Practical Wing Chun was developed by my Sifu, Grandmaster WAN Kam Leung, a senior disciple of the legendary WONG Shun Leung.  The essence of Practical Wing Chun is derived from basic Wing Chun principles, but Grandmaster Wan has modified and continues to fine-tune it with his 50+ years of practice, experience and training.  Despite these alterations, Practical Wing Chun shares the primary tenets of Wing Chun theory based on correct body structure and angles as a basis for a simple, efficient and direct approach to self-defense.  My journey in martial arts began at an early age in the 70s. I am fortunate to have had many opportunities to experience various types of martial arts before discovering Practical Wing Chun.  I am attracted to Practical Wing Chun because it is constantly evolving and improving without losing its roots. Along with its strength as an efficient and total self-defense system, Practical Wing Chun has been continuously evolving from the original Wing Chun principles.  I am constantly analyzing the system and questioning why certain techniques work or don’t work, and how they can be further improved upon. Since the creation of Wing Chun, analysis of the system has been mainly conducted through this trial-and-error method. The “Practical” in Practical Wing Chun is not a challenge to other Wing Chun styles nor an implication that they are any less efficient. It refers to a more purposeful focus on constant refinement, and the deliberate scientific study of all aspects of the system based on its principles. I am interested in taking this study to a level beyond the historical trial and error, and would like to be able to explain most movements and techniques efficiently and with scientific reasoning. Preserving Traditional Martial Arts Culture At my school in New York City, I place a strong emphasis on both  physical and mental training, as well as in appreciating the cultural traditions surrounding the martial arts practice.  I believe it is important for my students to develop both of these aspects as well-rounded martial artists, and have a deeper appreciation of the culture and traditions. The mental aspect is often more important than the physical training because I believe that mind dictates body – our mindset directly influences our Wing Chun practice.  I expect my students to always conduct themselves in an ethical manner, and to use the attained skills responsibly.  Traditional Taekwon-Do, a popular Korean martial art, has demonstrated core Chinese martial arts culture (courtesy, integrity, self control, etc.) better than many Chinese martial arts systems today. Taekwon-Do is well systemized and has become successful in the West. I think that we can adopt this teaching method in Practical Wing Chun.  From my observation, the training culture in some Wing Chun schools lacks the emphasis of its Chinese roots and the practices that educate students with the right attitude towards training. Even when a student is assisting another student, it should be a learning opportunity for both. Participation in a school should be a collaborative effort. In the West, there is a heavy emphasis on proving whether or not a concept or technique works in reality. Wing Chun practice has also followed this mentality in both the Eastern and Western setting. Many practitioners appreciate the scientific principles and street effectiveness of Wing Chun.  However, a heavy emphasis on the technical portion of the practice has led to the neglect of the cultural practice and the mental aspect of the martial art. As a result, an imbalance between the training of the body and the mind makes the practice incomplete.  Like Yin and Yang, both mind and body training should co-exist, complementing and supplementing each other. Harmony, self-control, and humility are required to balance martial skills intended for the purpose of hurting or killing. In this case, the culture and traditions drive us to achieve a balance in our lives, and to display the best attributes in ourselves. WING CHUN AND COMPETITION Since the late 20th Century, physical exercise and training have been strongly influenced by the philosophy of the Western physical education system, such as competition and improvement of movement skills. While competitions can inspire and drive us to maximize our potential by participating in structured, measurable challenges of skill, winning trophies should not be the sole purpose of our training. Athletes often train to challenge themselves against opponents of similar gender, weight, and backgrounds in a safe, controlled environment.   Wing Chun – and traditional martial arts in general – are not meant for competitions.  Wing Chun is designed to deal with dangerous real-life situations as quickly as possible regardless of the “weight division” of the opponent(s), and is not conducive to the competition structure. Many Wing Chun techniques we practice may not be suitable or even prohibited in competitions due to the risks of causing harm to players. With insufficient control, executing these techniques could severely injure or even kill an opponent. Although some Wing Chun organizations hold Wing Chun competitions in order to promote the style to a wider audience, this is far from the original principles of Wing Chun.  