Day One of Project San Shou

In my humble opinion Wing Chun is a very special martial art that focuses on fighting for a self defence context. Being tired of the criticism levelled against the style of fighting that I hold true to my heart, I started an experiment to prove that the skills of Wing Chun can be transferred to any other environment of fighting.

Of course, we’ve had to make adaptations to our training and approach to fighting, but to fight in the ring you have to utilise universal fighting methods. Effectively, I’ve taken ordinary Wing Chun students and instructed them in a range of skills that require timing, distance judgement and true fighting spirit. Over a period of time they’ve learnt to kick, punch and wrestle like any other fighter, but with one difference they’ve kept the concepts of Wing Chun in the forefront of their minds.

The concept of this experiment is simple: all martial arts must have a common variable to function effectively. If we train and prepare these variables, then any Martial Art is comparable to each other.

I hope over the period of time that you’ll find this Blog informative enough to follow our progression to the final destination. We’ll share our highs and lows, good techniques, what’s worked, what hasn’t, and more importantly our eventual success in competition format.

You’ll follow the progress of Student A in his own words, and I will drop in from time to time to share my experiences on coaching Wing Chun fighters for a whole new world of combat.

So here goes the journey of a Wing Chun Fighter…

http://www.londonwingchun.co.uk./sanshou.html

Monday 4 January 2016

STOP Boxing Combinations Instantly with Wing Chun Interception Kicks



http://www.londonwingchun.co.uk/kickboxing-north-london ► Wing Chun Techniques. How to use a Wing Chun interception kick against a Jab, Cross, Over hand boxing combination. Known in Wing Chun as the "Cross Stamp Kick" this technique is useful for San Shou (San Da) Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) training.

In this video we introduce the idea of intercepting with punches by using the length of your legs to keep the attacker away. These Wing Chun techniques can be used in Self Defence or even in Combat Sports. These kicks are often refered to as knee stomps or oblique kicks in MMA. In fact, Jon Jones from the UFC is famous for using this style of kicking. In Wing Chun was call this kick the cross stamp kick.

Yet this is a key kicking attack in the Wing Chun, and often underestimated by many in the martial arts or self defence community. It is quite literally a knee destroyer if you can get the timing right. Better yet you can drop a bigger stronger attacker with some ease if you have the skill to focus your Wing Chun kicks on the knee joint.


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Saturday 2 January 2016

Best Method to Catch Head Kicks in Wing Chun and San Da Kickboxing



http://www.londonwingchun.co.uk/how-catch-head-kicks-san-da-kickboxing-or-mma ► Wing Chun vs Muay Thai. Is traditional Wing Chun technique useful for MMA training or blocking powerful Muay Thai kicks? How can you use soft Wing Chun energy to dissipate hard powerful kicks to your head? Especially the powerful martial arts kicks found in Mauy Thai Kickboxing or Mixed Martial Arts and even San Shou (San Da). High Low Gaan Sao is an effective Wing Chun technique that works well against a range of martial arts techniques in particular high kicks used in Kickboxing styles. This Wing Chun technique is flexible and can be used for San Shou Kickboxing or Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) training. Even for those that wish to test their Wing Chun skills against other styles of martial arts, especially Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

The video is split into two stages to show how the High Low Wing Chun technique can be used to block powerful kicks.


STAGE 1 (start to 1min 43 seconds)


TRADITIONAL STAGE: PRACTICE THE TECHNIQUE AGAINST A STRAIGHT KICK

Here we introduce the theory of the Wing Chun technique of High Low Gaan Sao and the importance and interchange with the Wing Chun technique of Lau Sao to control a kick. Traditionally in Wing Chun the High Low Gaan sao is used against a straight Kick. This is non abrasive and allows you to be very soft.

Note here that we discuss the traditional use of the High Low Gaan Sao relative to open hand Wing Chun strikes and kicks that would not be appropriate for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) training or San Shou (San Da).


STAGE 2 (1min 43 seconds to End)


NON TRADITIONAL WING CHUN TRAINING

For Wing Chun vs Muay Thai or use in San Shou (San Da) Kickboxing. We run through how to use high low Gaan Sao in a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) or Kickboxing context.



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Friday 1 January 2016

3 BEST Takedowns in Wing Chun, San Da, MMA



http://www.londonwingchun.co.uk/best-takedown-techniques-wing-chun ► Takedown techniques for Wing Chun. Here are 2 of the best takedowns that can easily be added to your Wing Chun Chi Sao training. We use them in San Da (San Shou Kickboxing), but they can easily be used with a range of Wing Chun techniques in sparring and Chi Sao. This technique can also be used in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as well, in fact you will often see high level wrestlers, Judo, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighters using this takedown technique. This video covers how to take someone down, and then what to do if they defend the takedown by sprawling their leg backwards.

