Leo Imamura: Living the Gung Fu Life

Posted by: Wayne Belonoha In: Articles 17 Mar 2017 Comments: 0 Tags: Interview, Leo Imamura, Moy Yat

LEO IMAMURA (MOY YAT SANG) IS A DISCIPLE OF GRANDMASTER MOY YAT. THE “GUNG FU LIFE” PROCESS PROVIDED BY HIS SIFU MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR IMAMURA TO ACT IN DIFFERENT PROFESSIONAL AREAS, RANGING FROM PREPARING THE MILITARY FOR THE UN PEACEKEEPERS TO CONSULTING IN HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT FOR COMPANIES OF ALL SIZES.

As a full-time professional Sifu, he is dedicated to providing “Gung Fu Life” to his local and international Wing Chun descendants who come from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United States, as well as other countries.

In 1992, Imamura was the first university professor of martial arts recognised by the Education and Culture Ministry of Brazil and has been involved in a number of projects concerning the martial arts, particularly Wing Chun, for leading universities in his country.

Remembering Koo Sang Sifu

Posted by: Alan Lamb In: Articles 10 Jan 2017 Comments: 0 Tags: Alan Lamb, Koo Sang

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON’T KNOW ME, I AM FROM ENGLAND AND THE WORLD’S FIRST NON-ASIAN, HONG KONG TRAINED MASTER OF WING CHUN GUNG FU. I WAS CERTIFIED TO TEACH THE ART BY KOO SANG SIFU IN 1975.

I began my martial arts training in Wado Ryu Karate in the early 1960s under Sensei Danny Chaganis in the little seaside town of South Shields, in the North East of England—the town from which famed moviemakers, Tony and Ridley Scott, hail.

I later studied Wing Chun under Sifu Paul Lam in London. Paul was the first Chinese master to teach Wing Chun to foreigners in the UK. He was held in high esteem by the local Chinese community there, as a teacher and a businessman.

Make Wing Chun Your Slave… Not Your Master!

Posted by: David Peterson In: Articles 10 Dec 2016 Comments: 0 Tags: David Peterson, WSLVT

THE TITLE OF THIS ARTICLE IS PROBABLY FAMILIAR TO NEARLY ALL WHO READ IT, BEING PART OF A FAMOUS QUOTE FROM THE LATE SIFU WONG SHUN LEUNG, A STATEMENT HE MADE TIME AND TIME AGAIN DURING HIS MANY YEARS AS AN INSTRUCTOR AND MENTOR TO SEVERAL GENERATIONS OF STUDENTS.

These days, as more people are drawn towards the WSL Ving Tsun Kuen Hok approach, many who really haven’t fully absorbed his ideas, or who have only a superficial understanding of his methods, take that now famous quote out of context to justify their often contradictory ideas, somehow believing that, by doing so, it will validate what they are doing.

Proximity: Exemplifying Wing Chun

Posted by: John Lobb In: Articles 28 Nov 2016 Comments: 0 Tags: Gary Lam, Proximity

PROXIMITY AND ITS MAINTENANCE SHOULD BE THE QUINTESSENTIAL TRAIT OF INDIVIDUALS WISHING TO SPECIALISE IN CLOSE-RANGE COMBAT. WITHOUT MAINTAINING A DISTANCE WHERE ALL FOUR LIMBS CAN STRIKE WITH POWER, WE STRUGGLE TO EXHIBIT THAT CLAIM.

Refining existing models is integral to progression in any endeavour. In exacting modification, we should be unequivocally certain in our discernment prior to making a change. Change should be based on experience, perspective, testing, and reference to ensure that we are moving closer to, not further away from an “ideal”. Concerning Wing Chun, the ideal should always be about improving the efficiency of combat.

Make the Punch Count: Power Development (Part 2)

Posted by: Philipp Bayer In: Articles 26 Nov 2016 Comments: 0 Tags: Philipp Bayer, Power, WSLVT

IN WING CHUN, WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT ONE OF THE MAJOR POINTS OF THE SIU NIM TAU FORM IS TO LEARN TO ALIGN OUR ELBOW DIRECTLY BEHIND OUR FIST IN A STRAIGHT LINE. ONCE WE INHERIT THIS BEHAVIOUR, THROUGH PRACTISING THE FIRST FORM, WE MOVE ONTO THE CHAM KIU FORM WITH THE SAME THOUGHT IN MIND.

The importance of partner training rises from the Wing Chun forms taking place in our mind. To express this idea, we need to train it correctly with the help of a partner, until we achieve a clean, fluid and flawless execution.

To execute body rotation and punching in a forward step, all in one instant, you need hundreds of repetitions, until those actions become second nature.