I am not against the idea of competitions. Competitions can surely benefit a practitioner’s learning experience. They provide a platform for students and practitioners from different schools and martial arts backgrounds to exchange knowledge and build friendships.   As practitioners, we should maintain the spirit of self-improvement and determination that competitions allow us, but not limit ourselves to the structured rules and regulations of an organized sport, which will undoubtedly impact the core of our training methods, and distort the original principles of Wing Chun. After all, every martial arts system today has its advantages/disadvantages and unique core values. If someone is seeking to learn a martial art to fight competitively, Wing Chun might not be the most suitable choice. STRIVING TO BE A BETTER TEACHER My interest in teaching started when I was assisting my traditional Taekwon-Do teacher, Grandmaster KIM Suk Jun, a disciple of General CHOI Hong Hi in 1998. Both Grandmaster Kim and Grandmaster Wan have significantly influenced my knowledge in martial arts teaching. After I completed my graduate coursework at Harvard University in 2003, LaGuardia Community College of The City University of New York (CUNY) offered me a teaching position as an adjunct professor in managerial studies. It was an excellent experience that changed my vision towards teaching. The community college body was diverse. My students were of all ages, and had different learning abilities and cultural backgrounds. The college suggested that I strictly follow a syllabus and a set of teaching guidelines.  However, after the first examination, I found that such approach was not quite effective on teaching my students; only few of them did well, and many did poorly.  I have learned that effective teaching should consider the students’ learning experience and background. All students are different.  Some are good at learning via a visual or an auditory method, while others are more tactile or analytical. In a group setting, I need to actively adjust my teaching methods to maximize the class efficiency and the students’ learning experience, rather than only focusing on the teaching curricula. I believe

Guided Chaos grew out of the many experiences of John Perkins. John was born into a fighting family, replete with WWII combat veterans and infamous neighborhood fighters. Motivated to fit in with his tough relatives despite his lack of natural ability, he sought out martial arts training from masters who could really fight. As a street cop, he found hundreds of opportunities to test his combative prowess. Later, as a forensic crime scene specialist, he had the opportunity to study and reconstruct thousands of cases to determine how people really fought and died. All of this real experience and study of real lethal violence, informed the development of Guided Chaos. From an early age, John realized that real violence was too chaotic, fast and unpredictable to deal with “by the numbers” using formal martial arts techniques. From the European and Native American fighting traditions taught to him by his family, to hapkido, kenpo, kung fu, tai chi and other traditions taught to him by local masters and others whom he sought out, John noticed that what made the great fighters great were NOT the particular techniques and movements they performed, but how they moved. Regardless of size or strength, the keys proved to be the principles of balance, looseness, body unity, sensitivity and freedom of action, unbound by conscious preoccupation with particular techniques and movements. ​Combining these insights with his extensive experience and study of real violence, John created a training methodology to develop in its practitioners combative principles (balance, looseness, body unity, sensitivity) and subconsciously driven, adaptive application free from the mental logjam of pre-planned techniques. This system was officially founded in 1978. Your system has no forms. How does it differ from other formless arts such as Boxing or Muay Thai? First of all, Boxing and Muay Thai are primarily sports, designed to prepare a practitioner to compete in a particular kind of sparring with specific equipment within precisely codified rules. Guided Chaos prepares practitioners to deal with the unlimited, unpredictable, unregulated chaos of real violence. So the focus is very different. Guided Chaos is distinct not only in utilizing no kata/poomse/formal choreographed exercises but also in prescribing no formal techniques or sequences. Boxing teaches a few basic punches and evasive movements, each with an “idea” form and method of application. Muay Thai adds a few kicks, knee strikes and elbow strikes with a different clinch and overall movement strategy. Guided Chaos teaches no such ideal striking or evasive movements. There are the natural impact ridges of your own body and an efficient overall way of moving (with balance, looseness, body unity and sensitivity) that enables you to be unavailable yet unavoidable to other bodies moment by moment, keeping your body out of the way of others’ force while applying damage and control to them. There are no rules beyond gravity and human anatomy. Any movement in line with the principles that is adaptive to the situation is fair game. Your “Contact Flow” drill has many similarities to Wing Chun’s Chi Sao drill. What do you think Wing Chun practitioners can learn from “Contact Flow”? Greater sensitivity and creativity; greater balance, looseness and body unity; greater freedom. Do you make use of the concept of “sticking” to your opponent like Wing Chun does? ​ ​Yes, although the idea of sticking in Guided Chaos is more free.  