It is true. Martial Arts are a fight between good and evil. So is life, really. But the evil we face is usually not in the form of a Darth Vader or Lord Voldemort. Such evils are obvious and easy to see and avoid – and not too common. The true battle between good and evil goes on inside every human being. It is a battle between honesty and dishonesty, between loyalty and treachery, between laziness and productivity, between self-development and self-indulgence. In order for evil to take over, all good has to do is nothing. How quickly will the weeds take over your garden if you do nothing about it? Right away! It’s what they do. But how far can you push them back, if you are active? As far as you like. You see, evil is no match for good. But good must remain active. Procrastination, laziness, lack of motivation are the evils that hold you back regarding your Martial Arts development, health, financial situation etc. The weeds are no match for the powers of good – motivation, excitement, discipline. But you must be active.  Every day you must drive the weeds back. Every day you must stand guard at the gate of your mind and make sure the battle inside of you is won. Do that and you can accomplish anything! ​ Javier Garcia 0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Linkedin 0 Pinterest 0 Viber 0 Whatsapp 0 Telegram 0 Email

Sifu Gorden started his formal training when he was age 15. Most of the time he trained with his father’s (Grandmaster Lo Man Kam) regular students and private students. Later, his father also spent a lot of time teaching him privately. His father taught him techniques, but also, passed on “how to teach” Wing Chun. It was not like Kung Fu movies, with the master teaching his son secret techniques, though. His father told him; “When Yip Man was teaching, he told us there were NO secret about his Wing Chun. Sifu Gorden,growing up, did you hear many stories of your father’s training under Yip Man? Of course, there were lots of stories. One story my father told me was that Yip Man spent a lot of time teaching his students the Wing Chun foundations during the early 50s in Hong Kong. Yip Man also liked to test the students by surprise contact to see how strong their footwork and structure was. Yip Man concentrated his training curriculum on Chi-sao, because he said “Chi-sao is the Heart” of Wing Chun. He believed that Chi-sao gave you the understanding of Wing Chun techniques. When the Wing Chun practitioner uses Pak-sao in a fight, often the opponent does not even know what happened.  You are teaching in Virginia, USA. Is there much interest in the United States for Wing Chun?  I live in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is a military town with the biggest naval base in the world. In this area, every few blocks you can find one or two martial arts school. But still, a lot of people are interested in learning Wing Chun. Some people who attend my school are priests or school teachers, and others are US Navy Seals or police SWAT.  We have unique teaching methods and my instructor team spends a lot of time with students, one on one. My teaching philosophy is to have the students develop the ability to learn for themselves. I also work with students on a lot of details and hand exercises, so they can develop good feeling and we can guide them to build their own Wing Chun style.  Can you explain to us how “Elbow Power” is developed in Siu Lim Tao?  There are many movements that need elbow power in Siu Lim Tao, but the main idea of developing elbow power is in the first section of Siu Lim Tao.  Siu Lim Tao emphasizes short bridge, and short bridge emphasizes generating the power from the elbow. The first section of Siu Lim Tao with “Tan Sao” and “Fok Sao” (FooK Sao) developes elbow power going forward. Wu Sao develops elbow power going backward. The Wing Chun punch also requires pull and push from the elbow. The second section where both hands come down also needs elbow power, as do the low palm strikes in section three. And of course, every finishing move (pulling the arm back to the starting position) also requires elbow power.  Please explain how Chum Kiu trains the concept of intercepting. How close should Chum Kiu be applied and how does one close the gap?  One of the main ideas of Chum Kiu is to connect with the bridge (Bridge in Chinese martial arts means the arm) Intercepting is just one of the ideas involved.  Intercepting can happen in these ways:  1. Stop opponent’s movement 2. Distraction 3. Set up the follow up move Connecting to the bridge by intercepting can be done close to the opponent or far from the opponent. If the distance is close, we jam forward and follow with close range fighting techniques to control the situation. If the distance is more open, we will have some set up movements or overwhelming power techniques. The movement at the very beginning of Chum Kiu is the shooting of two hands out to the upper level. That move is used to intercept.  