BROUGHT INTO BOXING, COMBAT SPORTS AND KALI FROM A YOUNG AGE AND EXPERIENCING THE TOUGH LIFE OF THE US MARINES CORPS, SIFU CHRIS COLLINS IS A VERSATILE AND OPEN-MINDED FIGHTER AND TEACHER WHO APPROACHED EVERYTHING HE LEARNED ON HIS JOURNEY WITH ONE PRINCIPLE IN MIND: EFFICIENCY.
What are the most important attributes to be developed through Wing Chun training?
It’s about being able to relax the muscles and allow the joints to work by way of the tendons and ligaments. This boils down to structure. If we have good structure, then we can allow our body to trust the system completely. Once you align them it becomes supportive. It’s not the same as hyper-extending the arm—it’s aligning the joints. In order to do this, we need to understand the capsule in the elbow. It’s where the ulna and radius meet the pivot joint in the elbow. If we were to tighten the fist in any way, it would cause the forearm muscles to tighten and therefore lock up the capsule “elbow”, which means we can’t release our force. Therefore, relaxation in this joint is perhaps the most important attribute in Wing Chun.