Traning at Home

[wingchun100]

SOLO WORK
1) Forms: Sil Lum Tao, Chum Kiu, Biu Jee, and Mook Jong (wooden dummy)
2) Kim sut (this is the "knees in" part of our basic stance)
3) Rooting
4) Applications on the dummy (other than the form)
5) Various strikes: punch, palm strike, chop, elbow, kicks
6) Entry footwork
7) Zoning footwork
8) Distance
NOTE: I can practice 6-8 by stepping up to inanimate objects like a telephone pole, a tree, the leg of a table, etc.
9) Timing
10) Pivoting
11) Shifting
12) Simultaneous attack and defense: in basic stance, with pivot, with footwork
13) Hit wall bag
14) Shadow box
15) Proper release of energy (when working on the dummy)
16) Body unity (when pivoting and shifting)
17) Shadw boxing

 

[wingchun100]

Now here is the fun part.

What I have written above seems like a pretty extensive list, right? I mean, 17 items on the solo list. And I am sure there are some of you who might even think that list is too short. Whatever the case, one fact remains: when it comes to training, there is always a LOT to train! How the hell can anyone fit all this into a day? We all have so much going on. For me, I have two jobs (technically 3 if you include freelance writing), a girlfriend, 4 kids, 2 stepkids, and so on and so forth.

The answer (for my brain anyway) is consolidation.

Sometimes when you think you are working just one item from your list, you may actually be working several. Take Sil Lum Tao for example. When you do that form, are you doing JUST that? No! Let's take a deeper look:

SIL LUM TAO WORKS:
1) The form itself
2) Kim sut
3) Rooting
4) Punch
5) Palm strike
6) Chop
7) Various other techniques such as bong sao, pak sao, tan sao, etc.

So maybe this approach is a little crazy for some. Maybe people might think I put too much thought into it, but this is how I personally have to go about it. This is what works for me. Otherwise I would feel overwhelmed and get NOTHING done. Maybe no one else has that same feeling that I get, but then again...someone else might. And if they are out there, and they read this, identify with it, and take something away from it that actually helps them in their training...well, then that would make it worth posting.

 

[wingchun100]

I just thought of another way to consolidate: rather than separate things out by attack (punch, kick, elbow, etc.) and defense (bong sao, pak sao, etc.), I could say "practice various techniques" to include ALL of it under one umbrella.

Always seeking to simplify.

 

[JR 137]

There is crossover in everything you do. Hitting a wall bag and shadow boxing have footwork involved, or at least should have footwork involved.

I'm not sure what you mean by a wall bag, however. Is it basically a heavy bag? If not, and you have the means and space for one, you should strongly consider getting one. IMO a heavy bag is probably the single best piece of equipment a striker can get. But it has to be used intelligently; just throwing as many punches and kicks as hard as you can for some predetermined amount of time isn't intelligently.

Something that you alluded to - people think they have to do everything everyday. That takes way too long and burns people out pretty quickly. The best thing is to have a schedule. Work on specific things each day, on something like a 4 day schedule. So for karate guy me on a heavy bag, it could be...

Monday - Emphasize punching and punch combos
Tuesday - Emphasize kicking and kick combos
Thursday - Emphasize seemlessly punching and kicking in combination
Friday - Emphasize Thursday's stuff with entering and exiting.

As warmup and cool down, practice forms, and do sets of single punches and/or kicks, open hand strikes, etc.

 

[wingchun100]

There is crossover in everything you do. Hitting a wall bag and shadow boxing have footwork involved, or at least should have footwork involved.

I'm not sure what you mean by a wall bag, however. Is it basically a heavy bag? If not, and you have the means and space for one, you should strongly consider getting one. IMO a heavy bag is probably the single best piece of equipment a striker can get. But it has to be used intelligently; just throwing as many punches and kicks as hard as you can for some predetermined amount of time isn't intelligently.

Something that you alluded to - people think they have to do everything everyday. That takes way too long and burns people out pretty quickly. The best thing is to have a schedule. Work on specific things each day, on something like a 4 day schedule. So for karate guy me on a heavy bag, it could be...

Monday - Emphasize punching and punch combos
Tuesday - Emphasize kicking and kick combos
Thursday - Emphasize seemlessly punching and kicking in combination
Friday - Emphasize Thursday's stuff with entering and exiting.

