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Wing Tsun Techniques
Wing Tsun Techniques - Discover Basic Description Of Simple To Use And Easy To Learn WT Techniques
In EBMAS Wing Tsun there are two forms for the student to learn, the SIU NIM TAO and the CHUM KIU. Both forms consist of simple movements which all have practical applications. We only teach movements we really can use. We don’t teach fancy kicks or jumps because they have no practical use and thus don’t work in reality. Through the forms the student learns to relax the muscles and to focus on the momentary movement. This helps the student to become flexible and to coordinate his arms, legs and the body. We don’t use a warm-up as we might know it from other styles. The reason is very simple. There is no time on the street to warm-up and make the attacker wait until you are ready. You need to be able to defend an attack immediately. And the only way is to train natural movements and to turn them into reflexes. And don’t forget about older people. WingTsun is a style the student or practitioner can perform even when he / she is older. Age does not matter. Whereby in most other styles once you’re passed the 30 it becomes difficult to perform some movements / defenses as maybe 10 years ago. Through our basic training the student soon learns how to relax the body and its muscles. If the muscles are stiff from lifting weights for example then the stance is very shaky. Furthermore the muscles cannot relax anymore and this limits the body’s flexibility.
The WT-punch is very fast and powerful. It shoots forward on centerline and offers maximum protection with the elbows. The WT-punch uses a vertical fist for maximum power. The elbow does not collapse and the student can put the entire body behind the punch without losing flexibility and balance. If the fist is horizontal (like in many other styles) then the punch is only as strong as the arm and the shoulder is. The first that collapses in that kind of punch is the elbow. Therefore they start lifting weights and building up the muscles in the arm. Through that the punch becomes slower. And with increasing age it becomes harder and harder to perform this movement. The WT chain punches are one of the most effective and powerful weapons. And we teach them in the very beginning. They cannot be defended with common methods. The WT-chain punches are an endless series of punches. And while punching the student remains maximum protection to avoid “surprises”. A trained student is able to throw 9 – 13 punches / sec. And everybody can do that no matter of age or sex. Wing Tsun is the only style that uses this kind of chain punches.
The footwork is very important and essential. All steps are being done regarding to centerline. The centerline is the straight line towards your opponent. The student learns to apply this footwork and to walk in any direction using front steps, zigzag steps, crossing steps and out falling steps. And the body weight stays on the rare leg all the time.
Many people and even "wing chun" masters believe that Wing Tsun is good only in "close range combat" - well I have surprice to you. It's a MYTH! And here are the five distances we practise our EBMAS Wing Tsun:
Many styles only know how to fight in one or two distances. The Wing Tsun system is the only system that teaches all 5 distances while obeying the WT principles. We teach to fight in all 5 distances in the very beginning. So our students learn to defend themselves from the very beginning on. That is why there is no need to study Boxing for punching, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for ground-fighting, Muay Thai for elbows and knees etc<... If someone knows how to kick the WT student fights him in the close knee and elbow range. If someone knows how to wrestle the student punches and kicks him. Based on a motto: Never Box A Boxer, Never Wrestle A Wrestler the Wing Tsun students will always try to adapt to any situation. The WT student goes through the distances step by step. That means he uses them all. And many times the fight is over in the knee and elbow range. And the fight won’t take long, only a few seconds.
We defend every attack below our waist with our legs, and every attack above our waist with our arms. WingTsun is a martial art with natural movements. It would be very stupid to defend a low kick with our arms because you need to drop your arm to defend the low kick. And while you drop your arm you open up your upper defense and you get punched right in the face. Because of our stances and our weight distribution we are able to defend any kick immediately and remain maximum protection. And since we are moving forward on centerline (shorter distance than kicking or punching in a circle) we will always be faster. The WT student always faces the opponent and turns the body towards him. It is not smart to turn the body to the side and think the body is now protected. No it is only turned away. That is the same as if someone closes his eyes and says, “You cannot see me because I don’t see you!” In that position it is easy to attack the body and to hurt the person. Another disadvantage is the different length of the arms. On arm is longer but the other arm is shorter. That means one weapon is disabled and only one weapon left. So you had two weapons but want to use only one against an opponent with two weapons. Another example is when someone walks on the street. He always turns the body in the direction he walks, never sideways, besides the fact that this would look stupid. Okay, back to the WT student. He faces the opponent and the body is not turned to either side. This allows him to use both arms equally. The arm positions create a pyramid and the body is in the center. This is the most efficient protection for the body. This is also called 4 Dimensional Protection.
