Dit Da Jow: Scientific Evaluation of Iron Hit Wine

Posted by: Wayne Belonoha In: Articles 28 Apr 2014 Comments: 0 Tags: Dit Da Jow, Wayne Belonoha

TRADITIONAL HERBAL MEDICINE IS USED BY APPROXIMATELY 65% OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION(i) AND TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM), WHICH INCORPORATES HERBAL MEDICINE INTO ITS PRACTICES, HAS DEVELOPED OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS AND IS STILL AN IMPORTANT MEDICAL PRACTICE THAT’S USED IN CHINA AND OTHER COUNTRIES TO THIS DAY(ii).

Traditional medicine, including TCM, is providing guidance for drug development as pharmaceutical and medical researchers look for bioactive molecules (compounds that affect cells and tissue) present in the plants and other organisms used in traditional formulations(iii). Today, at least 25% of western drugs are either compounds produced by plants or are based entirely on plant compounds(iv). Believing that plants produce bioactive molecules is not difficult. Given they lack a nervous system and the ability to move, they must interact with their world using chemical communication; namely by enticing, defending, healing, and attacking. Many of the compounds they produce can and do, interact with our physiology.

Applying Speed and Power in Wing Chun

Posted by: Henry Araneda In: Articles 08 Mar 2014 Comments: 0 Tags: Applied Wing Chun, Henry Araneda, Power, Speed

I BELIEVE TWO OF THE MOST DESIRABLE ASSETS FOR ANY SERIOUS WING CHUN PRACTITIONER ARE TO POSSESS LIGHTNING SPEED TECHNIQUES PACKED WITH BONE-BREAKING POWER.

In order to achieve this; one must work on developing one’s speed and power through explosive drills. Long gone are the days where people thought weight lifting would make a person slower, or if a person was born to be slow that he/she could never become faster.

If you pay close attention to Olympic athletes, you can see that their physiques, together with the current Olympic records they break, and you will further understand what I am talking about. Who would have thought that with this type of training people would become stronger, run faster, swim faster, jump higher and importantly, hit harder?

Gung Lik: One of Wing Chun’s Little “Secrets”

Posted by: Shaun Rawcliffe In: Articles 03 Jan 2014 Comments: 0 Tags: Gung Lik, Shaun Rawcliffe

THE TERM GUNG LIK IS OFTEN USED AND BANDED ABOUT BY MANY WING CHUN PRACTITIONERS, BUT WHAT EXACTLY IS MEANT BY GUNG LIK?

Gung Lik is not specifically a martial arts term; it is a generic term, which refers to the energy, skill or achievement that develops and is acquired over a long period of hard work, effort, practice and of course perseverance.

In essence, Gung Lik is the ability to make a complex set of movements or body mechanics look almost effortless! For instance, when you see a top chef chopping up vegetables, they manage to cut the vegetables into equal slices quickly, easily and without cutting themselves—often without even looking!

Lo Man Kam: Keeping the Art Alive

Posted by: Marc Debus In: Articles 07 Dec 2013 Comments: 0 Tags: Interview, Lo Man Kam

AS A YOUTH, SIFU LO MAN KAM SPENT MUCH OF HIS TIME LIVING WITH HIS UNCLE, THE LATE GRANDMASTER IP MAN, IN THE FOSHAN DISTRICT IN CANTON PROVINCE. WHEN HE WAS 18 YEARS OLD HE STARTED TO LEARN WING CHUN DIRECTLY FROM HIS UNCLE. LATER, AS A YOUNG MAN IN HONG KONG, HE WAS AMONG THE FIRST THREE STUDENTS OF GRANDMASTER IP MAN AND STUDIED THERE WITH HIM FOR MANY MORE YEARS.

Sifu Lo Man Kam established the first and only Wing Chun school in Taiwan back in 1974 and has helped spread Wing Chun throughout the world since. His school resembles a United Nations of Gung Fu, with students from 34 different countries and territories: including Switzerland, Germany, United States, France, Israel, Canada, Poland, Belgium, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Thailand, Hong Kong and many others.

At over 80 years of age, he still progresses further in Wing Chun, continually seeking to expand an already profound understanding of his art.

Wing Chun’s Mui Fa Jong: Steps On the Posts

Posted by: Simone Sebastiani In: Articles 22 Oct 2013 Comments: 0 Tags: Donald Mak, Mui Fa Jong, Simone Sebastiani

MUI FA JONG, ALSO NAMED MUI FA KUEN, CAN BE TRANSLATED APTLY AS “PLUM FLOWER POSTS”, AND REPRESENTS A GROUP OF FOOTWORK PATTERNS USED AS A BASIS TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN WING CHUN SKILLS.

The name comes from the configuration of the posts, which, when viewed from above, resembles a plum flower—in actual fact, it resembles the plum blossom with five petals “Meyhua”, or “Mui Fa” in Cantonese.

