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“A warrior must only take care that his spirit is
never broken” – Shissai
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Lost Art of Wing Chun
Rick Spain
First Edition
© Rick Spain, Wing Chun Kung Fu Organisation, 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage or retrieval system now known or hereafter
invented without the prior permission in writing of the author.
Author: Rick Spain
Publisher: Mr Copy Digital Media Services
Editors: Amy Goodman and John Gintowt
ISBN: 978-0-9751885-5-2
Honour Roll
Red Belts:
Jon Church
Steve Reddaway
Andrew Nerlich
Deborah Peart
Sam Brownhill
Vadim Ozerianski
Maurice Llewellyn
Stuart Clayton
Andy Coombes
There are many Gold Belts worldwide therefore too many to
mention, you are however always on the Honour Roll
This book is dedicated to all of my students and coaches you have
Enriched my life beyond measure.
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Index
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Preface
7
Just a Country Boy
13
The Beginner’s Mind
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Principles of Wing Chun
29
Shot Selection
41
Road to the World Championship
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Footwork and Movement
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Flow
91
The Theory of Containment
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The Theory of Diminishment
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The Point of Most Resistance
103
Sil Lum Tao Form
107
Chi Sau
123
Bon Sau/Larp Sau, Cross Arm Chi Sau,
Trapping Hands
131
15. The Winning Mind
139
16. Conclusion
145
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Preface
There has been much written about Wing Chun and there are
vastly different historical accounts as well as viewpoints as to
what makes it work. I chose the title of “The Lost Art of Wing
Chun” because I have felt for many years Wing Chun has lost
its way or at least forgotten what it stood for when it was
being conceived. Developed during a time of civil war, it was
designed for mortal combat and is considered in some circles
as the first of the human styles. An aggressive no nonsense
system that has become a shadow of its former self, this is
due largely to the fact that during peace time the pressure to
evolve is no longer there and systems can become stagnant.
So it’s up to us to apply pressure to keep the system evolving,
and I do this by encouraging my students to compete in a
variety of different arenas – boxing, kickboxing, grappling,
cage fighting etc. Anywhere where we can continue to learn
and test ourselves.
There are different ideals in the Wing Chun systems around
the world. Some are more like curators of a museum,
keeping the system that they have in its original form and
you have to respect that. For me, personally, this system was
designed during a time of civil war and needed to basically
absorb what was available at the time from many different
sources. My perspective is that the system is in a continual
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state of evolution. This obviously does not sit well with all
Wing Chun exponents around the world, but at the end of
the day, that doesn’t really bother me. I think we’re staying
true to its original concepts and we will continue to evolve,
as I think that by doing this we are staying true to the original
protocols. This system was and will always be a mixed martial
art, influenced by the styles of the day, and as good as it was
no system is perfect from day one. When people question
what we do, I ask them to quantify Wing Chun. Is it the Chi
Sau, the forms, the wooden dummy? It’s all of these things
and none of these things. These aspects develop attributes,
skill sets, conditioning etc. When I watch my students spar, I
see the blocking system, the footwork, Chi Sau in the clinch,
the principles of the centreline, blindside, economy of
movement, all being applied every day. How can this not be
Wing Chun? Of course it is. This book is dedicated to
unlocking the system, understanding when a drill is just a drill
designed to condition or create a certain skill set. And not an
unrealistic pattern that will never happen in a live situation.
Its principles and guidelines are part of the belief system that
when applied correctly truly does become greater than the
sum of its parts.
The aim of this book is to discuss the principles, theories and
concepts of Wing Chun, so that when you’re practicing you
have a clearer understanding of what drives the system and
how to employ it more effectively and access real skill sets.
Training is not enough. It’s important sure but it’s not
enough. There has to be something driving the system. So, to
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me, Wing Chun is not just a series of movements. It is a series
of concepts, and ideas, strategy being driven by action. But
you have to have an understanding of what each training
technique, each form and each drill is developing for you what attributes are you getting from those drills and those
forms. When you understand that, when you have a clearer
picture of what’s actually happening during the drills,
techniques and so on, then you have a much clearer
understanding of your outcomes. And when you know what
your outcomes are, you are actually training with a level of
comprehension essential for taking ownership.