If someone chokes you from the front then just start punching him in the face. As long as he holds you he cannot punch back nor can he defend your punches. In order to defend a punch many styles use blocks. However many times they realize that the block is too slow. Why is that? A punch needs 0.1 – 0.2 sec. To be finished, a block defense needs approx. 0.25 – 0.9 sec. Caused by the reaction time of the brain. There is only one solution to overcome this: Stick to it! In WT we use a very unique training system to teach the student how to feel the opponents force and how to stick to it. It is called Chi Sao. WT works without strength. Important is to obey the principle of giving in (being smart), redirecting and borrowing the power from your opponent and to turn it against him. And last but not least the 4th principle. The most difficult part in a fight is the start. Knowing that the WT student gives his opponent only ONE chance to attack. After that the student follows the opponent while punching him. The opponent does not get a second chance to attack.
We have three effective ways to train all the movements while obeying the principles, Drills, Lat Sao and Chi Sao. The Drills help the student to train the movements and to get used to them without being interrupted by someone or something. Another advantage is that the student can train these drills at any time. He does not need a partner as in Lat Sao or Chi Sao. We have different drills with different movements. And for that I cannot train the techniques without touching (not hitting) the partner softly. As thousands of students can agree it does not hurt at all. But it is important and necessary to get used to the close range. How can you train self-defense techniques without touching your partner? Another reason for the Lat Sao training is the importance of controlling the techniques. In the Lat Sao and in the Chi Sao training the student learns quickly to control the attacks and defenses and thus is able to control the opponent completely. You need to control a situation so nothing backfires. This is not only in a fight but also in daily life. You feel much more comfortable when you control a meeting or a conversation instead of being controlled. This allows you to choose your “weapons” and to respond proportionately. Whatever you learn in our classes you will understand quickly how to apply this to your daily life and to more and more in control of situations that involve you. Lat Sao is a series of movements. The student learns to defend various attacks depending on his skill level. Lat Sao is a very good and important exercise for coordination of the WT techniques. The Chi Sao training is the heart of Wing Tsun. This is training system is very unique in the world of martial arts. Here the student learns to feel the pressure and force of his opponent and how to react proportionately. The Chi Sao exercises are not a fight! It is to train the reflexes, to improve the ability to feel pressure, to coordinate your body with your arms and legs and a great workout. In Chi Sao the student trains attacks and defenses in a very close range. He moves his partner around or in other words he moves his partners body weight around. What better workout can you get for your entire body that is healthy and intense? Once the student really understands the principles and concepts of the Wing Tsun he can create many different series’ of movements on his own, which lead to possible attacks and defenses far above the average. The right Chi Sao training is very social learning process for both. The Chi Sao techniques should be practiced as flexible and relaxed as possible. The forward pressure is present all the time. Only in the right environment and under the right supervision is it possible to gradually develop from ‘making movement’ to ‘being movement’. Many years of practice are necessary to learn the proper Chi Sao. The student’s personality growth with the development of the Chi Sao skills. The Wing Tsun is actually paradox; because the more relaxed I am the heavier I am and the stronger I am. Take for example a drunken person that lies on the ground. Here the person’s body has more weight because it is completely relaxed. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to put this person on his feet. If the student can get to this level without being drunk and remain it under stress (in a fight) then he / she is very advanced in the matter Wing Tsun. Wing Tsun is very easy to understand in theory; however only through honest observation of yourself and ongoing training with a qualified instructor can it be converted. Wing Tsun has been and always will be hard work and it is besides Love, Health and Friendship something that nobody in this world can buy with money.
Wing Tsun is one of the best self-defense systems available. Most other martial arts are methods with rules and limits even if they say they don’t have rules. This is because these martial artists compete against each other and to keep it fair rules were invented. And that is a good thing. However a street fight is not fair! In a street fight other martial artists realized their weaknesses and compensated them with techniques from other styles such as boxing and wrestling for example. That makes certain other martial art styles just to a collection of techniques and methods. That is why they have 500 ways to defend a punch and 386 ways to defend a kick. Not to mention that they can be punched / kicked from the right and / or from the left side. And if someone has so many different methods to chose from he can’t decide and gets kicked or punched. It is absolutely not important how many techniques someone knows. Important is if he can perform them in a real situation.
