# What made you want to do Wing Chun?



## Jake104 (Mar 26, 2011)

For me it was Bruce Lee . I had watched the Dragon Bruce Lee story after coming off of a pretty bad *** beating during the LA riots. I got sucker punched at Taco Bell, and practaully had my eye socket crushed. Anyway, if anybody is from the Orange County Ca area. There was a martial arts supply store called Phil Hall MA suppies. So after I had seen the movie. I was over there buying the Tao Of Jeet Kune Do. I started talking to Phil, and he told me, you know, Bruce Lee first started in WC. So I grabbed a few fliers, and the rest is history. I had know idea what WC was before I started. I know it's a pretty corny story, but that's how it went down for me. My fellow students would tease about it.

 So I was wondering what motivated you ? 

Jake


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## Vajramusti (Mar 26, 2011)

Jake104 said:


> For me it was Bruce Lee . I had watched the Dragon Bruce Lee story after coming off of a pretty bad *** beating during the LA riots. I got sucker punched at Taco Bell, and practaully had my eye socket crushed. Anyway, if anybody is from the Orange County Ca area. There was a martial arts supply store called Phil Hall MA suppies. So after I had seen the movie. I was over there buying the Tao Of Jeet Kune Do. I started talking to Phil, and he told me, you know, Bruce Lee first started in WC. So I grabbed a few fliers, and the rest is history. I had know idea what WC was before I started. I know it's a pretty corny story, but that's how it went down for me. My fellow students would tease about it.
> 
> So I was wondering what motivated you ?
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ...


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## Nabakatsu (Mar 26, 2011)

I've been an avid MA fan since I was like 3.. my dad and me would always watch any and all CMA movies we could get on hands on. I would mimic and practice constantly from that age. I had a very vivid dream of being in a pagoda park when I was like 5-ish that felt more real to me than anything else had before that time. I had studied a bit of americanized karate, didn't really like it.. had plans on doing something over the years.. I talked to a shaman-like fellow, and when I shared my interest in CMA he suggested Jook Lum and wing chun to me.
I saw prodigal son, fell in love, and searched and searched before finally finding my school.


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## tenzen (Mar 27, 2011)

Well I have always had an attraction to the dummy. But my real interest in wc came when I actually used it. I started my training in MA way before I had any interest in them. My mother practiced wc and started teaching me when I was 5. Both my parents were martial artists.
But I was jumped in my new neighborhood when I was about 10 or so. I immediately took out the other kids. That's when I really started to care about wc and martial arts in general. I'm still friends with all those guys. We all trained together up through high school.


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## chinaboxer (Mar 27, 2011)

i've always been interested in martial arts and self improvement, even at a young age, but growing up in a very small town, i was limited to Okinawan Karate. When i was old enough, i decided to pack my bags and move to Los Angeles to study Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do with Dan Inosanto, (i lived in my car for three months!). I really enjoyed the training but found it impossible to use the trapping skills during sparring. This led me to seek out Gary Lam and Hawkins Cheung. It was Hawkins that impressed me the most, because he was such a small and frail person, about 5 feet tall and 105 lbs and 60 years old! and no matter what i tried to do, he handled me like i was a child. this really impressed me. He was able to completely negate my physical muscle and speed, from that moment, i was hooked, because he was the first to actually be able to use it in a sparring environment. Years later, i decided to create a Tutorial to share Hawkins Cheungs method, because i truly believe that he is one of the best Chunners out there and deserves to be recognized.

- Jin


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## balancedZen (Mar 30, 2011)

ChinaBoxer: You hav done Hawkins and gary lam WC. Gary Lam WC has some really good videos out on youtube. They are quite impressive, is hawkins WC the same?  Not comparing each other, but just wondering. 