But theory is just that, it’s just theory. We have to then take
those principles, all those ideas and drive them, practice
them and achieve using them effectively in real time. That’s
really where your work ethic on the mat and understanding
of what it really is you’re trying to achieve that will enable
you to start tapping into something really special.
By definition, many martial artists are chronic ego maniacs,
pontificating from on high, while students bow to their
superior skills and knowledge, which further feeds the ego
and the almighty god complex. I’ve learnt some harsh lessons
over the years - just because you’re a good martial artist
doesn’t mean to say that you’re a good person. And martial
arts is not necessarily a path to spiritual enlightenment but
it’s a bloody good start. Many instructors say all the right
things while doing all the wrong things. Thankfully every now
and again you come across the real deal, someone whose
belief systems align with what they say and do. These
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remarkable people have had a profound and lasting effect on
me as a student and a coach. Ultimately, we must walk our
own path in life but always be open minded and take good
advice when it’s offered.
With the explosion of MMA now worldwide, and influencing
many of our future martial artists, I have noticed a grab bag
culture developing, the latest and greatest coolest technique.
We have to be careful of having a generation of martial
artists with loads of information and no real depth. When
young fighters see the superstars pull off amazing
techniques, they have to be aware of the depth of skill that
supports these techniques. Instructors and coaches can
sometimes be misguided into thinking that they must keep
the students entertained: giving them what they want and
not what they need. The system of Wing Chun I teach is a
different animal from the one I was introduced to some 35
years ago. It has evolved and this book is an insight into the
points of difference - what I think makes it work and why.
Our mat has a culture of questioning everything. If the mat
you’re on doesn’t encourage questions get out of there. At
times we have had to be prepared, willing and able to
question the status quo, to rock the boat. If I’ve learnt one
lesson in life it’s that everything changes. If theory and
application cannot be matched, I want to know why. I need
to be able to quantify why we do things the way we do and
test and measure the outcomes. These are simply my
opinions on a system that has at times seemed to have lost
its way and forgotten the laws of physics and combat
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psychology .This book is dedicated to all the great coaches
I’ve had the great fortune to work with and to any martial
artist out there with the heart to have a go.
So I hope you enjoy the book. I hope you understand where
I’m coming from and that this will be something that you can
use as a guideline towards more fruitful training and
achieving better results on the mat.
Sincerely,
Rick Spain
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1
Just a Country Boy
I grew up in a small town on a small farm in New Zealand in a
very happy and free environment. I never knew my father
and as a young boy looked to my grandfather for fatherly
advice. To me he was a gregarious and larger than life
character, a ratbag in his youth he became deeply religious
and a devoted husband and father. He was and always will be
a great influence on my outlook on life. My mother gave
birth to me when she was very young after falling in love with
my father, who went on to be a notorious bank robber and
escapee. Regardless of his poor choices in life, they loved
each other dearly but were destined to spend the rest of
their lives separated, as he spent most of his on the run. So I
grew up on the tail end of five uncles and six aunties
practically as their youngest brother. The boys were a rowdy
bunch and formed their own gang (so to speak) called the
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Spanish Rovers: more interested in chasing girls than fighting
I’m sure. That being said, I remember watching them beating
the tar out of each other out the back with crappy old boxing
gloves, something I was soon introduced to. Years later my
auntie married the Karate legend, Gary Spiers, and meeting
him was a part of my growing fascination with the martial
arts. There wasn’t really much exposure to martial arts in my
era in the sleepy hollow of Tasman in New Zealand. It wasn’t
until 1973 that I began to train in Kyokushin Karate at the
local Scout Hall and had a chance to experience a structured
training environment. My friends and I used to go and train
there twice a week, sometimes three if we could. The
difficult thing for me, I guess, was because of the peer group
that I was in not everyone took it seriously and that was
difficult for me because I really wanted to immerse myself in
it. And, sadly, when my family and I moved away from
Tasman I didn’t have a chance to train in a class environment
for about another three years.
