Richard's Kung Fu Rantings

Where Have I Been?

2011-07-09T20:08:00.002-04:00

As I discussed in a previous post, life sometimes gets in the way of other things we do. I have not had an opportunity to write for a while due to some changes in my work life. Once I get ramped up I plan on finding time to post again.

Tournament Training

2011-05-23T09:32:00.004-04:00

The next CCKSF Kung Fu tournament is being planned for October this year. Students that are interested in competing should start thinking about it and slowly begin to prepare.

Although it isn't necessary to do any kind of special training, it is a way to increase your chances. For anybody that is interested in trying, here are some tips on preparing.

Forms:

Decide which form(s) you will be performing and make sure that it gets some exposure during your workout even on days that you are focused on other things. Just running throught the forms a couple of times continues to build on your muscle memory.

Clarify any confusion you have on the techniques of your form now. This prevents trying to make late stage changes the week before a tournament.

Self regulate - look at your stances, look at your body positioning, look at your techniques. The less time we spend on correcting your form, the more time we have to work on improving your form.

As we get close to tournament time, shift your focus to the forms you will be using for competition. Since there are other forms with the same or similar moves in the style, it is best to avoid confusion.

Prior to tournament day, make sure you are comfortable with the routine of the tournament - introduction, procedures, etc. If you are not sure, ask.

Fighting:

Fighting is much more difficult to prepare for because your opponents are unknown. Start by making sure you get a bit of practice in whenever possible, even if it is just working on specific techniques instead of free sparring.

Make sure to practice against various opponents instead of just one regular sparring partner. This will give you some work with different fighting personalities, different favourite moves, different sizes and different levels of aggressiveness.

Vary your fighting style between aggressive and passive to give you options depending on situations that may arise during the tournament fights.

As you get closer to tournament time, make sure you take some time to fight in more aggressive situations. Make sure your partner agrees and have some of the instructors watching...this will simulate some of the more aggressive tendancies that come out during the tournaments.

Well before tournament day you should review the rules to make sure there are no surprises.

Make sure that you are prepared to have fun and learn from the tournament whether you win or lose.

I want to be clear that this preparation is optional. The main idea is to compete to experience the atmosphere, push yourself out of your comfortable setting of your school, see what other styles do and make a few new friends so those students that choose to go without preparing can still have a valuable experience. As you gain more experience in martial arts, you will find that you can be asked to perform without much notice so it is much better to be prepared all the time.

Qigong to Prevent Cancer Seminar

2011-05-21T07:02:00.002-04:00

The CCKSF is putting on a seminar on Qigong to Prevent Cancer. All experience levels are welcome.

Details are on their website.

Blocking Theory

2011-04-25T11:03:00.002-04:00

Blocking techniques are obviously very important to protect you during a fight. With a bit of work and the proper understanding of the techniques, everybody can become proficient at defending themselves. The next step is to use the blocks the way they are intended which normally means there is more than just stopping an attack.

In a past post I spoke about blocking softly. This is exactly what should be done when redirecting a strike or trying to control with a grab but there are times where you are trying to do something else with the strike. There are times when the technique is intended to be hard because you are trying to damage the striking arm or leg. Look at the blocks you are executing and determine if it is something that is intended to deflect or something that is meant to be more aggressive. With practice and/or the help of your instructors you will see when you can use blocks for the various purposes. Take some time to make some mental notes the next time you are working on your techniques and you will notice a difference in your fighting. Deflections will become harder to detect and hard blocks will become more of a distraction to your opponents. Better understanding the blocks will also help you focus on the correct angles to execute your block.

Control Your Emotions During Fighting

2011-03-06T20:58:00.003-05:00

Each Kung Fu student will be different when they fight and each individual will react differently when they are fighting. It's natural and completely acceptable to experience a mix of emotions when practicing fighting. It is not OK to lose control of emotions when fighting.

Newer students are often scared, anxious, apprehensive and timid when they fight. This is because fighting is probably an unknown to them. Most people have not been in many fights in their lives. Overcoming this is the first mental battle you must go through to become a decent fighter. Once you are more comfortable, you will not hesitate when executing techniques and you will become much more successful in sparring.

Depending on the student, another emotion that comes into play is pride. As we practice fighting in our class, we try to remind the students that we are all there to learn. It is not necessary to win the fight and therefore don't worry about getting hit. Learn ways to avoid getting hit the same way next time. This ties in with frustration for the same reason. Don't get frustrated because you are getting hit by your opponent during sparring...you are there to learn and find ways to get better at what you are doing.

Anger unfortunately is an emotion sometimes that creeps into Martial Arts. Accidents happen when practicing fighting and on occasion someone will get hit harder than they should during a practice session. At this point it is important to step back and remember that the class is trying to learn together and the action was not on purpose. Anger combined with competitiveness can unfortunately lead to escalation in power during fighting and lead to students getting hurt.

One last hint is to avoid being intimidated by your opponent for any reason. They may be more senior than you or stronger than you or faster than you but they are still a Martial Arts student just like you. Fighting a superior opponent is definitely a great way to improve your own fighting if you focus on the lessons learned during the fight.

5 Reminders on Fists

2011-02-26T23:16:00.003-05:00

Punching is one of the first and most basic techniques you will learn in martial arts. Because we learn punching early in our training careers we also have the most opportunity to practice wrong or get sloppy while performing. Here are 5 points to keep in mind when practicing.

Your contact point on a punch should be your first two knuckles
At the point of impact, you should be forming a straight line from your striking point, through to your elbow. The biggest mistake is to have a bent wrist at the point of impact.
Try to save your torque of your arm until just before impact.
Your fist should be clenched tightly at the point of impact, even if you are just practicing and not making any impact. Practice correctly to avoid accidentally striking with a partially open fist.
The forming of your fist should be 3 steps. Fold the tips of your fingers down, fold your knuckle joints, and finally fold your thumbs in. To experienced martial artists, this should be natural but for new martial artists, this sequence will prevent you from folding your thumbs inside your fists.

Those that practice correctly should not have to think about these things after a short period of training correctly as your body will start to naturally perform correctly.

Lama Training In Class

2011-02-21T09:41:00.003-05:00

We are at an interesting time in our class where a group of the students are learning Lama forms. We do this for fun and as a break from the core training in Fut Gar. For those that are not familiar with how I ended up learning from multiple instructors, I wrote about it in a past post.

I thought I would take some time to point out some differences from Fut Gar that should be kept in mind during the training:

There are points in Lama forms where you will be leaning. In Fut Gar we are always keeping our body straight with no lean.
You need to be in a Gung Bo for many moves. Although this is not used in Fut Gar hand forms for reasons we have discussed in class, there are reasons to use the stance in Lama.
Your back hand will be extended during many techniques in Lama. In Fut Gar, we are typically pulling back to an elbow directly opposite of the attack.
In Fut Gar we generate power mainly from the turning of the waist but in Lama you will notice that we will discuss other methods.
We will be using a wider Ma Bo in Lama than we do in Fut Gar.
You will likely find that you are burning out of energy. This is common whenever you try to do a different style because your body has not adjusted to the new way of moving.

There are some things that don't change:

You should be looking at your opponent during the techniques. Of course I mean at their shoulders and head, not at their feet.
You should continue to think of why you are executing techniques.
Your striking and blocking surfaces will remain the same.
You will still be told to lower your stances.
Have fun with the training.

Yes There Is a Purpose

2011-02-13T15:44:00.003-05:00

With the evolution of martial arts, it is impossible to avoid changes to techniques in traditional forms over time. This could be due to imitation of another individual, incorrect execution, incorrectly remembering the technique, misunderstanding of a technique, overemphasis of a technique (changing the form to match the application of the technique), rushed learning leading to imprecision, or shortage of knowledge in the instructor leading to their own flavour of execution. In fact, I have seen instructors change forms over time to something they believe is easier to execute or "looks better" when they perform. Unfortunately, this takes away some potentially important details in the style.

Instead of changing forms, I would encourage martial artists to think about what they are doing. In my experiences, there are purposes for executing a technique a certain way and for specific hand positions. The purpose could be defensive such as defending an area of the body, striking to a blind spot as a defense (Fut Gar students will be very familiar with this concept), protecting from follow-up techniques, or as a backup in case your technique is unsuccessful. The purpose could be offensive such as setting up your next technique or could a hidden meaning. Before changing a technique, I believe it would be much more useful to ask what all the potential reasons are for doing something a certain way. This not only will help preserve your style but also take you through the exercise of self learning something you have not specifically been taught.

For those that make changes because it looks better...yes, I have heard this reason. An experienced martial artist appreciates a form done correctly and done well. Changing a few moves will not make a difference. Instead of adding flash, it is probably much better to practice your forms until you are known for your precision and outstanding execution.

James Moves Forward

2011-01-31T20:41:00.006-05:00

Sorry about the delay but here are a few pics from James' grading. It was a long but successful night at the school.

Latest Grading Pics

2011-01-19T19:08:00.003-05:00

It has been a while since I have had a chance to post but last night's grading has motivated me to log on and share the pictures. Enjoy and congratulations to Chris.

