I don’t know about you, but I constantly revise existing goals and set new ones for my Wing Chun throughout the year. Many people, however,  like to set New Year Resolutions,  so in keeping with that tradition here are my New Year Wing Chun goals.

• practice more!

OK, that’s just one goal. If we want to get granular, we can break that down like this:

• be robotically consistent with times set for practice. That means if it’s on the plan, it gets done! If the plan says I have 5 Wing Chun training sessions this week, then I do 5 Wing Chun training sessions!
• practise more with real people outside of class. Whether this practise consists of a time arranged on a different day to the class with a willing partner, or simply chi sauing after the class, more chi sau is necessary.
• attend more classes. At the moment, I attend one class per week. I could feasibly attend one more class. Just think, doing one more class doubles the class time I’m currently getting.
• do a little bit of Wing Chun every day. I think this is key. Currently I don’t train on Sundays. I will change that. It doesn’t mean I have to change Sundays drastically; I don’t need to slot in a daunting 2 hour training session. Even if I practice my bong saus for 10 minutes and then do 10 minutes of punching, that will be good. Sometimes, when I’m due a lunchtime training session but “something comes up” meaning that I can’t do the session, I don’t make up for that later. I could, though. I could do a little bit in the evening, without impacting the day too much.
• be a bit more practical in my Wing Chun practice. Does my Wing Chun training really prepare me for a confrontation in the street? If not, find out what’s missing and fix it.

Warning: if I were you, I would avoid setting New Year Resolutions. Using one special occasion to create goals puts too much pressure on you to achieve them. If goals are worth setting, you would set them when they need setting, not wait for a once a year event.

I don’t do much kicking and the thought struck me that I could use my Wing Chun dummy to practice my kicks on. After a few beers I created this kicking exercise!

Face the dummy square on, with one hand forward, one back, as in long wu sau, normal wu sau. Step to the left, as in the start of the dummy form, but instead of stepping forward with the right foot, kick the dummy with that right foot. Just a low kick, but make it short and snap it out quickly. Keep you hands up in wu saus as you kick, and immediately after the kick remain balanced and upright. The kick should connect on the dummy with the heel. Shake it, don’t break it.

As the right foot comes down after the kick, move into gaan sau, as you would do in the dummy form. You can follow the form here and do a kwan sau after that. After the kwan sau, though, repeat the kicking action on the other side by stepping right with the right foot and kicking the dummy with the left. We’re just repeating what we did on the other side now.

Basically, all you’re doing is stepping to the left and kicking with the right, then stepping to the right and kicking with the left. Each time you step and prepare to kick, you are facing the dummy but from one side. Doing these movements seems to fit in well witrh the early sections of the dummy form, so why not use something familiar to practice your kicking?

This exercise is one that you can just cycle over and over. When you’ve finished one kick, step into gaan sau and repeat.

I’m in a different training groove at the moment. Previously, I had been trying to balance mornings and lunchtimes between my Wing Chun training and working on my websites. What I had been doing was alternating mornings (when I have a full hour and a half to work with) between “doing Wing Chun” and “doing websites”, and whichever activity I did in the morning, I would do the other one at lunch.

So I had something like this:

This was good for Wing Chun, as I got 3 mornings devoted to training, and I could spend an hour and a half (less travelling/changing time) doing it. The problem was that I have a sedentary job that involves me being stuck in front of a computer from 9 to 5:30. Lunchtimes are ideal for getting a real break from sitting down staring at a computer monitor. Having a break halfway through the day where you do some physical exercise is a great way to relieve stress and stop you from going mad.

On the other hand, sitting in front of a computer at lunchtime doing more computer work, when I’ve already done half a day of the same, is a great way to build up stress levels and go stir crazy.

So, I’ve decided to sacrifice my huge morning Wing Chun sessions for working on my websites and I’m now doing my Wing Chun training every lunchtime. In real terms, this reduces my WC training time from one hour to half an hour. That might sound like a big cut, but one of the benefits is that I keep my sanity. Doing an extra hour and a half of computer work before I start my real job and having a physical break at lunchtime feels much better than having the physical break in the morning and then working all the way through.

As for Wing Chun training, 30 minutes every day is not as much as I’d like but it’s more than nothing, and more than a lot of people put in. And it’s consistent, regular training time.