I left home at 15 and started working in shearing sheds in the
Hawkes Bay region of New Zealand and that is probably one
of the hardest jobs on the planet: up at four o’clock in the
morning, finishing at five, six or seven at night and on the go
all day, it doesn’t matter how old you are you have to pull
your weight. So at 15 I was earning a man’s wage doing a
man’s job and it toughened me and prepared me for what
was ahead. After leaving the shearing gang in 1976, I drifted
for a while, thought I’d try being a hippy but that didn’t work
out so great (way too angry to be a hippy). Months later, I
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found myself in Auckland living with a couple of hippy
friends, contemplating what I was going to do with myself.
During this time, Master William Cheung had a
representative doing Wing Chun there and William Chung
had recently been over on a visit. It just so happened that my
girlfriend at the time worked at the same restaurant as one
of his students. One afternoon, as I was waiting for her to
finish her shift after yum cha, I was standing at the corner of
the alleyway just killing time and I saw two guys in the back
of the restaurant doing double armed Chi Sau. I recognised it
instantly because of photos of Yip Man and Bruce Lee, so I
politely approached these guys and asked them who they
trained with. The said that they trained with a guy called
Sonny, who was William Chung’s representative in Auckland
and that William was Bruce Lee’s senior student, the
grandmaster of Wing Chun and that he was teaching in
Melbourne. I made a decision on the spot that I would do
everything I could to get to Melbourne to continue my
training. At the time I was working in a factory as a welder
and I saved up my pennies and flew to Melbourne within a
few months. I was fortunate to have some contacts in
Melbourne who could put me up for a little while until I
eventually moved into a studio apartment not far from the
school. My whole purpose in life was to get as close to the
school as possible.
I began training in 1977 with Grandmaster William Chung. I
had just turned 17 and it was the most fantastic experience
for me as a young man just to be suddenly immersed in this
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really well organised and professional school. It was huge.
The training hall was massive, there was a gymnasium and
change rooms, showers, a yoga room, solariums, you name
it. The place was just so well organised, and to be in a proper
kung fu training hall with polished wooden floors, weapons
up on the wall and all Chinese characters and everything - it
was just so inspirational, a dream come true.
17 years old... living the dream
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Being exposed to someone of William Chung’s calibre was
just an amazing experience. He was probably in his prime at
that point - in his late 30’s and through to his 50’s he was just
a machine. The stories abound of his training with Bruce Lee
and the martial connection to Yip Man by only one
generation was an amazing thing to be involved in. He was
without a doubt a pioneer in Wing Chun and still is. I think he
brought in more scientific principles than anybody previously
and even though people don’t like to say it -perhaps because
they think they’re teaching the pure and unadulterated
version - he evolved the system without a doubt. It was
certainly the most dynamic version of Wing Chun I’d ever
seen, and I’d looked around.
Star struck teenager (in what seems to be a really ill fitting suit)
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I had a great opportunity, and didn’t waste it. I was a
dedicated student. I trained extremely hard and eventually
gave up work to train fulltime. I was literally at the school all
day. I was never idle. I was either lifting weights, stretching,
kicking, punching, doing forms - I was continually on the
move. I think this caught his eye. After a couple of years he
gave me the fantastic opportunity of living in the school with
two other students. Before moving into the school we had
lived together, the three of us, Phillip Fisher and Allen
DePour and me. These guys were just like me, incredibly
dedicated and really focused on their martial training and
totally nuts. We had no idea what we really wanted to do
with our careers. We didn’t know if we wanted to become
professional martial artists or fighters or open schools, we
were just so caught up in the passion of training and being in
such a great training environment. Anyway, we moved into
the school. I slept in the solarium room and Phillip and Alan
had two prefabricated rooms off the back of the Yoga school.
