wing chun chicago

Sunday Siu Nim Tau

Today’s post is really all about the video.

Because let’s face it, who is reading anything any more?

Easier to watch or listen. Ah yeah , multi tasking… sometimes it is okay.

Anyway, we will make this brief.

Here is a thing we talked about yesterday in class. It’s not the first time and sure as shit, it won’t be the last.

kung fun movies – fun to watch? Yes. Anything to do with real martial arts training? NO.
the challenge: people confuse movies martial arts with the real thing. we sigh a bit over this truth be told.
Exhibit A: The Matrix
in the movies, which ARE NOT REAL, the fight goes on and on and on, an on …. till the hero, so clearly almost at his or her limits, almost loses but finally, heroically, comes back to prevail with their last fist, breath, technique. It’s Very Exciting. Achem. Think The Smiths VS Neo.
in real life, which is REAL, the fight lasts maybe a second or two. Very boring except for the fact that if you are the prevailing end, you get to go on with the rest of your life….

So the question is, once we can stop trying to emulate movie kung fu as a model for real self defense, can we learn to practice our art with great and focused intention to be a little better every time and specific to ving tsun, to do simultaneous defense and attack? Because WHY do two moves when you can do one?

Watch here.

Want to try it? Come in and try a free class. Ask questions. Bring your best game. We got this.

The best defense? Good daily training.

New Videos on You Tube

Are you looking for real self defense classes?

Do you wonder if you have what it takes to really be able to protect yourself if you had to?

Every week we add new short videos from class, showing students of all skill levels training. They also give you a pretty good idea of what the school is like.

Give them a watch and give us a call to arrange for a visit to the school.

Only action will lead you forward.

We are the only school in Chicago offering authentic, no boloney ving tsun in the lineage directly from Ip Ching in Hong Kong.

Being able to defend yourself takes practice and a complete, integrated system of martial art. That is what we offer here, all in an environment that is inclusive and supportive.

Come see for yourself.

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No One Here but the Fighters

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Humberto, by day he works at UPS. The rest of the time, he trains ving tsun and keeps very close ties with his family.

Humberto is a senior student at the school. He’s been studying here since about 2011. Originally he came because he made a new year resolution to be more fit and because he’d seen the original Ip Man movie which really inspired him; seeing Ip Man being so focused and relaxed in so many really challenging situations.

After the film, he did his research and looked for ving tsun schools. After his first visit to the school, the atmosphere just felt right and he decided that this was the place.

What keeps Humberto going? He says that every day there is something new to learn; Maybe adding to something you already know but you add something new to the puzzle.

He says, “I enjoy training. I came here to learn to fight but in time that changed. Now I see that isn’t about fighting really its about having a humble soul, having inner strength.”

Today his main focus is helping beginners to come up in the system and to complete his own training. He says this helps him be better too. He says, “When you know something and you teach it to another person, it’s like you get to teach yourself twice, which always helps.”

The things he learned here transfer to the rest of his life. Accepting when things go wrong, he learned not to panic but learn there’s always some way to fix the situation, just like in training and chi sau.

Sifu Matt introduced him to meditation too and that was something he’s stayed with since day one because it makes a difference in his kung fu and in his normal, every day life.

Every year he renews his resolution to train for another year, to stay in shape, to defend himself if necessary. He really loves that Sifu Matt doesn’t hold back in the way he teaches him and everyone else. He always shows him the right way in training.

“I never thought I’d be helping out in teaching but when Sifu asked me to do it I said I would try my best and now I help others learn and advance in their own practice. Its an honor to help out like that.”

Glad to have you with us Humberto.

New Training Videos for Week Two: 2019

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One of Matt teaching the second form to a student.

And…

Matt doing chi sau with a student.

Thanks for watching!

If you like these videos please feel free to share them.

When the Way is Open, Charge Ahead

We are very excited to have our YouTube channel up and running again.

Here’s a short video to start things off.

Chi Sau Seminar Success and Events!

We really want to thank all of you who came from near and far for our January Chi Sau Seminar. It was a great way to kick off 2016. A lot of Aaron Heath’s students came from our Champaign school which was super cool.

We had a lot of fun and everyone learned a lot. So stay tuned because there’s much more to come!

We’re thinking the next seminar may be a combination of Wooden Dummy material, Mo Duk (proper code of conduct for martial arts practitioners) and kung fu culture.

And as always, we appreciate you sharing our news, events, Intro classes and so on. Don’t forget to tell your friends that they can come in and visit us anytime. Just call Sifu Matt Johnson at 773-301-6257 and we’ll get you set up.

You can follow us on Facebook too! This is a great way to hear about our monthly events like pot luck suppers, movie outings, (we went to see Ip Man 3)

or this Saturday’s celebration of Chinese New Year. (Year of the monkey!)

Or our Jan. 29th Haiku Writing Workshop led by William Seiyo Sheehan and reading by Gerry Stribling author of Buddhism for Dudes. (and please note, you don’t actually have to be a dude to totally love this book.)