This is turning into a pep talk.

I also work on my dummy on Monday nights, Tuesday nights, alternate Thursday nights and Fridays nights too. These little sessions are maybe 20 minutes to 30 minutes long. Add on to that my Saturday class and I’m looking a little less lazy.

I think “little and often” summarises my training plan at the moment. But there’s a lot to be said for doing a little bit of Wing Chun every day. I think also that the way you train makes a big difference. I’m focusing more than I used too (take, for example, my new method of training Tsum Kiu). I’ve got 5 half hour slots every week. If I decide to practice one different thing in each session, that’s half an hour for each one. I don’t know about you, but 30 minutes of punching practise is enough for me. 30 minutes of leg training is also adequate. So you can actually get a lot done in those 5 slots.

As always, it’s all about structuring your training to get the best use of time. Train smart etc.

My training this week is going well. I know it’s only Tuesday, but hopefully, I’ll maintain my fortitude throughout the week.

Yesterday I had the usual argument in my head on my way to work about whether to go to the gym for an hour before work or whether to do something else (also constructive). In the end, Wing Chun training lost out to learning PHP but what I did do was an hour of Chi Sau at lunch and an hour on the dummy in the evening. That’s not bad going for me. Two whole hours in one day. It would have been three if I’d gone to the gym in the morning, but I do have a life outside of Wing Chun that I’m trying to hang onto.

Doing three one hour chi sau sessions a week looks like becoming an established routine now, which is brilliant. My only concern is that chi sauing with the same person all the time gets you used to their way of working. Just because you can handle yourself in chi sau with that person, it doesn’t mean that your Wing Chun will stand up to someone else’s chi sau. But I do get to chi sau with other students during and after my weekly class, so it’s all good. And, up to a point, I think that doing a lot of chi sau with the same person is better than doing none at all.

This morning I did 30 minutes of Chun Yuen and 15 minutes of Siu Lim Tau. I also got an hour in on the dummy later this evening.

The dummy is going well. I read on a forum yesterday that the tan sau -> gaan sau -> kwan sau in the first section of the dummy form mirrors the third section of Siu Lim Tau. I’d not thought of that. I read somewhere else that a particular teacher’s method is to teach “the next bit” of the dummy every time students learn the the next form. So it sounds like the dummy is a way of practising the application of the forms in the absence of a partner. And it looks like maybe 0.01% of the crap I read on Wing Chun forums turns out to be informative.

Random Youtube Video

I think I was looking for “fast hands” when I found this. I’m going to ask sifu if we can start wearing biker jackets in class.

 Crack that power baby!

My Wing Chun training this week has gone pretty well:

• Saturday – 2 hour long classes each of Chun Yuen (Shaolin Kung Fu) and Wing Chun
• Monday – 1 hour in the gym before work. I did 30 minutes of Chun Yuen and then 30 minutes of Tsum Kiu and Siu Lim Tau
• Tuesday – 30 minutes of leg training and punching practice at lunch and then 30 minutes on the dummy in the evening. My stepping around the dummy is getting sharper.
• Wednesday – 45 minutes consisting of 30 minutes of Chun Yuen and a 15 minute Siu Lim Tau. 50 minutes chi sau at lunch. I always cut our practice short at 50 minutes to give me chance to get back to work on time, but I could probably stretch it to an hour if I want to get all anal about getting a full hour in. I actually practised my bong sau for 10 minutes in the evening to make that 50 minutes into an hour. Yes, anal.
• Thursday – 30 minutes of leg training at lunchtime.
• Friday – 45 minutes (30 minutes of Tsum Kiu and 15 minutes of Su Lim Tau). 1 hour of chi sau at lunch.
• Saturday – 1 hour class of Chun Yuen, followed by 1 hour class of Wing Chun
• Monday – 45 minutes of Chun Yuen followed by a 15 minute Siu Lim Tau in the morning. 1 hour of Chi Sau at lunch. 1 hour on the dummy in the evening. Strangely, today’s training was easily doable, because the Chun Yuen was the only physically demanding bit. If it was weight training 3 times a day it would be a different matter.

