Woo Wing Chun - Journey of a tradition, legacy and art.

Hey there

2012-02-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

I snuck in a few pictures of my best friend these days, my father's jong...a solid piece of 'don't mess with me' wood and much more. It's amazing what this static object can do for you....It's also amazing how well crafted this is..I especially liked how the arms where secured from the back...such interesting geometric shapes...

HKM and the passion

2012-02-03T22:16:00.000-08:00

[photo by Ray Wong]

It's so inspiring to feel and experience the passion of Wing Chun from Si Gung, Ho Kam Ming. To me, people are born to be great at something in this world and he was definitely born to be one of the best in WC. Here are some recent pictures taken of him showing some real joy..I just l love his natural expression...

People get really excited when they hear about my story and how I was basically named to someday learn WC. For me, I always asked my father/Sifu:

"Why did you name me Wing Chun?"

"How did you know I would be good at it, let alone like it?"

He would always say something like "I just knew and I loved WC so much!".

He was right.

It's amazing what a name can do for a person and how if you follow your instinct...you develop a certain 'knowing'.

For me, my goal was never to be an uber-fighting-kung-fu master.....but it was simply to find the answers from my curiosity of WC itself. I was (and still) so curious to know why it was so popular, who was Yip Man, why was he so powerful, why and how to apply the philosophy of the center line, how to become aware of my own thoughts and movements, how to be strong mentally and physically...how to truly harvest relaxation and looseness..but most importantly, how I could stay connected to my culture. Now that I actually feel the power a bit, it's nothing I've experienced before, nor can be fully explained.

Being Chinese is important to me given I'm Chinese American. I think about learning WC and being able to tell my kids one day the rich story behind it. It's a bit tough and strenuous now with work, travel, my Europe art exhibit preparation, and just life in general to practice the way I want to..but wow..I'm thankful for every priceless minute of it..

[photo by Ray Wong]

Glass and Tofu

2012-01-23T17:54:00.000-08:00

One thing I appreciate most about being Chinese American is learning Chinese proverbs and sayings. I think they're so fascinating and often true metaphors. They can be play on words, life lessons and maybe sayings I don't understand. This week, after another hard two hour training, Sifu explained one saying...

I had a question around blocking and why movements are so active. The short answer is that you have an attack move, then a safety move which gives every movement meaning.

As Si Gung once put it (around ducking): Question: Wing Chun doesn't advocate ducking. Many styles know this and use this against us. Is there a reason for this? How can you fight against other styles if you don't duck? Master Ho: According to Wing Chun theory, we don't duck, we keep our position. If your position is right, no one can get into your area. In Wing Chun, the whole structure is protecting your body; that is, as long as you play your own game. In Wing Chun we have a saying, "Glass head, tofu chest, and iron bridge." The bridge protects the head and body--the glass head and tofu chest. If you get hit in the head, it's like glass; in the chest and it's like tofu--smashed. The hand is like an iron bridge--the hand is the guard.

It's so important to learn how to protect the chest or your center where all your vital organs reside (e.g.heart, lungs, stomach, etc). Yes, it'll hurt if you get hit on the outside of your body (e.g. arms, legs) but fatal if your opponent strikes you dead on in the center, hence the relation to the 'tofu chest'.

That's how delicate your center is. The head is almost equally as fragile and referred to as glass - hard on the outside yet able to break with a strong blow.

Lessons this week:

Relax
Stay Loose
Explosive energy
Practice movements for muscle memory

108 and starting

2012-01-16T16:41:00.000-08:00

Some battle scars for today, but soon they'll disappear.

It was good waking up early today after coming back from my trip to London and Zurich for work. What I wasn't ready for was two hours of training on the wooden dummy to start my 108 muk yan jong training. Whew, it felt like basketball training for four hours all over again but the feeling was good at the end when I really started to get it...but I need way more practice...The hardest part is penetrating the jong so that you have balanced energy upon contact..and sticking to it. This keeps control of your opponent and promotes offensive power.

Some key points of learning mook yan jong:

1.) Practice footwork and eye/hand coordination
2.) Practice power and energy while sticking to the jong (gung lik or internal power)
3.) Practicing in the air and practicing form (There's specific angles of your arms and hands. It's important to practice in the air, staying relaxed so the movements eventually become natural. When I went to the jong, it helped to already know the movements, but the jong of course is another element I had to adjust to. I found some of my moves way off at times but all it means is more practice).
4.) All about placement, angle and form

Key limb movements:

Gaun sau 耕手
Huen sau 圈手
Low Bong sau 膀手

Some key points on footwork:

Beew Ma

Learn to enter an opponent on the offense
Learn to protect the center line on the defense
Learn to attack the center line

Always a pleasure learning from and watching Sifu Liu Ming Fai. His strength is unparalleled and it was great catching up with him in Foshan.