The school is located in the heart of the Chicago Arts District at:
1839 S Halsted St. Chicago, IL 60608
Phone us at: 773/301-6257
Please note the CTA bus Route 8 stops right in front of the building.
There’s also plenty of free street parking all within short walking distance.

Three Ways to Train Ving Tsun (Wing Chun) in 30 Minutes

Often enough I get asked about how to train when you only have a short period of time. After all, not everyone has the luxury of having most of their day to devote to training. What if you only have 30 minutes to an hour for your training outside of class? In part, the answer depends on what your training goals are for the day. Do you want to work on over all physical fitness, do you have a training partner available, or will you be doing your training solo? Here’s three brief answers on how to approach each scenario.

1. 30 Minutes is Good

First of all, actually, 30 minutes is a decent amount of time; you can get a lot done. 30 minutes is perfect for developing good over all physical fitness, which keeps you healthy and improves your Ving Tsun too. You could go for a nice brisk walk, or a run, do some weight training etc. What resources do you have at your disposal? Do whatever exercise you enjoy.

If you’re training your Ving Tsun, in addition to training your forms which only take a short period of time, (you can go through all three forms in about 20 minutes) what else can you do to improve your chi sau skill?

2. Train with a Buddy

Well, then, we’re at number two: nothing beats a live training partner. Training with another person is the only way to build your skills under pressure. I’ve seen certain training devices with springy arms etc., that claim to be able to build chi sau skill, but I’m not convinced that these have any benefit at all. Why not? Because these are “dead” devices; they cannot fight back and give you the pressure you need to train your sensitivity and reflexes.

3. Solo Training of Punching

But what if you’re training alone and still want to build your chi sau skill? This brings me to a third answer to the 30 minute training dilemma.

Well, there are two key practices for you:

Turning punch
Stepping and punching.

That’s it. Simple and direct, just like Ving Tsun. Maybe you were thinking I’d say something more advanced, more esoteric. But no. If you want to build your chi sau skill without a training partner, you can hardly do better than simply turning and punching, and stepping and punching. Both of these exercises can be trained solo. I’ll do my best to break this down for you.

Turning Punch and Yiu Ma

The turning punch is such a great exercise because it trains the power of our waist and stance. Using what is known in Cantonese as, Yiu Ma training, the turning punch trains us to coordinate the Yiu Ma with our hand techniques; essential for developing powerful punches. Punches made only with the arm or the upper body lack power no matter how big you are. Even a very large and powerful person will always be limited in their capacity for generating power if they don’t develop their Yiu Ma. In other words, the real power comes from the ground, is generated by the legs, then transferred to the upper body and finally to the fist. These parts of the body are known as the six points: ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, elbow and wrist. It is through the coordination of these six points that the turning punch trains so effectively.

Turning Punch and Two Directional Energy

The turning punch also trains us to use what is known in Ving Tsun as two directional energy, in which one hand pulls back as fast or faster than the one going out to strike. Two directional energy greatly increases the speed and power of our strikes. One hand pulling back can use Lop Sau (pulling hand) to borrow an opponents energy while the other hand simultaneously sends out a strike. Coordination of the six points and two directional energy are essential for good skill in chi sau and our ability to use the system of Ving Tsun in an actual self defense situation.

Another way to train the turning punch is by varying the speed and timing of our punches during workouts. Start at one speed, then pick up speed on the next couple of strikes. More like a 1-2,3 rhythm, with the first punch coming out at one speed, the second coming out faster, immediately followed by the third coming out fastest of all.

Stepping and Punching

The next thing is stepping and punching. Many people are under the impression that Ving Tsun does not have very much footwork. Nothing could be further from the truth. One of the most effective and powerful steps we have is the triangle step, which comes out of the Baat Jam Do (8 cutting knife) form of the Ving Tsun system.

Fights are dynamic, they move around. We cannot prevail by just standing in one place, throwing punches. It’s essential to coordinate our stepping so that we transfer the power from those steps into our strikes. This again trains the Yiu Ma, because we’re turning, stepping and generating force with the step and a slight twist of the waist. But, we’re also training the ability to chase opponents as they back away, and training to close the gap and attack first, should that be your decision.

Finally, train sensibly.

Throwing too many punches in the air can lead to a wicked case of Lateral Epicondylitis or in layman’s terms, Tennis elbow, which is not only painful, but can slow down your training because you must take time away from your passion to let it heal. Believe me, not fun at all! So when you train, know your limits, and be careful. Throwing 100 or so punches with perfect form is better than throwing 500 of which the first 100 are perfect and the next 400 sloppy.

So there you have it. Thirty minutes is more than enough time to build your skill if you use it wisely. Pretty simple. Not complicated. Remember the old kung fu adage, “Do not worry about the 10,000 techniques your enemy knows and trains once, worry about the one technique he knows and trains 10,000 times.

Thanks for stopping by, Sifu Matt

Ving Tsun Meets Shakespeare

Sifu Matt and some of the guys went to see Rok Teasley, a student at the academy, perform in MacSith. After the show, Sifu and the students did a little demo for the cast.