For this movement, we need to extend the power from the shoulders.  You have stated in the past that that Bil Jee teaches how to generate and extend the power from the shoulder. How is this trained?​ The best exercise is the elbow striking movement at the very beginning of the Bil Jee form. When executing the elbow strike in an up-to-down motion with correct stance and structure, it automatically pulls, opens and stretches the back muscles like the Rhomboids, Trapezius (middle and lower), and Serratus Anterior. I also do a lot of push ups to build the muscle for explosive power.  You consider your father, Lo Man Kam, an expert in short bridge Wing Chun, and your “uncle” Duncan Leung, an expert in long bridge Wing Chun. Can you explain what the difference is between the two? Short bridge generates power from the elbow. Long bridge is from the shoulder. Short bridge is used for close range fighting and emphasizes control and manipulation of your opponent with quick follow up. It uses push step footwork or triangle footwork to jam forward. Long bridge is more open. It uses longer motion movements on offense and defence, emphasizing on reach, extension and overwhelming power. It also uses the Wing Chun push kick. What tips would you give to beginners who want to excel in Chi Sao? There are many training systems in Chi Sao that allow for quick improvement and movement to next level. But the best way to excel in Chi Sao is to Chi Sao with as many people as possible. Is your own personal wing Chun still evolving? I started Wing Chun when I was 15 years old. Wing Chun is not learned by imitating your Sifu. Practitioners need to understand the theories that make the Wing Chun techniques applicable in real life situations. This is how Wing Chun training works. Each stage cannot be learned by “Copying”. That is why practitioners who learn Wing Chun long enough should develop their own style. Once they know how to build their own style, the ability to develop and adapt becomes endless. ​ My own training went through the

Wing Chun Kuen is a type of Southern Chinese martial art. The characteristics of Wing Chun Kuen are : sticking body, short strike, Short bridge, narrow stance and keen in short distance strike. According to the Ming Dynasty’s General Qi Jiguang and his books on military strategy – Ji Xiao Xin Shu, traditional Chinese martial arts in 1560 were classified into two distinct types – the long fist art and the short strike art. The Short strike art is called the sticking body, short strike art. It is also known as the short bridge method. The long fist art is known as the long bridge method. The long fist art’s mechanics consist of moving forward or backwards with arms extended to keep an execution distance between the two opponents. The short fist art mechanics consist of “retracting the arm to receive and close in with a balanced central axis.” In order to study and implement Wing Chun Kuen fully, one needs to study the following eight key elements of Wing Chun Kuen: The Wing Chun mechanics, the Wing Chun power generation, the seven dynamic bows (the engine of the Wing Chun Kuen), the line of attack, closing in, receiving, footwork, and the Wing Chun Kuen techniques. There are four basic techniques of receiving. These four techniques are grouped into two couples. Tan and Fuk are an ‘open and close’ receiving couple; Bong and Kei are an ‘upper body and lower body’ receiving couple. ​ These four basic Wing Chun Kuen techniques are intended for receiving the incoming attack instead of blocking or deflecting.  The following figures represent examples of Wing Chun Kuen in action. – Inner door elbow attack – Outside door sealing attack Please note the close proximity to the opponent, which allows the Wing Chun practitioner to exploit a mechanical advantage over opponents that are not used to fighting at this range.  The training methods of Wing Chun make it clear that it is a short range art. It is meant to be applied at “hugging range”, or what would be known in Boxing terms as clinching range. At this range, the Wing Chun practitioner can make use of “torque”(spiraling) and short bursts of force, or pulses. Those accustomed to long range power generation will feel crammed and uncomfortable, and will be unable to generate sufficient power without the usual space required for “winding” the strikes. This provides a distinct advantage to the Wing Chun practitioner, who specialises in short range power generation, sticking and sealing of the opponent’s offense. It is the equivalent of a BJJ fighter taking his opponent to the ground. It would be foolish for him to fight a boxer in a stand up fight. Instead, he will take the striker down to the ground, where the Boxer’s skills are all but useless. ​ The following figure shows the Wing Chun power generation as in the Chum Kil set which is based on Torque and snap with a balanced center axis and ideal for sticking body, short strike.Ω  For a more detailed analysis, please read the book: ​Beginning Wing Chun Kuen by Hendrik Santo  0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Linkedin 0 Pinterest 0 Viber 0 Whatsapp 0 Telegram 0 Email