The Mui Fa Jong is considered to be one of the oldest training tools and is practised in many different styles of Gung Fu, however, their configuration and usage are often completely different from the original interpretation, movements and concepts that are commonly seen within the Wing Chun system.

Alan Orr: The Art of Fighting

Posted by: James Woodcock In: Articles 14 Sep 2013 Comments: 0 Tags: Alan Orr, Interview

ALAN ORR SHOULD NEED NO INTRODUCTION IN A WING CHUN PUBLICATION. HE HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF WING CHUN AND MMA FOR MANY YEARS NOW AND HE HAS TRAINED MANY TOP FIGHTERS.

The Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun System was taught to Alan by his Sifu Robert Chu, and since then it has brought a more structured approach to Wing Chun training, which in turn has allowed Alan and his team (The Iron Wolves) to have a great level of success in the fighting arena.

In this interview, we discuss self-defence, the Chinese internal methods, and why some people may still have a lot to learn.

Shaun Rawcliffe: Dedicated

Posted by: Kenton Sefcik In: Articles 10 Sep 2013 Comments: 0 Tags: Interview, Shaun Rawcliffe

SIFU SHAUN RAWCLIFFE IS A WING CHUN INSTRUCTOR, CLOSE QUARTER COMBAT INSTRUCTOR, FORMER CLOSE PROTECTION OFFICER AND HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED AND AWARDED THE COMBAT HALL OF FAME AWARD THREE TIMES.

He is also one of only 20 Wing Chun instructors to be certified by Ip Man’s son, Sifu Ip Chun. Almost 23 years with Ip Chun, he has written many articles, travelled to many seminars and has released two books. In the fall of 2012, Crowood Press will release his new book, Wing Chun Kung Fu: Weapons Training.

Maximising Relaxed Power: Applying the Six Harmonies

Posted by: Wayne Belonoha In: Articles 01 Sep 2013 Comments: 0 Tags: Moy Yat, Power, Wayne Belonoha

THE SIX HARMONIES IS A TERM OFTEN USED TO DESCRIBE THE UNIFICATION OF MIND AND BODY IN A NUMBER OF WELL-KNOWN CHINESE MARTIAL ARTS, INCLUDING MANTIS, BAGUA, XING YI QUAN, TAI CHI, AND SHAOLIN (OF COURSE). THE HARMONIES ARE DIVIDED INTO TWO SEPARATE CATEGORIES, THE INTERNAL AND THE EXTERNAL, AND BOTH ARE APPLIED COMMONLY IN WING CHUN.

The harmonies guide how the body should move, expand, and contract in order to generate the maximum amount of power with minimum effort, and they also guide how the energy is to be managed within any focused activity. They show how to maintain a strong structure, or as some might call it: mechanical integrity. This full body mechanical integrity is required against stronger, much larger opponents—mainly because hand and arm techniques alone will not be powerful enough to withstand their offence.

Aaron Vyvial: Ving Tsun from the Heart

Posted by: Kenton Sefcik In: Articles 07 Jul 2013 Comments: 0 Tags: Aaron Vyvial, Interview, Moy Yat

AARON VYVIAL STARTED IN VING TSUN AT THE AGE OF 17 AND BECAME A DISCIPLE OF MOY TUNG IN 1998. LATER, HE WAS INVITED TO BE A DISCIPLE UNDER MOY YAT AS A MEMBER OF HIS GSSA (GRAND SPECIAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION). HOWEVER, MOY YAT HAD A STROKE AND HE HAD TO POSTPONE THE BAI SI CEREMONY, NEVER MAKING IT IN THE END DUE TO MOY YAT’S PASSING.

When Aaron started his first school in 2002, he was given the honour of a Gung Fu family name, Moy Sup Tung, by his Sifu, who also left him with this advice: “Teach pure Ving Tsun from the heart.”

Luk Dim Boon Gwan: The Sound of One Arm Fighting

Posted by: David Peterson In: Articles 13 Jun 2013 Comments: 0 Tags: David Peterson, Luk Dim Boon Gwan, WSLVT

THE WING CHUN SYSTEM IS EXTREMELY COMPACT COMPARED WITH OTHER MARTIAL ARTS METHODS. MADE UP OF JUST THREE “EMPTY-HAND” FORMS, A WOODEN DUMMY FORM AND SEVERAL UNIQUE TRAINING DRILLS, WING CHUN IS WELL KNOWN FOR ITS EFFICIENCY AND PRACTICALITY AS A BARE-HAND COMBAT SYSTEM.

Perhaps less well known, but equally as practical and efficient, are its two weapons forms, the Luk Dim Boon Gwan (“six-and-a-half point pole”) and the Baat Jaam Do (“eight-slash/cut knives”).

Traditionally, the most coveted form is that of the Baat Jaam Do, considered by some as the highest level of the system. However, it is the Luk Dim Boon Gwan that more closely resembles the “empty-hand” component of the system and which, in many ways, is a far more beneficial aspect of the system, in terms of what it offers to the student. In fact, it could be best described as “one-armed” Wing Chun!”