If all goes to plan, I’ll be able to manage 1 hour in the gym in the morning and 1 hour of Chi Sau at lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays and Thursdays will be 30 minutes each in the gym. Monday evenings, Tuesday evenings and Friday evenings I might be able to do a little on the dummy. If I do the dummy for half an hour as soon as I get in from work, then “house chores” won’t kill off my Wing Chun.

Today I invented a new exercise for my Wing Chun training. Your left hand presses down on your partner’s right hand, and both hands are just above waist height. As your hand is on top, you want to release your partner’s hand to hit him in the face (as lightly as you like). He/she has to block the strike, probably with a tan sau of the same hand.

I often find myself in the situation where my left hand is on top of my partner’s right hand like this. It just stays there, not pressing down but resisting any pressure that my partner exerts upwards. From there I can usually leave the hand quickly and reach the face before my partner has time to react.

Because this happens so often, I thought we could make an exercise out of it today during some lunchtime chi sau practice.

It’s not just a speed test. Because the “under hand” has to be aware of when the top hand leaves, it’s a good sensitivity exercise. And because minimal Wing Chun skill is required, you can practise with people who don’t do martial arts. You don’t have to go mad with the striking hand. If you can lightly tap your partner’s face, causing no harm, then equally you should be able to land a punch.

When I had the under hand, I was able to get the tan sau up to block, but I wanted to turn as well. There just wasn’t enough time to turn as well. I don’t think it’s beyond the realms of possibility to be able to tan sau and turn to block the strike, but I’ll need much more practice on this.

My line manager at work is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, so I’ll ask him later if he thinks he’s got quick reactions. That should get a good response. Hold on, he’s just come back from a meeting now.

I had a good week last week. I managed to get in two lunchtime chi sau sessions with someone from my class, in addition to the class I went to on Saturday. Practising forms and techniques on your own is good but you need to balance that with “hands on” time, too. For me, the opportunity to chi sau is limited so I jump at any chance I get to do more. My chi sau practise partner says he can make 3 lunchtimes a week now so hopefully my skill and his should rocket.

On top of that, I’ve finally got my dummy up and running. I’ve had it since 2009, but it’s been in bits in my spare room. I’m in the process of getting my house decorated so I’m throwing out loads of junk. The junk I threw out of my spare room made enough space – you don’t need much – to set up my dummy. The spare room is now my dummy practice room. I only know the first section of the dummy form, so I’m practising that, but I’ve also invented my own practice routines. For example: use the left dummy arm and meet it with your right (long) wu sau, left pak sau, right palm strike, right lap sau, left chop, left pak sau, right punch. It’s a simple combination with 3 strikes, each with alternating hands. The hand that isn’t striking is doing a pak sau or lap sau. I’m really aware that my “combinations” in chi sau are crap. I can position myself pretty well to make one strike, but I never follow up with others. Hopefully, my friend the dummy will help me improve that.

Motivational Note

• My chi sau partner plans to do 9 hours of Wing Chun training every week. 9 hours! That’s far more than me. Must change that.
• Someone I was chi sauing with after class on Saturday said that he tries to do 2 hours of practise every day. 2 hours!! I wish I had 2 spare hours every day.

Currently, 3 chi sau sessions a week + 1 class = 4 hours of Wing Chun a week. I need more! The problem is where to fit more training in, as I have other commitments. With a traditional “day job” spare time falls into the following categories:

• morning, before work
• lunchtimes
• evenings, after work
• weekends

Here is the plan though: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I’ll go to the gym before work and do one hour of training. On those same days, I’ll chi sau at lunchtime for an hour. Tuesdays and Thursdays I’ll go to the gym at lunch and do half an hour each day (the travel time + shower time drastically reduces the practice time). Monday and Tuesday evening I’ll do an hour.

That makes 11 hours. If I can do the plan, it’ll be great.

The morning gym sessions are a combination of Chun Yuen (Shaolin Kung Fu) and Wing Chun, but as there is a bit of an overlap between the two (i.e. for the strength and flexibility training), I’m counting all the hours.

Tips On Motivation

I get lots of people coming to this site looking for tips on motivation. Most of the stuff I’ve written is about motivation in general, so I thought I’d write about my experiences with motivation in Wing Chun specifically.