It was training heaven and it was Spartan. We literally had
one gas cooker and two, maybe three, pots, so we were
living a very sparse lifestyle and working part-time or
whatever we could do to earn a little extra cash to pay for
our training. Because you eat like a horse when you train that
much, money was always being ploughed into food bills. But
it was probably the most fun time I can remember in my
whole life. You just felt like the whole world was your oyster you woke up sleeping on the floor and you’d walk out the
door and you’re in a Kung Fu school. It was just fantastic. We
all became very close friends, and had a lot of laughs. We
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used to play all sorts of silly games, one being that if we
could sneak up on each other we could give each other a clip
around the head or a kick up the arse, which kept us on a
continual state of red alert. It was a fun game until it started
to get a little dangerous, when people started to get hurt.
But the point is these guys and those memories of training in
that school are just priceless.
The Originals: Allen, Marc, Julian, me and Phillip.
I started competing in 1978, when I turned 18. I was gifted
with good flexibility and I was a fast kicker but I needed to do
a lot work on my hand speed. Joe Moahengi, the World
Heavyweight Kung Fu Champion, was a great friend and
would visit the school when he was over from New Zealand
from time to time and stay with us. He was a brilliant boxer
and I remember sparring with him one day and he cleaned
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me up with a left hook. I’d been trying to counterpunch him
all day with no luck. I was trying everything but I just couldn’t
tag him cleanly and Sifu came over to me and said “You’re
too slow to be a counterpuncher.” That absolutely frustrated
and annoyed the shit out of me. I look back at it and I know
now that he said it on purpose because he knew what kind of
person I was. So I just went straight off and thought “Right,
I’m going to figure out every single way to increase my hand
speed”. I started doing plyometric work and explosive
Olympic weights. My philosophy was, ok, well, who are the
fastest guys on the planet? Easy, sprinters. I thought that the
fast twitch fibres in the thighs must be found throughout
your whole body because we’re built that way. So I went to
the Melbourne Olympic Stadium and watched the track and
field team prepare for the 1980 Olympics. You were allowed
to simply walk in as there was no security back in those days.
I just brought a pair of runners, a pair of spikes and I started
copying what they were doing. I must’ve looked a little
awkward because one of the coaches came over and said
“Who the hell are you and what team are you in?” I told him
that I wasn’t in any team and that I was just trying to get a bit
fitter and a lot faster. So this guy actually allowed me to start
doing some drills with some of the athletes (he must have
felt sorry for me), in particular, our long jumping champion
Gary Honey who won gold at the Commonwealth Games
and silver that year at the Olympics. So as I physically
developed, my hand speed improved and I became a much
more balanced fighter.
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Sifu and I early tournament 1978.
I competed successfully in local tournaments before I was
selected to fight in Hong Kong in the World Titles. Probably
the hardest thing I ever had to do during that time was
compete against another fellow student who was one of my
seniors. Marco Maytak was someone that I really looked up
to. He was one of the hardest men I’ve ever known and a
great middleweight competitor. It was basically down to him
and me as to who was going to go to Hong Kong. Don’t get
me wrong, I really wanted to go, but I felt he was my senior
and that he should have the right of way. But in his infinite
wisdom and great humility he said no you’re the right man
for the job. So we sparred to see where we were at. I owe a
lot to guys like him. He helped me mature as a fighter. He
insisted that I go on the team and that was Sifu’s consensus
as well. It was a difficult for me though, because I really
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admired Marco and I always will. It took a lot of courage to
do what he did. I think he would have been successful over
there as a fighter. He probably would’ve gone all the way.
Anyway, selection for the 1982 World Titles were held in the
Melbourne town hall (a big venue for us back in the day). I
also fight two of my other friends from New Zealand who had
decided to go down to middleweight. When we picked them
up from the airport I asked “Why? This is my weight division.