We do not just stick to an opponent’s arms and legs with our arms and legs. Any contact, anywhere, is plenty to guide the practitioner’s whole body movement. We strive for ever lighter and more subtle degrees of contact, with no default pressure, so as to be less available and less readable. At higher levels of sensitivity, you learn to “stick” to the intent of one or more opponents, guided by subcortical visual as well as tactile sensitivity, moving seemingly like a ghost whereas your opponents feel nothing except your attacks and cannot get a bearing on you.  You mention in your website that during “Contact Flow” your touch must be “light”. Similar ideas are expressed in Wing Chun and Tai Chi and yet, we often see players using a lot of brute force. How does one stay light when the opponent is using a lot of force? You need to train in the right way. You can achieve a light, unperceivable touch regardless of the applied strength and force of a training partner or opponent by developing the requisite balance, looseness, body unity and sensitivity to allow yourself to become unavailable to his force without backing away. Guided Chaos solo exercises can be practiced daily to hasten the development of these principles. Contact Flow must be practiced in the right way: fairly slowly most of the time (sometimes fast and sometimes ultra-slow), at constant speed with no acceleration nor deceleration, with no ego (no competitive spirit and no emotional reaction to “hitting” or “getting hit”, just impersonal movement), and no conscious interference (no “looking for openings” or “deciding what to do,” just subconsciously driven flow). After a while, you’ll develop the application of body unity that, combined with the other principles, will enable you to make your center of gravity unavailable to a forceful partner’s movement at the very first sign of impending force, obviating the need for you to apply force to stop or disrupt it, while making your body unavoidable to your partner, denying him the opportunity to recover or change.  Can you please explain “dropping energy” and how it can be used to increase the power of strikes? At a basic level, dropping is simply letting your full body weight fall slightly, and then catching it. If you can imagine that you’re a marionette held up by strings, suddenly your strings are cut and you begin to fall straight down, only to catch yourself within a few inches of descent. The sensation of the strings being cut is one of total relaxation. Your body begins to accelerate downwards. The moment you catch yourself, you’re taking advantage of

The Wing Chun Centreline Punch (WCCLP) is one of the first things we learn when we begin our Wing Chun journey. It first appears as the second move of the Sil Lim Tau form, and is repeated again in Chum Kiu and Biu Ji. In Kulo (Gu Lao) Wing Chun 22 Points System, the 「日字鳳眼捶」 “Phoenix Eye Hammer” also appears as the second movement. Though basic, the WCCLP remains one of the most useful tools in the Wing Chun arsenal, from raw beginners to seasoned practitioners alike. So, how do we do it well? In this article, we shall revisit  some basic concepts. The primary strategy (though not the only strategy) of Wing Chun is to overwhelm your opponent. We want to dominate the fight. We want the opponent to have to deal with and react to our strikes. We need to be fast. We want to always be one step ahead of our opponent, so he is always playing catch up. The Wing Chun Centreline Punch is not a wild swing. It is a perfectly structured and executed punch. The advantage of the WCCLP is that it defends and attacks at the same time. It is fast, spontaneous, non-telegraphing and hard to catch. It not only delivers damaging force against an opponent, it also disrupts the opponent’s balance, breaking him down bit by bit. It is not an easy punch to learn and it takes practice and patience to make it work. The speed of the WCCLP comes from non-telegraphing and minimal movement. The down side is that if you cannot use big swings, power generation becomes difficult. The power of the WCCLP comes from your 「二字拑陽馬」 “Yi Ji Kim Yeung Ma” stance training. We shall discuss the YJKYM in future articles. Of course, in the chaos of a real fight, you will not have a chance to get into the stance prior to applying the strike. Nor is the YJKYM mobile enough to be of use from a classic sense. However, when you train your YJKYM well, the structure comes out and supports everything you do. Supposedly, as beginners, we were often taught that the fist of the WCCLP is angled vertically. However, this is not universally true. The angle of the fist is ultimately dictated by the elbow position as well as the interacting angle between you and your opponent.  