Good afternoon.

 

Just a short note to say that last week I received some good news. Im happy to say that I completed my two year study on a Graduate Diploma in Law with excellent results.

 

Sifu

Good morning.

 

Im afraid I haven’t had the chance to post much recently, but I will attempt to catch up this week. I would like to start by following on from my last post and discuss the concept behind grading in martial arts in a little bit more detail. Whenever you raise this conversation between martial artists it tends to brings out a polarised result depending on their background: either they despise the idea or they think that the martial arts could not exist without it. It is quite a lengthy topic, but I will attempt to show, in brief, some of my views, which I hope are a balance somewhere in between these. However, I will first start by discussing some of its limitations.

 

One thing that is clear is that arrival of a grading system in mart ...

Good afternoon.

 

The teaching of the Biu Jee seminar last week was, without doubt, one of the most enjoyable seminars I have ever taught (and certainly the most tiring!!). Im sure that it will be remembered for a long time by those that attended.

 

However, it’s quite interesting that quite a few people do not really understand the purpose of having seminars at all, so I though that I would say a little about it. Im afraid I can only talk here about the schools under me here (and my Sifu’s) as the reasons differ quite radically from master to master, but I believe seminars have a key part to play in both the development of an individual and mastering the art of Wing Tsun.

 

Good afternoon.

 

It was lovely to see so many people at the seminar yesterday. After going through the theory of Biu Jee and its distinctive position in the Wing Tsun system we started on the applications of the forms, and applying its special force. This force in the Biu Jee is completely different to anything taught by other martial arts and allows you to increase your power and striking power by up to 50% over your own body level.

 

By the end of the evening there were many pages written and a lot of tired, hot people - but all smiling. It was also nice to see that Si-Mei Della’s classes are already starting to build, only 3 days after opening, with her first student also attended the seminar.

&a ...

Good morning.

 

Today is the first day of the Biu Jee seminar…

 

On separate point, I am aware that my last few posts have used quite a number of superlatives, but the last few weeks have genuinely been quite remarkable. And on Wednesday last week something truly exceptional happened.

 

Following my recent trip abroad my days were ever busier than normal. It was in the midst of rushing between various errands, which I had to complete before teaching, that I came across a rather expensive car slanted across the road. There is nothing un ...

Good morning.

 

Yesterday was a very special day for Wing Tsun. It concerned the opening of our new school in Dulwich. This in is itself was touching for myself, as it showed the development my instructors had gone through to be able to be in this position. Everyone one of the teachers had worked hard over the last few years to make this day possible. But, what made it so exceptional were the circumstances that surrounded it; Si-Mei Della became the first ever full-time female instructor of Chinese Wing Tsun in the UK. This is no small achievement, and is impressive not only because she is female, but because she had the courage to make the first step. There is no such thing as having an easy choice or situation to become a Wing Tsun teacher - not only does it require the requisite knowle ...

Good afternoon.

 

Later this week I will be teaching a four day seminar on the Wing Tsun Biu Jee form, which contains some of the highest level concepts, techniques and applications in the system. My seminar on this last year was the first time ever in Western Europe that a seminar on this topic was open to students of all levels.

 

In the history of Wing Tsun it has traditionally, over the last 300 years, only been taught to the most dedicated and highest level students. It is not for no reason that it is rarely taught; not only does it contain some of the most beautiful movements, but some of the most deadly. Indeed so secret was this form that the old master told their disciples ‘the Biu Jee never leaves the house.’