Control of Techniques

2010-12-18T10:04:00.003-05:00

With the smaller classes in the colder weather, we have had a couple of chances to focus classes on control of techniques during fighting. The students that have been in the advanced classes have had a chance to start working on this and hopefully picked up some interesting learning. I hope to continue with this over the next few weeks.

The main point of these exercises are:

If you can do something with control, you can add power later.
It is much easier to learn in the safer environment.
It will help you develop because you are less afraid to try new techniques when there is no danger of being knocked on your butt.
There is less escalation of strength during the fights when students know the goal is to control.
You will start to learn to feel the attacks that you are blocking.
Speed of the fight increases allowing the students to learn how to read techniques.
Less hesitation to throw combinations.

Some of the points we should keep in mind:

Stay loose.
Try to learn how much power is needed in your blocks to be more efficient with your energy.
Concede strikes - if you know that a controlled strike would have hurt you, your reaction should be appropriate (do not try to jump back at your opponent right away as this is not what would actually happen).
Control your emotions - getting excited will escalate the power of your strikes and ultimately the power of the fight.
Have fun.

Old Fut Gar Article

2010-11-26T17:30:00.002-05:00

Thanks to James for sending this to me. I had not seen this in a long time. The Fut Gar article was an article that was posted on the wall in Master Chen's old school. The other interesting thing, I believe I actually have this particular magazine somewhere (from the cover) but was not teaching Fut Gar at the time.

Not sure how the embedding will work but hopefully you can see it.

Frustrating But Funny

2010-11-07T19:11:00.003-05:00

Just an fyi for any of the students who have tried to email me recently. Someone (not one of our students) sent through a couple of huge files to me and completely locked up my email account. It should be fixed soon but you probably got bounced messages if you tried to reach me in the last week or so.

How is this funny? I can only laugh because my first thought was "this is what happens when you give old Kung Fu Instructors an email address"

Be back in touch soon!!!

Hands Up, Hands Down

2010-10-31T18:55:00.003-04:00

Today's class spent some time focused on hand positioning during your techniques. In Fut Gar we are always pulling to generate power on our strikes, so as we punch with one hand, we are pulling back with the other hand. One thing to keep in mind as you are engaged in a fight is that you need to properly position your hands. A few notes on this:

If you block high with one hand, the other hand should automatically drift lower to protect your ribs and if you block low with one hand, your other hand should automatically drift higher to protect your head. I have often been asked how to block faster but the reality is that you just need to get your hands to locations that make them more effective and cut down the amount of time to get to the block.
As you face off with your opponent, keeping one hand directly between you and your opponent forces them to go around it before they can get to you. This also minimizes your required movement to execute a block because a slight move of the hand to one side or the other allows you to deflect the attack.
Don't forget that you can block more than once with the same hand. If you have executed a block and that hand is the fasted block for the following attack, use it. There is no rule that you have to alternate hands :)
Get yourself back to a set position as soon as possible. This just gets you into the habit of getting your hands ready for an attack whenever there is no activity.

Happy training.

Fun Reminder Slideshow

2010-10-03T13:15:00.002-04:00

I was digging through old pictures and was reminded of a slideshow from one of my old posts. Some of the newer students may not have seen this - October 2008

The 21st Annual Canadian Kung Fu Championship 2010

2010-10-02T18:17:00.001-04:00

October 16th will be the date for this year's CCKSF tournament. Information can be viewed at www.wushu.ca

A Few More Pictures from Grandmaster Chen's 88th Birthday

2010-09-06T08:37:00.003-04:00

Respect Your Weapons

2010-08-23T21:20:00.003-04:00

Kung fu practitioners will learn weapons at some point in their training. This is always an exciting and fun time in a student's training, especially the first weapon. Something to keep in mind is the respect for your weapon. This is something that has become forgotten in some schools. A few hints when you are training:

Always be aware of your surroundings - this helps avoid hitting your weapon on something (or someone)
Don't throw your weapon around - when not using your weapon, put it down slowly
A lesser known one for you that only more traditional Sifus would know - when standing holding your staff, don't place it on the ground but instead you should be resting it on your foot
Respect also goes to other students' weapons - do not touch someone's weapon without asking for permission

It is important to have your own weapon because each weapon will feel a little bit different. Getting used to your weapon and the feel of it will improve your performance. For this reason, it is even more important to take care of your weapon.

Slow Kicking

2010-08-09T22:01:00.003-04:00

When practicing kicks, it is good to occasionally practice kicking slowly. Break down the kicks and make sure that you are executing the kick properly including proper foot position, hip position, body position, etc. Repeating your kicks slowly over and over will help you develop the proper positioning by getting your body used to the feel of the kick when in the proper position. Kicking slowly will also help with your balance. You need to practice at full speed and full power as well but I believe it is good to switch it up.

Long Overdue Blue Sash Pics.

2010-08-08T17:08:00.004-04:00

It has taken me a while to get these up but here are a couple of shots from Megan's grading. She is our newest Blue Sash.

Reverse Engineering Your Form

2010-07-16T22:49:00.003-04:00

The students that have been at class the past few weeks have had an opportunity to participate in the painful exercise which could be called reverse engineering your form. We all enjoyed the exercise of figuring out what caused your form to move in a certain way and what caused the combinations to fit together. What started as an exercise turned into something that took an entire class. This shows how much thought can go into defining a form. We will continue to do this in class in the future but keep thinking about it at home. Remember to keep asking why and trying to figure out the answer.

First Picture from Grandmaster Chen's 88th Birthday

2010-06-29T07:29:00.003-04:00

Here is a first picture from the birthday dinner with Grandmaster Chen. I will try to get more but unfortunately my memory card on my camera burnt out so I am not sure I can get the other pictures. This picture was taken by Harry who spent the time to organize the event.

Another Successful Victim

2010-06-13T18:14:00.001-04:00

Master Chen Rong En's Birthday

2010-06-12T13:31:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to post a quick announcement of Master Chen's 88th birthday that will be taking place in a few weeks (June 27th). Students, please connect with me in class if you are interested in attending the dinner and also if you would like to perform.

Thank you.

5 Staff Hints

2010-05-23T12:18:00.004-04:00

I would like to begin this post by reiterating the importance of staff in Kung Fu which I wrote about in a previous post. It is further reinforced when you look at the list of weapons forms taught in Fut Gar Kung Fu. I previously also wrote about defending with your staff. There are a few other hints in using a staff that will help you in your training.

In my post about defending with your staff, I mentioned a dead staff. The other side of it is the live staff which is the staff that is on top when there is contact. If you are in this situation during an exchange, you can choose to attack if you see an opening or wait to see if the opponent moves. When you are in the live staff position, almost any move by the opponent will create an opening which you can attack.
During your execution of techniques, keep your staff close to your body. An experienced opponent will be able to separate you from your staff if they can get their staff between your staff and your body.
Be very aware of where the end of your staff is. This applies to other weapons as well and basically is getting to know your weapon length so you can control it properly. You will also learn to be aware of your surroundings and which techniques will work given the space and environment restrictions.
Keep your hands at the end of your staff. When blocking or striking, your back hand should be at the end of the staff to fully use the length of your weapon. There are some techniques that would be exceptions to this hint but in general this is true.
Slide your front hand for power. Gripping your weapon too hard to allow movement in your hand will limit the power of your strikes and blocks. As you strike or block, allow the staff to slide through your hands for additional power.

Happy Training.

First Picture of Kevin in Red

2010-05-08T18:51:00.004-04:00

Just thought I would post the first shot of Kevin after Thursday's beating. I will try to post more soon.

Tournament in Quebec

2010-04-11T12:51:00.003-04:00

For anybody that is interested, there is a tournament in Quebec on the weekend of May 1st. As some may remember, we competed in the tournament when it was in Ottawa in 2006 with great results. The details for the tournament (World Kobudo Championships) can be viewed on the CCKSF website.

Power vs. Control

2010-04-10T09:28:00.002-04:00

A recent discussion I had prompted me to write about training for increased power vs. training of control. I believe that martial arts in general trains people to strike with power, focuses on how to increase your power, focus to drive through your targets, etc. I agree that it is important to execute your techniques properly to generate power including how to set your stance, how to use your entire body, how to turn your waist, how to set your fist or foot, when to tense your muscles etc. All of these things come together to allow you to generate power in your strikes.

I believe it is more of an art to put all of these things together but stop your technique just at the point of impact each and every time. Total control of your techniques to the point of always being able to do damage but never doing damage is much more impressive. Of course you may face a time that you need to defend yourself and need to follow through but if you can control it, you can un-control it. On the surface this may seem straight forward but in sparring, nothing is standing still. You are controlling strikes where your opponent is advancing or you are advancing or the opponent changes direction, etc. All of these things add further complication to controlling the technique. With experience, it is ideal to be able to adjust in mid-strike and further shorten or adjust the point of impact of your strike. The final challenge to this is controlling all of the techniques without slowing down and leaving yourself open during the strike.

Happy sparring.

Kevin's Jamaica Blog

2010-04-02T12:33:00.001-04:00

Our student Kevin will be in Jamaica for the next few months. Here is a link to his blog of his stay there - JAHCHIN in Jamaica

Pictures

2010-03-19T13:21:00.003-04:00

Just a few pictures in class from August that were taken by Amrit.