The elbow of the punching arm is pointed downwards for a number of  reasons. One, to facilitate connection to the centre of mass and the core of the YJKYM, and two, to intercept the opponent’s attack. The shoulder-elbow-fist forms a 135 degree boomerang that acts like an axe, as well as a shield.  You are safely covered behind this shield. At the same time, you are cutting into the opponent’s defence, displacing and destroying his structure while striking. SPEED The “perceived” speed of your WCCLP depends on a number of factors, and not the physical speed alone. When we react to an incoming strike, we do not just look at the opponent’s fist. We look at his body movement, change in balance, twitches in the shoulders and hips, and other visual cues that we are not aware of at a conscious level. Take away these cues, and the strike would appear as if it is coming out of nowhere.  A good WCCLP is  not telegraphed. It can appear from anywhere. While as beginners we bring the fist to the centreline before we push the fist out, as we get better we need to practice shooting the fist out from anywhere, while keeping all the structural and spatial requirements of the punch. We must also switch from 0 to 100% instantaneously. The other requirement of speed is the “snap” of your muscle-tendon complex. You are not trying to “push” your fist out. You are snapping your tendons like a tight steel spring. The best way to develop “steel tendons” is through your Sil Lim Tau. In Kulo Wing Chun 22, there are also a number of exercises specifically designed to train the tendons. ​ It is these steel springs that give you the ability to deliver power with very little movement. And with less movement, you have greater speed. There are a number of ways to generate power. The wrecking ball This is a good analogy illustrating the relationship between your YJKYM and your centre of mass. When you strike your opponent, instead of thinking about your arm muscles, think of your arm as a spring loaded spike attached to a moving wrecking ball. It is your whole body weight and structure that slams into the opponent. Very little arm movement is required. The steel spring With this method, you want your arms to act like a spring steel baton, and not a rigid steel rod. The steel spring makes the baton more effective as a striking weapon. If your joints can behave like steel springs, your striking will also be more effective. And the best way to train it is through your Sil Lim Tau and certain moves in the Kulo Wing Chun 22 Point system. Dropping your weight into your opponent If you weigh 70kg and you drop your entire body weight as little as 5cm through a small contact area such as your knuckles, you will inflict a lot of damage at the point of impact. If you drop it outside your opponent’s base, you will break his balance. Use this drop well and your arms will appear as heavy as steel, even though you are using minimal effort. Angulation A well executed WCCLP deflects the opponent’s attack, while delivering your fist at the target. First rule, the elbow of your striking hand should cover the centreline. This centreline, however, is not a fixed line in front of your body.  It is actually an intercepting plane between you and your opponent. Use your elbow to cut into this plane. Direct your opponent’s fist away from this plane, and keep your body on the other side

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Before I met my current Master, Master Wan Kam Leung, I had already practiced Wing Chun for 14 years. When I traveled to Hong Kong and Mainland China to visit the different masters, I never thought that I would change to another Wing Chun style. Upon meeting Master Wan I was deeply impressed with his interpretation and understanding of the Wing Chun system as well as his martial art skills. I must say that his style differs greatly from what I had learnt before. Firstly the forms: The forms are completely different from each other. Where as the movements in the previous forms didn’t necessarily match the applied movements, the forms from Master Wan represented a set of applied techniques in a fixed order. Applied techniques are to be executed in the same manner as in the forms and every single movement from the forms are readily applicable, hence the name “Practical Wing Chun”. ​ Secondly, the stance is very different; my previous stance was an adduction stance, whereas the stance in Practical Wing Chun is simply a sitting stance. Weight distribution when pivoting or stepping also differs in Practical Wing Chun, which always keeps the person’s centre of gravity in the middle. Thirdly, the punching theory also differs. In my previous style the fist should be kept in the middle whereas in the system of Master Wan it is the elbow that should be kept in