If you like this video then check out our Wing Chun vs MMA video on how to avoid a wrestling shoot or takedown in MMA. Normally it is challenging at best especially when the takedown is combined with punches and kicks. So we also covered 3 simple Wing Chun vs MMA strategies that may help your takedown defence. These techniques are flexible and can be used for San Shou Kickboxing or Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) training. Even for those that wish to test their Wing Chun skills against other styles of martial arts, especially Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) or Wrestling.


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Wing Chun vs MMA | How to Avoid the Wrestling Takedown



http://www.londonwingchun.co.uk/wing-chun-vs-martial-arts-biemo-bjj-mma-kickboxing ► Wing Chun vs MMA. Avoiding a wrestling shoot or takedown in MMA is challenging at best especially when it is combined with punches and kicks. Here are 3 simple Wing Chun vs MMA strategies that may help your takedown defence. These techniques are flexible and can be used for San Shou Kickboxing or Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) training. Even for those that wish to test their Wing Chun skills against other styles of martial arts, especially Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) or Wrestling.


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Friday 30 October 2009

Not just fighting

With the competition just days away now, training sessions have gotten a little lighter - in theory at least! Obviously we don’t want to be twisting knees, bruising ribs or concussing ourselves beforehand so the contact has lessened considerably. This has given us the chance to focus on our fitness and technique, rather than our aggression, for a couple of weeks. It also gives us space to see what we need to improve upon in the run up to the competition.

I’ve taken the opportunity to do a little more cardio and fitness work. Often the knowledge that I’ll need to spar hard afterwards has discouraged me from exhausting myself in fitness and conditioning sessions; but more recently I’ve made sure I include a session of either weights or cardio before my wing chun and san shou. This has also meant I’ve increased my weight by a few kgs, and it’s far more reassuring to be at the top of your weight category than the middle! Most of the kwoon’s numerous weekly fitness sessions includes light sparring with gloves at the end, so my hand skills have improved nicely.

From Sifu’s advice I’ve also upped my wall-bag training with the reasoning that a hard, ‘heavy’ punch needs to be worked on even more when using 4oz gloves. Since most of our opponents will be grapplers and wrestlers, this seems to make sense. To this end we’ve been discourage from using hand wraps underneath as a tight fist is vital to good punch in MMA-style gloves. I’ve also been working on my core strength, both to allow faster movement from the hips and waist, and hopefully to absorb any abdominal strikes I receive. I’m always working on my leg flexibility as, especially in the winter, it disappears pretty quickly if it’s not maintained.

Technically, it’s been good to have the chance to slow down and work the basic mechanics behind of my strikes and throws. My biggest weakness is and has always been my stance. When I’m distracted or complacent my stance rises and narrows and my posture goes – making me vulnerable moth to strikes and takedowns, not to mention harming my basics in wing chun.

Now that things have slowed down a little I’m taking my time to keep checking my stance and keep it low and stable and to make sure I’m not too ‘sideways’-on, leading too much with the front foot: a throwback to my old taekwondo days. It makes my jab faster and longer, but means that the follow-up off the back hand has further to travel. Making sure I can punch in an ambidextrous manner is very important and it also helps my defence if my stance is more even. I just hope I don’t revert to bad habits when I’m ‘on the spot’ and the adrenalin’s flowing.

The mats were down again for the first time in a while this week and Sifu gave us the opportunity to practice our basic throws in some depth. We practise the set-ups for each throw 10 times, taking down on the 10th attempt. 10 each side of the body for each of our throws equals a lot of good technical practice. As with the striking, the first thing to go wrong in the throw in the heat of battle is the setup footwork so it’s critical to drill, even when you think you know it.

True to form, I still managed to injure myself, even in a light session. I managed painful clash of knees during the warm-down sparring at the end of the session, and it still has me limping a week later. It’s always the way, however careful you are!

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Thursday 22 October 2009

Adaptation

San-shou, san-da, kuo-shu… It all gets a bit confusing sometimes! All these technical terms and labels denote slightly different playing styles and rule-sets, but they’re all basically derivations of the same thing: Chinese kickboxing, with takedowns on a raised platform.

Perhaps I shouldn’t dwell too much on the nuances between them – a punch is a punch; a kick is a kick; a throw is a throw. However, in the past year we’ve trained for two different styles of competition. We started off with ‘full-size’ 10-12oz boxing gloves making for a rather thai boxing-styled approach and a number of difficulties to overcome learning how to throw someone whilst wearing boxing gloves! In a couple of weeks time we’re entering a tournament where we wear 4oz MMA-style gloves, are allowed the use of knees and elbows and get to wear an all encompassing head/face protector that makes us look like a cross between Robocop and Hannibal Lecter… Food for thought.