In this new age of MMA, many Kung Fu styles are often discarded as inefficient, too flowery, and irrelevant in modern combat. Wing Chun is one such style that is sometimes regarded to be all these things. This is not just a fad. Wing Chun’s inability to prove itself in the combat arenas of MMA is mostly to blame. Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Judo, BJJ and Karate have all proven themselves to varying degrees. Wing Chun still lacks that elusive Wing Chun man or woman that can convince the MMA world that it is an effective style. Where is Wing Chun’s Ronda Rousey or Royce Gracie? These warriors proved the efficiency of their arts – even under different sets of rules. Ronda Rousey has been able to effectively apply her Judo in an MMA scenario, where no Gi is used.  Yet, in the Wing Chun world, we constantly hear that Wing Chun cannot be used in a sports arena. Too many restrictions, too many rules. ​ But is this really the reason? Like many traditional Kung Fu styles, practitioners spend a whole lot of time doing things that are not directly connected to fighting or sparring.  ​ Forms, wooden dummies, knife training …are these methods outdated and unsuitable for producing top-notch fighters?  Possibly. Let’s have a look: ​ 5 – Training Methods Boxers and Judokas spend all of their time training exactly how they fight. The jab, cross, hook combination thrown at a heavy bag is executed almost exactly the same on a live opponent. More importantly, Boxers move from Pads and Heavy bags and onto live opponents almost immediately. Same in Judo. Most of the time is spent on drilling movements and throws that are executed exactly as in combat. Uchi Mata against a training partner is executed the same way as in competition. Wing Chun fighters spend an awful amount of time training skills that, though related, are not immediately and directly applicable to empty hand combat. Chi Sao, we hear, develops sensitivity for real combat situations. But in full contact situations, most Wing Chun practitioners are unable to stick, trap or control. So these skills break down almost immediately – and years of Chi Sao training come to nothing. ​ Like Judo and Boxing, WC fighters must spend most of their time training against live partners and drilling those techniques that have a proven track- record of working.  4 – Super Powers ​ It seems that Wing Chun is still living off the reputation of old Masters. There are many stories of such Masters fighting in over 300 contests or such, undefeated. But for the most part, we only have the word of their students to go by. Even if they fought so many challenge fights, what quality of opposition were they facing? ​ WC can no longer survive on these tall tales. We must prove our worth in modern times and in modern arenas. 3 – Internal vs External ​ If we want Chinese martial arts to develop, we must reject such divisions. Although meaningful at some level, they don’t really say anything about the effectiveness of the Art in combat. Martial Arts should be judged on effectiveness in combat, and not the methods of practice. External and Internal alike, all must follow and express human body mechanics. Many Arts that are considered “External” actually contain “Internal” concepts in their training. Boxing for instance teaches one to hit through the target, which is another way of saying “use intent”. The “Internal” vs “External” debate has become dogmatic and of no practical use. When talking about their Art, Internal practitioners insist that they use “soft power” and “use their opponent’s force against them”. ​ In fact, all effective Martial Arts use these principles, so the division is meaningless.  2 -That is not Wing Chun ​ Wing Chun practitioners are obsessed with looking like WC fighters. People often get accused of not using Wing Chun but instead using Boxing or Kick Boxing. As Zhao Daoxin famously said “The differences between styles are more in ritual gestures than in the way of fighting. But those gestures are useful only for demonstration or meeting; in fight they are useless and stupid.” ​ In fighting, Body Mechanics take over styles. Since all humans share similar bodies, all accomplished fighters should look more or less the same.  ​1 – Shrouded in Mystery Kung Fu styles and their training methods are often shrouded in Mystery. Talk of chi, intent, internal power and meditation give the impression of complexness and mystery and slow down progress unnecessarily. Constant talk of Yin Yang and “5 Elements Theory” is also largely unnecessary, and few people can explain even one necessary link between fighting and these theories. ​ The relationship between doing “Forms” or “ Chi Sao” and real combat is often unclear and when attempts to apply these ideas in combat fail, the student is often told to train harder and keep practicing his/her forms. Hardly a recipe for success.Ω  JAVIER GARCIA 0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Linkedin 0 Pinterest 0 Viber 0 Whatsapp 0 Telegram 0 Email