the middle. ​Last but not least, the understanding of the centre lines are also different in Practical Wing Chun, which emphasizes on five centre lines rather than just one. Wing Chun was supposedly created by a woman. Do you think the art is well suited for women against stronger opponents? I think that Wing Chun is an ideal system for women to learn if they want to protect themselves. As the nature of Wing Chun isn’t about fighting force with brute force, but rather on borrowing or deflecting incoming force, it is very suitable for a weaker opponent against a stronger one. At the same time, Wing Chun is a very straightforward system and does not require fancy or acrobatic movements and therefore suitable as an effective street defence system. How does Wing Chun allow a weaker opponent to gain the upper hand against a stronger foe? Wing Chun follows the principle of economy of movement, therefore all techniques are designed to approach the opponent in the fastest and most efficient way without excess movement. In Wing Chun, we train punching on wall bags to develop short-range power, so that you don’t need to pull back your fist before striking. Because of this, you can reach your opponent in the quickest way possible. Wing Chun is also known for simultaneously defending and attacking or using attack as defence, which all benefit a weaker person who is facing a stronger opponent. Practical Wing Chun emphasises the use of 5 centre lines. Can you briefly explain what they are and how they are used? The first centre line in Practical Wing Chun is the same centre line that all Wing Chun systems have, the vertical centre line that divides the body into left and right halves and connects the two opponents. It is very important trying to keep your techniques within this centre line and this is also the shortest way to reach your opponent. The second centre line divides the torso into an upper and lower part and is measured at the height of your elbow. It is extremely important to keep the elbow in this line most of the time in order to absorb and redirect any incoming force. For example if you straighten your punch (elbow is higher than second centre line), the recoil effect will be directed right back at you, rather than being redirected to the ground. Keeping the elbow at this line also covers against upper and lower attacks. The third centre line is the crossing point. If you make a fist, the third centre line will be located between your elbow and fist. This is the prefered point of contact with the opponent’s arm. The third centre line always crosses the first or fifth centre line. The fourth centre line is the midpoint of the distance between yourself and your opponent in Chi Sau. The fifth centre line is important when opponent attacks from the side. The third centre line will cross the fifth when facing an opponent from the side. The fifth line is also important as it is defining our stance. Can you explain how the crossing-hands are used to diffuse straight punches? The crossed hands in Practical Wing Chun are very important as all three hand forms begin with it and it defines the diagonal lines in Practical Wing Chun. When facing the opponent, the fingers are pointing towards your opponent’s shoulders. In order to do that, the angles of your arms have to be at 135 degrees. It is not only used to diffuse the straight punches but also for trapping the rear hand of your opponent, so it has both defensive and offensive applications. The Practical Wing Chun Stance is a little different to the traditional stance. Can you explain to us how your stance is executed? ​Traditionally the Wing Chun stance is an internally rotated stance where the hips are elevated. In Practical Wing Chun the stance is simply a sitting stance where the outside of your feet are on a straight line creating a longer triangle. The hips are not elevated but more like dropping downwards. The width of the stance should be slightly wider than the shoulders in order to be maintain balance but at the same time narrow enough to be mobile. “In Practical Wing Chun, it is very important to sink down in the stance. Sinking down is very important when dealing with incoming force, which is why the hips cannot be elevated in Practical Wing Chun as elevating your hips raises your centre of gravity.” Most Practical Wing Chun students have a strong stance which is almost identical to

