CheukMo
Orange Belt
I believe we weren't talking about the style or lineage, but more about the politics.
You said there was a difference in WT and WC, that's all.
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I believe we weren't talking about the style or lineage, but more about the politics.
I wouldn't train at Kamon if I didn't think it was the best. I did chi sao with a guy who had trained under Anton Thomas for 8 years and destroyed himYou are bound to say that however to enlighten you on why i said it was lacking is because in the classes and teachers i have seen it was lacking in quality and understanding. Now i did address the problem with large franchises in my initial post - which is that whilst there may be a lot of good instructors there can also be weaker ones with less skill especially with a franchise the size of kamon. I know kevin knows his stuff but with the large numbers not everyone gets quality time with kevin or even with the higher level instructors. So whilst at the top with ones that all associate with each other often there is a good quality there is also a lot of instructors that don't have the same quality to feed into a class - this has nothing to do with where you have trained and perhaps more to do with places you havent trained - unless you are saying that from experience all kamon schools have very good chi sao? I mean i did try to explain that my words were just of my experience and that the training will vary from class to class even within the kamon franchise. Perhaps its possible that i have been unlucky and seen more of the downside to kamon than the upside, i'll accept that and am happy to believe there to be many great kamon schools out there but it doesn't stop there also being some less great schools.
I honestly am not slating kamon i am seriously just being honest about my experiences and sharing them with someone who asked.
You said there was a difference in WT and WC, that's all.
Oh, I thought you we're talking about this:
"WT is called WT for a reason. That topic should be discussed under a different thread though."
Talking about the differences is fine. There are threads already that focus on that topic.
I wouldn't train at Kamon if I didn't think it was the best. I did chi sao with a guy who had trained under Anton Thomas for 8 years and destroyed him
The instructors at Kamon are extremely good at what they do. Before I became an instructor Sifu Kevin Chan made sure that we know all about lineages/other styles, that we could handle chi sao at advanced level, that we knew all hand forms, that we could fight to a good level and that we could teach well.
Of course we aren't as good as Kevin Chan, but I don't know many instructors who are!! I currently train with WT instructors and instructors from Southern Wing Chun school in Essex and swap ideas about. I have found that they are around the same knowledge as myself, but that they are severly lacking in knowledge of other martial arts.
Can I ask what class you went to/trained at, etc
You can say anything on here and I won't take it personally. People are entitled to their opinions and I value them.Thats great, but like i said unless you have trained with all kamon instructors its hard to be sure that they are all that good. Perhaps, like i said there is just a weak link or two that i was exposed to. I know kevin knows his wing chun and i don't dispute that he may have a lot of great people in his organisation but i was witness to some less than favourable representatives and as much as you don't want to hear that (understandably) it is what i saw/felt. I am not discrediting kamon in the slightest just speaking of what i saw, like i say, i know kevin is good i have seen this. But its like they say, you'll have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was. Again i just want to make it clear i am not attacking you skill level or knowledge i am simply repeating what i experienced with no malice whatsoever.
I know some people who are under Sifu Cheung Kwok Wan, never had the pleasure of training with him personally.
I train under sifu sam kwok.
You can say anything on here and I won't take it personally. People are entitled to their opinions and I value them.
I have trained with EVERY one of the Kamon instructors currently teaching (and some that have moved on) and so I am interested in who your instructors were.
Kevin Chan is very good at what he does and teaches and like you say he is up there at the top, but he is available on Mondays (Croydon class), Tuesday (Beckenahm class), Thursday (Portsmouth class) and in seminars. He also does advanced classes at Covent Garden and private lessons for Kamon members and non-members alike. He teaches everyone beginners and advanced students and is a friendly guy
Of course his instructors won't know as much as him - not many people do in the UK. Sam Kwok is extremely good at wing chun (he even started Kevin Chan off in wing chun) but he lacks the knowledge of other martial arts which is essential for developing your own techniques.
Again, if you would name the instructor/s either on here or on private message I would be grateful
They weren't my instructors, my teacher is sam kwok. They are people i have encountered during my time in wing chun and i remain friends with them. I would mention names but they themselves have some issues with kamon so i think i'll refrain from putting the spotlight on them..
Well I'm sorry, but if you can't back up your comments, then please don't post such statements. That is like me saying I think BJJ is rubbish. What instructor did I train under? Oooo I couldn't possibly say, but it does mean that BJJ isn't very goodNo i don't feel that would be appropiate, their names aren't important, it shouldn't matter to you.