Visualization of Form

2010-03-15T08:52:00.002-04:00

In response to JP's comment on my past post, I do have ideas on maintaining your training while injured or unable to train for other health reasons. I am a believer in visualization as a training aid in a student's progression.

When you are unable to train properly due to health issues or even lack of space, I recommend visualizing yourself performing your forms and techniques properly. This will help remember the sequences so you are still able to do these things when you are able to train regularly again. The visualization must include the reminder of what is proper because this will help you remember what points are important to do your form correctly. Remember all details such as how your feet should be positioned, where your hands should be, posture, correct stance, how power should be generated in the technique, etc.

If you are not feeling that visualization is enough, there is the hybrid of visualization of your proper steps and stances while performing the hand techniques. This allows you to still move your upper body while not requiring you to move your legs. If your health issue is with your upper body, you can reverse this and only perform the lower body parts of your form while visualizing the upper body.

Train To Fight Against Your Personality

2010-03-03T00:01:00.003-05:00

While teaching some fighting theories in a recent class, I realized that I often advise individuals to do things that are the opposite of their personalities. How this translates into sparring matches is quite interesting. More aggressive personalities tend to be more aggressive fighters while less aggressive personalities are less aggressive fighters. Careful personalities are careful during their fighting, detail oriented people are more detailed in their fighting, etc.

I see personalities exaggerated during sparring matches which is the reason I would advise students to train against their personalities to become a better rounded fighter. A very aggressive personality may be an overly aggressive fighter who leaves themselves vulnerable in their enthusiasm towards the attack. A cautious personality may be overly cautious during sparring and have difficulties generating any offence. By working on being the opposite of your personality, you will be able to learn to do the things that are not natural or comfortable to you.

My theory is not designed to completely suppress your personality because being comfortable will allow you to relax and have a better fight but a bit of training can really help. An example would be for the aggressive fighter to take more caution to avoid leaving themselves vulnerable to counterattack but still utilizing the aggressive instinct to quickly shift from defence to offence when it is time to attack an opening in the opponent's defences.

Attacking in Reverse

2010-02-18T23:45:00.003-05:00

Those that were in class tonight worked on a few retreating exercises where we were striking while backing up. In my fighting, I often use this as a way to keep my distance. It is not necessary to fight in the traditional way where you advance when you strike and back up when you block. I think it is too predictable to fight this way all the time. An effective strike while retreating can completely interrupt the momentum of an attacker's series of attacks and allow you to turn the fight in the other direction. Fighting is difficult when the opponent can confidently charge into you. Put some doubt in the opponents mind by throwing a strike at any time. They will not charge as eagerly if they think they may be diving into a fist.

Experienced Martial Artists That Try Classes

2010-01-31T22:50:00.003-05:00

In my 20+ years of teaching I have seen hundreds, maybe thousands of students (see past blog post) pass through the doors of the school. I have had anyone from the person with no experience at all to the person who is at an accomplished level in another style train with me. The one thing that I always watch with experienced martial artists is the attitude they bring with them. I always ask about previous experience because I love seeing what types of styles are out there and hearing a bit about how they train. Once I get past this initial discussion and we are training, everybody trains the same way and everybody starts from the beginning of our system.

It has been interesting watching the reactions of trained martial artists as I break the news to them. Some have an excellent attitude and are very happy to learn everything from scratch whereas others will be taken aback by the suggestion that they need to start with learning stances and blocks. A true martial artist understands that every style is not the same and you need to learn from the beginning to become proficient at a style. Those that do not understand this normally don't remain in the class as they are too busy pouting instead of learning. I have even had one young man insist that he come to the advanced class as his first class....of course that was met with a thanks but no thanks response. Demanding anything as you meet your potential instructor is probably an indication that you are not ready for my class.

I would suggest that those that are determined to try a new style of martial arts should completely clear their minds of previous training as they enter the door because there are likely many things that are taught differently than the previous style. This is not to say that one is right and one is wrong but rather that theories differ between styles. Having an open attitude is the best way to learn the new style quickly.

Block Softly

2010-01-17T19:11:00.006-05:00

As discussed in a previous blog post, I believe that learning to block effectively is the most important thing to do as you learn how to fight. When students begin to fight it is natural to be tense, nervous and unsure. It is normal to learn your blocks and attack every strike as if you are trying to destroy it. This is not wrong. There are times when you will want to block hard to damage the opponent's attacking arm or leg. What I find is that students do not remember that you only need to block hard enough to prevent the strike from hitting them. Not every block should be hard. By blocking softly and guiding the strike past them the student is set up to control the attacking appendage or counterattack the opponent as their momentum continues in the direction of the strike. A strike that has been blocked hard sends a signal that it is time to throw the next strike or prepare to defend. By not sending the signal, the defender has the opportunity catch the opponent off guard. This is the reason we practice softer blocks that cushion or deflect instead of stopping a strike suddenly.

5 Points to Defending with your Staff in Fut Gar Kung Fu

2009-12-19T09:21:00.002-05:00

As the majority of my students know, I believe staff is the most important weapon we teach. The reasons were outlined one previous blog entry. This is further emphasized by the number of staff forms we teach in the Fut Gar style. Here are 5 points taught in Fut Gar Kung fu that you can keep in mind during training, whether it be visualizing the application of the technique or in practicing fighting techniques:

Be sure to shift your stances on blocks. Typically we shift far enough that target area that we are defending is totally moved away from its original position.
Defend more than just your block. Using the angle of the staff, you are often able to defend your head while blocking a strike to your legs.
Know the body and staff angle required to allow you to counterattack. Work on being precise with your blocking angle to allow quicker attacks.
If your staff is underneath your opponent's staff during contact, we call it a "dead staff" which means you do not try to initiate the next technique because it will leave an opening for the opponent to strike quickly.
Relax. It may be difficult when you are blocking another staff but relaxing will make your blocks faster and avoid the urge to attack your opponent's staff (trust your technique to deflect the attack and you will see that you don't need much power).

Keeping these things in mind will add some extra focus to your techniques during practice and help improve your forms.

Our Newest Instructors

2009-12-11T21:41:00.008-05:00

I would like to offer congratulations to the newest instructors of The National Fut Gar Kung Fu Training Centre. A few weeks ago I had the honour of naming 2 new instructors to teach our Kung Fu system. I'm sure that they will make me proud as they pass on their knowledge and thirst for learning to future students. Each of these instructors accomplished something of special significance to the school.

Silvia Castellarin became the first female instructor with her promotion. Those that have trained for any significant time in Kung Fu will know that this is a very rare accomplishment.

Jason Chin is our first instructor from students at our current location. He also is the fastest to reach the rank of instructor with our school.

Congratulations to both of you!!!!

20th Anniversary Dinner

2009-11-25T21:15:00.002-05:00

It will be good to see everyone at our 20th anniversary dinner tomorrow night. We have actually been around longer than 20 years but have finally gotten around to arranging the dinner. Our school is now loaded with senior students, some of who began with me in our early days at Brock University. Here are a few facts:

We have moved from St. Catharines to Hamilton to Mississauga to Toronto over the years.
We have been in our current location since 2000.
We are currently up to 3 full instructors (not including me) and 3 instructors in training at our school.
We began with Lama Pai as our core style and Choy Li Fut as a complimentary style.
We have been teaching Fut Gar Kung Fu since 1998.
The students continue to make teaching fun after all these years.

The Mistake With Lower Stances

2009-11-16T21:27:00.002-05:00

A note that I brought up in a few of my recent classes is the mistake that students often make when trying to lower your stances. This directly relates to my last blog entry about improving the look of your forms. The mistake that is made is to lower the stances by widening them. This is not the correct way of lowering most stances. The lowering of stances should be done by further bending of the knees instead of widening the distance between your feet. Of course this all has to be done without allowing yourself to bend over (another habit that I notice in students trying to lower stances). This will help in further improving the look of your forms.

1 Quick Change to Improve the Look of Your Form

2009-11-14T12:34:00.002-05:00

There is one very easy way to improve the look of your form. As you perform, your body gets used to executing the techniques at a particular height. One very quick way to impact the look of your form is to lower the stances slightly from your normal height. Practice at the new height and over time your form will sink to that height. When showing the form, it is easier to remember to stay low than to remember all the little points that you need to fix in the form so this is one of the quickest changes you can make for immediate results.

Kung Fu Blogs

2009-11-07T21:11:00.004-05:00

One of the things I have noticed is that there are few blogs on kung fu that are actually worth following. I have seen some that posted a few excellent articles spread over months but not consistent. There are a few reasons that I believe this happens.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. I have even seen a blog from an instructor that I know followed my blog and then started their own. I guess it is kind of funny that they felt that it was important to specifically say that they were urged by friends to students....not that they were reading my writing and thought they could duplicate...duplicate the idea as well as duplicating some of my blog topics, always a few months after I write it. Same duplication as starting a Facebook group for their school a couple months after asking for permission to join my school's Facebook group. I guess some people need to imitate in their ongoing struggle to look like they are innovative. OK enough ranting on that....since that is a totally different topic.
Writing is difficult when you need to come up with regular content. There are some brilliant instructors out there that could provide unlimited bits of wisdom but many cannot communicate in written form. I also believe that there are instructors in more commercial organizations that may have been able to learn enough to become instructors but have not had the opportunity to take their knowledge to the deeper levels which would cause a blog to start strong but slowly run out of content.
Secrecy for their style. Kung fu has a history of being carefully protected over the years and it is possible that some of the older instructors are wary of giving out too much information about their styles.
Time is required. Writing takes time and I know from experience that it is not always easy to find time to put down your thoughts. Many instructors not only teach martial arts but also have full time jobs which leaves little time to write.

