Wing Chun

Wing Chun in Orange County

Teaching Wing Chun to Beginners

Traditionally, the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun is taught to beginners in a very slow manner. But today, most people lack the discipline to stick with Wing Chun for the long haul. Quite frankly, they get bored and lack the resolve to push themselves to higher levels.

So why not teach things faster to beginners? Why not give them the most interesting things in Wing Chun right way? Why be too tedious with beginners? Why not give beginners more right from the start? Why not give beginners with self-defense concepts they can use right away?

At The Dragon Institute, we hold nothing back from the Wing Chun student. If a beginner has the ability to proceed through our curriculum at a faster pace, we believe that that is how they should be taught. To us, there is nothing wrong with going ahead and learning as much as you can as quickly as you can.

However, just because we don't believe in holding anything back from students doesn't mean we believe beginners are ready to go off on their own and start teaching after only a year of training. Within The Dragon Institute's curriculum, there is much more depth to a student's developmental training than can possibly be covered in that short period of time.

It's these hollow shells of the art that lead people to think that's all there is to Wing Chun. This lack of true depth is what gives the great art of Wing Chun a bad name. Many of us have first hand experience with such Wing Chun taught in such a watered-down way. At The Dragon Institute, we refuse to allow poor quality, indirect, rushed, inefficient, unpractical, complicated methods walk these halls.

Make no mistake, we have dedicated our lives to developing the most effective system of self-defense the world has ever known! Dragon Family Wing Chun stands alone in its ability to empower anyone -- regardless of age, gender, or athletic ability -- using the time-tested techniques and teaching methods perfected over the last century.

WELCOME TO THE DRAGON!



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Orange County Wing Chun

Wing Chun Wooden Dummy Speed Training (aka Compression Form)

The legendary Wing Chun mook jong (wooden dummy) is an important part of this famous southern Chinese martial art.

Most styles of Wing Chun today, train mainly one version of the mook jong. This one version is used to train many different aspects. However, a key to getting the very most out of this ingenious training device is to practice different versions of the wooden dummy form, each with specific focuses of development.

One of the many versions of mook jong (wooden dummy) training methods that Karl Godwin practices and talks about in-depth his book, The Modern Training Methods of Wing Chun: The Wooden Dummy, is what is referred to as the "Compression Form".

In the "Compression Form", the specific purpose is to "compress" the time of the form down to less than 2 minutes.

The purpose of this type of mook jong training is to develop efficiency and relaxation.  Don't try to move the hands faster in order to complete the form at a quicker speed. If you do, you'll start to develop a rigid, struggling type of energy creating levers in your arms that can be manipulated by someone else.

Instead, try to keep the arms and hands relaxed when moving from position to position. That way you can be much more precise and in control.

After all, this speed specific version of the form isn't about how fast you move, it's about how fast you get from one point to the next. In other words, its all about efficiency.

When practicing, remember the specific focus of this training method. Remember that practicing this version is NOT meant to develop power. There are other versions that you can practice in order to develop power.

Here is Karl Godwin's Mook Jong Compression Form. The form starts at about 2:10. Before that you'll be able to read more in-depth into the unique reasons for the compression form.



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Solo Fencing Training - Mental Training

Mental training is an integral part of the preparation of athletes for competition in virtually every sport. Because fencing makes significant demands both on the ability of fencers to analyze and solve tactical problems and on determination and fighting spirit, mental training must be included in a fencer's development. Mental training is a daily effort for the fencer, and thus it must be an integral part of a fencer's solo training plan.

There are a significant number of programs for athlete mental training, well documented in a variety of books. These provide the coach an opportunity to select an approach to mental training that works in the context of the coach's approach to training and in the context of the overall physical training of the fencers. However, there are a number of common elements that should be considered in any such training program:

... Goal identification. Mental training can help the fencer develop goals for their engagement in the sport and uses those goals as constant reinforcement to drive better performance. If a fencer has no goals for their fencing, then any outcome is success. If the fencer has goals but does not internalize them, believe in them, and work to achieve them, then most outcomes become frustration.

... Development of focus. The fencer must be able to focus their mental capability on the task at hand, whether that task is training or competition. This focus must concentrate on solutions to the problems the task presents, constantly searching for ways to solve problems and thereby to defeat opponents.

... The ability to maintain morale in the face of adversity. We have all seen a fencer or a team come from behind to defeat an opponent whose victory seemed certain. This depends on focus, but it also depends on the indomitable will to win and the self-assurance that victory will happen. Mental training provides the fencer with tools to build, maintain, and call upon that will when needed.

... Technical development. The use of visualization can improve technical performance by providing opportunities to practice whenever and wherever the athlete can. The fencer must imagine that he or she is performing a technique correctly in detail, feeling the blade and grip, seeing the target, making the extension, etc. The richer in detail the picture created by the imagination, the better the training. In some cases this mental practice rivals physical practice in its ability to produce performance improvements.

Because a mental training program requires daily activity, it is important to make this training part of a solo training program. The coach can help the fencer identify goals, train the fencer in how to maintain focus and summon the will to get the next touch, and teach visualization techniques. However, the fencer must do the work, every day, if he or she is going to be able to use mental techniques to improve performance and increase competitive success.

About the Author:

Walter Green is a Maitre d'Armes (Fencing Master) certified by the Academie d'Armes Internationale. He teaches modern competitive and classical fencing, historical swordplay, bayonet fencing, and Asian martial arts swords at Salle Green ( http://www.sallegreen.com ), the fencing school he operates in Glen Allen, Virginia. Maitre Green also trains fencing coaches through the Pan American Fencing Academy ( http://panamfencing.com ). He serves as a Head Examiner for the certification of professional fencing coaches for the United States Fencing Coaches Association, and chairs the USFCA's Club Committee.


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