HKM lessons

2012-01-12T08:54:00.000-08:00

When I arrived in Zhu Hai to see Grandmaster, I was happy to meet Grandmaster Ho Kam Ming and his students along with some local Wing Chun enthusiasts documenting stories of Wing Chun.

After observing for a while, Grandmaster proceeded to work with me and my (still in progress and needs a lot of work) bong sau. This is the hardest movement for me to get right but he was patient, passionate and showed me how to relax and align myself.

After a while, it was a serious workout, even sitting down!...

Posture, relax and align to the center naturally was the emphasis here...

After about five hours, I ended up training with Anton, my Si Bok and a few others which was a real treat....and it was off to dinner....

The Sport

2011-12-28T23:07:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons why I started WC was because I always had a passion for sports. From 2nd grade, I'd skip lunch, grab some fries...maybe a burrito and rush out to the basketball courts and play a fun game of knock out or pickup. I remember the first game of basketball I ever played was with this little French boy in the cutest overalls named Pierre. He wasn't very good..but knew how to throw a mean granny shot :)

From there, I played all throughout school, to college and played competitively for over 8 years until I had a horrible accident during a playoff game (best scoring game of my career at the half with 19 points) and tore my acl. I was the starting point guard...co-captain....but after the knee injury, it was basically over. Unfortunately I tore my other acl 2 years later and you can imagine...so I just stopped playing basketball. I still play here and there but of course it's not the same. Some other sports I loved and played included volleyball, tennis, badminton (Central California state champ), track (I loved triple jump and the 440). I will say, being involved in sports was the single best teacher growing up in addition to the usual (e.g. family, friends, etc).

Later I decided there was much more than playing sports and looked into myself. The gift of WC my father gave me was another kind of sport...an art...a tradition..something that my father always said 'No one could take away from you'. He always says 'Once you practice WC, understand the essence, it's yours for life'.

He was right.

I'm still learning but after 4 years practicing 1-2 times a week...the energy and essence coming through is indescribable. It's more than memorizing a set of moves...it's a feeling, physical and mental state that's effortless, internal and strong, very strong. There's more to learn and I'm humbled that my journey brought me to meet Grandmaster Ho Kam Ming, his son Henry and my Si Bok Henry, among others....

I remember that day last month as I traveled with my parents by boat from Hong Kong to Zhu Hai, China, then by car, then by boat again back to HK. I happened to get stomach flu the very hour I was about to train with Grandmaster. I drank a coke, took a nap..and then the training began...

Intro

2011-12-20T22:33:00.000-08:00

My Father's favorite pair of training shoes, with a hole and jong in his garage.

My story of Wing Chun started long ago when my father named me by the Chinese name 'Wing Chun', 'forever spring' or namely, the form of martial arts popularized by a tradition and by Bruce Lee. My father had an uncanny fascination for WC and trained in several martial arts schools in Hong Kong in the early 60's until he discovered Sifu Ho Kam Ming. From then on, he kept his discipline and delegation with the Master Ho Kam Ming's teaching for forty years...even though he left Hong Kong for the US....

My Father (Sifu)

3 generations: A Ho Kam Ming class photo from the 60's. Ip Man is in the front row- center in dark clothing, Ho Kam Ming is to his immediate right with Augustine Fong in the back row- 4th from left.

Yip Man > Ho Kam Ming > My Dad

Master Ho Kam Ming is a distinguished disciple of Ip Man. He has more than 52 years of Wing Chun experience. He is one of the very few people who completed the entire Wing Chun system directly under Ip Man. Master Ho received more than seven years of formal instruction, averaging four hours daily, from Ip Man, and he stayed in close touch with him until he died. Master Ho always had access to corrections and explanations from Ip Man, including a lot of chi sao. Ip Man did not do chi sao with everyone. Master Ho belongs to a very small group of people who learned the bot jam do, the capstone of a detailed Wing Chun education, from Ip Man.