I have seen some interesting vlogs out there that I hope can keep going. As for blogs, Is it really a blog if you can't write an entry on anything for months?

James' First Tournament

2009-11-02T18:40:00.003-05:00

Just a quick note on the CCKSF tournament from this past weekend. We had one competitor from our school this time around but it was a great experience. James went into his first tournament and won a Bronze in Hand Forms and a Silver in Sparring. Congratulations James. Good showing for your first time out.

CCKSF Tournament Reminder

2009-10-18T16:33:00.003-04:00

This is just a reminder of the CCKSF Kung Fu tournament coming up on the 31st. Details at http://www.wushu.ca/ for those that are looking for info on it. I will be there as usual and would be happy to see anybody that wants to compete or just check it out.

Karate Kid: Where are they now?

2009-10-17T10:38:00.003-04:00

We all remember the Karate Kid movies. NYDailynews.com recently posted a where are they now that shows where they all went. Here is the link. It was interesting to read through the list and get an update.

Van Damme to Fight a Muay Thai Fighter?

2009-10-12T19:40:00.004-04:00

OK, stumbling around the internet I saw this article. If it is correct, Jean Claude Van Damme is going to fight a Muay Thai figher, Somrak Kamsing in a K1 Muay Thai match. It looks like it is actually going to happen because a quick search will turn up quite a few little stories about it. I'm not sure what Van Damme's motivation might be but the dude's got guts if he actually goes through with it. I know I will be looking forward to seeing what happens in the match...

Chinese Story About Filming on Leung Tin Chiu

2009-10-03T10:56:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Denny from Michigan who passed this along. Denny has dropped into the school a few times to visit in the last couple of years while in Toronto for other celebrations and holds a great deal of enthusiasm towards Fut Gar Kung Fu.

This link speaks about the filming of a 26 part TV series on Leung Tin Chiu...unfortunately it is only written in Chinese right now but you can certainly get the idea by plugging it into something like Babel Fish. For those that are not familiar with the name, Leung Tin Chiu is the founder of Fut Gar Kung Fu as taught at my school.

Looking for Details

2009-09-18T22:19:00.003-04:00

Our school is still awaiting further details on the filiming of a 26 part series on the founder of the Fut Gar Kung Fu Style, Leung Tin Chiu, to be filmed in China. It sounds like it is confirmed to go and Master Chen will connect with them in China when he returns there in late October. The background on this is from last year's visit to the grave of Leung Tin Chiu by a group of Fut Gar students including Master Chen who is a direct disciple of Leung Tin Chiu. It seems that this sparked some interest as people realized that there are living disciples of Leung Tin Chiu who are still practicing the Fut Gar style. The details are not completely clear to me from there but it seems like a great time for our style as Master Chen is excited that his Sifu is finally getting some recognition. This was a person that was very well known as possibly the best martial artist of his time from his performance at a national tournament of over 2000 competitors that were rated on overall skills. There was one person that mentioned that he saw something posted on the future release of this series but I have been unable to find anything. Anybody that sees a link, please do share with us.

Recent Grading Pics

2009-09-06T10:16:00.013-04:00

Hi class. I just thought I would share a few pics that were taken during the recent gradings. It was a long process that went late into the night and as you can see the participants and instructors were all exhausted by the end. Thanks to JP for taking these.

Pushing the Limit

2009-08-12T00:26:00.002-04:00

As you start to progress in your training you should feel good about how much you have learned since you joined and how much you have improved since you started trying to execute your first techniques. You may now feel ease when performing that previously impossible technique or no longer panic when facing off against an opponent or have no problem remembering that long form that gave you so many problems when you were learning it. This is a time to celebrate your success so far but remember that there is still a lot to learn and many corrections still to be made. Getting to this point is a great start but now is the time to really focus on moving towards perfection. Push the limits of your endurance, flexibility, strength and concentration by adding some challenge to your training. This could be something such as lowering your stances in your forms or trying to strike harder throughout your form or just making sure that you retain any corrections that the instructors are giving you instead of regressing back to old habits after the class is finished. In fighting you should always start by trying to improve your control while later challenging yourself to find different ways to attack or defend (getting away from the habits that are comfortable to you).

The instructors can assign these types of exercises to you but I think it is important to find your own areas that you would like to improve. This will allow you to steer towards the result that you are really striving for in your training.

Why Are You Here?

2009-07-20T18:37:00.003-04:00

This is more of a curious entry but I thought I would throw it out anyway.

I have had some discussions with students on why they joined my class and have always loved hearing the reasons. What might be even more interesting is why you stayed with the class as some of the students have been with me for over 20 years. I would welcome any comments on this either here or during class. I am also always curious if the reasons you joined Kung Fu held up or if you train for different reasons now. If it was a movie, I would like to hear that you joined Kung Fu to get revenge on some evil martial artist only to decide that you no longer need revenge but decided to stick around anyway because the Sifu was soooooo cool :)

One more question....if you changed your reason for training, was it because you achieved your initial goal?

Megan's Book

2009-07-13T22:27:00.003-04:00

Hi Class. Support Megan's hard work!!! Buy this book when it comes out and read it. You may be quizzed on it in a future grading....do you really want to take that chance?

Independent Body Control

2009-07-10T16:48:00.004-04:00

During your training you are taught to be relaxed during a strike and tighten up at the point of impact. The same suggestion goes for blocking. What is next after you are able to do this?

Those that have begun fighting realize that it is not as easy to do during a fight as it is to do during practice of forms. First of all, students seem to tighten up during sparring because it is an uncertain situation. The real interesting trick comes from independent control of the different body parts. Can you be tight with a hand/arm that has just blocked but at the same time continue to be loose with the other hand or leg that is trying to throw your counter attack? Try to separate your different body parts during your fighting and you will gain a bit of a speed advantage over those that are not developed the same way. An interesting exercise may be to hold yourself in a push up position with one hand while using your other hand to try and block strikes thrown by a partner.

Reminder of Terminology

2009-07-08T17:18:00.002-04:00

I would like to remind everyone of an early blog post I made about a year ago that outlined the terminology in Kung Fu that spoke about how to refer to others inside our school. This should be something that you keep in mind as it really outlines how the heirarchy of Kung Fu schools are set up.

Where is Your Next Technique?

2009-07-04T22:00:00.002-04:00

As the students continue their progression in their Kung Fu training, it is important to also progress in fighting. Those in my class know that I place a heavy emphasis on forms and believe that fighting will follow.

When you are sparring, you will start to get comfortable with techniques that work. Hopefully by training in forms and constant repetition of techniques, you will automatically start to add techniques to your fighting. If you have practiced a 4 move combination hundreds of times during your form, your body should naturally execute that same combination if you get into a situation where you throw the first technique in that combination. Look for this the next time you are fighting.

Good Luck Jason!!!

2009-07-03T20:19:00.004-04:00

As the students of the National Fut Gar Kung Fu Training Centre know, one of our Instructors In Training is tying the knot this weekend. All the best to you Jason and Melanie!!!

As You Get Older in Martial Arts.

2009-06-29T20:26:00.004-04:00

We all age. This is a fact that we can't avoid but what we can do is work hard to maintain our fitness levels to be able to continue to train in Martial Arts. Whether you are in a high impact, high energy style or a lower impact style, you are able to continue to train as you age. An excellent example is Grandmaster Chen Rong En, my instructor for the Fut Gar style of Kung Fu. He is well into his 80's now but still very well respected within the local Kung Fu community and still able to execute techniques, perform forms and show fighting applications. There are some things that naturally happen as you get older:

Your strength diminishes - at some point, you will find that you are not as strong as before but your training should show you ways to react that do not require the same level of strength.
It will become more difficult to maintain your flexibility.
You will likely feel joint pain making it more difficult to execute strong low stances. This is likely at quite an advanced age so do not panic.
You will become a better fighter (believe it or not) because your experience will continue to build and those situations that made you flinch as a younger student will now no longer cause a reaction because you are used to seeing it over the years.
You will understand your style - you spend the earlier years of your training learning your style and forms but the repetition of the techniques is what helps you understand.
You will come to appreciate all great Martial Arts performances.

There is no particular reason for writing this today but I thought it would be an interesting post. I believe that by continuing your training without a break will allow you to maintain your natural abilities such as speed, flexibility, strength for a longer period of time whether you are training in hard, soft, internal or external styles. When you slow down your training is when you will really start to see the diminishing of your abilities.

Summer Training Tips

2009-06-26T18:46:00.003-04:00

A few tips to my students as we hit summer training.