In addition to all the popular methods of improving motivation in general (like eating healthily, getting enough rest, etc), there are some specific techniques that I’ve found to be useful in generating motivation in my Wing Chun training. Most of us will go through periods of demotivation where we feel disinterested or apathetic when it comes to training. I know I have. It does get easier though, and eventually you will just train whether you feel motivated or not. In fact, the feeling of motivation/demotivation isn’t something you’ll be aware of: you’ll just “do”.

It’s a case of making the decision and then following it through, whether you like it or not.  If you train long enough, you’ll learn to just ignore the internal voice telling you not to train tonight. Train a little longer and that voice will dwindle away to nothing and you’ll find that training is just as much a part of your life as breathing. While you’re still on your journey to reach that point, you might find the following motivation tips useful. And remember: feeling demotivated occasionally is natural – it’s not a sign that you should give up.

Wing Chun Motivation Tips

1. Assign yourself missions/mini projects. Set goals to push yourself – it makes training more interesting. Here are some examples of mini projects that have helped me:
   • do Siu Lim Tau every day – without fail – for 2 weeks
   • take the first part of Tsum Kiu (leading up to and including the 3 palm strikes) and practise that 10 times every day for a month
   • do 30 bong saus on the first day and increase the number by 10 every day for a month. This means left bong sau – turn to the left – right bong sau – repeat. That is: bong sau, turn, bong sau, turn etc.
2. Find role models and study them. This can be role models in any area you want to improve (stretching, trapping, strength). I like watching Paul Vunak’s trapping. Don’t restrict yourself to “big name” role models. What about the senior members in your class, how are they training?
3. Watch/listen to inspirational material. Ever heard of Zig Ziglar? The audio CD I linked to is one that I’ve listened to many a time on my drive to work.
4. Find someone in your class who is around your level and aspire to become better than them. I know that ideally you should just strive to be “the best you can be”, but sometimes competing with yourself just doesn’t cut the mustard. If that’s true for you, find a (friendly) rival.
5. Pick one thing, and try to perfect it over a period of time. For example, for one week I’m focusing on isolating my shoulder when I perform bong saus and tan saus. But it’s up to you what you pick, and how long you devote to this special “focus time”. I know I won’t make big progress in isolating my shoulder movement when changing from tan sau to bong sau in just one week, but the knowledge that I’m spending high quality time on something so important (and usually neglected) makes me feel good, if nothing else. Spending extra time on leg training over the period of one month will yield gains that are more tangible, though. Being able to feel that you’re progressing and see real improvementsis a great way to become even more motivated.
6. Change your daily routine. If when you get home after work you eat your evening meal and then surf the internet, do Siu Lim Tau when you get home instead. OK, some elements of your daily routine are crucial and can’t be changed – like work – so there are some restrictions that prevent you shaking up your routine too much!
7. Find a partner to practise with outside of class. As well as getting extra practise time, you also get a different quality of practice, as you are able to spend more time focusing on certain things, and you can experiment more.
8. Read motivational stories about “successful” martial artists. Bruce Lee’s biography describes how driven he was and is a good antidote to the “I can’t be bothered this week” moments.
9. Immerse yourself a little deeper into Wing Chun. Read about its history and learn about influential proponents of the art (provided that you don’t get sucked into harmful politics). If your sifu or sigong has written books or made videos on the subject, buy them and devour them.
10. Stop listening to your negative internal voice. What a cliché! However, cliché or not, I have had arguments with myself in my head where I’m battling with myself over the decision to go to class tonight or not. Sometimes the lazy (or is it fearful…?) side wins and I don’t go, and sometimes it’s the positive and determined side that wins. Fed up with this internal struggle, I developed a method for banishing it from my head entirely. I call it the “shut up, I don’t want to talk about it” method. It’s easy to use: you simply make the decision to go to class and then every time that stupid nagging voice pipes up and tries to persuade you not to go you tell it to “shut the **** up, the decision has already been made”. You just avoid thinking about it. How can you get dissuaded from going to class if you don’t listen to the argument? Note to self: keep internal dialogue internal. Especially if your mind wanders during a meeting.
11. Have a smart sifu. If your sifu is the kind of person who gives you responsibilities that encourage you to train more, lucky you. I’m one of the lucky ones. My sifu gets the more experienced class members to lead the class during Siu Lim Tau and also gets them to adopt a minor teaching role themselves to help beginners. If you don’t train enough, you’re going to look like crap doing your Siu Lim Tau in front of the class. Also, when a more junior member asks you how to use a gaan sau and you look blankly at them (what’s a gaan sau…?) because you don’t know, you’re going to feel a right berk. Sifu knows this and knows that all weaknesses are spotlighted under the harsh scrutiny of the class. Or at least it feels that way. Increased responsibility encourages more training, if only to avoid the embarrassment of not being worthy of it!
12. Along the same lines as the above – seek out situations that force you to train more. If you have enough experience, become a sifu. You’ll then have a lot to live up to. Knowing that you are responsible for a group of students’ development is a powerful motivator! Also, discerning students don’t hang around bad teachers, so you’d better shape up.
13. Identify obstacles and remove them. Sometimes a lack of motivation originates from problems you experience when you train, so have a closer look at what’s really going on. If you find it hard to balance on one leg when you’re doing leg training, then maybe wearing different trainers would help. If your sifu asks questions in class to test you, and you feel dumb because you don’t know the answers, then do some homework. If you get stressed out because your chi sau becomes too competitive, then step back and ask yourself why you need to win all the time. Insead of tensing up and being determined to “come out on top”, remain relaxed throughout your chi sau and expect to get hit. Sometimes it’s better to get hit more than your partner in chi sau, especially if you’re working on things like relaxation and technique. If you have to eat your evening meal after your late Wing Chun class and you end up eating immediately before going to bed, you might suffer from indigestion/bad sleeping patterns and this might deter you from going to that class. Consider eating a lighter meal before bed (pure veg works for me) or 2 light meals, one before and one after class. Another obstacle to enjoying a pleasant training session is my damn trainers’ insistence on gripping the floor like superglue when I do Tsum Kiu. This grip is fine if you’re doing something static like Siu Lim Tau, but is a complete nightmare when doing Juen Ma (turning – think Tsum Kiu). The answer? A beat up pair of 12 year old squash trainers that allow just enough slide for Juen Ma.

