COMBINATIONS: AN INSIGHT

15th Edition March 2016COMBINATIONS: AN INSIGHTThe UK ing Chun Assoc. has a unique approach to training?Here James Sinclair discusses ‘Combination Training’.Having travelled extensively andIt could be argued that the worldobserved a lot of different approaches is now focussed on entertainment andwithin Wing Chun, it has becomeapparent that what most creates goodstudents is the presence of adefinitive training structure, gradingsyllabus and the discipline to stick tothat structure.It remains a fact that a goodteachers knows what is best for thestudents, far better than the studentsactually know what is good forthemselves. How can a new studenttruly understand the requirements tothat Andy Warhol’s prediction that"In the future,everyone will beworld-famous for 15minutes"is fast becoming a desire tomany. It is obvious that persons withlittle or no experience try to make loudprepare for mastery of the Wing Chun voices on YouTube, Facebook, TwitterArt better than an experienced andetc. in an attempt to make a name forwell versed teacher?themselves. It would also appear thatalthough some may never have readJames SinclairFounder and Chief Instructorsince 1985.James has been training and teachingsince the early 1970‘s. He firstqualified as a registered teacher ofWing Chun in 1977, through the MartialArts Commission. With plenty of noticeJames can be available to conductseminars and club visits.

PAAK DAOscar Wilde they live by theexpressionIf we can get young people intomartial arts we can improve them in“The Only Thing WorseThan Being Talked AboutIs Not Being TalkedAbout”so many ways, keeping them active,building self respect, respectingothers, patience and extendedconcentration. These are qualitiesthe National Government areorpromoting as we all become aware ofPhineas T Barnum’sthe dangers of a sedentary lifestyle.“There’s no such thing asbad publicity”The media has brought attentionto the Art of Wing Chun and this isboth good and bad. Teachers areThis has led many teachers topopping up like popcorn and somehave with just as much nutritionalfeel they need to ‘entertain’ theirvalue to students who are naive andstudents, to give them what they want want to believe in Masters, Mysteriesand argue that society has changed,and people can no longer concentratefor more a 5 seconds (5 seconds isand Secrets.In the second Ip Man movie thereabout as long as a music video willhold a scene before cutting towas a scene where Grandmaster IpMan is portrayed as preparing for aanother). This is partly true , but isfight with a champion boxer by rollingnot conducive to learning martial artsup his sleeves and working the MookYahn Jong. Such a lost opportunity toPAAK DAJames SpaldingPaak Da essentially meansslap and hit.As you can observe, theoutside Paak is placedaccurately at the elbowjoint and struck forwardInsideGate PaakPressure is DOWNand close toelbow

reveal how a Wing Chunpractitioner really trains for thefurniture. They can resolve totrain daily on the object. Theysake of dramatic license.will try to engage theirSo why all this prelude to adiscussion on combinationtraining?imagination and work on the setpatterns of the form. Thedummy training is a shortdistance from shadow sparringcarried out by all boxers andAs stated the Dummy hasbecome a bit of a training myth,martial artists, but remains a bigleap from training with a livewith the media giving theimpression that the Dummypartner.contains ‘secrets’ and the abilityWhat is more useful,to impart skill to the practitionerthat match those attributeshowever, is to take thetechniques from the Woodenoffered by a live partner.Dummy and place them in atraining approach that utilises theUnfortunately, this is not so.skills in a manner that, whilstThe Dummy Training is clever,well thought out and has it’s usepredictable, remains live and hasthe variables of distancein cases where a live partner isnot available.judgement, speed and strengthto aid in gaining experience.Students of Wing Chun canspend hundreds of pounds on aThis is where theUKWCKFA combinations trainingpiece of wood and polish it it likeapproach comes in.INCORRECT POSITIONS(Chris Kelly, Kyriacos Charalambous, James Spalding)The positions above demonstrate the commonmistakes and emphasise why recovery is so important.1. Inside Gate, Crossing Centre and Low!2. Too Distant from opponent arm extended3. Too Distant, Taan Too Open, IncorrectlyPlaced At Wrist, No Pressure Across TheOpponents Centre.Bong Sau.Your FlexibleFriend!

