Jin you never cease to amaze. I was NOT using my body structure along with my pak. During Sil Nim Tau or otherwise. In your debt once again.
You must be back to 100% because there wasn’t a trace of flu during the video.
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Jin Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 3:35 pm
glad to hear you’re improving through the Tutorial! and i’m finally back to 100%, yay! =D
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December 22nd, 2009 at 6:34 am
Okay…I have a question regarding the strategic value of the Pak over the Fuk. When speaking of the Fuk sao, I got the message that you didn’t want to be “hard” because that would rebound against you, but when doing the pak and seeing you do the pak it seems pretty “hard”. I also remember you talking in regards to not banging your bridge against the other person because that would rebound against you as well. My questions are these…is Hawkin’s Short Bridge “soft” or “hard”? Are there “hard” elements that have their place? What value would there be in having “energy” rebound back against you? Will that rebound only happen if you are tense? If the three triangles are done properly and the elbow and shoulders “heavy”, with the third stick soft as a blade of grass, is it the body weight itself “dropping” the pak rather than musculature “pushing” it out?
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Jin Reply:
January 15th, 2010 at 1:56 am
hmm..it could look “hard” since i just finished weight training before shooting this video. but yes, you are right, you should not meet force with your own force, or muscle with muscle. always rely on the “body structure” to do all the movements which includes pak sau.
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December 23rd, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Thank you jin.. After months, still waiting for those kicking videos.. u said they were on your magic list.. :’(
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Jin Reply:
January 15th, 2010 at 1:56 am
it’s coming! patience…
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January 7th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Thanks. Just glanced through your post. did not have the time to read the whole thing. I subscribed to your rss feeds and looking forward to more.
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Jin Reply:
January 15th, 2010 at 1:57 am
glad to see you’re enjoying the Tutorial, take care and peace!
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January 19th, 2010 at 6:10 am
Jin,
In this tutorial you stated that a Pak can be done in any direction. I have two questions…First, if moving your right hand Pak toward your left side, I am assuming you do not want to cross your centerline, is this true? And second, if moving your Pak from high to low how is this different from Chum?
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