Bring water and make sure you drink it. The room will get warm as we train so make sure you are prepared.
Be motivated to come to class no matter how uncomfortably hot it is outside. This is a great time to challenge yourself to stick to your training schedule even when there are other summer distractions.
Remember my notes from last summer.
The warmer temperatures are a better time to improve your stretching as your muscles are looser. Keep working on your stretching between classes to capitalize on the heat.
Sweat is not icky...it is your proof that you are working hard :)

Reading on Martial Arts

2009-06-20T09:58:00.002-04:00

I apologize for not having written for a while. As I wrote in one of my previous posts, there is no avoiding the occassional break from things as life gets in the way. I thought I would take a moment today to write about reading. Those who enjoy Martial Arts will often try to gather information and research all styles of Martial Arts. Here are a few points on reading:

Do not take everything as the complete rule. What may be the correct method of performing a technique in one style might be completely different in your particular style. I have seen an instructor teaching completely incorrect execution because he learned something flashy in some training he did and decide that the techniques in his style should be performed that way.
Do not learn different styles from books. Unless you are an expert Martial Artist, you will definitely practice incorrectly or mix up concepts if you try to learn from books. If you are an expert Martial Artist, spend your time working on your own style.
Appreciate the history and culture of Martial Arts. I think it is interesting to read about the origins of a style and the traditions around Martial Arts training. I would suggest that you read about these but be careful before incorporating them into your own class. I have seen a Chinese Kung Fu school where the young instructor used Karate terminology and traditions in the class because he thought he was making his class seem more traditional...unfortunately it was just wrong.
Be careful what you incorporate. There are ideas that may be style independent but there are often variations of theory from style to style which may include different reactions to situations. The example I have used with my students is Bruce Lee's book. I have never read it and probably never will because the theories I teach are from my style and if I have never read his book, nobody can question if any of my teachings come from there. I would be happy to read books about my style.
Read anything you can about your own style. I really believe that it is a good exercise to research your style and gather as much information you can about it. Not all writing on your style will agree because there may be variations in thought between authors.

Fun With Claws

2009-05-20T20:07:00.004-04:00

In Kung Fu there are claw techniques throughout the forms. I personally enjoy mixing claw techniques into my fighting to give some variety. I have a few notes for those that are looking to introduce claw techniques to their fighting.

I always say that there are no wrong techniques. If you can visualize an application and then go execute it, who can say it is wrong? There may be reasons that make a technique ill advised but that is not a reason to stop using it until someone proves that they can stop it. Try different angles, different variations and different ways of using your claws to see what works for you.
A claw can be used as a scratch. You can use the scratch to attack the eyes, face, or exposed tissue.
A claw can also be used as a strike where you use your palm as the striking surface.
A claw can be used as a grab. You can grab the throat, wrists or muscles/tendons of your opponent.
You can combine the techniques above. An example would be striking with your palm to an opponent's nose and in a continuous motion downward scratching the opponent's face until you are under the chin at which point you grab the throat.
When executing a claw technique, bend your hands back and grip your fingers tightly to avoid injury from bending a finger or wrist backwards.
Claws can be used as blocks (or block and grab).
Claws can be used as traps such as in the Chum Jaang technique in Fut Gar Kung Fu.
Claws can be used to go around a defense as you bend your wrist around it.

All in all claws are a lot of fun to try and incorporate into your training. Of course some of my suggestions should not be used in class unless your class is too large and you need to get rid of some students.

Master Chen is Back in Town

2009-05-11T22:09:00.002-04:00

Master Chen Rong En, head of the Fut Gar style of Kung Fu is back in town. The newer students may wonder what to do when he visits the class (which you can expect him to do very regularly) as it can be an intimidating thing to have him watching what you are doing. As one of his closed door students, I have had quite a bit of experience with him watching me as I train and have probably forgotten that I should actually feel some sort nervousness when performing in front of him...of course I never have been one to be nervous performing no matter who is watching. For those that don't know exactly what to do when he is visiting, here are a few tips:

Bow to him as he comes in to show your respect.
Do the best you can without fear that you are not good enough...he loves our class and wants us to be successful in our training.
Be prepared to learn as he will stop you if he sees a mistake.
If we decide to run additional seminars, participate if at all possible. Master Chen is one of the most respected instructors around and there are few opportunities to learn directly from him. We are very fortunate to be a school that he visits regularly.
Enjoy his love of teaching theories. I have never met anyone else who gets so much joy out of discussing techniques, how they work, how to counter them and how to lead into them.

The next 6 months should be filled with many chances to do all of these things. Although I have been teaching Kung Fu for over 20 years now you will definitely see that I am still not done learning from the master.

Seriously Disappointed in Some Instructor

2009-05-10T18:35:00.004-04:00

The students in my class probably heard me speaking of some disappointing activities at a recent tournament. Although nobody from my school competed, we did have one person present as a judge who reported back that one school was performing one of our forms. Not only were they performing it, but they were performing it poorly. The school that is now performing Black Dragon Sword should be ashamed of themselves and their instructor has shown that they have no real grasp of what it means to be an instructor or martial artist.

We would like to give the benefit of the doubt that it is possible that they learned it just as I did but unfortunately I know this is impossible. The only other people who had the opportunity to learn this form are in New York and the version they do is slightly different so unless Grandmaster Chan Tai San came back from the dead to teach these "martial artists" I am going to have to say that it was stolen. It is definitely tempting to take videos of my students as they win gold medals at the national championship and try to replicate but in my 20+ years of teaching, I have never seen a school desperate enough to do it.

I will not mention the school but I have seen them perform and I totally understand why they would need to steal as what they have is not impressive. What they do could be impressive if done properly but the instructor is not equipped to teach the class to be what they need to be. Unfortunately there are no barriers on who becomes a Kung Fu instructor and in Canada we do not have old school masters who will come tear down your school and issue a challenge to those that do not belong so this type of school is allowed to continue.

My last word to this school. Focus on being good at your own style and making your ancestors proud instead of feeling the need to steal from other styles. If you are not capable of getting good at your style because you were not raised in a proper martial arts background, I am sure I can recommend an instructor that would be happy to teach you...you might even become decent at a kung fu style.

The Good Old Days?

2009-04-29T22:39:00.003-04:00

Back in the 80's competing as a Kung Fu stylist was a lot different than today. Unless you wanted to travel extensively, it was difficult to find a Kung Fu tournament. It was big news when we were finally able to see tournaments with Kung Fu in the title even if they were not really Kung Fu tournaments.

What was competing like? The normal method of competition was joining an open tournament where you were judged by Karate judges. These were judges who knew Karate only and had to do their best to judge Kung Fu based on their knowledge of how things were done in their own style. I even remember having Kung Fu and Tai Kwon Do grouped together in something called a "Soft Style" division...what exactly does that mean? There are hard and soft styles of Kung Fu and if you ever watch Tai Kwon Do performed properly, it certainly does not seem soft to me. At that time, Kung Fu practitioners were just happy to find a way to compete.

As far as fair judging, you had to understand that this was not possible. Judging by Karate judges certainly made competition interesting. This is not a criticism of the judges as they were doing the best they could with their training and I certainly know how it feels to judge styles that you don't know. Unfortunately this meant that the best way to do well in open tournaments was to Karatesize (is that a word?) your techniques. Those of us that stood by our style and refused to change how we did things should be proud.

Turning It On

2009-04-25T08:43:00.002-04:00

One of the things that can happen for those that are always practicing controlled fighting is they do not get into situations where there is a need to fight full out, strike at full power or defend against full power strikes. As we train in Kung Fu we need to understand that we need to be able to flick the switch when needed but only when needed. If a situation arises where you NEED to take action, you should completely commit to the situation. Based on the type of class I teach, I believe that my students would not be the aggressor in an altercation but there is a good chance that someone will have an altercation at some point in their lives. The ideal situation in that event is for the student to be calm and controlled until action is needed. Once the switched is turned on, it should continue until there is no longer a threat. There are many variables that go into the decision of when exactly to react and that can be discussed with your fellow students or instructor.

10 Animal Styles That Did Not Make It

2009-04-22T22:30:00.004-04:00

In one of my silly moments in class (not that I am known to have silly moments) I decided that it would be fun to create a list of 10 animal styles that were never created. Actually, they may have existed but just didn't survive until today...

Armadillo - would seem to be a great defensive style
Giraffe - you could win by forcing your opponent to block upward for the entire fight until they succumb to neck injuries
Snail - technically not an animal but neither is a praying mantis
Dolphin - I know, once again not an animal but fast, acrobatic with hard snouts for striking....this would seem like a natural choice
Jellyfish - continuing with the sea creatures, these things can cause a lot of pain and even death
Rhinoceros - if they knew kung fu, would they still be endangered?
Peacock - what does crane have over them?
Three Toed Sloth - blinding speed
Camel - the style could teach ranged attacks as part of the normal training
Rabbit - Monty Python fans know that they can be very deadly

2 Updates

2009-04-13T21:58:00.003-04:00

Just to keep everyone informed JP has been working on updates to the school site and it has been updated with some of the newer content that was previously missing. Take some time to scan through when you have a chance.

The other update is Silvia has a new site to display some of her art.

When Should Kids Learn Kung Fu?

2009-04-05T20:31:00.002-04:00

Although I don't teach a regular children's class at this time, I have often been asked what age is ideal for kids to begin Kung Fu training. The real answer is as soon as they are able to focus for an entire class and understand instructions.