For me, i've always loved WC. I've loved the sciences behind it, i think it's a very intelligent Martial Art. I've learned WC from my father at a very young age (10-13), i've always kept the body mechanics quite sharp though i didnt fully understand the science/theory behind it. I've tested it out on the battlefield (playground) many times and it has worked, again, i didn't understand why, i just knew it would work.Then i stopped  practicing it till now at age 27, i have finally picked it back up (previously done Muay Thai for 2 years, love it, but i felt like i was training to be a warrior). 

Now that i understand things, i feel like a small boy in a toy shop, just over filled with joy when it comes to wing chun. 

This is my second post here, i've lurked around for a little bit. 

Cheers.


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## MA-Caver (Mar 30, 2011)

For me it was Caine from the t.v. show Kung Fu.


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## WC_lun (Mar 31, 2011)

I'd practiced animal form kung fu for many years and always appreciated the effeciency I saw in Wing Chun.  Eventaully I met a teacher that could shut down anything I threw at him and explain what he was doing.  He was also just a great guy.  He taught Wing Chun so I became a Wing Chun student.  For me, I had to really experience it to get really excited about it.


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## yak sao (Mar 31, 2011)

WC_lun said:


> I'd practiced animal form kung fu for many years and always appreciated the effeciency I saw in Wing Chun. Eventaully I met a teacher that could shut down anything I threw at him and explain what he was doing. He was also just a great guy. He taught Wing Chun so I became a Wing Chun student. For me, I had to really experience it to get really excited about it.


 

What he said


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## Xue Sheng (Mar 31, 2011)

What made me want to do Wing Chun initially, honestly, was Bruce Lee. What made me actually go take class years later was basically it seemed like the thing to do at the time.

Why I kept going back and trying? Well. Everything I know about Wing Chun, to me, says I should really like it but for some reason I kept missing something.

I like its simplicity not meaning simple but more to being without flash, flare or flourish, I like its directness and I liked the training but every single time something came up missing and I just could not figure out what it was that was missing. 

I think I finally figured it out and it was my approach to how it should be trained based on false categories of internal and external CMA styles. I am at it again and so far I dont feel like Im missing anythingother than skill that is


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## Svemocn1vidar (Mar 31, 2011)

To put it as simple as possible - Jun Fan Lee.


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## Jordan274 (Jun 14, 2011)

For me, I was in some careers course in the UK to help the unemployed. 
There was a guy that train in Wing Chun for several years, and showed me a demo of the art after I slagged him of about it lol. 

Obviously he showed me up, but that gave me the insight to learn this art.
I've not long started and I'm no longer unemployed anyway. But I'm loving every minute of it lol. 

I hear people tell me how boring they find the forms and drills, but to me if you find it boring then your frame of mind affects how you do the drills and forms. 
To me though I actually have fun performing the forms and drills, I can imagine though its because I've not long joined but to be honest. I'm loving it and thats all that matters to me. 

- Jordan


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## cwk (Jun 14, 2011)

I was helplessly pulled, pushed, poked, grabbed, twisted and hit at will by a man half my size in his late 60's.
That was it for me, I knew I had to learn what I could from him.


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## Sukerkin (Jun 14, 2011)

Jordan, that's such an important point about practising any martial art (or indeed anything at all) i.e. that unless you love the art then you wont do the practise.

I can't do empty handed arts anymore because of permanent injuries to my right arm (nasty bike accident) but I do train in the Japanese Sword Arts.  There the principles of learning are the same - endless repetition as you hone and hone the forms, seeking perfection where none will ever be found.


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## mook jong man (Jun 14, 2011)

I walked into the school off the street and got a demo by a female instructor.
She was only small but she threw a punch at my nose that was so fast and so direct that I didn't even see it , I just felt the air hit me in the face.

I thought that was pretty impressive and joined up straight away.