As warmup and cool down, practice forms, and do sets of single punches and/or kicks, open hand strikes, etc.

When I say wall bag, I am referring to this:

Wing Chun Wall Bag | eBay

 

[wingchun100]

Also...no room for a heavy bag at the moment.

No room for my wooden dummy yet either. Soon, though...I hope.

 

[DanT]

When I say wall bag, I am referring to this:

Wing Chun Wall Bag | eBay

You can still practice some footwork using that (turning stance punching / step in triple punch).

 

[wingchun100]

The only part where I really face problems is shadow boxing. The way I do it is by imagining various ways an opponent would come up and attack me, but the problem is...for some reason, my imagination is limited! It seems like I keep picturing the same stuff over and over again. For a while I tried typing "Street Fights" into YouTube, to watch how real ruffians might come at you on the street, but that didn't help get the creative juices flowing much either.

I could always Google "how to shadow box effectively/properly." That is the 21st century way!

 

[wingchun100]

What I am trying to do is figure out:

1) what solo training ideas are worked by the forms themselves
2) what is left over, and finally
3) how to schedule the leftovers so I give them all a decent amount of attention.

 

[wingchun100]

As for what is "a decent amount of attention," that has yet to be determined.

 

[wingchun100]

Aside from shadbow boxing, for solo drills I was also thinking of coming up with "flow drills," where I would imagine someone coming at me with a particular attack...I meet it with a counter attack...and then follow up with 2-3 more attacks. The goal is to not think about it, to just "flow." Since there will be no real person trying to knock my head off, I can even do these in slow motion, giving myself time to think of what to do next, with the idea that in the future I will not need to think. However, I have encountered two problems here:

1) I have found that there are only so many ways I can imagine someone coming at me (a problem which I have mentioned in the past, and have yet to overcome, although I AM working on it).
2) There's no way to know how someone would react to my first attack.

Here's an example of what I mean with problem #2: Let's say someone comes at me with a wide, looping, right-handed haymaker. I handle the haymaker with a Biu Sao while doing a straight punch either to the torso or face. Well, what then??? I cannot possibly know how they will react!

*Will the person back off, realizing I've had some training and know my sh*t, and the fight will end?
*Will they not be phased at all and keep attacking? If so, how? Since I cannot answer "how," then I feel like I cannot accurately create a "flow" drill because it is too unpredictable!

I know some of you are reading this and have an answer, but sit tight...I do too. I just wanted to avoid making a post that is too lengthy, so I am going to reply again shortly.

 

[wingchun100]

Okay, so to follow up on what I was saying: those two questions prove one thing, which is something all of us here already knew...

NOTHING BEATS HAVING A PARTNER!!!

Still, for those of us who don't, there are some options. For example, in the last post I said, "Will a person keep on attacking me? If so, how?" That was where I got stalled out because fights are unpredictable. So I kept saying to myself, "How can I come up with a flow drill when there is no partner feeding me anything, so I don't know what they will do?"

The answer is simple, really: since it is a drill and not a real fight, I can imagine someone continuing to come at me in any way I want! All I have to do is remember that a drill is a drill, and it might not be how someone comes at me in reality. I can imagine a certain string of techniques, but I also have to remember to keep it flexible. What works in one situation might not work in another. Even if I imagine being attacked in the same way over and over, I should keep trying out different strings of techniques to keep my mind from getting fixated on following one path.

That's why we aim to "be formless, shapeless...like water." It always circles back to that.

 

[JR 137]

What you're saying reminds me of how I viewbag work...

I visualize a punch coming in, say a right hook/haymaker. I'll step in and protect my head from it, while starting a counter combo. The combo is often straight right to the body, left hook to the body, right uppercut. Then circle out and away. I'll go slow at first, paying attention to where my lead and rear foot are, where they're pointing, and when and where they should go next. Once I've got that down, I'll pay attention to where my non-punching hand is, and the route it'll take on it's way to the next punch. I'll also pay attention to my posture, make sure my chin is tucked, and my head is constantly moving. Once I feel like all of that stuff is as efficient and as protective as possible, I'll speed it up. Go faster, go harder. Over and over. Until it feels like muscle memory. Then I'll try a different combo. And another one. Then I'll visualize a left hook. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Then I'll visualize a straight punch. Same process.