Relevant to this week’s session is the rule that we are not allowed to place our knees or hands down whilst performing a throw or takedown in the forthcoming competition. This has meant we have had to remove or adapt many of the wrestling and ju-jitsu style techniques we were practising, including, double- and single-leg takedowns, kata-guruma, san-shou scissors takedowns etc.

To this end we were focusing in on one particular technique where we grab the arm, ‘clothesline’ the shoulders and neck and then tap away the heavy leg, dropping our opponent on their back. This technique has all sorts of derivations and changes should our opponent try to counter by switching his heavy leg away from the tap/sweep. Much of the lesson was spent, not on the technique itself, which is fairly straightforward and required less than a half hour to get a reasonable handle on, but on adapting it: what to do if it goes wrong or if the situation changes.

Training with the premise that our opponent will be skilled and intelligent and not just stand there while we inflict all manner of complicated moves on them is vital to training. Yes of course we need to learn the basics of a technique in order to become proficient at it, but then we also need to know how to change it and ‘make it work’ in unpredictable situations. We soon found out that performing the new takedown which had seemed so simple before became far more complex in a sparring environment. An obvious point perhaps, but always worth remembering.

At the end of training today, Sifu showed a few of us a new takedown. It was for use once we have taken our opponents back and, again, answered some of the issues of the new rule-set where a suplex or rear dump-tackle may result in us falling with our opponent and not receiving the points for the throw. It looked like it would never work, but when attempted was in fact very simple; flipping the opponent over backwards, whilst keeping a stable base yourself. With this in mind, I feel more confident facing the challenges of the new style of competition. The solution seems to lie in finding specific answers to specific situations, but also knowing how to be flexible and adapt to general situations - finding our own answers during the fight itself.

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Friday 16 October 2009

Ti, Da, Shuai, Na



This week we have been looking at the three fighting ranges and the transitions between them. As most of us are predominantly Wing Chun practitioners, we function best in the middle, hand-striking/boxing range. This leaves the challenge of how to close in through the range of an opponent’s kick whilst avoiding being grappled and thrown. Obviously we have kicking and grappling techniques of our own, and Sifu helps us train hard to incorporate techniques from judo, ju-jitsu, muay-thai and others into our repertoire, but we must also recognise how our strengths compare to those of other Martial Arts stylists.

With this in mind, after the usual warm up, we started a circular drill incorporating the 3 distances. With a marker in the middle we plotted 3 imaginary circles around the centre, each one wider than the last – resembling a giant bullseye!. We then moved constantly around each circle, employing techniques practical to that distance from the target: kicks when far away, punches at middle distance and knees, elbows, body-blows and grappling footwork for the closest. At the instruction from Sifu we would then transition from one circle to the next, making our attacks flow. A kick would close into a jab; a flurry of body-blows and elbows would expand out into a long-arm boxing combo and so on.

We went on from this to boxing drills, concentrating on weaving and slipping the punches thrown by our partners. This started with a ‘hands-down’ exercise where we weren’t allowed to use our hands to block or parry attacks, but had to rely on our ability to move our heads out of the way and our bodies out of range. Thankfully our partners (at least most of them) were obliging enough to throw slower jabs than usual! It was a definite relief to progress to the next stage where Sifu allowed us to actually put our arms in the way of people trying to hit us in the face and, just like removing training weights from your ankles or putting on lighter sparring gloves, we found our overall technique had improved by temporarily handicapping ourselves. Such exercises are useful to Wing Chun practitioners as, unlike western boxers, we keep our heads still during traditional training.

The session closed with the usual sparring. We didn’t have the mats down today so it was only kickboxing, with a little grappling ending before the throw. It’s always interesting to see how the technical focus of a session can change our fighting style in a short space of time. I found myself thinking about the different methods of moving from distance to distance – holding ground or giving ground; making space or closing it down – and what the response of my opponent would be to this. It’s always going to be difficult because everyone fights differently, even if they’re rooted in the same style. I would be picked off very quickly if I didn’t change according to whether I was being attacked by Toby’s quick punches, Pan’s surprise knee-strikes or Paul’s devastating low shin kicks

Being somewhat of a kicking enthusiast (and in the minority in a class of Wing Chun fighters!) I often find myself being closed down more than I feel comfortable. The best way around this is to recognise the kick as part of a distance transition: closing space down and punching my opponent as my kicking foot returns to the floor, or creating space with hand flurries and punishing that retreat with a kick. In the end, I always find the most difficult thing is not that I don’t move fast enough, but my mind does not recognise the distance change in time. I’m so focused on one technique that I forget to link it to the next one. Something to work on for next time.