The Wing Chun Knives are an important part of our Art’s training. They are to Wing Chun what the Bokken is to Aikido and the sword to Tai Chi. Of what use can a knife form be in 2016? Truth be told, weapons have often been practiced in traditional Martial Arts in order to enhance empty hand training. In fact, it is obvious that many movements in Wing Chun are in fact derived from the knive form. The first obvious benefit of weapons training is improvements in power. The extra weight discourages the use of arm power and helps to develop power generation from the waist. A second benefit is awareness of coverage. It is easy when training in Martial Arts to get into a tic for tac mentality. You hit me, I hit you. ​However, knife training reminds us that on the street, any strike could be potentially lethal. Allowing your opponent to land a strike on you in order for you to land your own strike is dangerous on the street. The opponent could be carrying a concealed weapon. Many can take a punch to the head, but how many can take a blade to the neck? You might not become aware of this concealed weapon until it is too late. A third benefit is the effect of weapon training on developing “Intent” or “ Mind Force”. This mysterious force is not so mysterious at all. It is a method for developing superior alignment and reduced slackness in structure, by focusing the mind far away, often at the tip of the weapon, although not exclusively so. Number 5 – POWER The Added weight of the knives encourages proper use of the waist and core muscles and helps to break the habit of simply waiving the arms around. At an advanced level, the practitioner’s body will lead the knives, much like a pitcher’s hip leads the arm in baseball. This creates a whip like energy. ​ The progressive phases are: 1. Learning the movements of the form 2. To Tai Sun (Knife leading the body) 3. Sun Tai To (Body leading the knife) 4. To Sun Hup Yut (Knife body as one) Number 4 FIGHTING ☯​ SPIRIT Proper Knife training should require the practitioner to exhale loudly as they strike. This concept is similar to the kiai exhibited by some Japanese styles, and helps to coordinate strikes during partner practice. Correct use of weapon and kiai training will also kick-star your fighting spirit, which is a vital part of learning how to handle violent individuals. Number 3 ☯ COVERAGE ☯​ Wing Chun places extra emphasis on coverage. Hit and don’t get hit is the mantra. Unlike combat sports, where often, practitioners engage in tic for tac tactics, and will take a hit in order to land a hit, In Wing Chun, we want to always cover ourselves and shut down the opponent’s defense. The reason is simple. Wing Chun is designed for the street. We must always assume that our opponent is carrying a concealed weapon. That punch to the face is in fact an attempt to cut our throats with a small concealed blade. That must ALWAYS be the assumption. The Knives teach us to cover ourselves carefully during every strike so that we do not expose vulnerable areas, even when fighting empty handed. Number 2 ☯ IMPROVISED ☯​ ​​WEAPONS   Although weapons such as large knives and swords are outlawed in most countries, and simply not practical to carry around, improvised weapons are not. Empty hand fighting should always be a last resort. In a life and death situation, a good martial artist should reach for the nearest objects available that can be used as a weapon. Pens, sticks, brooms and umbrellas are but a few that are readily available in day to day life. Weapons training can be of great help when wielding improvised tools. Most of the same principles apply, and a martial artist trained in using knives and swords can turn a stick or umbrella into an effective weapon more easily. Number 1 ☯ MIND INTENT ☯ Weapons have often been used in martial Arts to train the “Intent”. In essence, the practitioner places his attention at the tip of the weapon (i.e. – outside of the body). The effect is similar to that of someone pointing at a far away place. The structure becomes springy and the slack is reduced. It also allows you to use the concept of levers, by keeping the point of contact (and maximum resistance) with the opponent, relatively still. The intent runs through all our practice. Every movement and posture should have, as the boxing classics say, “Intent in first place. Intention should guide the form from the beginning to the end and we should not practice “empty movements” even for a short moment. The process of the mind approach is to use intent to lead qi to trigger body form. Use the heart (mind and intent) to circulate qi; use qi to move the body first in the heart, and then in the body. 0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Linkedin 0 Pinterest 0 Viber 0 Whatsapp 0 Telegram 0 Email

We just witnessed a remarkable event these last few weeks. Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather fought in a Boxing event that most likely, broke pay-per-view records. ​Mayweather won by TKO in the 10th round, as most boxing experts predicted he would. But McGregor did remarkably well in lasting 10 rounds against one of the greatest boxers of all time. That, however, was not his greatest achievement. His greatest achievement was landing the fight at all. How did a man who had never fought as a Boxer before, land one of the biggest fights of all time and a $100 million pay-cheque? The answer is insane, unparalleled self-belief. When the fight was first proposed, most laughed at the idea. McGregor has no business being in a boxing ring with an all time great, they said. I agreed. I had no interest in watching it, despite being a Boxing fan. But something happened over the next 2 months that changed all that. McGregor appeared to be certain of victory. He assured anyone who would listen, that Mayweather was too old and too small to last more than 2 rounds against him. He taunted Mayweather Senior with threats that he had made a big mistake in pitting his smaller and older son against a monster with a KO death touch in his left hand. “If this was a real fight, I would kill him in seconds” he said. “If we use 8 oz gloves, he won’t last 2 rounds”, he promised. Soon enough, people were contemplating the “what if” scenario. McGregor is a knockout artist in the MMA after all. What if he lands a lucky punch? What if Mayweather has an off day? What if McGregor KO’s one of the greatest boxers of all time in his first professional fight? Soon enough, even professional Boxers and Mixed Martial Artists were publicly tipping McGregor to pull an upset.  