The "Self" in Self Defense
Wing Chun allows the practitioner to train the most phenomenal concept in Self Defense...Self.
In fact, unless the Wing Chun student understands him/herself, their Wing Chun is not Wing Chun, it is mere mimicking of movements.
Why is it that two people of the same height, weight, age, gender, etc can have the same 108 Sil Lim Tao movements, the exact same training, the exact same length of time in training, same Sifu same everything, yet one person will dominate the other? That is because one student understands themselves.
What do I mean by that? The internal side of Martial Art does mean energy, focus, zen, etc...but what about balance? What about structure? What about knowing how far your arm can reach out from your body before you start to get in danger of being ripped out of your stance by a Lap Sau?
Does your punch generate from your core? Do your legs aid in balance as well as power for your strikes? Does your Yiu Ma (waist energy) move dynamically? Meaning not only side to side, but down, forward, angling...
Wing Chun should be experienced...learned by self expression. We have heard this about Martial Arts for centuries. This is why the 1% of Martial Arts student is successful in their journey...because they understand that Wing Chun is a life long process of improvement.
Sil Lim Tao has been the exact same movements for me my entire Wing Chun training career. But over time and personal exploration, I have learned dynamic things about each movement of the form.
This is why when people comment on others youtube Wing Chun videos, "Oh that is wrong or this is not how Ip Man did it..." I brush that off. Its not the Wing Chun Style so much as it is the fighter. Now, that said, I am absolutely a Wing Chun traditionalist. I am of the Ip Man lineage... But Ip Man had many students. Some of whom were phenomenal Wing Chun fighters. Wong Shun Leung made changes to his Wing Chun forms with Ip Man's permission. He knew what worked in a fight and what did not. His student Gary Lam did the same. I would fight neither one of those men. Does that mean since they did not follow the Ip Man 8mm videos to the T that they are wrong? Not in my view. Look at Leung Ting. He trained under Ip Man...yet his Wing Chun (Tsun) is different. Who has the perfect system? No one.
Why is it that I was one of the top students in my second Sifu's school? My second Sifu had national notoriety. But when I met my current Sifu (who had just as much time training Wing Chun as I did and who is the same height, age and build) I could not touch him? Understanding, period. He understood himself and how Wing Chun "lived" in him better that I did. Under my second Sifu, I did Wing Chun "his" way, and and it turned out, for me, his way was wrong.
Yes, you MUST adhere to Wing Chun concepts, principles and movement for it to be Wing Chun. A hook punch is not Wing Chun because it violates the principles of Wing Chun...but if the practitioner can find a time, place and effectiveness for a movement such as this, then it was Wing Chun...the goal is to end the fight. Wing Chun does this over all!
But back to my SELF in self defense statement... Take the time to learn about you. Do the form over and over. FEEL yourself and your movements. Feel Wing Chun live in you. Yes, this is very internal and very emotionally experiential...but this is the essence of Martial Art... Self Improvement.
Dominick Izzo
Self Defense Advocate / Self Defense Instructor
www.izzo-training.com
Wing Chun Chicago Self Defense
Martial Arts Training Chicago
In fact, unless the Wing Chun student understands him/herself, their Wing Chun is not Wing Chun, it is mere mimicking of movements.
Why is it that two people of the same height, weight, age, gender, etc can have the same 108 Sil Lim Tao movements, the exact same training, the exact same length of time in training, same Sifu same everything, yet one person will dominate the other? That is because one student understands themselves.
What do I mean by that? The internal side of Martial Art does mean energy, focus, zen, etc...but what about balance? What about structure? What about knowing how far your arm can reach out from your body before you start to get in danger of being ripped out of your stance by a Lap Sau?
Does your punch generate from your core? Do your legs aid in balance as well as power for your strikes? Does your Yiu Ma (waist energy) move dynamically? Meaning not only side to side, but down, forward, angling...
Wing Chun should be experienced...learned by self expression. We have heard this about Martial Arts for centuries. This is why the 1% of Martial Arts student is successful in their journey...because they understand that Wing Chun is a life long process of improvement.
Sil Lim Tao has been the exact same movements for me my entire Wing Chun training career. But over time and personal exploration, I have learned dynamic things about each movement of the form.
This is why when people comment on others youtube Wing Chun videos, "Oh that is wrong or this is not how Ip Man did it..." I brush that off. Its not the Wing Chun Style so much as it is the fighter. Now, that said, I am absolutely a Wing Chun traditionalist. I am of the Ip Man lineage... But Ip Man had many students. Some of whom were phenomenal Wing Chun fighters. Wong Shun Leung made changes to his Wing Chun forms with Ip Man's permission. He knew what worked in a fight and what did not. His student Gary Lam did the same. I would fight neither one of those men. Does that mean since they did not follow the Ip Man 8mm videos to the T that they are wrong? Not in my view. Look at Leung Ting. He trained under Ip Man...yet his Wing Chun (Tsun) is different. Who has the perfect system? No one.
Why is it that I was one of the top students in my second Sifu's school? My second Sifu had national notoriety. But when I met my current Sifu (who had just as much time training Wing Chun as I did and who is the same height, age and build) I could not touch him? Understanding, period. He understood himself and how Wing Chun "lived" in him better that I did. Under my second Sifu, I did Wing Chun "his" way, and and it turned out, for me, his way was wrong.
Yes, you MUST adhere to Wing Chun concepts, principles and movement for it to be Wing Chun. A hook punch is not Wing Chun because it violates the principles of Wing Chun...but if the practitioner can find a time, place and effectiveness for a movement such as this, then it was Wing Chun...the goal is to end the fight. Wing Chun does this over all!
But back to my SELF in self defense statement... Take the time to learn about you. Do the form over and over. FEEL yourself and your movements. Feel Wing Chun live in you. Yes, this is very internal and very emotionally experiential...but this is the essence of Martial Art... Self Improvement.
Dominick Izzo
Self Defense Advocate / Self Defense Instructor
www.izzo-training.com
Wing Chun Chicago Self Defense
Martial Arts Training Chicago
posted by Izzo Tactical Combat Martial Arts at
11:14 AM
1 Comments:
This is an excellent blog and definitely worth the time to read! I learned a lot about attack prevention and women protection.
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