Oh, so what you are trying to say is your instructor is better than my instructor. Thats fine, but i'd like to know why you think sam lacks knowledge of other martial arts, he has a vast amount of knowledge of various arts but perhaps you just don't accept that.
I don't want to get in the middle of an argument, but I have to agree with Kamon Guy. If you are claiming that some sifu is/are not teaching as well as they should you should at least IM the names to him in order for him to be able to check it out and let Kevin Chan review and make any corrections that might be necessary.
Exactly. Thanks Cheuk Mo.
ed-swckf
As I said, I know all the instructors in Kamon, and none of them would be offended by honest comments, but I have taken offence at your previous comments which is basically saying that most of the instructors in Kamon are inadequate.
One of our instructors has been doing wing chun for 40 years and is extremely experinced. Other instructors have trained with other wing chunners before coming to Kamon. There is a wealth of knowledge there and to merely write it off is pretty bad.
I am not very keen on William Cheung or Wai Po's schools due to teaching styles, but I would never just criticise them generally on a forum with no backing.
I assume the forum was built to give information about federations and martial arts out there good and bad, but perhaps a little more info should be provided before comments are made
Well I'm sorry, but if you can't back up your comments, then please don't post such statements. That is like me saying I think BJJ is rubbish. What instructor did I train under? Oooo I couldn't possibly say, but it does mean that BJJ isn't very good
I understand that you are attacking a federation rather than an art, but its the same line of thought
And you haven't learnt under them? How on earth do you know how good their teaching is? Have they shown you everything?
I have trained under Sam Kwok both in his classes and at seminars
He certainly holds events with extremely good martial artists such as Bob Breen etc, but he maintains his wing chun will hold against anything (rather than train other martial arts)
I never said that my instructor was better than your instructor - that is a very general statement. I have learnt more off Kevin Chan in a year than I ever did under Sam Kwok, but that is me (one individual). Sam has taught many people and it obviously works for them. It didn't for me.
You are bound to say that however to enlighten you on why i said it was lacking is because in the classes and teachers i have seen it was lacking in quality and understanding. Now i did address the problem with large franchises in my initial post - which is that whilst there may be a lot of good instructors there can also be weaker ones with less skill especially with a franchise the size of kamon. I know kevin knows his stuff but with the large numbers not everyone gets quality time with kevin or even with the higher level instructors. So whilst at the top with ones that all associate with each other often there is a good quality there is also a lot of instructors that don't have the same quality to feed into a class - this has nothing to do with where you have trained and perhaps more to do with places you havent trained - unless you are saying that from experience all kamon schools have very good chi sao?
This, for me is why I have a problem. You are basically saying here that the chi sao in Kamon is not good. This is not an assumption - read your own words please
To answer, yes ALL of the Kamon instructors are very good at chi sao.
At the beginning, no chi sao is taught. Instead sticking drills such as lok sao and lap sao are taught as well as other drills. When a student has built in structire, footwork etc, they will then progress to chi sao. This is done two years after a student starts. However, by the time that they start to learn chi sao, the structure and understanding is such that the chi sao play is easy to them. Chi sao and forms are worked on later into the art but this is the way it should be done. If you start someone off in chi sao, it is sloppy. It is like asking a newbie to boxing to step into the ring and fight!
Of course Kevin Chan will be better at chi sao than his instructors, just like Ip Chun is better at chi sao than Sam Kwok or Robert Chu is better than Alan Orr. Not many people succeed their instructor in skill
I am probably the worst instructor at chi sao in Kamon and I have been able to outplay many instructors from other federations.
I would still appreciate an answer as to what classes you visited as I find it important to answer on behalf of my colleagues fairly.You can still answer on your colleagues behalf fairly. Personally i think that i should respect peoples privacy, if they wish to raise an issue with things they can. I'm just a guy expressing a personal opinion, one that doesn't hold any weight with you so it really doesn't matter.
And as a last comment, my personal experience of Sam Kwok has not jaded me to the fact that he is good at wing chun. He is an exceptional martial artist, but I chose Kamon as the self defence aspect was good. I have since found that the tutorials on chi sao is very good. At the Wednesday Covent Garden class (and at Croydon on monday) chi sao is all we do for the whole lesson!!
Ok, well i will also add that i have never thought lowly of kevin chan. And i'm glad that chi sao for you is not lacking.