My recommended earliest age for children to begin training is around age 5. Some kids are able to start younger if they show the maturity to stay mentally engaged throughout the class. The best situation is to have them training in a class designed specifically for kids instead of having them in with a group of adults but sometimes there is no choice.

The 1 Question To Ask Yourself

2009-03-30T20:48:00.003-04:00

How do you motivate yourself to go to class or train when there are so many reasons not to. Whether you are thinking to yourself; I'm tired, I don't feel good, I had a bad day, I forgot a change of clothes, I am not mentally up to it today, I am busy, I would rather be shopping, I am sore from last class, I don't feel like driving to class, I don't want to go out in the rain or any other reason that can prevent you from training, there is one question that will remind you of the importance of pushing yourself to train.

That question is "On the street, would an attacker care that [insert excuse here]?" The answer to this question is no. An attacker does not care that you are tired or did not stretch yet or are in your dress clothes or that you wear glasses or any other reason that you can think of. I am not saying that we do not need an occasional break from training. My students know that I believe we all need short breaks during our lifetime of training but there are times where there is a decision on whether or not to train when it is time to leave for class (instead of staying on the couch) on a given night. Those are the nights that you need to ask yourself the one question.

Pushing Yourself in Training

2009-03-23T17:48:00.004-04:00

During your Martial Arts training you will learn many techniques, spend time perfecting them and practice proper execution of combinations. You will practice using your techniques in fighting situations, get comfortable executing at full speed in free fighting situations and figure out when specific techniques work for you. The one thing that is important to remember is that it is easy to just rely on your instructor to train you and tell you when to use the techniques. A few things to keep in mind if you want to excel:

Try new things. Do not stick with the same old techniques time after time in your free sparring.
It is OK to be uncomfortable. You are uncomfortable when you are not doing what you are used to so you should feel uncomfortable if you are pushing yourself.
Physically push yourself. If the training is not tiring you, there is probably more effort you can put in as far as using more power, lowering your stances, increasing your speed etc.
Class is designed as a general workout that caters to the entire class. Some things will be difficult for you so keep trying but other things will be easy for you. When things are easy, work on perfecting while adding a bit to the exercise.
Mentally push yourself to think of different ways to successfully execute techniques and to have a theory on how a technique is applied before asking others.
Think of how to do something that will separate you from other Martial Arts practitioners whether it be the spirit of your forms, the perfection of a technique in fighting, the practice of advanced techniques until they seem effortless to those that are watching, etc.

Top 50 Self Defence Blogs

2009-03-21T22:24:00.004-04:00

Just a note to the readers of this blog that it was mentioned on a list of top 50 self defence blogs on another blog. Check it out at http://www.forensicsciencetechnician.org/?page_id=21 if you are interested in seeing the list.

Sparring Videos From Last Tournament

2009-03-11T17:34:00.002-04:00

Here are some videos that one of the CCKSF group posted on Youtube from the last tournament. Those in my class will notice a few familiar people in here.

Praise from the Pres

2009-03-09T19:38:00.006-04:00

For those of you that were not in class when I spoke about it, we got some great praise from the President of the CCKSF recently. He had video taped all of the fighting in the most recent tournament and after watching it was very impressed with one of our competitors (J.P.) In fact, he said he has been waiting for 10 years to see this type of progression in the fighting division. For years there has been the hope that fighting would progress away from standard exchange of punches and street fighting to a more refined style of fighting. To finally see effective use of counterattacks and resistance of the urge to just throw fast punches even when the opponents are doing it was very enjoyable for him to watch. We have discussed this in class over the years and we definitely see that fighting properly is not the ideal in these fighting situations but I have a strong belief that the ones that stick to it will eventually be the better Martial Artists.

We seem to have the attention of the President and have him thinking of ways to get the rest of the competitors going in the same direction. Way to go JP and the rest of the competitors that have tried to fight the way we teach in class.

Peripheral Vision

2009-03-01T16:43:00.004-05:00

In today's class I spoke about peripheral vision as something we build over time as martial artists. Although it is possible to learn martial arts without building peripheral vision, the best martial artists are those that have a wider vision. Not only does this allow you to see attacks that come from the side such as hook punches and roundhouse kicks, it also helps you with seeing what is around you in your environment outside of class. You will be able to see and react quicker to things that you catch out of the "corner of your eye" without even thinking that it is part of your training. This is a skill that you can take out of class whether you are in a potential self defence situation or just seeing a soccer ball accidentally kicked at your head in the park. Inside class, this skill will help you in practicing of fighting multiple attackers as you get into more advanced fighting training.

Lack of Weapon Control

2009-02-15T13:52:00.004-05:00

During today's class we did a bit of extra work on weapons. During the class I remembered an incident that occured at a tournament about 4 or 5 years ago. As usual I was acting as a judge in one of the rings but the next ring was open so some students were using it to warm up and get a bit of last minute practice in. As my ring wrapped up I told the other judges to take a quick break before the next division started. As I was walking to the organizer's table, one of the students in the next ring stabbed his spear right at my face. I reacted and grabbed the spear head just before it stuck me in the face. The student stopped practicing but probably did not realize that a slower reaction would have ended up with him stabbing a person in the face. I have a few thoughts on this incident.

First, the student was not taught proper respect for martial arts as it was clear that he was using the open ring as a chance to show off his techniques.
Next, the student was not properly taught by his instructor. This was not a junior student and he should have known to be aware of his surroundings, especially when performing weapons forms.
The student showed little respect for other competitors as he flung his weapon around without regard for the other students that were stretching and warming up.
No student is good enough to utilize stabbing techniques without looking - there has to be something wrong with either the way he was taught or the way he learned.

I would like to stress that those performing weapons must be aware of their surroundings as well as understanding the distance required to perform techniques without placing anyone in danger. The person practicing the weapon form is responsible for control of their weapon.

The Best Time to Block

2009-02-09T18:35:00.003-05:00

As students start to practice fighting techniques and possibly free sparring, they will be in situations where they will need to block strikes. As students become more comfortable, it becomes easier and easier to see strikes coming from the opponent. This is where I see errors starting to occur with many students in all Martial Arts. I often see blocks executed way before the strike will connect.

The best time to block a strike is not early in the strike but as late as possible in the strike. By waiting until the last moment to execute the block you will have the best opportunity for counter strike. If you block early in the strike, the opponent has an opportunity to pull back to a defensive position or react to the block and throw another technique. By waiting until later in the strike, you lead the opponent to believe that the strike is successful and will cause them to continue the follow through which in turn will open them up to counter attack. Waiting until the last moment will allow you to put an opponent off balance if you can execute a pull with your block.

Although waiting takes some courage, the benefits are undeniable. I encourage students to try this during the controlled sparring of a class and find their comfort level on how long to wait.

Remembering Forms

2009-02-07T09:30:00.002-05:00

I have mentioned in class that there is no shortcut to remembering your forms. The only way to train your body to perform the techniques correctly and memorize the forms is through constant repetition. This is the reason that I recommend practicing your forms even after you have learned them and moved on to your next form. It takes about 200 repetitions to remember the form and about 500 before you are completely fluent with it. The end result is that you will be able to perform it without constant practice. Being able to perform a form that you have not practiced in a few months should be possible with the right amount of practice up front during your training. This practice is not exciting as you are just repeating something over and over but it will make you much better over time.

The Origin of the Dreaded Chow Butt Attack

2009-01-19T20:18:00.006-05:00

Many of the students of my class have seen it in action and the lucky ones have experienced it live. Of course I am speaking of my butt attack. The attack of throwing my behind into my opponent's solar plexus. How does something like this happen? As silly as the technique is, it comes from sound martial arts fighting theory. The following are the things that lead to the development of this technique:

Feel the fight and flow with it. To maximize the speed of your techniques you need to stop thinking and just execute. Too much thinking adds brain processing to the technique before executing and every slight hesitation can cost you a fight. Fut Gar Kung Fu as taught to me by Grandmaster Chen clearly defines what to do in specific situations to eliminate the necessity of deciding which technique to use.
Don't resist pressure. This theory is the reason I originally spun around to attack with my backside. Having a technique blocked gave me momentum to spin in the opposite direction.
Always look for opportunities to attack. Just because you are in a disadvantaged position does not mean that you should stop looking for an opportunity to attack. Very successful attacks often are executed at the time when the opponent least expects it.
All body parts can and should be used as a weapon. Although the butt attack is taking it to the extreme, I have always been taught that you can use anything as a weapon.
It worked. When a technique works it is natural (and encouraged) to continue to use it until it no longer works.
Have fun when you practice. OK, this is my own theory but those in my class have seen that we have always run the class this way.