Master Ho opened his own school in Macao and formed the Ho Kam Ming Martial Arts Association. He has developed distinguished students who have done well in full-contact matches in Hong Kong, China and Singapore. His system and approach is well-tested. Master Ho moved to Toronto; a couple of his students still teach at the Macao school.*
*http://www.tempewingchun.com/teaching.html

To be honest, When I was a girl, I never thought much of Wing Chun. I remember always hearing comments from my parents friends or family members when they would say or learn of my Chinese name for the first time. They'd think it was cool. I never knew how important it would be until now...

And the adventure begins

2011-12-11T15:41:00.001-08:00

So I'm trying to get better at writing consistently and honestly, I'm still absorbing my experience from Foshan, Zhu Hai and Macao with grandmaster. I'll start my recap soon..in the meantime..enjoy some sneak peaks from my trip...

Temple by Yip Man Tong

Yip Man Tong Wing Chun Museum - Foshan

Nice meal with my parents and Si Suk Lui Ming Fai at the best vegetarian restaurant I've tasted...'Refreshing Vegetarian Food' 怡新素食

Tickets bought

2011-10-20T15:16:00.000-07:00

So getting over some knarly asthma this week and preparing my body for training with my father and grandmaster in Foshan. I'm really looking forward to it some things I need to practice before going: -Si Lim Tuw (lots of it) -Punches (lots of it too) This will be an honor to say the least and especially exciting since my entire family will be there. Stay tuned for more...

Starting a new adventure soon

2011-10-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

Hint one...Pilgramage to China

Foshan..Yip Man

Punching update

2011-04-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

I never knew the art of holding a fist or 'keun' could be so important. I've been learning to punch both hard and soft to practice exerting energy from my elbow to eventually have the penetrating power released from my three knuckles. The hardest part is holding the fist taught enough so that there's form, but relaxed enough so the fist is not deformed, but rather aligned. Check it out.

The Right way: Knuckles are aligned and fist is firm but relaxed

The wrong way is when your fist is deformed and not aligned with your knuckles. This serves as a leverage point between your three knuckles, the bone connecting to the three knuckes and the elbow. This creates an extremely powerful 'baton' like structure when you punch if the point of impact is located within those three knuckles

Exciting

2011-03-04T10:46:00.000-08:00

Just discovered some videos from Ho Kam Ming style on Youtube. I'm excited since I'm finally feeling the front fore arm power flow. The more loose I become, the easier it is for me to feel the power when I'm practicing Jong and Poon sau. Now more practice for bong sau.

Sing Chi Sau

Wing Chun Hong Kong connections

2011-01-12T05:49:00.000-08:00

Honored to have met Wing Chun master Sifu Lui Ming Fai in Hong Kong this trip...

My father (and Sifu) and I had a great conversation with Sifu Lui Ming Fai in Hong Kong. A skilled tournament fighter of Wing Chun, he talks about WC in the latest documentary http://alturl.com/hrv9y

two weeks until Hong Kong

2010-12-19T23:11:00.001-08:00

And training balance between staying loose and pushing power forward. Probably one of the hardest things to train for that I've experienced. It seems the absence of thinking, actually creates more power...it's amazing..

Practicing Punching with changing stance

2010-11-28T18:46:00.000-08:00

After a full set of practice today, Sifu introduced punching while adding the 'yeew lic' or pelvic strength to practice agility. The coordination between hand and eye is challenging and fun.

Practice Practice Practice

2010-11-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

I'm starting a weekly training regimen to prepare for my visit to Macau to visit some of the martial arts legends. Here we go

1. 30+ minutes Poon Sau each.
2. Five Hundred Kicks minimum.
3. Three Hundred punches minimum.
4. 50 times on Chum Kui first section minimum.
5. 10 times on Chum Kui second section minimum.
6. 50 punches sand bag each side minimum.
7. 50 times on single hand Chi Sau each side minimum.
8. 50 times on lap Sau each side minimum.
9. 15 Minutes on Siu Lim Tao first section.

It's a nice mix of cardio and precision...so excited.

5 part documentary Wing Chun and Karate Black Belt

2010-11-14T21:26:00.000-08:00

Interesting 5 part documentary of a Black Belt on a quest to Macau to learn the ways of Wing Chun and encouters surprises along the way. It became the catalyst of what I'm anticipating for January.

Practicing Siu Nim Tuw - 2nd set

2010-07-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

Focusing on being loose and doing every move in a very crisp and accurate way. I'm trying to develop the heaviness in my arms.