No what you said is that the chi sao was lacking at Kamon. Most people will agree that this is saying that the chi sao is bad.That doesn't mean that what they do isn't any good even when i do say their chi sao lacks something. I most definitely do not say that chi sao in kamon is not good, you assumed that. I said i have experienced some people from kamon that have some qualitys lacking in their chi sao. I have also experienced some good chi sao in kamon and i mentioned i found both good and not so good when i expressed my opinion. Based on my experience i formed my opinion, i don't mind if you think differently to me but don't expect my opinion to change because you say all kamon chi sao is very good. I have an opinion based on events you didn't experience, as a result my opinion differs, deal with it. .
Again you are suggesting that are our instructors are lacking 'major fundamentals' in chi sao. If I said on this forum that many of Sam Kwok's students lack major fundamentals (even though they don't), I am sure he would be displeased. Or certainly most of his instructors would beHardly the point i was making at all. I don't expect them to be better than kevin. If an instructor from another school came to partake in your class and you found they lacked some major fundamentals in chi sao you wouldn't think that means the head instructor of that school is of the same quality as the visiting party. You would however be able to form an opinion about his knowledge and quality of chi sao, this doesn't mean the rest of the schools are bad, now this guy enjoys training with us because he picks up a lot of stuff that he needs to work on, he is humble about his standard of wing chun. I visit his school and i have never said its not good, i think its all valid stuff i just found in this particular case, the chi sao was in need of work. But because this is simply not even a possibility for you being that all kamon chi sao is very good,i think we should just agree that its just some weird opinion i have gotten that isn't plausible or worth entertaining. I'm happy to concede that all kamon chi sao is very good and if it makes things easier i will retract my opinion of the situation i experienced..
Well if you write an opinion that criticises you got to back it up or people just will not take you seriously. It is the same as criticising certain artsWell believe it or not i have opinions on other federations too, i am even critical of my own training, its not a bad thing. Its all based on my experiences so they may differ from yours..
I can't really answer them fairly as every instructor is different. If you tell me a name I can tell you specifics on their training, examples of where their chi sao has held up, whether they are an instructor in Kamon or not, and how long they have trainedYou can still answer on your colleagues behalf fairly. Personally i think that i should respect peoples privacy, if they wish to raise an issue with things they can. I'm just a guy expressing a personal opinion, one that doesn't hold any weight with you so it really doesn't matter..
I thankyou for saying that, but I am still interested in finding out what training you have had that can make judgement over possibly more experienced wing chunners and their chi saoOk, well i will also add that i have never thought lowly of kevin chan. And i'm glad that chi sao for you is not lacking.
No what you said is that the chi sao was lacking at Kamon. Most people will agree that this is saying that the chi sao is bad.
If something lacks something it is not a good thing
I have offered you the chance to back up your claims and state who you trained with. You haven't and therefore I am finding it harder and harder to believe anything you say.
Again you are suggesting that are our instructors are lacking 'major fundamentals' in chi sao. If I said on this forum that many of Sam Kwok's students lack major fundamentals (even though they don't), I am sure he would be displeased. Or certainly most of his instructors would be
Well if you write an opinion that criticises you got to back it up or people just will not take you seriously. It is the same as criticising certain arts
You have stated that you 'met up with' a couple of instructors and trained (which is highly doubtful, as we are not allowed to do that except in private lessons), giving no name of the instructor/s. Are you sure they were instructors for instance?
I can't really answer them fairly as every instructor is different. If you tell me a name I can tell you specifics on their training, examples of where their chi sao has held up, whether they are an instructor in Kamon or not, and how long they have trained
I thankyou for saying that, but I am still interested in finding out what training you have had that can make judgement over possibly more experienced wing chunners and their chi sao
So you don't know that they were instructors?I am sure they are instructors and perhaps the fact they aren't allowed to do that is why they asked for my confidence. Again i don't need to convince you of anything, if you don't want to believe me then don't, its really as simple as that. I don't mind how you take it but going on and on about it really won't change things. I offered to concede and retract the opinion i arrived at, what is it you actually want? I am not about to disclose who they are especially not without even discussing it with them first. aside from their names what do you think this back and forth will acheive?.
Not at all. A beginner will not understand anything to do with chi saoThe instructors i refered to were not more experienced than myself however a beginers critique is just as valid as they may see something others just accepted.
So you don't know that they were instructors?
I would like a complete retraction in your previous statements.
Not at all. A beginner will not understand anything to do with chi sao
It is like an apprentice mechanic telling NASA that they don't think their space shuttles are good.
You seem to put yourself on a pedestal. The Kamon instructors are amongst the most experienced in Britain, because they know more than just wing chun. You have not detailed your own experience or refuse to name the instructors you trained with which means that you are full of nonsense