It was mostly an illusion, of course. McGregor was competitive. But he was not the KO monster he made us believe he was. He landed that left, repeatedly, and Mayweather kept coming forward. His left-handed death touch was not real. At least not in 8 oz gloves, and not against a man who has been taking punches from world champions all his adult life. But he made us believe. He made us believe because he never, for one second, doubted in his ability to shock the world. He believed, with every fibre of his being that he would KO Mayweather. And because he believed, we believed. Had even the slightest glimpse of doubt crept into his mindset, this fight would never have happened. He made it happen. He understood that in life, perception trumps reality. And self-belief is the ultimate way to shape perception. It was a master class in what is often called a “winning mentality”. He didn’t win the fight, but he won our hearts, and made $100 million along the way. Well done to you, sir. ​Javier Garcia 0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Linkedin 0 Pinterest 0 Viber 0 Whatsapp 0 Telegram 0 Email

Whatever you do in life, do it to the best of your ability. Many will say, “If only I had a better job, I would really work hard at it’ or “if only I could find my life’s purpose, I would really be motivated then”. So many people simply pass the days, unmotivated and uninspired waiting for that day when they find their life’s purpose. But life does not work this way. The best way to get out of an uninspiring job or situation, is to really give it your best. Whatever you find yourself doing, really pour it on. It could lead to you being noticed and promoted. Even if it doesn’t, a positive, enthusiastic attitude, will make you happier and more open to new opportunities. Develop a Midas touch. Let everything you touch turn to gold. Make sure that you always leave things better than you found them. It will change your life. ​ As Martial Artists, the ability to maintain a high level of enthusiasm and work ethic is essential. Never do things by half measures. Really pour it on. In Martial Arts and in life. Javier Garcia 0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Linkedin 0 Pinterest 0 Viber 0 Whatsapp 0 Telegram 0 Email

The average person will never be a Wing Chun Sifu, or Judo Black Belt.  Out of the more than 20 people that started training Wing Chun with me nearly 20 years ago, only 3 continue to this day. The rest gave up. Most disappeared within 2 years of starting. The secret to mastery in any discipline is persistence. Although natural talent plays some part, nothing beats putting in the hard work year in, year out! Those who succeed have one thing in common. They never gave up. The greatest wish of every human is to have their wasted years back, but how? One way is to realise that jumping from discipline to discipline, losing interest within a few short months and moving on to the next is a sure path to failure in life. Decide what is important in your life. Really think about it. And once you are sure, go after it with all your strength, determination and laser like focus. Never give up. I promise you, if you do this, you will have mastered the art of mastery. The art of learning how to learn. Nothing will be beyond your reach. Learning a new language, how to play an instrument or becoming a Wing Chun Sifu. ​ ​The power will be yours! Javier Garcia 0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Linkedin 0 Pinterest 0 Viber 0 Whatsapp 0 Telegram 0 Email

What does it take to become a Wing Chun Sifu? Let us ask you this: How much time do you, as a mother/father, give your baby before you give up and tell him/her, “You’ve had your chance. We are done teaching you how to walk!” I’m sure all of you are probably saying, “Are you crazy?? Of course I’m going to keep teaching my baby how to walk! I’m going to teach him every day, for as long as it takes, RIGHT TO THE DAY HE STARTS WALKING! I’m never going to give up!” So why is it that so many of us don’t do the same when it comes to our goals? Never give up! Continue to strive for your goals until you reach them. Try something, anything. If that doesn’t work, change your approach and try again. Keep changing your approach, again and again and again, until you are successful! Javier Garcia 0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Linkedin 0 Pinterest 0 Viber 0 Whatsapp 0 Telegram 0 Email