Good morning.

Following on from my last post, I would like to address the issue of being 'tough' or 'hard.' On the face of it - there is not much to debate, but I am sure that it is far more than being the best fighter or street brawler. In fact, it is a sad reflection on humanity (and in particuar men) that it is far easier to resort to physical force to 'prove' an argument than it is to use diplomacy and rhetorical skills - especially if one side feels insulted by the other's words or conduct. Exacerbated by alcohol, this is all too prevelant in the pub culture of today. (An interesting aside - it was been noted by eminent historians that the reason that the UK was not subject to revolutions at the time when the rest of Europe was unstable eg around the time of the French Revolution, was because Parliament allowed dissatisfaction to be aired in a public area with ensuing debate. This still continues to be the situation ...

Good morning.

Recently I asked some of my students what being a 'martial artist' actually means. Perhaps surprisingly, this was not such an easy question. It is a phrase that is often banded around - but it seems to me that it is rarely anaylsed or understood fully (which is a slight problem if someone aspires to be one!).

The key misunderstanding seems to be around the word 'artist'; for it is this part of the name that makes it so unique. An true artist is almost on a different spiritual plain than other people, and the word implies many things - such as creativity, elegance, some kind of special skills and, crucially, freedom of personal expression. In its purest, unadulterated form a true martial art is on the same level as other arts such as music, dancing, poetry and literature. A real martial artist is an expert in humanity, ...

Good evening.

On saturday I finally completed the building of a Chinese Wing Tsun Saam Sing Chong. This is a very ancient training method of the masters and contains some of the highest level, elegant and effective techniques in the system.

Once, many years ago as only a young boy, I was told that this is something that I would never be allowed to train. But, thankfully, I was, indeed, able to one day learn this very method.

This was a long time in coming - but not least due to the preparation that is required to ensure that a top quality Saam Sing Chong is made. First an appropriate piece of land must be selected and prepared, ideally i ...

Good evening.

Earlier today I taught the seniors in the special Chinese Wing Tsun class which is surrounded by peaceful views of the countryide. Although I love all my teaching, it is perhaps one of my favourite classes of the week - you can really feel the beauty and depth of Chinese Wing Tsun away from the city.

Today the seniors revisted the quite basic 3 attacks from Poon-Sau. Unfortunately these movements are all too often overlooked by Wing Tsun practitioners as lowly movements in the 'rush' to learn Biu Jee and Wooden Dummy. This, alas, is a false economy; to truly master Wing Tsun you must understand the foundations. If the basic movements are weak, then the advanced movements can never be strong and will never truly work when put under pressure. As the Chinese saying states, 'a tree that has no roots will blow over at the ...