Master Wong - Legit?

[Old Judoka]

No, not really, the vid was label siu nim tao, but I caught in the comments that it was biu jee. My mistake, tried to correct it right away and my connection decided to slow down to stone tablet speed. Sorry about the confusion.

 

[anerlich]

So one thing I take away from that is that kung fu slippers suck. Gym shoes all the way! Hard to see in that old video, but I believe Emin had better shoes!

Well, IMO kung fu slippers DO suck for training. They slip on polished floors, get loose to the point of slipping on your feet when you step or flying off when you kick. Never again.

I reckon the old Chinese guys thought of them as another way to say "Here's another way to stick it up these Gwailos while we laugh at them behind their backs."

Wrestling shoes are WAY better footwear for training. Though I usually go barefoot.

 

[KPM]

^^^^ I train in a pair of "barefoot" running shoes from Merrill. They work great and fit like a glove. But none of those silly "5 fingers" shoes.

 

[Old Judoka]

My doctor wears 5 finger shoes, I have to strain to keep from laughing every time I go see him (quite often, LOL).

 

[Tony Dismukes]

I actually would love a pair of Vibrams, but I can't justify spending the money on them. Maybe once I get rich and famous through teaching martial arts. I'm sure that's going to happen any day now...

 

[geezer]

My doctor wears 5 finger shoes, I have to strain to keep from laughing every time I go see him (quite often, LOL).

Yeah, those five-toed shoes strike me as another silly fad cashing in on the "it's more natural" thing. It will pass. Like the original backward canted "Earth Shoe" people raved about back in the 70's. The Earth Shoe brand is still around, but they don't look like this anymore!

http://oldnews.aadl.org/files/aa_sun_19720427_p014-007.jpg

 

[wckf92]

the five toed vibrams come in handy when deadlifting, and doing things like kettlebell work, etc.

 

[geezer]

the five toed vibrams come in handy when deadlifting, and doing things like kettlebell work, etc.

Wow. I can't even imagine lifting kettle-bells with my feet!

 

[wckf92]

Ummm....yeah. hahahahaha
Now that I'm rereading what I typed...I'm such a goofball haha

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

 

[Old Judoka]

Yeah, those five-toed shoes strike me as another silly fad cashing in on the "it's more natural" thing. It will pass. Like the original backward canted "Earth Shoe" people raved about back in the 70's. The Earth Shoe brand is still around, but they don't look like this anymore!

http://oldnews.aadl.org/files/aa_sun_19720427_p014-007.jpg

Yeah, I was an "Earth Shoe Victim" back in the 70's, Lol! Good times, eh?

 

[Old Judoka]

the five toed vibrams come in handy when deadlifting, and doing things like kettlebell work, etc.

Great for housework too! You can really multi-task with those things on!

 

[anerlich]

I have a pair of Vibrams. These days though I usually get around in $15 lightweight training shoes I got from Aldi, which feel indistinguishable from a pair of brand name "minimalist" training shoes I paid ten times as much for.

 

[Marnetmar]

He is based in Ipswich. I did try to find out something about him from someone up in those parts, but had moved sadly.

I think he moved to Bolton. Or perhaps that was his brother.

 

[Pat M]

The main thing I like about five toe shoes is that you can dress them up any time you like with thongs.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Do they come in size 14EE

 

[KPM]

The problem I found with the "5 fingers" vibrams was that I have rather short stubby toes, so my pinkie toe wouldn't stay in the shoe's toe piece very well. So it rubbed and was uncomfortable. Not everyone has long prehensile toes after all! Oh...and you have to either have special socks, or go without socks. I didn't like that.

 

[kehcorpz]

I can't tell how authentic Wong's wing chun is. But when I look at his moves then I feel like he could very well defend himself.

Do you think that a "real" wing chun guy would defeat him simply cause his wing chun is better even if Wong's more muscular?

I also doubt that he taught wing chun to himself. He has videos where he demonstrates forms. I don't think he learned this all by himself.

 

[wtxs]

I also doubt that he taught wing chun to himself. He has videos where he demonstrates forms. I don't think he learned this all by himself.

I sure hope this won't turn into another long and drawn out "can you learn MA from videos" thread ... wifie is hinting all those popcorn and beer are what's popping my pants buttons.

 

[Treasure]

Hi
I have been interested fairly casually in MA since the 70's. I trained for quite a while in Shotokan and then switched for a couple of years to WC under Master Simon Lau in London just after the BBC Way of the Warrior was filmed. I did train under Master Wong in Ipswich for about 6 months a few years ago. I quite enjoyed the training as it was a good workout and I was revisiting WC. His style is quite different from Siman Lau but he seemed very definite on what he was teaching. He did not appear to be 'making it up as he went along' and obviously had some heritage. I did hear him asked who had trained him and he did give a non committed reply. His drills were different from Ip Man style. He did like to dedicate part of the lesson to padded up full contact which was always fun. I did some drills with him and his arms were like metal rods. Really quite painful.He was a colourful character and would swear way too much. Quite shocking sometimes . He also appeared to teach a whole lot of different martial arts and if he was a Master in each then it would be amazing. I went to one of his Tai Chi classes as well and he seemed to know what he was doing but I really couldn't tell. He ran it very much as a business and there was a lot of emphasis on buying kit and becoming a member and he would organise trips to China once a year. Nothing wrong in earning a living. All in all I felt like he was a nice enough man who ran a MA business and did it quite well. As for the purity of his style I wish I knew enough to comment but I would not like to meet him in a dark alley. I left because of the travelling and joined Master James Sinclair (who I may have trained with under Simon Lau but too long ago to remember) and must admit that although the lessons were maybe not as enjoyable I did feel more confident that I was getting the real WC experience. He is a pretty impressive individual. Anyway I thought that I would bring this thread back on track as it had changed to talking about footwear....

 

[wingerjim]

I can tell you first hand master Wong is the real deal.

What does it matter if he doesn't tell people who taught him? Some people seem to earn a living by telling people who taught them.

I think Master Wong deserves more respect.

I'd like to know why people think his Wing Chun isn't correct?

BTW, Master Wong had a free training session in the park this last Saturday. He stayed for over 2 and a half hours, answering questions and teaching and giving out free dvd's and t-shirts.

I cannot say that his WC is not correct, but it certainly is not traditional WC. He does not get respect because he so far has not said who taught him, thus we do not know who gave him the title of Master, thus without knowing this, people just are not going to respect him...basic Chinese culture. I am proud to say I attend a school that is of the Leung Sheung lineage. Why does Master Wong not state this? Makes those of us who carry on Ip Man and Leung Sheung's legacy suspicious.