The essence of Wing Chun is it's speed and efficiency. This is the essence of SWC, in training as well as in application. Training in Wing Chun results in a confident practitioner fully able to defend and divert within a short space of time.
Chinese Boxing..or is it?
In the movie 'Way of the Dragon', Bruce Lee, et al refer to Lee's fighting as Chinese boxing.
What a great way to describe Wing Chun.
Predominantly hand techniques with an arsenal of devastating kicks, some of which MMA competitions are looking to ban, it is boxing on another level. Straightforward, efficient and effective like it's Western counterpart, it suggests the southern system could have been influenced by Western pugalism.
With European sailors visiting the ports of southern China in the 19th century, I'm convinced by the numerous similarities to Western bare-knuckle boxing, Wing Chun practitioners interacted with hardened Western fighters. It makes sense that over a hundred and fifty years a cross fertilisation of sorts took place.
Systematic Wing Chun - a martial journey
Systematic Wing Chun is a traditional Wing Chun system based on several Wing Chun lineages including subtle influences from the arts of Tong Long, a southern Chinese style and close relative of Wing Chun, and Panantukan Silat.
The origin of this system is in 'modified' Ip Man Wing Chun, influenced by William Cheung's lineage of Traditional Wing Chun and then tied together with Wing Tsun/Tjun . Efficient, direct and aggressive application is probably the defining characteristic of the combat philosophy in Systematic Wing Chun with linear footwork emphasised and a mantra of going forward at all costs.
Systematic Wing Chun is a structured, no-nonsense, direct method of combat.
Your Wing Chun
Once in training, I used a technique from outside Wing Chun and had stopped, realising my mistake. My Sifu explained to me there was no mistake, no error. I had trained in the other system and the grooves I had etched into my neural pathways fired in that moment...that instant.
Aspects of one system (including drills) can taper in well with techniques from another and will remain in your muscle memory. Cultivate this. Don't suppress your reflex.
All of your training, from no matter what source, becomes your gung fu at a certain stage. You can move outside of your core system as long as you come back. In the moment, you can draw from your instant... instinctive... reflexive... personalised gung fu. You use what works for you. There is no mistake. That is your gung fu.
My name is Paul Hillman and Systematic Wing Chun thru reflexive fight training is my personal journey in martial arts.
Luk Jarn Fa
Luk Jarn Fa - Six Elbow Drill is the first of two drills which incorporate Wing Chun's arsenal of elbows. It's comprised of three elbows flowing in two directions. The jarn is not only your primary weapon at close range but a useful tool at negating attacks
Say Jarn Fa
Say Jarn Fa - Four Elbow Drill, the second of the drills, completes the arsenal of Wing Chun jarn. It incorporates kup jarn (up & down), dai jarn and spinning kwai jarn
Muk Yan Jong 6th
The wooden dummy or muk yan jong is the iconic symbol of wing chun. This apparatus is your most loyal of training partners. Always ready and inexhaustible. The principles and concepts of wing chun dove tail seamlessly onto the jong.
Chi Sau, Lat Sau, Application
Three training techniques, bound together with apparatus such as the ring, dummy, bags and weapons make up the training path towards a proficient Wing Chun fighter.
Improve Your Inner Self
Training in a martial art such as Systematic Wing Chun builds confidence as your skill level slowly but steadily improves. Martial arts really do develop greater self esteem and a positive attitude in other parts of life. No one picks a fight with someone to whom they might lose. This is probably the best self defence technique a martial artist can possess.
Wing Chun theory and concepts apply to just about every aspect of life.
Lin Sil Dai Dar
Simultaneous attack and defence. The pinnacle in Wing Chun technique application. This concept, supposedly difficult to apply, is actually really easy to use. Most Wing Chun hand positions, whether single or double arm lend themselves to this dual role. Lin Sil Dai Dar is built into the Wing Chun system and is the reason a trained Wing Chun fighter is considered a proficient, effective and dangerous opponent.
Bridging the Gap
The most crucial part of any combat scenario. Many of a practitioner's skills are actually used as finishing techniques and are therefore secondary to bridging the gap between you and your antagonist. How do you strike your opponent without being struck yourself? Systematic Wing Chun trains for this critical problem; the weak link in almost every system that doesn't focus on application.
I think..not
Under stress the conscious mind can stall. This is when reflexive fight training takes over. Systematic Wing Chun uses combination drills overlaid with traditional Wing Chun drills to fast track the practitioner's flow. Flow is a must in an altercation. If your techniques are words, then flow is akin to putting those words into sentences. Your chances of defending yourself are greatly enhanced by stringing your individual techniques into a torrent of fists, elbows or knees in a organised manner with no pause for thought or opportunity for indecision.