How many books will you read, how many classes will you take, how many hours will you spend, to learn the skills that can transform your life? Whether it is Wing Chun, or some other skill…playing the piano, public speaking, whatever. What will you do to acquire these new skills? We live in unique times. You have the wisdom of the world at your finger tips. Did you know that there are books out there written by successful individuals from all fields, where they explain exactly how they did it, how they became successful….and most of us don’t read them? What did you read today? Last week? Last month? Are you utilising the wisdom of the world, which is available to you, to better yourself? To accomplish your goals? To learn new skills? ​ If you are not…we suggest you start today. JAVIER GARCIA 0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Linkedin 0 Pinterest 0 Viber 0 Whatsapp 0 Telegram 0 Email

Success is a number’s game. If you understand the law of averages, you can be victorious in almost any situation. Let me give you an example. If I am new in sales and I can only convert 1 out of 10 customers, knowing this average, I can now compete with anyone. If you have been with the company for 30 years and you can convert 9 out of 10 customers, if we have a 30 day competition, I will beat you. How, you ask? During those 30 days, you talk to 10 people and get 9 sales. I talk to 100 and get 10. I beat you. ​ The great Jim Rohn would use this example in many of his seminars.​ You see, you can make up in numbers, what you lack in skill. In Martial Arts, it is the same. Maybe you are not the strongest, or tallest or fastest… but you can make all that up by training harder. If someone is more athletic and more naturally gifted than me, but they only train twice a week, and we have to face each other in a sparring match, I will beat them. He trains twice a week. I will train 6 times a week. I will beat him. ​ Learn to use the Law of Averages to your advantage. In time, your skill will improve, so you don’t have to work so hard to compete. But in the beginning, at least understand that you can make up for your lack of skill with numbers and hard work. JAVIER GARCIA 0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Linkedin 0 Pinterest 0 Viber 0 Whatsapp 0 Telegram 0 Email

Just a short walk from the iconic Kings Cross St Pancras Train Station in London you will find Wing Chun London, which is a small traditional Wing Chun Kwoon (School) teaching Gulao Pin Sun Wing Chun.  Sifus Michael Watson and Taskin Hudaverdi first opened the school in the spring of 2015. The aim of the school is to pass on the legacy of Grandmaster Lee Shing. In fact, just how this very rare branch of Wing Chun arrived in the UK is a very interesting but little known story. In this article, we will explore how this very secretive art made its way from mainland China to London’s Chinatown and how it has continued to grow since. The origins and history of Gulao Pin Sun Wing Chun have been documented many times over recent years, and is now well-known, so with this in mind, I will briefly explain its origins before explaining how this very rare branch of Wing Chun made its way to London’s Chinatown in the UK, in the late 1950s.  Upon his retirement, Dr Leung Jan returned to his ancestral village in Gulao. For many years before that, Leung Jan had run a pharmacy in Foshan and was a well-known and respected figure both in the Wing Chun circles and in his professional life.   Leung Jan was now in his later years of his life and it was at this point that he developed a style of Wing Chun which we now refer to as Gulao Pin Sun. This style of Wing Chun differed from the classical style Leung Jan had practiced and taught in Foshan and was made up of separate techniques (San Sau), as opposed to the standardised hand forms that we more commonly see in other lineages of Wing Chun. This, he believed, would be quick and easy for his students to learn and use in a short time frame. Yet, there is a lot more to Leung Jan’s art than just 12 basic body movements and shapes. At a more advanced level, the student would understand that the 12 sets taught do in fact encompass all the underlying principles of Wing Chun that make up the classical approach Leung Jan had taught in Foshan According to recent research, Leung Jan took on four students when he returned to Gulao, with the most famous being his nephew Wong Wah Sam, who in turn passed this style onto Fung Yee Ming. This is where we get to how this rare form of Wing Chun arrived in the UK in the late 1950s.   