A faster/better way to do this simple exercise?

[simplewc101]

p.s.
http://www.wingchun.org/txt/schools/usa/ma.html
if your school doesn't work out for you, I found these..
It looks like the closest one to you in in New Salem or Northampton.. about an hour away..
a WC resource that I use sometimes is wcarchives.com
not sure how other people on this forum feel about that site, but I think it has pretty accurate information.

 

[Edgar]

Hey Dansolo,

When you're starting Wing Chun, the stance is one of the most awkward things to do and takes time to get used to. I remember my knees would hurt after standing the position too long but not after a few years of training, it just comes naturally when I need to get into stance.

So my advice is to just continue getting into the stance and standing in that stance, no need for additional exercises.

But...if you are looking to condition your body better, I wrote two blog posts that may help.

Focuses on upper body: http://www.practicewingchun.com/wing-chun-training-body-conditioning-part-1
Focuses on lower body: http://www.practicewingchun.com/wing-chun-training-body-conditioning-part-2

They're 3 simple exercises each and they require at least one dumbbell.

Good luck with your training!

Regards,

Edgar

 

[Dansolo]

p.s.
http://www.wingchun.org/txt/schools/usa/ma.html
if your school doesn't work out for you, I found these..
It looks like the closest one to you in in New Salem or Northampton.. about an hour away..
a WC resource that I use sometimes is wcarchives.com
not sure how other people on this forum feel about that site, but I think it has pretty accurate information.

Unfortunately that list is pretty outdated.

-Sifu Stanley Jue has moved from Arlington to Cambridge (he's listed for both in the link but the Arlington location is no longer an option as far as I know), which is too far from me, and I've read that he teaches a mashup of styles, and that it shouldn't be considered true Wing Chun. Can't verify personally, but even if false, Cambridge is too far from me (and so is Arlington).

-The Hudson place doesn't list WC on their site, and I just assumed that they'd stopped teaching it. I actually used to live in Hudson... it's about the same distance from both my work and my home as my current place is (just that it's off in one direction instead of the other - though it's a bit more convenient as far as highways go). I just noticed that the same instructor is still listed on the site, and WC is listed under his accomplishments, but it's not on the schedule. I don't know if he stopped teaching it or just doesn't advertise it or what.... Maybe I should look more into this.

-The Medford place is also too far from me. I'm not sure if they are still there. Jim Roselando (listed as the contact for that location) has this not-very-helpful-to-me site http://www.apricotforesthall.com/ which says he teaches at MIT, which is in Cambridge and too far from me.

-The New Salem link, is not very helpful. It even mentions that the phone number is no longer good, gives no other info, and Googling it doesn't return anything. Either way, New Salem (and Haverhill) are too far from me...

-Northampton Wing Chun is no longer there, it seems? Link talks about NC only. (Edit: Fixed this one)

-"Boston Wing Chun" gives a link for "Austin Wing Tsun" which doesn't list any non-Austin, TX locations

Thanks for looking, but unfortunately MJA is the only close enough school to me unless Rising Sun in Hudson is actually still doing WC in which case that would be about the same (in)convenience and I have no proof that that school is any better. I may look into it, though. I still know people in Hudson; not Spencer. Though one person that trains at MJA with me actually still lives in Hudson... Maybe I'll ask her if she ever checked out that place. The Boston area stuff is over an hour away in any case and could be two hours in traffic. Spencer/Hudson are like 45 minutes from home (and closer to work) without traffic being much of a bother.

As for the exercise advice from your other post (also Edgar), I will check that out, thanks. As for just staying in the stance to train the stance, I've been finding that a bit tough. It's like it's simultaneously too hard (I'm feeling it within a mere minute or two) but not challenging enough as far as what I have to do (almost nothing) that I zone out and stand up before I even realize it :/ lol. I guess I'll have to just make myself get used to doing it. But I'll try some of the other stuff as well to mix it up and also hopefully make me feel like I'm accomplishing something. I did try practicing the stance while moving forward (just stepping down my hallway while sunken, turning around, and repeating) a bit the other day and that seemed to make it easier to keep with it, but for some reason I wasn't feeling it as much. I'll probably try that way some more as well.