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## Haris Lamboo Faisal (Jun 14, 2011)

I watched a small man defeat a boxer twice as big as him on those things you people call televisions , then i later found out the movie was basically a documentary about yip man's life , i love to see the underdog win and i was already obsessing about WC ...Locally , i searched a long time but couldn't find anyone who was confident enough in their WC ability to teach it properly ... Long enough that me and my partner actually built an entire mook jong from scratch even painted it etc ... after it was complete i couldn't ignore that thought in my head that kept telling me to find a wc teacher ... Well i didn't find one locally but i found Many humble practitioners both teachers and students who were kind enough to give me feedback on my form and the way i practiced ... Thats how i started doing WC still do it to date. I have much respect for those people. =)


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## almost a ghost (Jun 14, 2011)

I did Kempo for 5 years in the late 90's During that time I had a run in with a guy who did Wing Chun, he was in his 60's and he showed me somethings.

Years after quitting Kempo I wanted to get back into the martial arts, but I wanted to study one system that was straight forward and effective. I didn't want to collect forms and techniques like baseball cards as I did with the Kempo training. So when I went on the hunt for styles I remember that run in and did some research on Wing Chun and watched what clips I could find at the time (year was 2000). I liked what I saw 

A few months after my initial search I e-mailed instructors in surrounding states and found an instructor that just moved to Las Vegas. My first lesson consisted of my soon to be instructor walking through every technique I knew without trying. After that I was hooked.


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## altbus1 (Jun 17, 2011)

My friend trained Wing Chun before. At one moment he needed a training partner from that day on I'm addicted.


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## billyrichards (Jun 22, 2011)

An advanced apology for the waffle, hopefully the background information will make sense!!!

I have very little experience in MA - A brief stint with GKR Karate a few years back was all I had practically trained in but I have always had a strong interest in learning an art. My Parents prevented me from joining a club as a youngster because they thought that as a quite rebellious child, I could use any skills acquired to get into more trouble.

I have had an ongoing problem with chronic headaches, dizziness & confusion for 12 years now which has sent me to madness and back more than once. Life is pretty stable now but my fitness levels are not what they used to be as a sports obsessed child.

So, I recently decided to start training again and had a mental checklist of what I wanted to acheive. I was not interested in competitions or gaining the ability to kick higher than my head and Wing Chun just sort of happened for me. There is a School 3 miles from my house and after a 1 week free trial I joined up.

It's still pretty new but I leave every class with a smile on my face looking forward to the next one!


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## Haris Lamboo Faisal (Jun 22, 2011)

billyrichards said:


> An advanced apology for the waffle, hopefully the background information will make sense!!!
> 
> I have very little experience in MA - A brief stint with GKR Karate a few years back was all I had practically trained in but I have always had a strong interest in learning an art. My Parents prevented me from joining a club as a youngster because they thought that as a quite rebellious child, I could use any skills acquired to get into more trouble.
> 
> ...



Thats what something you enjoy does for you , its as much mental as it os physical.


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## swivel63 (Jun 23, 2011)

i went to a trial class, and liked the simple, direct (and almost dirty) movements.  

i was never one for flying through the air or kicking someone in the head who was taller than me.


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## Vajramusti (Jun 23, 2011)

Well it was NOT Bruce Lee that got me into wing chun!!

loy chaudhuri


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## yak sao (Jun 23, 2011)

Vajramusti said:


> Well it was NOT Bruce Lee that got me into wing chun!!
> 
> loy chaudhuri


 

to be fair, Bruce Lee probably wasn't even born yet when you started WC


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## cwk (Jun 23, 2011)

yak sao said:


> to be fair, Bruce Lee probably wasn't even born yet when you started WC



Yeah it was different in those days. Your bong sao had to be spot on oterwise the other knights lance would go straight through it and impale you.

(only joking Joy)


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## Engill (Jun 28, 2011)

for me it was Fight Quest - episode about WC
and then ofc Ip Man (the movie)


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## Domino (Jun 28, 2011)

A couple of friends mentioned a local class, they had previous Lau Gar training which I thought was ace. Went to class and found my 'place'.


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## threethirty (Jul 24, 2011)

a binky sign that said one week free trial... that is what started it


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