Progress

2010-06-14T20:49:00.001-07:00

Si Dai and myself are starting to feel more and more loose. The energy is beginning to flow more easily and we're excited for the next few months of training. Sifu introduced us in the past training to kicking the mook jong. The lesson was to work on balance and the penetrating power that comes from striking the jong with the kick. I was practicing this and realized it was much harder than it looked since my foot slipped all the time (my kungfu slippers look pretty but don't have any grip! :P). The actual connection feels the same when I practice punching the sand bag and the punch is steady, accurate and substantial. There's a sound to the perfect punch, even the perfect kick...I think it's similar to shooting the perfect free throw. There's a rhythm, muscle memory and feeling when you know it's right.

Punching 101

2010-04-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

When I first started the punching exercise, one of the few areas that Sifu asked told me to focus on was staying loose. It has already been 10 months since I started, and I am glad that I stuck to it.

Consider someone throwing a baseball at me. If the pitcher throws a slow moving ball, it's not going to hurt a whole lot when it hits me. Now let's have a professional baseball player throw a fast ball straight at me. It will be painful. Why does it hurt a lot more? What’s the main difference between the two pitches? It is the speed of the ball.

Throwing a punch is like throwing a baseball, but instead of throwing a ball, you’re throwing your fist. To deliver a “powerful” punch, there are 2 variables—mass and velocity. Power can be measured in Joules, and here is how (back to my high school physics):

P = ½mv²

P stands for power, m stands for mass, and v stands for velocity, or speed. Speed is the only variable that I have control over when I throw a punch. In order to increase the speed of my punch, I need to stay loose. Here is my understanding: For example, I flex my triceps when I push against an object. If my biceps are not loose while pushing, my triceps will need to flex a little extra to get the job done. That's energy wasted due to the unnecessary tension. The ideal setup for pushing an object is that my biceps are totally relaxed so that nothing is working against my triceps when I push. So, to make sure that my arms and body are relaxed when practicing punching, I have to punch slowly, so I can make sure that all muscles and tendons that work against this motion stays loose, and only muscles and tendons that contribute to this motion get to work.

Practice, Practice, Practice

2010-04-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

I'll be honest, sometimes I can be impatient when learning something new and I know the only way to be exceptional is to practice non-stop. This remains true as I'm practicing 'Poon Sau' and 'Che Kuen' repeatedly every day. I'm getting a burning and tightening sensation in my deltoid and bicep area each time and I asked Sifu what the reason behind this was (other than just the daily practice of muscles getting tired from working out). He said to develop the true essence, the power of Wing Chun, I have to go through this process of loosening up (experiencing the burning pains in the upper arms). There are three stages in which the power becomes heavy, always existent, never forced, flexible, agile and removed from muscle power, which is limited.

1.) Release - the power (or energy) from the shoulder is stagnant for the most part and by practicing 'Poon Sau' and 'Che Kuen', I begin to loosen up after repetitive practice. The loosening process starts at the upper arm, deltoid area, or 1st chamber.

2.) Deliver - after the upper arm is loosened, the power, and heaviness falls into the forearms, or 2nd chamber. There is an ultimate flexibility and effortless feeling where your forearms start to develop a heaviness, and the ability for the power to move forward becomes more apparent.

3.) Extend - power moves throughout the arm, into the forearm and eventually extends out in an extremely powerful transference. This is the ability to have a powerful 1 inch punch, or power transferred through a sword, or long wooden staff (You realize the power is passed through when you see the end of the object vibrate naturally).

All of this is practiced with emphasis on understanding center points of the body and how they all align perfectly.

Wing Chun Video Hour

2010-03-19T05:45:00.000-07:00

I've decided to compile video clips from the past few weeks of training with Sifu and Hubert. I typically shoot during practice and post right away to twitter(follow me @woosachi). So kick back, relax, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the shows!

Pushing hands practice
Hubert and Sifu practice pushing hands, letting loose and pushing forward. There's emphasis on relaxing the arms, breathing and pushing out energy from the center line of the arm structures. The shoulders are loose, the power is heavy and the arm should not lock up.

Transference of power
This is Sifu training one of my arms by pushing power into the elbow and ensuring my 'bong sau' is correct. I'm feeling a lot of tension and resistance in my arm which forces me to relax my shoulder while maintaining stability and structure in my arm. There is a constant emphasis on keeping my elbow dropped low, relaxed so any energy or tension from Sifu does not transfer and strain my shoulder. Power is leveraged when it's directed into the elbow. (mom's videotaping :))

Automatic punch without thought
Sifu is putting pressure on Hubert's punch and makes him practice releasing a punch without thought. When you're in a fight, it takes a split second to make your move and there is no time for thought. By the time you try to 'think' of your next move, the opponent has likely punched you silly. Because we are conditioned by muscles to punch, this is difficult because your mentality is to move forward, strike and continue that movement until you've taken the opponent down. It helps to be blindfolded or keep your eyes shut so that you react based on feeling and not on trying to solely anticipate the next move (odds are lower if you're trying to 'think' your way to beating an opponent).