Shit, I hope I don’t have to fight you guys.” And luck of the
draw is I get Wayne first fight and Lolo in the semi finals. So I
had some fairly tough fights mentally, because you’re
fighting guys that you know and that you respect but I think
this helps you develop a fairly steely resolve and it made me
a stronger and more disciplined fighter .
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In action against Zenin.
The day I remember maturing into a fighter that had some
potential was, when in the finals of the Australasian
Championship’s previous year I’d had to fight Zenin Geronski.
He was a brilliant and accomplished Kickboxer and had
actually challenged up a division from welterweight to
middleweight because he got ripped off with a poor decision
in the welterweight division. So he decided to go up into the
middleweights and I was in the finals. We fought ourselves to
a standstill and it wasn’t until that fight - he had vast
experience compared to me. I was probably only on my
twelfth fight, he was probably on about a hundred - it wasn’t
until that day that I realised that I could stand up and
compete against an international quality competitor and hold
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my own at a relatively young age with not a lot of experience.
So that gave me a great boost in confidence to move towards
the world titles.
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2
The Beginner’s Mind
“As the physically weak man can make himself strong by
careful and patient training, so the man of weak thoughts
can make them strong my exercising himself in right
thinking.” - RNS
Training for me has and always will be a spiritual experience.
No other thing in my life has the ability to centre me, to
make me totally aware of being in the present. I neither look
back or forward but am totally focussed on the now.
Training has shaped me mentally physically and spiritually
and the mat is my church, it has brought me many wonderful
experiences the most valuable being the amazing people that
have shared the path with me, coaches, students and friends
alike that have taught, inspired me and nurtured me.
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Training in Martial Arts is not guaranteed to be the pathway
to enlightenment but it’s a damn good place to start. My
journey has been a bumpy one. I have made many mistakes
in my life but have always tried to remember the lesson and
there always is one.
I find great inspiration in books written by great individuals,
people who have experienced great hardships and risen from
the ashes – or made great sacrifice to change themselves or
the circumstances surrounding them, inspiring countless
others to raise the bar - real heroes that possess that unique
quality and understand the triumph of the spirit.
Training allows us to examine our limitations and say no to
them, we are creatures of unlimited potential yet we seldom
reach anything like it, hard training , self denial and
introspection are pathways but the toll is heavy and not for
everyone.
To take on knowledge requires us to posses the beginner’s
mind, which is to be open and accepting of what we do not
know.
As a coach my time with my students is spent in the service
of their needs, and I see it as an opportunity for me to learn.
How can I be a better coach? Can I convey the message more
accurately? The mat should not be a platform for the coach
to stroke his or her ego.
When choosing a school choose wisely. Listen to the coach
and watch his or her methods. You will spend a great many
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hours over many years on the mat with these individuals. The
ability to question and have an open book mentality is
essential. Forget about the secret methods and closed door
bullshit. Things are revealed when you’re getting good
coaching and are engaged, receptive and possess a beginners
mind. This stuff is hard enough without having critical
information withheld.
“The beginner sees a thousand options the expert only a
few.”
Post tournament with Zenin. I absolutely loved the thrill of competition.
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3
Principles of Wing Chun
“Principles and theories are just that, they must be driven by
men of action.” - RNS
Okay, let’s briefly discuss the principles of Wing Chun. You
have to look at the principles from the perspective that there
is rarely a singular perfect solution for any particular problem
- it’s usually a combination of elements - and to understand
that the principles are sometimes just guidelines and that
they are not always written in stone. Adaptability,
improvisation and having a contingency plan play a major
role in the success of any situation.
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Operating on the Centreline
It makes total sense that you put something between you
and your opponent. Most guards are designed that way.
Operating on the centreline means you have covered the
most direct pathway between your opponent and yourself.