This is a very important rule to remember. The Wing Tsun techniques are reflexes and a response to the attack. The student never knows what kind of attack will come, how much power is behind this attack, if this is just a fake attack to distract him or not and many other things. The only way to get an answer to these questions is to get contact with the opponent’s arms. Through the Chi Sao training the WT student is able to feel the pressure and to react proportionately.
If a method meets another method then it might work. But most times it does not work so the fighters end up either boxing or wrestling, for example Karate against TaekwonDo or wrestling or boxing or Judo or whatever. A system however works against the same system and against any other method, for example WT against Karate, TaekwonDo or wrestling. This does not mean that martial art styles such as Karate, TaekwonDo, wrestling or any other are bad and just a waste of time. Not at all. These are great martial art styles with a lot to offer. It always depends what you are looking for and what your question is. Right now the focus is on self-defense and I am very honest about that, if someone likes it or not. Everybody can think for himself and decide what makes sense what does not. And when it comes to realistic self-defense then nobody gets fooled. No matter if you are a beginner or advanced, if you have martial art skills or not. You realize quickly what will work in reality and what does not. And as a non-martial artist if you have questions about that then you’ll go to a martial arts expert. And you expect honesty from him. Just ask him the right questions and pay attention to the answers. Are these answers to your question? Does this make sense? Is it effective? Is there anything better available? If you are looking for realistic self-defense skills that work against anything and anybody then you want to learn Wing Tsun. After a relatively short period of time you will feel more confident in these situations and you will be able to defend yourself and your family effectively. I promise you that.
That depends on the student. There are many reasons why people learn Wing Tsun – and not often the best. One of the most common reasons is to be able to defend themselves safe and effective. Other reasons can be: hobby, fun and sometimes to show off. Many members expect fun and success without efforts. It is difficult to find the true teacher. But it is even more difficult to find the true student. Deep sense and patience are not really the striking characteristics in our society. As a result not everyone is willing to practice every day and to explore the Wing Tsun with all its benefits. Wing Tsun itself can be learned easily because everyone has a body and mind. WT supports the independent thinking and to use the brain. What else do we need? Concentration, honesty and a lot of patience. Concentration means to focus on the present movements. Honesty means to be critical with the skills and the ability to perform them and to know exactly what you can what you cannot yet. Patience is to find the right way and once you have found it follow this way consequently with faith that you will achieve your goals. Wing Tsun is a system of Doing. Books can tell you some things and explain them only if you know how to convert this knowledge and to use it. And don’t forget that everything needs time. Although the student is able to defend most of the common attacks after only a few months of training but this has nothing to do with litheness Wing Tsun. In my opinion to many students value certificates and titles which in many schools and organizations are sold to them with great pleasure. For example some time ago it took many years of learning and studying to achieve a teacher level (black belt). Today we have Karate and TaekwonDo students who are black belts with the age of 10 or 15. What have they learned from this martial art? How do they use that knowledge in their daily life? What can they teach to other students who want to become black belts? We cannot blame these students but the instructors. This is clearly just a way to make money and not to teach the student what he wants to learn. The color of the belt is not important. It is the knowledge, the effort someone is willing to put in to learn it and the time. But this is not only in Karate and TaekwonDo but also in many other martial arts organizations. Thus it is important to check on the instructor’s ability, personality and willingness to teach. The student soon will find out if the instructor is good or not. And to avoid this many instructors hold their students back. They are afraid that the student becomes better than the instructor. But isn’t that the purpose of teaching? I teach all my students equally all my skills and give them all my knowledge. But also I continue my study in WingTsun and I keep learning from my teacher Sifu Emin Boztepe to offer the best instructions to my students. The best way to find out about Wing Tsun is to go to your local EBMAS WT School and to sign up for an Introduction class. This is a class designed for beginner to get more information about WT, the instructor and the school. The instructor will answer all the questions with brutal honesty.
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