Just a good video I found on youtube.

[yak sao]

Keeping with the sports analogy, think of major league baseball players. They don't all share the same batting stance. In fact many of them have outright unorthodox stances that make you wonder why it wasn't drilled out of them back in little league; yet somehow they are able to make it work for them and hit the ball.
Why? because underneath the outer appearance, they are still following certain principles that allow them to connect with the baseball.

As for WC, is there a time when it takes on your characteristics?
Don't misunderstand me...ask the people who train with me, I am downright anal on wanting things done correctly in our forms with regards to structure, etc., and I think the proper body mechanics of our system is the driving force of what makes it work....
All of this said, are there acceptable variances on the surface, that still follow the underlying principles?

 

[hunt1]

Keeping with the sports analogy, think of major league baseball players. They don't all share the same batting stance. In fact many of them have outright unorthodox stances that make you wonder why it wasn't drilled out of them back in little league; yet somehow they are able to make it work for them and hit the ball.
Why? because underneath the outer appearance, they are still following certain principles that allow them to connect with the baseball.

As for WC, is there a time when it takes on your characteristics?
Don't misunderstand me...ask the people who train with me, I am downright anal on wanting things done correctly in our forms with regards to structure, etc., and I think the proper body mechanics of our system is the driving force of what makes it work....
All of this said, are there acceptable variances on the surface, that still follow the underlying principles?

Yes, there are many acceptable variances. Basic is we all have 2 arms,legs etc. However then there are other things we do not share, all have different athletic abilities,different physical abilities so to make the system usable by all there must be individual changes like my house analogy. As a practical matter not everyone can get their elbows into the ideal position in front of their chest. So as teachers we must make individual adjustments to overcome physical limitations keeping in mind what the foundational principals are. I did'nt start out being able to keep my elbows in front of my chest 1 to 1.5 fist lengths away but over time with practice I was able to do so. It has been said by many Yip Man students that he would change the system to fit the students ability or if they were unable to grasp something he would modify it to their level of understanding. I believe in general this is how we have come to have so many variations.

Many students lost sight of the basics and just went with Yip showed me this so this must be right even if Yip showed something different to someone else. This same thing happened in mainland styles. You have trouble with wing chun body mechanics no problem use Hung gar mechanics. Bottom line goal is to defend yourself so on an individual basis you must do whatever is necessary for you. However that doesn't mean you just abandon the wing chun concepts. However many did just the opposite. They took what worked for them based on their body type and abilities and passed that down on gospel.

Once many years ago I heard Moy Yat tell a story that there was a Yip student who had trouble with a particular movement on his left side so Yip Man gave this student an alternative way to do it. However this student passed this alternative way down to all his students so now they all did the move incorrectly even though they were more than capable of doing the move as intended.

 

[geezer]

...Once many years ago I heard Moy Yat tell a story that there was a Yip student who had trouble with a particular movement on his left side so Yip Man gave this student an alternative way to do it. However this student passed this alternative way down to all his students so now they all did the move incorrectly even though they were more than capable of doing the move as intended.

I wonder about the choice of the word "incorrectly" to describe the modification. Clearly if it was the most efficient and effective adaptation for the sifu, then for him it was "correct". On the other hand, for his students it was not! Similarly, I modify my stance and steps in a less than ideal way to compensate for an old injury which partially crippled my left ankle. But, unlike the sifu in the story, I explain this to my students, and insist that they stand in the "correct", traditional stance (assuming they can) which I model on the other side.

I suspect that even GM Yip Man altered his conception of what is "ideal WC" over the course of his lifetime. An old man generally will see things differently than a young one. So, even within the Yip Man lineage, there would be different ways to approach the art, and many approaches could be said to be legitimate and effective, although like you said, not all equally effective for each individual. In fact I'd go further, and say that the current state of WC is far from perfect, and it will continue to evolve for both better and worse with each generation.

 

[jeff_hasbrouck]

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I am being civil but honest-that is pretty sloppy wing chun in the video.

I used see a video and automatically assume that I could see every detail. And after the many opprotunities to roll with other people i've come to find that my eyes don't catch everything, and when I actually roll with someone I can "See" a lot more with my hands than my eyes. So it may look like slop-sau to some, and thats ok . I'm just saying before I jump to any conclusions I would roll with them.


All the best,


Jeff

 

[Vajramusti]

I used see a video and automatically assume that I could see every detail. And after the many opprotunities to roll with other people i've come to find that my eyes don't catch everything, and when I actually roll with someone I can "See" a lot more with my hands than my eyes. So it may look like slop-sau to some, and thats ok . I'm just saying before I jump to any conclusions I would roll with them.


All the best,


Jeff

==============================

Wish you well also...

 

[smithr]

I liked the video, but I am curious, Does Wing Chun have any kicks or sweeps? Sorry if it sounds like a stupid question , but I know nothing about WC, and all I see is upper body and arms, along with angling and distance control. Would a WC practitioner throw in a kick once in a while?

 

[jeff_hasbrouck]

I liked the video, but I am curious, Does Wing Chun have any kicks or sweeps? Sorry if it sounds like a stupid question , but I know nothing about WC, and all I see is upper body and arms, along with angling and distance control. Would a WC practitioner throw in a kick once in a while?

Yes we do.

- Sifu Sergio Iadarola briefly explains chi-gerk or "sticky leg" and gives a quick demonstration.

- I don't know who the hell this is, but its the best video I've ever seen on chi-gerk. I just found it. It shows the way WT uses footwork and how we position our feet to kick. Notice when they kick inside a leg, the toes are pointed in, and when out, so are the toes.

I'm pretty sure these guys aren't with the IWTA anymore because last I checked it was expressly forbidden to post any social media including advanced (haha) techniques. This is what most people teach starting at 2nd student grade (about a month (or less) of training).

But here you go, this is how WT trains footwork. And you can see a little of how we apply it.

 

[mook jong man]

Wing Chun has many kicks including a lot of sweeping , deflecting , hooking and locking movements.

There's a few kicks in these ones , mainly low heel kicks and stamp kicks , with a few hook kicks and sweeps
The women in the videos is one of my old instructors.

[video=youtube_share;dcx0AqADF0E]http://youtu.be/dcx0AqADF0E[/video]

[video=youtube_share;VdHRin1r6fY]http://youtu.be/VdHRin1r6fY[/video]

[video=youtube_share;gLhC8n40nLw]http://youtu.be/gLhC8n40nLw[/video]