Good evening.
As promised I will say a few words about the forthcoming Chum Kiu seminar. I have written about this before, so you may be interested to also refer back to that post. It will now be the third time I have taught on this topic (which if you study Chinese Kung fu you will know that it is also traditionally an important number). There are quite a few reasons why I have repeated this seminar, not least because of the significant improvement that I have seen from all the students that have attended. The seminar was also one of the most requested by the students (and even the teachers). I also believe it is a truly enjoyable form to learn when you begin to master it.
While it is not the most glamorous of seminars (if you compare it to say knife defence or Chi-Gerk), I would go so far as to say that it is perhaps the most important seminar of the year. In essence Chum Kiu, along with its applications, is the training method that allows you to progress from simply training basic techniques to being able to defend against better, stronger and more skilled opponents. It teaches you specialist angles and tactics of fighting, along with new principles and a special kind of force. It also significantly improves your co-ordination and gives you the skills to begin to understand how your body operates; it builds and refines your nervous system to allow you to use it for the best possible effect. When I mentioned before about Chum Kiu being the crucial link between basic and advanced levels, this is what I was alluding to. I will, of course, be teaching all this and much more.
The Chum Kiu is, therefore, one of the most misunderstood parts of the Wing Tsun system. I think because of its unfashionable position as an ‘intermediate’ level, (and probably also ignorance of inherent complexity and depth) it is far too often glossed over and effectively ignored – banished to a series of techniques to be simply learnt for exams. Nothing could be further from the truth. The first seminar of my Sifu’s that I attended was indeed one on Chum Kiu. As someone who was already a professional teacher, I can tell you, astonished does not even cover my reaction to finding out its true intricacies. Chum Kiu, therefore, also has a special place in my heart. To put this depth in perspective, in the last seminar I was only able to cover about half of the form during the four days training, and that was with my normal teaching methods – 16 hours training and no breaks. I believe that some students took over 14 pages of notes.
In brief, the seminar next week will be divided into two groups: new attendees and those that were at the previous seminar. The first day will cover the theory and spiritual side of the art for everyone. The new students will then start learning Chum Kiu from the beginning of the form. The next 3 days will consist of working through this, being corrected on the movements and learning its applications. Those that previously attended will spend the first session recapping on what was taught before. This is no less important, and would urge those students to make an effort to attend as it will clarify information – in 6 months you inevitably forget quite a bit of what you learnt. The following 3 days will consist of in-depth training of the form, carrying on from where I finished last time. Never having taught the last part in a seminar before, you also have some exciting new information to look forward to - with plenty of previously unseen techniques being taught. On Sunday afternoon there will, of course, be the gradings.
If you haven’t received the information about the seminar, please do contact the school or speak to one of the teachers in person. As I said in a previous post, if you have the possibility to attend, even if only for one or two sessions, I would not waste it. This is probably the last time that I will teach a seminar on this topic for the immediate future.
Sifu