Most people feel demotivated at times when it comes to training. The students who improve the most are the ones who accept this feeling and just get on with it anyway.

I’ve been doing a form of Northern Shaolin kung fu (Chun Yuen) since January, and I have to say that it’s had a slimming effect on my physique! Prior to that I’d given up the gym workouts I used to do as there was no time to do both Wing Chun and gym exercise. Consequently, I’ve been feeling a bit lardy.

Thanks to the enthusiasm of a friend who recommended Chun Yuen, I decided to start attending classes.

The form that we start off with in the Chun Yuen class is called Xing Shou and it involves lots of stretching and a few high kicks. Because I like pushing myself, I make all my stances as low as possible, and this really stretched my legs. As the stance is low, it requires a lot of muscle power to stand back up again.

I know around 3/4 of the Xing Shou form and it includes maybe 20 low stances. I love these low stances as they stretch your muscles, making you more flexible, and they make you stronger because of the effort needed to stand up again. This section of the form also includes 5 kicks which I try to do as high as possible.

The end result of all this effort is a bucket of sweat and a nice relaxed feeling in my muscles when I walk out of the gym.

I don’t tend to weigh myself, but I can definitely feel slimmer than I was 3 months ago. I’m also more flexible too. I’ve seen a few books on Amazon that extol the virtues of Shaolin Kung Fu for “working out” and losing weight, but I didn’t realise just how enjoyable – and effective – it would be.

• The Shaolin Workout: 28 Days to Transforming Your Body and Soul the Warrior’s Way – Yan Ming Shi
• Shaolin Warrior – Workout – Vol 1 – Beginners – Shifu Yan Lei

Since January, I’ve been doing one hour long Chun Yuen class and 2 workouts during the week that last 30 minutes each. Given the short amount of time spent each week doing the Shaolin Kung Fu, I’m surprised by the effect it’s had on my body. When I used to exercise “conventionally” in the gym more, I used to do around 40 minutes every day. Now I’m exercising for less time but I’m feeling slimmer and fitter. Weird.

Although Chun Yuen is a martial art, there is not much emphasis on its martial applications. To be honest, this doesn’t bother me at all. I have my Wing Chun for that. For me, the two arts are performing different functions: Wing Chun is for self defense and Chun Yuen for fitness, strength and flexibility. Fortunately, the Chun Yuen training complements the Wing Chun perfectly.

