traits of a good instructor

[theneuhauser]

just curious, what should i look for in a good instructor of wing chun? i figure that any one can probably impress me with a show of chi sao or some quick hands. are there certain traits to look for besides the general personality stuff? are there any key questions one should ask a prospective instructor?


yes, that's right i may take up wing chun here in the near future

 

[Richard S.]

my old teacher always knew how to make eveything interesting, from the monotony of chi sau to the frustration of the mook jong. he knew how to explain things in "everyman" terms, till he knew we would grasp the details. he always knew when to push us bigtime and when to acknowledge us when we did it right. he seemed to know our moods and would adjust his methods just enough to get us in the proper frame of mind. but, i guess these are the traits of any good teacher, not just W.C. ...............respects.

 

[theneuhauser]

hopefully ill be so lucky.
btw, how are the feet and legs used? i know that generally, you advance with most of the weight on your back leg.

 

[jongman]

One would have to take into account who the instructor's Sifu is/was, feedback from his/her students, the size of his/her class, what sort of preferences they might have for certain aspects of the system - more emphasis on chi sao or sparring for example, and what sort of attitude they have regarding their fellow man and their students.
In my opinion a good teacher should instill a good training ethic, family atmosphere in a class, and a responsible and caring attitude toward the community in every student. Fighting and aggressive attitudes should be discouraged unless absolutely neccessary.
If all of these attributes match your perception of what you aspire to become then you may have found your Sifu!

On the footwork side - the weight distribution can vary between systems. Some are more on the back foot and slide and pivot when moving, some use 50/50 distribution and step like a boxer with greater mobility in and out, and also to the blind-side of their opponent.



http://redjunk.net

 

[theneuhauser]

i checked your link, where does your mook jong come from?

 

[jongman]

Hey, I was building my own dummies for a few years there along with a few that I sold to classmates. I think the original plans came from the gold book, '108 wooden dummy techniques' by LT & Yip Chun.

 

[jongman]

Hey, I was building my own dummies for a few years there along with a few that I sold to classmates. I think the original plans came from the gold book, '108 wooden dummy techniques' by LT & Yip Chun.

 

[DireWolf]

btw, how are the feet and legs used? i know that generally, you advance with most of the weight on your back leg.

Not all styles of WC are like this. My lineage uses 50/50 weighting all the time, unless of course when kicking.

 

[theneuhauser]

oh well,

the wc school wasn't quite what i was hoping for. had to bow out gracefully after my first lesson there. cest la vis! too bad, would have been nice to do.


no disrespect to the chunists, it was just the teacher, himself, and his students, too. they were not very skilled.