Explosive Bone Joint Vs Muscle Power
Sifu demonstrating the difference between bone joint power (the power that is created from joint and tendon energy or the ability to generate as much force as fast as possible) vs. muscle power (usually referred to as strength to generate as much power as possible with no consideration of time). This a key principle to the one inch punch...(more to come on that). Bone joint power requires no distance like muscle power and requires being completely relaxed and flexible. The way to train for this is to:
1.) Poon Sau
2.) Letting out energy
3.) Practice Explosive Power

Chi Sau 黐手

2010-03-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

Weekend recap

Chi Sau - This is the #1 practice needed to generate the power that comes from Wing Chun. It's not from building muscles, because that's fleeting. It's developed through an internal sense of loose motion, focus and determination. I'm working on 'pushing forward' my arms and adding tension without adding tension so the heaviness in my arms develop.

The issues I'm having is locking up when my arms tense up and Sifu gives me more tension. The secret seems to be to stay loose, developing power regardless of the tension given.

Changing hands when 黐手 needs to stay stuck together, all aligned in the wrists, arms and hands where the arms do not retract to the body but rather maintain the position. There is no gap and the focus is based on letting loose of shoulders and letting the elbows fall naturally while pushing forward. The stance always follows the strike.

1:1 Sifu
Benefits of practicing with Sifu 1:1 is the transference of power directly to the elbows instead of negative tension to the shoulders. This cannot be done effectively 1:1 with someone who has not cultivated the qi power...loose power.

Review Siu Lim Tao 小念頭
My movements are still not fluid and there's abotu 1/10 of a second delay of when my arm reacts with a punch. Si Lim Tao is intended to condition the mind for automatic action and also a meditative practice.

Sand Bag - practicing power of punching at the 2 inch level to practice flexibility and moving forward to 1 inch punch in the future. The intent is to practice at a level where you start to cultivate the loose energy with minimal effort. The key is to always imagine punching through the bag almost like a follow through in a free throw for basketball. You always want to follow through when shooting a free throw ensuring the power is equally distributed in a focused and precise manner.

That's it folks for this week, more exciting pictures and videos soon!

Mook Jong 101

2010-02-13T15:13:00.000-08:00

Refined Elegance
Learning forms and repetition is an easy task that requires the brain to identify, remember, implement and practice in order to master something. It reminds me of being in elementary school and taking spelling tests and studying index cards for hours in order to remember how to spell words. When the test came, I could spell the word, but could I include it in creative story? Probably not. No spelling B champion here. I'm happy that my training is taking all measures to learn each move precisely and true to form like Ip Man. His forms are crisp, flexible, loose and along the center line..something I'm striving for...Eventually, it's not just the technical form that is perfected, but harnessing the natural heavy Qi energy that is far more powerful than muscle in my opinion.

Mook Jong
I began the first 5 moves in training with the Mook Jong today (aka wooden dummy). Talk about your truest competitor! The best thing is that the Mook Jong is mounted on springs and returns the same force back to you upon striking. The heaviness and solid nature of the Jong is something to be reckoned with. Sifu told me that learning from the Jong in the past required being extremely relaxed first and having experience with sticky hands and Poon Sau. In history, Mook Jong was only taught to those that were ready and charged a high premium for learining each of the 101 moves.

Things to always remember...

Be Flexible and loose (aka 'fong sung' in cantonese)
Moving as a unit (arms, hands leg)
Center line

Like Rope
Sticking hands is literally sticking your hands together like a rope, leaving no space or (Huy wai) for the component to use the space against you to strike. You always have contact, feel your opponent and strike or defend accordingly. Like a rope twisted tightly and intertwined together.

Wing Chun Practice

2010-02-07T19:57:00.001-08:00

Setting up this blog to document the Wing Chun training that's started about 2 years for me and up to 6 months from my Si Dai. My dad is the Sifu and all of us will be contributing to this blog with our experience. Our forms is based on the Ho Kam Ming lineage. Enjoy and more to come!