I thought I’d write about the things I’ve found hard in my Wing Chun training, and hopefully give you some solace if you’re struggling with the same things. The following are comments I’ve made and comments I’ve heard others make:

• “Siu lim tau is mind numbingly boring, in fact it’s like torture“. Yes, it does eem that way when you first start, even if you do it for a mere 10 minutes. However, the more times you do it, the easier it gets. That’s not to say you “master” it. You can continually challenge yourself by spending more time doing it. Many people in my class do Siu Lim Tau for around 40 minutes. The key is to keep at it and just try to lengthen it by something small like a minute per week. You choose your own level of progress.
• “I can’t think of what to do next in chi sau, my mind goes blank“. This is very common, so don’t think you are alone. Don’t worry about it. To a certain extent, it doesn’t matter if you keep repeating the same techniques or combinations of techniques. If your sifu shows you a new technique, try and incorporate that into your chi sau. This is easier said than done if your partner is competitive and is trying to knock your block off! There won’t be any time to stop, think and plan your attack. Suggest taking it in turns practising the technique. If you have a training partner you work with outside of class, you could go over new techniques that your sifu showed you. Practise them enough and their use will become subconscious and automatic.
• “My legs shake like mad doing Siu Lim Tau“. Yep, they are working hard. It’s to be expected, so relish the pain! The more times you do it, the stronger they will get. When you conquer a 10 minute Siu Lim Tau, try for 15 minutes. But make sure you warm up properly before starting.
• “My shoulder/elbow/wrist/posture isn’t right when I do Siu Lim Tau“. If you don’t do Siu Lim Tau in front of a mirror, you should try. Your reflection will show you if your shoulder is too high (tense) when you’re extending your tan sau/fuk sau and you can correct yourself. Similarly, you can spot if your wu sau is too high, too, and a myriad of other faults.
• “I’m not sure whether I’m spending equal amounts of time on my left and right sides in Siu Lim Tau“. Three choices: 1) estimate how much time you’re spending on each extension/retraction of tan sau/wu sau and try and make them the same, 2) have a clearly visible clock handy, 3) count internally. Ideally, you should be emptying your mind of any thoughts while you do Siu Lim Tau, so although counting internally is a good way to do things in the beginning, you really should be striving to let the feelings guide you.
• “Some people I chi sau with use too much force and have heavy hands“. Whilst this can be uncomfortable for you if you are trying to use soft hands and you find that their strength overpowers you (even though their technique might not be very good), use it as a learning experience. If your Wing Chun is good, you should be able to use their strength against them. Don’t avoid them in class, seek them out. When chi sauing with someone who does use a lot of strength, I’ve found that being aware of when I’m resisting and meeting their strength with my own (bad!) really helps. Only when you are aware of what you’re doing can you change it. If they’re pressing on you, change it. Maybe use angles more. If they keep breaking away from you so that they can take “pot shots”, get in close.
• “I struggle to do the things we have to do in class“. Do more at home. There is no other way around this, and the solution is common to any skill you attend a class to learn. If you want to get better, you have to practise. Practise enough and then the class becomes easy.
• “I don’t know how to practise Wing Chun“.  Everything you are shown in class, you can practise in your own time. You know how to do a tan sau and a bong sau? Great! Now you can practise changing your tan sau to a bong sau. You’ve been shown how to turn? Now you can practise changing your bong sau to a tan sau whilst turning.
• “I’m just not getting any better“. Stop whining and practise more. Practise where you can: whilst waiting for the kettle to boil do some bong saus, do some punches while your partner goes to the toilet (not suitable for restaurants) etc. Get creative with your training: imagine the hatstand is an opponent and practise your footwork around it.
• “I’m always being told my shoulders are too tense in class“. This is also to be expected. It takes a great deal of practise to be able to really isolate your hand movements so your shoulder doesn’t tense up too much while chi sauing.  It’s hard enough when you’re alone and practising bong sau – tan sau, but when you’re doing chi sau and have all that adrenaline rushing around there is a tendency to tense up when someone is trying to hit you. The best thing to do is just accept that your shoulders are too tense and work towards improving it. It helps if you don’t get too hung up on trying not to get hit. Ironically, the more you let go and become less bothered about getting hit, the more you can relax and the better your chi sau will be.