The Right Time to Exchange Punches

2009-01-17T12:56:00.004-05:00

While watching students fight as part of their training, instructors often break up the fighting to explain that it is incorrect to rush in and exchange punches with your opponent as this shows a lack of technique and seems to not serve a purpose. Generally, Kung Fu training teaches you to block and counter, grab and counter or avoid and counter. This is definitely ideal if you are able to fully disarm a strike while executing a strike of your own. Of course this is generally not the case for most students. I believe there is a correct time to exchange punches as long as you take into account a few things:

What are you exchanging? Are you taking a light jab to the cheek while executing strong hook punch to the temple? I would be happy to take this exchange which would likely end the fight. This is an easy decision to make if you are able to make it at full speed.
What will be the result of your strike as far as body positioning? By this I mean that throwing your strike turns the opponents strike into a glancing blow therefore reducing its effectiveness even if your strike is not a knockout punch.
When are you making the exchange? This is the point that is normally forgotten. Each combination by an opponent has a main (knockout?) strike. If they throw a jab followed by an uppercut, the uppercut is the punch intended to do the main damage. This can be followed by other techniques. Assuming you can make your first strike the knockout strike, I would suggest that your hard strike be executed right after the opponent's knockout strike. If someone is throwing a 4 strike combination with the first strike being a hard strike, each following strike is a bit weaker than the previous. Take your best strike in exchange for one of the opponent's weaker strikes. This timing will not only give you the upper hand in the exchange but also surprise your opponent as they are expecting you to continue blocking. This assumes you do not believe that you will have the opportunity to execute a clean technique on this particular opponent because as previously stated, it is ideal to execute a clean strike.

These theories take some practice but with experience, you will be able to feel for the right timing during the fight.

Some Math for Those That Survive

2009-01-10T11:48:00.004-05:00

I have a good group of students that are considered Instructor-In-Training or Instructor in my school. Not including myself as the head instructor, there are a group of 6 with 3 that have been around since the late 1980's. I thought I would do a quick calculation to figure out how many people have come through over the years.

To begin with, I am estimating that 1 of 5 senior students actually stay to reach the level of Instructor-in-Training. This means there were 30 senior students to generate the 6 that are with me today.
Only about half of regular students stay to become senior students. So 60 regular students.
About half of the people that actually join stay long enough to become a regular student. That means 120 people joined.
Only about 10% of the people that come in for a trial class actually join the class. This seems low but it is probably accurate based on the fact that we do not run every day and normally recommend that potential students try other schools before deciding on joining. So that would mean about 1200 students have been through our classes at some point over the years.
We had classes in a University for about 7 years and during those years, we definitely can add about 30 students a year who joined but did not return the following year after returning from summer vacations. So add another 210 students to get a total of 1410 students to get to the 6 that have made it through.
I will also add 2 major relocations where we started over with new students in another city (although there are a few students that just seem to relocate to whatever city the school is in) and the number is actually higher.

Teaching Kung Fu in a non-commercial style with no long term contracts is definitely a disadvantage as far as retention but my thinking over the years has always to train a smaller group of dedicated students instead of a large group of students that felt obligated to be there because they already paid. Congratulations to those that have made it through. I know there are others in the current group that will join the ranks over time.

10 New Year Training Tips

2009-01-04T19:39:00.005-05:00

So you have had a great holiday. You have partied hard, eaten excessively and forgotten what training means. It's time to get back at it. Here are a list of tips to help get you back into the swing of things.

Do not think that you will jump back in and immediately be back into the swing of things.
Stretch a bit more than you normally would.
Make sure that you build into the workout by making sure you build the intensity gradually over the course of the class.
Try your best but do not get frustrated or discouraged if you are not up to your regular level of performance.
Catch up with your classmates but stay focused on training.
Spend time remembering your forms and proper execution rather than trying to speed through your forms.
Your stances are probably not as low as they feel so go lower.
Since everybody is getting back into the swing of things, pay extra attention to other students, especially if you are practicing weapons techniques.
Remember to have fun...this is the reason you do this.
Most importantly...remember it is bad luck to kill your instructor, even if by accident (this might be a bit of a selfish tip on my part)

2008 in Review

2009-01-01T10:10:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year! As we head into 2009 I thought I would take a few moments to recap some of the highlights from 2008 for my school.

We added a new instructor to the ranks.
We added a new black sash to the ranks.
Our advanced class has grown and now is as large as our regular classes.
I believe that we continue to maintain a base of very dedicated and enthusiastic students.
I am being forced to dust off previously untaught forms to teach the most advanced students as they reach the end of our regular curriculum.
We had some new performers during our Chinese New Year demo.
The enthusiasm for free sparring in class has grown.
The overall quality of the Fut Gar Kung Fu in class has continued to improve.

Thanks for a great year and keep training hard in 2009.

Kids Are Made of Rubber

2008-12-24T08:57:00.003-05:00

As you get older you realize that being a kid makes training easier. Kids are more flexible, recover faster from workouts and are sponges for information. To give them a further advantage on adults, they do not have the mental distractions that adults have such as finances, work, home, etc. The only thing they have not developed yet is power. This is why it is great to get the kids training early...as soon as they are able to focus for a whole class which is normally in the 5 year old range. It is much easier to maintain their natural flexibility than to try and gain flexibility later.

School Cancelled Today

2008-12-21T08:39:00.002-05:00

For students of our class, we will not have any classes today. I am unfortunately stuck at home this morning until we get plowed out. I hope you have a great day.

Question Your Techniques

2008-12-15T21:53:00.006-05:00

Kung Fu practitioners are taught forms that they practice in a particular sequence. Instructors teach these forms to the students and in most schools also teach the proper use of these techniques. After a while the students know enough to make assumptions about the techniques such as the purpose of a punch. What is probably not taught enough is that students should understand more than the end result of a technique. Students should question the techniques further to get full value from their training. I do not mean to flood your instructor with questions (especially if you are one of my students), I mean to ask yourself why certain things happen in your forms. Some examples are:

Why do I throw a punch from the waist in one part of the form but circle my arms prior to punching in another part of the form?
Why do I start my block on the outside of my arm when I turn?
Why do I use different stances for the same technique in different parts of my form?
How would I get into position to execute this technique in a real encounter?

Whoever created the style put certain elements into the form for a reason. These reasons are now sometimes lost in the teaching of a style if a student is pushed through a system too quickly or if an instructor is only focused on teaching form rather than technique. One thing that Fut Gar practitioners are taught is to consider how techniques can flow together once you understand the reaction caused by the previous technique.

Even if the instructor of a particular school is not focused on teaching to this level of detail, the student is still able to formulate ideas in their own mind. Try questioning yourself the next time you are training. The results can be very interesting.

Kenpo Seminar

2008-12-14T17:57:00.002-05:00

Some of the students that have been around longer might remember Bryan Zarnett who trained with our school for a period of time. I just thought I would pass on some information about a seminar in February that he is promoting. I am not familiar with the style or the instructor of the seminar but am happy to mention it to support Bryan.

If you are interested, information can be found on his website.

The Search for Butterfly Knives/Swords Continues

2008-12-01T21:29:00.005-05:00

I have spoken about this in class over the last few years and am feeling renewed frustration in the past few weeks. I am totally disappointed in the lack of variety that suppliers have in butterfly swords. I do not like the trend of the suppliers to only carry the wide bladed butterfly swords that are commonly used in Wing Chun Kung Fu (Baat Jaam or Eight Chops knives) instead of offering the thinner bladed swords that I prefer to use for forms training. I understand supply and demand and that fewer styles use the thinner style and therefore it is natural to go where the demand lies but this is ridiculous. Suppliers are forcing Kung Fu practitioners to use the wrong weapon by eliminating the other type.

Thanks to James who did locate a pair from a knife company but we are looking at training knives at a reasonable price since we will chip, dent, scratch and sweat on them. Using expensive real blades seems less reasonable for students that are just learning the weapon for the first time.

JP - Our Newest Black Sash

2008-11-19T19:49:00.010-05:00

I am very happy to announce our newest member to our instructor team. JP Gionet has successfully completed extensive testing activities over the course of 2 weeks to attain the rank of Black Sash or "Instructor in Training" as it is known in our school. Although we cannot post pictures taken during the activities, we can definitely post some before and after shots as well as the award ceremony.

Praying for mercy before it begins?

Relaxing after the fighting is done.

The Award Ceremony:

Want to Move On? Demonstrate the Technique.

2008-11-10T20:15:00.002-05:00

I thought I would share a discussion I had with an old traditional kung fu practitioner. We were discussing the attitudes we encounter here in Canada from eager students who want to progress through the ranks. This particular person spoke about the school where he trained in Asia. In traditional schools, it was not acceptable to demand progression from your instructors. It is understood that when you are ready to move on, you will move on. In the school we discussed, the students were taught at a slow pace to ensure that each technique or combination was correct before being allowed to move on. If a student every had the nerve to state that they were ready to learn more, the instructor would put them up on a stage with one of the senior students. The test was to show that you can execute the techniques you learned so far in a fighting situation. If you failed, the consequence was to start your training over from the beginning of the form. Of course it was almost impossible to be good enough to win with a short seriese of techniques so this was a very discouraging proposition. Although this may be the extreme, I do believe the basic lesson is correct. Your instructors are the judge of when you are "ready" to move ahead. It is great to have passion towards your training and natural to want to progress quickly but kung fu has no short cuts.

DVD Set Released in U.S.