I like mixing up the levels of attack, as once you throw a punch or two at the stomach, the attacker's hands tend to come down, exposing the face. I like to counter a low punch with a high punch, as the ribs/torso is typically exposed far more than the head during that punch.

I'm far better at countering than attacking. So I spend time attacking. Getting in with hands and kicks. I also find I step back before I counter too often, so I keep drilling going forward and getting off the line of attack while countering.

Then I get to the dojo thinking I've got this foolproof plan, and a better fighter comes along and undoes everything I worked on In all fairness, it's usually the people who'd beat me down no matter what I do and how much I practice.

Then it's back to the drawing board, keeping an eye on everything that went wrong.

 

[wingchun100]

What you're saying reminds me of how I viewbag work...

I visualize a punch coming in, say a right hook/haymaker. I'll step in and protect my head from it, while starting a counter combo. The combo is often straight right to the body, left hook to the body, right uppercut. Then circle out and away. I'll go slow at first, paying attention to where my lead and rear foot are, where they're pointing, and when and where they should go next. Once I've got that down, I'll pay attention to where my non-punching hand is, and the route it'll take on it's way to the next punch. I'll also pay attention to my posture, make sure my chin is tucked, and my head is constantly moving. Once I feel like all of that stuff is as efficient and as protective as possible, I'll speed it up. Go faster, go harder. Over and over. Until it feels like muscle memory. Then I'll try a different combo. And another one. Then I'll visualize a left hook. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Then I'll visualize a straight punch. Same process.

I like mixing up the levels of attack, as once you throw a punch or two at the stomach, the attacker's hands tend to come down, exposing the face. I like to counter a low punch with a high punch, as the ribs/torso is typically exposed far more than the head during that punch.

I'm far better at countering than attacking. So I spend time attacking. Getting in with hands and kicks. I also find I step back before I counter too often, so I keep drilling going forward and getting off the line of attack while countering.

Then I get to the dojo thinking I've got this foolproof plan, and a better fighter comes along and undoes everything I worked on In all fairness, it's usually the people who'd beat me down no matter what I do and how much I practice.

Then it's back to the drawing board, keeping an eye on everything that went wrong.

What you said about stepping back is something that happens to me during Chi Sao. When someone moves forward, I am quick to step back, or as one of my classmates says it, I "jump out of the pocket." Instead I should learn to stand my ground, receive the energy and then send it off.

 

[geezer]

What you said about stepping back is something that happens to me during Chi Sao. When someone moves forward, I am quick to step back, or as one of my classmates says it, I "jump out of the pocket." Instead I should learn to stand my ground, receive the energy and then send it off.

If your opponent drives forward forcefully, I find that turning, and if necessary, sidestepping offline is superior to stepping back.

 

[DanT]

What you said about stepping back is something that happens to me during Chi Sao. When someone moves forward, I am quick to step back, or as one of my classmates says it, I "jump out of the pocket." Instead I should learn to stand my ground, receive the energy and then send it off.

You can turn your stance. Do you ever do Chi Sao on a platform, or with your back to the wall?

 

[wingchun100]

You can turn your stance. Do you ever do Chi Sao on a platform, or with your back to the wall?

No, I have not tried that.

It's not a matter of me figuring out how to receive and send off. I know it and understand it. Now it is a matter of doing it...breaking old, bad habits.

 

[DanT]

No, I have not tried that.

It's not a matter of me figuring out how to receive and send off. I know it and understand it. Now it is a matter of doing it...breaking old, bad habits.

Next time you do Chi Sao, try it with your back to a wall, or on a Mat with little space. I found that doing this really helps.

 

[wingchun100]

Next time you do Chi Sao, try it with your back to a wall, or on a Mat with little space. I found that doing this really helps.

A shot I will give this, yes! Thanks!

 

[JR 137]

No, I have not tried that.

It's not a matter of me figuring out how to receive and send off. I know it and understand it. Now it is a matter of doing it...breaking old, bad habits.

Wait, you mean your body doesn't do exactly what your brain tells it to do and when? Seriously? What's wrong with you?

If only my body listened to my brain. I'd be unstoppable. Then again, who wouldn't be? One day, we'll be able to download MA programs directly into our brains and have our bodies do exactly what's supposed to be done like in The Matrix. Then again, I don't know how much fun that would be.