Born in 1923 in Hoksan, Guangdong province China, Lee Shing showed at a very early age an interest to all the various Kung Fu styles that were practiced in his home village. One style that stood out from the rest for him, was the type of Kung Fu practiced by a Wing Chun expert named Fung Yee Ming who was a student of Wong Wah Sam. The young Lee Shing was accepted as a student by Fung Yee Ming and went on to complete the system under his teacher before relocating to Foshan, where he continued to explore other styles of Wing Chun and compare differing ways of practicing the art. It was while he was in Foshan that Lee Shing first met Grandmaster Ip Man, as they both trained together under Ng Jun So, and like Ip Man, Lee Shing decided to move to Hong Kong.  Whilst in Hong Kong, Lee Shing continued to research other styles of Wing Chun and according to family tradition, he went on to train with many of the Wing Chun Masters that were now based there. These masters included Ip Man, Lok Yiu, Yuen Kay San, Jiu Wan and of course Fung Sang who was teaching Gulao Pin Sun at his school in Hong Kong. In 1959, Lee Shing left Hong Kong and settled in London. Upon his arrival, he opened a restaurant in the heart of Chinatown named Canton, and this restaurant is now considered to be the birthplace of Wing Chun in the UK. To begin with, Lee Shing only taught the staff at the restaurant as a means of self-defense, but soon, word spread within the Chinese community in London of a Wing Chun Master teaching the staff at the restaurant. Eventually, many sought him out and began to train under him. In fact, many of today’s Wing Chun Schools in the UK  can trace their roots directly back to Lee Shing, and many of his personal students would go on to become pioneers in spreading the art of Wing Chun across the world. Some of Lee Shings’ most notable students include, Joseph Cheung, Joseph Lee, Samuel Kwok, Chan Man Kuen, Eddie Yeoh, Joseph Man and Simon Lau, Austin Goh and Nigel Fan.  Even though Lee Shing had many students, he only passed on his knowledge of Gulao Pin Sun Wing Chun to a handful of his favoured student’s. One of these students was Joseph Lee who continued to teach this unique style after Grandmaster Lee Shing passed away in 1992. Joseph Lee is still very much active, still teaches Gulao Pin Sun in London and is the teacher of both Michael Watson and Taskin Hudaverdi, who now continue the legacy of Grandmaster Lee Shing into the next generation.  The Form consists of the following 12 Handsets; ​ Siu Lim Tao (Small Idea Set) Dai Lim Tao (Big Idea Set) Sam Jheen Choi (Three finger jab) Biu Choi (Charging/Thrusting punch) Sap Jee Choi (Reverse meridian/Cross hand punch) Dip Cheung (Double Butterfly Palm). Alternating low palm strikes. Lan Kiu (Bar Arm Bridge) Teet Jee Chum Kiu (Iron Finger Sinking bridge). Back fist flowing into low strike followed by low palm strike. Tang Ma Biu Jee (Rising thrusting finger with phoenix eye) Hok Bong (Crane bong). Level Bong Sau, moving into side body with simultaneous attack. Wan Wan Yeu (Life after Death). Using the waist to lean back to avoid strikes detected late, then using the return waist

Everything affects Everything – how Martial Arts can change your life. Indifference is a disease that can take over and quickly infect every area of your life – the shrug of the shoulder, like you are not even concerned. Just cruising through life. But you see, you can’t cruise to the top of the mountain. Whether we talk about Wing Chun or life in general, to have a winning mentality you have toget worked up – at least a little bit. We all do better for one of 2 reasons : Inspiration or Desperation. So don’t wait for desperation to put a spring in your step. Use inspiration. One of my mentors once said “Please God give me somebody that feels strongly – about anything! – I don’t even care. It may not be easy to win passionate people over to your point of view, but it’s better than having to resurrect people from the dead every week. Pump them up over and over again because they have no passion or drive on their own.” So develop passion for life, passion for Wing Chun, passion for all those things you want to accomplish. The passion you develop in Martial Arts will quickly spread to other areas of your life, and it will allow you to accomplish things you never knew were possible. Javier Garcia 0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Linkedin 0 Pinterest 0 Viber 0 Whatsapp 0 Telegram 0 Email