Stagger Step: This step creates huge distance for little effort and allows betterapplication of kicking. Erect Palm Jum Sau and Bong Chor Sau require this skill.‘The Harder You Train, The More Luck You Have’The combinations require precise skills, they clearlyutilise the frame and structure that defines the ‘Art’ ofWing Chun Kuen and they allow the better preparation forthem.The UKWCKFA have developed a distinct gradingthe leap into Gwoh Sau and live sparring.structure and the intermediate level is where we focus onthe more demanding skills, requiring good distance andThe UKWCKFA training syllabus does not allowstudents of considerably different experience togate control.train in the same class. This approach is toIF YOU THINKYOU CAN OR THINKYOU CAN’T,prevent classes where students hold moreadvanced students back or waste timeteaching material that beginners cannot fullyappreciate or understand, simply to entertainMASTERCLASSESNATIONAL HQTHIRD SUNDAY 1-4PMMASTER JAMES SINCLAIR 50EITHER WAY YOUARE RIGHTThe combinations are where the UWKCKFAstudent is introduced to the ‘Gate System’.This is when they begin to fully appreciate thestructure of the body and the role it has inbalance, power and distance control.MAR 2016MAR 2016APR 2016MAY 2016COMBINATIONSCHI SAUCHAM KIUPT 2THE ESSENTIALSTHE BRIDGEWOODENDUMMYSAT 19thSUN 20thSUN 17thSUN 15thAs the first partwas so detailedsome points werenot covered.The most essentialtraining in WingChun Kuen iswithin StickyHands. Developthese skills tounlock yourpotential.The mostpractical formfor building yourskills andunderstanding ofpractical WingChun in action.The mostfamous partof the WingChun syllabusin detail. Apopularseminar everyyear.FREE second partfor all whoattended 21st Feb1-3pm

The Siu Nim Tao Grading has 50% of the potentialmarks dedicated to the attributes gained through goodonly practical in working out what is useful, they alsoemphasise the dangers of certain positions, with thecombination skills. It is truly enjoyable and impressivestudents having to either avoid such situations , orto watch a student who is very competent in thecombinations skills. The fluidity power and control oftake immediate remedial action. This is very useful increating a better understanding of the limitations oftheir own techniques and the ability to control thedistance and limit the opportunities of their trainingany training approach. It is ignorance or blind faiththat can cause real problems. Wing Chun studentspartner are remarkable.should be made aware of the dangers as well as theThe combinations help the student develop coreskills. All martial artist must have these. These coreskill techniques like Taan, Bong, Jum, Paak, & Laapstrengths in all manners whether that be structural,positional, technical, or even emotional/psychological.The greatest asset that the combinationsare essential in your aim to be a Wing Chunintroduce is the development of footwork. The formatpractitioner. Any person can be strong, fast and fit,but not everyone is a Wing Chun practitioner. Byis limited simply because any good coach knows thatto develop skills it is often necessary to isolategaining the skills you can start to say you are a trueWing Chun practitioner and then it is purely down toindividual elements. The combinations are exactlythat. They are simply a way to polish individual skills,the Kung Fu, the ‘Hard Work’ that the individual isvery like the dummy, but with more variables to takewilling to apply to raise the level at which they cancontinue to apply these skills.into account. So given the choice of dummy trainingor partner training it has to be a partner every time. IfEvery person has a breaking point, but canyou do not have a dummy, but have a reliable trainingpartner, you are in a far better position than you mayanother take you to that point. This is why you MUSTthink!.develop your skills in tandem with the attributes ofspeed strength, courage and perseverance. It doesnot matter whether you are a Boxer, Judoka, Jiu Jitsupractitioner or Wing Chun student. Your ‘skills’ defineyour Artistic frame and tactical approach, this in turndefines your ‘style’. Your fitness and hard work intrying to engrain your skills into musclememory dictate your breaking point.The UKWCKFA combination training is notDummy Training‘Bong Sau’

POTTERS BARMaster James Sinclair was recently the guest ofNorthaw teacher, Peter Foreman. Although a verysmall class the students were enthusiastic andreceptive to the information given. If you would like aclub visit by the Assoc’s Founder and Chief Instructorsimply call to make the arrangements!SNARESBROOK WING CHUNWEB SITESHere are the websites that you may wish to followthat may relate to the classes in your region.Sifu Nick Martin hasopened a new classin Snaresbrook NorthEast London. If youMAIN SITE: http://www.ukwingchun.comNATIONAL HQ: http://www.rayleighwingchun.co.ukwish to experienceLONDON HQ: http://www.londonwingchun.co.uktraining under one ofthe best teachersMIDLANDS HQ: bedfordwingchun.co.ukCAMBRIDGE: hun.netavailable then getyourself down to the class. Details can be found atNick’s tp://www.walsallwingchun.comCORNWALL: http://www.cornwallwingchun.co.ukRemember if you have a great lesson, please log onand write a comment. ‘Like’ the sites on facebook ormention on twitter etc. In todays social media orientedworld it all helps.London Wing Chun AcademySifu Mark continues torelease his popular YouTubevideos. Out every fortnightthey give an insight into the Artwe love. Please subscribe,follow and even makesuggestions for topics youwould like discussed.NEW UNIFORMThe new style uniform is coming together now.We have designed our new v-neck t-shirt that will beavailable soon.We are sorry to say that it cannot be FREE with FirstYear Membership as stated last month due to a large costincrease . However, we will still supply the cotton t-shirtFREE as we have always done. Click here to go to our shop