 

[Punchy]

the Boston listing was for Jeff Webb. He is in Austin Tx to my knowledge, but he may still have students in that area. It's worth looking into, because that is definitely wing chun. (although they use the ving tsun spelling)

 

[almost a ghost]

The Hudson place doesn't list WC on their site, and I just assumed that they'd stopped teaching it. I actually used to live in Hudson... it's about the same distance from both my work and my home as my current place is (just that it's off in one direction instead of the other - though it's a bit more convenient as far as highways go). I just noticed that the same instructor is still listed on the site, and WC is listed under his accomplishments, but it's not on the schedule. I don't know if he stopped teaching it or just doesn't advertise it or what.... Maybe I should look more into this.

I'm actually going to be by that school next Saturday while visiting my cousin who lives in Hudson. If I have a chance I'll pop my head in (I'll have the wife with me, so don't hold your breath LOL).

-The New Salem link, is not very helpful. It even mentions that the phone number is no longer good, gives no other info, and Googling it doesn't return anything. Either way, New Salem (and Haverhill) are too far from me...

-"Boston Wing Chun" gives a link for "Austin Wing Tsun" which doesn't list any non-Austin, TX locations

the Boston listing was for Jeff Webb. He is in Austin Tx to my knowledge, but he may still have students in that area. It's worth looking into, because that is definitely wing chun. (although they use the ving tsun spelling)

The Boston listing has been gone for over a year now. They rented space from a gym. They did say that were were also affiliated with a Wing Tsun school in Salem/Peabody, which my boss's brother-in-law trained at, but as a Kempo student. Anyways, they are/were too far away from the OP.

 

[blindsage]

so just practice standing in your stance until your knees or whatever starts to hurt, take a break, and then stand in your stance again for a while longer. .

If your knees hurt, stop. It should be your leg muscles that hurt. If the joints hurt you're doing something wrong. Ask your instructor for help.

 

[wtxs]

If your knees hurt, stop. It should be your leg muscles that hurt. If the joints hurt you're doing something wrong. Ask your instructor for help.

Good observation. To be more specific ... the quad muscles.l

 

[Dansolo]

I'm actually going to be by that school next Saturday while visiting my cousin who lives in Hudson. If I have a chance I'll pop my head in (I'll have the wife with me, so don't hold your breath LOL).

Cool. I'm not necessarily unhappy where I am right now but if you do happen to stop in, I would love to hear about it. I have a couple friends interested in taking WC but who are a good 1.5 hours from my current school but only 30-40 minutes from Hudson.

Thanks for all the advice. Didn't expect so many replies here. You guys rock.

P.S. my school has a "fitness boot camp" thing going for the next 8 weeks and it is before my WC class. I will be getting there very early if I go straight from work (it's not worth driving home for half an hour and then back) so I asked and they are fine with me doing that before WC class to help get me in shape and also fill much of the extra ~2 hours between when I get there and when WC class starts (so rough). Also asked for some help on my stance yesterday and I think I've improved some and will hopefully continue to do so.

 

[J W]

As for just staying in the stance to train the stance, I've been finding that a bit tough. It's like it's simultaneously too hard (I'm feeling it within a mere minute or two) but not challenging enough as far as what I have to do (almost nothing) that I zone out and stand up before I even realize it :/ lol. I guess I'll have to just make myself get used to doing it.

Hi Dan, I'm new to Wing Chun myself, just started back in August. If you haven't already, you should be learning the Siu Nim Tau form soon. SNT is performed entirely in the yee gee kim yeung ma stance, so playing this form is a good way to train your stance. Focusing on the various arm movements in the form should hopefully keep you from "zoning out", and should also give you something to focus on other than the pain in your legs (which, as blindsage said, should hopefully be in your muscles, not your joints).

SNT, as I understand it, trains all of your Wing Chun fundamentals, including the YGKYM stance. The more you play the form, the more you'll notice your stance improve.

 

[almost a ghost]

Sorry, I couldn't make it over the school in Hudson in time :/

My wife did have a blast in Boston. Coming from Japan and having only lived in Sacramento and Vegas she was taken back by how beautiful MA can be at the right time of year and has informed me that we will be moving to MA when she completes Nursing School in a few years LOL