2008-11-09T20:02:00.003-05:00

The Kin Mon Sil Lum Gung Fu group in the U.S. released a DVD set. Although the school clearly states that they are not a Fut Gar school, they do trace back to Leung Tin Chiu, the founder of Fut Gar Kung Fu as taught at my school. The forms that are practiced at Kin Mon Sil Lum Gung Fu are similar in name and execution to some of the forms I teach. I have not seen the DVD's yet but think that it is great that the school went through the effort to put together a compilation of their forms. Information can be obtained on their site.

We Need a Show!!!

2008-11-01T09:40:00.003-04:00

I think back over the years and there had always been an occassional performance of interest that I could recommend to my kung fu students. There used to be more excitement and energy around promotion of kung fu within our community. Some interesting shows from over the years have been:

Performances by the Shaolin Monks (first few times)
Jackie Chan fundraiser
Masters of Kung Fu Performance
Chun Yi: The Legend of Kung Fu
Friendship Tournament - Local students competing against monks!!!!
Don't remember the name but it was a weapons demo with performances from around the world

It seems that we have gone a long time without something like this. There are always performances that you can attend but they are usually 1 or 2 schools doing some free performances to promote their schools. I think it is about time for one of the kung fu federations to get motivated and put on a large performance that is properly promoted in a significant venue. The community seems to be in need of something other than a few annual tournaments and a bunch of schools doing demos. We need a show!!!

Picture Slideshow

2008-10-23T15:28:00.005-04:00

I mentioned to some of the students that I had put together a slideshow with a bunch of pictures that I had (mostly from tournaments). I guess this is one way to get them posted for the class to see. Enjoy!!!

Flashy Forms vs. Regular Forms

2008-10-19T22:13:00.004-04:00

As I teach Fut Gar Kung Fu I am often reminded that there are much flashier forms in other styles than the ones we use. Even with that disadvantage our students continue to command attention and be complimented as we perform or compete. How is this possible? The answer is simple. We look for precision of execution which can be a thing of beauty to the eyes of the trained martial artist. Yes, I teach some flashier forms but encourage the students to use the true forms of our style when competing. I believe that achieving a good result with a normal traditional form is a true measure of a student's kung fu skills. Those that have taken Fut Gar Kung Fu and complained about how it looks compared to some other styles have simply not studied the style long enough to perform the techniques in a manner that looks good. I have unfortunately seen schools that seem compelled to add some flashy forms to help their performers/competitors and have even seen schools that have fabricated forms to give their students a flashier look. I think it is ridiculous that schools create forms instead of perfecting the ones they know to the point of looking great. I would like to encourage the traditional schools to stick with your forms and train harder to perfect them.

What Does This Move Do?

2008-10-17T00:06:00.003-04:00

When learning kung fu at my school, the students often ask about the applications of a technique. How is the technique used in a combat situation? This is a good question but when I was a student I was often given the answer "What do you think it does?" This is not an attempt by the instructor to avoid the question or an indication that they do not know the answer. I do know what the techniques are for and I can feed the answer to the students but prefer to have the students think. My real answer is that the application of a technique is correct if you are able to execute it the way you believe it should be used. Although there is an intended purpose for a technique, I do not believe that there is only one answer to the question "What does this move do?" I prefer students to think about the technique and try to figure out the answer to the question first. I am there as a guide for those that really cannot think of an answer and will happily discuss the advantages or disadvantages of a potential application. I would like to encourage all martial artists to think beyond the obvious and look for the "hidden" techniques of a style. Ask yourself questions such as why do I circle my arms twice instead of once or why do I raise my knee when executing this technique. Thinking this way will bring out new possibilities in your fighting.

CCKSF Tournament Crew

2008-10-05T18:06:00.003-04:00

A small group of students competed this weekend in the CCKSF Kung Fu tournament. Along with a great chance for Kai and Kevin C to get some tournament experience, we had some medal winning performances from a couple of the more senior students in the group, Jason and JP. Great job guys.

Medals won were:

Jason - Gold in Advanced Long Weapons
Jason - Bronze in Advanced Hand Forms
JP - Gold in Advanced Short Weapons
JP - Bronze in Advanced Hand Forms
JP - Bronze in Fighting (Heavyweight Division)

More important was once again recognition from judges that the proper use of techniques by our students (in both forms and fighting) was a good example for other competitors moving forward. Even in fights that were not victories, the students did a great job of controlling techniques and producing a great technical fight. In these tournaments, I believe this is the true indication of the success of the students and a strong endorsement that our training methods will produce proper martial artists in the long run.

Announce Yourself

2008-09-29T20:14:00.004-04:00

As a judge in tournaments for many years, I have seen many students come up to perform. I have seen many ways of announcing their forms and have formed some preferences. Here are some tips for those that intend to compete in forms/kata competition:

Always bow - show your respect for the judges.
Speak in a loud clear voice. If I can't hear you, there is no point to speaking to me. Remember the tournament is a noisy place.
Announce your name
Announce your school and/or instructor
Announce your form

The Nervous Kick

2008-09-26T17:46:00.002-04:00

I have been training people on their sparring techniques for over 20 years and have been able to get the students of our school to be focused on fighting in a manner that is representative of our style of Kung Fu, Fut Gar Kung Fu. As schools teach free fighting I have often noticed that there is a trend in beginners to kick. Nervous kicks that keep their opponent at a comfortable distance. This is something that is not always the correct way for students to fight as most styles to not focus completely on kicking. I would urge newer martial artists to monitor their fighting to see if they are falling into this habit. Although it feels better to have your opponent at a longer distance, this is not ideal for your future progression. You need to fight in the style that you are learning which probably means you will not throw kicks for your entire fight. Kicking has a purpose as I mentioned in a previous post but sparring in class is the controlled situation that allows you to do the things that are uncomfortable for you. Take advantage of the opportunity to work on perfecting your technique in these conditions.

Body Coordination For Power

2008-09-20T10:45:00.004-04:00

Generation of power can be maximized through properly coordinating the moving parts of your body to lock at the same time. You generate power by striking outward very quickly with your arm. You generate power by pulling back with your non-striking arm. You generate power by turning your waist. You generate power by pushing off with your legs while gripping the ground. These are some of the individual things that you can do to generate power in your strike. The big trick is to do all of these individual things at the same time and have them coordinate so the peak power in each individual component occurs at the exact same moment. Turning your waist followed by extending your arm results in a technique where you only use the power of your arm because the waist turn finished before you began your technique. The ideal situation has all of the components of your technique ending at the same time resulting in your hips, arms, legs, shoulders all locking at the same time. Think about this when you are executing your techniques and your power will increase.

Another Local Tournament

2008-09-18T12:59:00.002-04:00

I had previously posted some events that I thought might be good experiences for the students. I recently received an ad for an open tournament that seems to be in a fairly accessible location for many of the students so thought I would add that link too. This is on Saturday, November 29th in Toronto - here is the link. I have never been to this tournament so do not have any recommendations for it but it seems like it might be good for those that want to experience an open run by Karate practitioners.

Horse Stance Training

2008-09-17T19:13:00.002-04:00

All styles of Kung Fu stress the importance of stances. Regardless of which stances are most important to your particular style, you are probably still asked to do some sort of horse stance training. I have often been asked by students about how to practice/train stances.

The base stance for practice is the horse stance. Once again, depending on the style the proper technique can differ. I recommend the student take the time to understand the proper way to do a horse stance in their particular style. Understanding this is important to ensure that the student practices properly on their own.

The next question is normally how to practice, high stances or low stances. The answer is both. I recommend higher stances for long periods of time while doing something else such as watching TV to take your mind off of shaky legs. I also think it is important to practice proper stances in the lowest possible position to train your legs to hold your weight at that height. You will never fight in your lowest stance but training your legs to be comfortable in a low position will help when you need to be in a lower than possible position.

Open Martial Arts Tournaments - Should We Care?

2008-09-15T22:27:00.003-04:00

When I was competing, Kung Fu tournaments were not easily found in the area. If you wanted to compete the only option was to find an open tournament. These were normally tournaments run by Karate practitioners and if we were lucky, we would have a separate division for non-karate styles which was normally called a soft style division...which didn't really make sense because Tai Kwon Do was thrown in there. The competitors were normally judged by Karate judges who normally gave the best scores to the people that looked most like what they were used to seeing.

What are my thoughts on open tournaments? I believe that these tournaments can provide some value if you go in with the correct attitude. Understand that the judges do not know the techniques that you are executing and will not necessarily see the value of your forms. Understand that fighting will be limited by the rules of the tournament and often will eliminate (for good reason) the more effective and dangerous techniques of your style. My recommendation for tournaments is generally to not care if you win or lose. The purpose of the tournament is to give you experience performing in a stressful situation (in front of a crowd) to train your mind and to continue to perform in these types of situations. Fighting in open tournaments is also a good experience because it allows you to see how it feels to fight people with different styles and techniques from your own school.

In the end, real life combat situations are full of uncertainty and stress. Gaining exposure to these feelings through competing decreases the chances that you will freeze when confronted in a real situation.

Upcoming Event Schedule

2008-09-14T20:36:00.002-04:00

This is a note to the students that are interested in upcoming events. Here are the ones I know about:

CIKWF Tournament - September 27th - Poster and rules
CCKSF Tournament - October 4th - Tournament Info
Hainan Association 20th Anniversary Dinner - October 11th - see me for details

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.