But you have to understand that you cannot be in the
centreline at all times: you operate in and around the
centreline and sometimes through the centreline. The point
I’m making is a tennis player holds the racket in the centre of
his body and prepares to accept the serve, but the split
second something happens he’ll break away from the
centreline to do a forehand or a backhand (ok no one’s trying
to punch a tennis player in the face but you get my point ). So
these guidelines, these principles are designed to give you a
position or a place to operate from, but it’s not something
you can achieve all of the time. It just makes sense to come
back into the holding pattern of keeping your hands floating
in the centre. The reason why boxing operates around the
centreline is because of the size of the gloves. If you take the
gloves away, the guard will close down and become more
centralised. Remember, you may operate in the centreline
but you will have to bend that rule in order to survive.
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Watching the Elbows and Knees
Using your eyes effectively is an essential component to elite
performance. Understanding how our eyes interact with our
brain is called visuomotor coordination and is in the field of
cognitive psychology. Elite athletes master gaze control using
their eyes much more effectively than a novice. This is usually
described as the quiet eye. The three main actions of gaze
control are: targeting tasks (striking), interceptive timing
tasks (blocking) and tactical tasks (reading the state of play
and winning the battle). The ability to rapidly shift your focus,
anticipate correctly and recognise patterns are just a few of
the cognitive skills critical in martial arts. It is a scientifically
proven fact that the elbows and knees move up to three
times slower than the hands and the feet so watching them
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makes sense, and they are the axis points of your primary
weapons. Again, this is a guideline because you cannot watch
both elbows and both knees simultaneously. What I
encourage my students to do is focus on centre mass and be
aware that the elbows and knees will give you a clearer
indication of what type of strike is coming or what type of
movement is being employed by focusing on those areas as
needed. For example, looking at centre mass and imagining
there is a circle that starts at the centre and travels through
the elbows and knees and any time something breaks the
circle you shift your focus to that area, we call this the
spotlight effect. This is why fakes and setups are so valuable
because you can fool someone into thinking something’s
happening on one line when the real attack is on another. All
in all, you have to learn to read body language as a whole. It’s
not enough to just watch the elbows and knees. You have to
become a master of reading and interpreting all types of
body movement to create the best possible outcomes.
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50/50 Weight Displacement
Similar to the principle of operating on the centreline, prior
to attack or defence, you have to find a balanced athletic
stance, with your weight distribution approximately 50/50.
You must have your weight lightly on your heels and
predominantly on the balls of your feet. This lends itself to
being much more athletic and gives you a better start, very
similar to a sprinter coming out of the blocks. 50/50 weight
displacement is a holding pattern, it’s where you might start
from and where you might move to in between defence or
attacking sequences, but it’s not something that you can do
all of the time. When you’ve got to go you’ll probably have to
go hard. It is simply a holding pattern that you flow in and
out of while you’re in combat. Trying to maintain 50/50
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weight displacement while moving makes your footwork
clunky and unrealistic.
Don’t Fight Force with Force
This is a great principle if you can get it right. There’s a saying
in our system “technique beats strength every time” but you
have to realise that muscles are your friends and that there
are going to be times, regardless of how much you try to
employ this principle, that you’re going to have to muscle
through some techniques. So that’s why it pays to be
conditioned: strong, flexible and fast, basically an athlete.
And if you don’t train as an athlete you won’t get the results
of an athlete and therefore you won’t fight as an athlete. So I
simply encourage my students to not fight force with force
whenever they can avoid it, but if the shit hits the fan and
you need to muscle through then you better have something
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to back it up. The point of least resistance is also a part of this
principle but remember the point of least resistance is a
combat principle not a training principle. Everything we do
on the mat is designed to overcompensate for what we
might need in sparring, wrestling or in fighting and defending
ourselves on the street. So remember don’t fight force with
force if you can and look for the point of least resistance at
all times, but remember this is something that cannot be
done 100% of the time. It is again as I said, a combination of
many things in combat that allow us drive the machine.
Creating Openings
Creating openings is really a universal principle. Other
systems understand the principle of faking or drawing
(drawing a response) for example, faking low draws the
guard down and then the opening is up high. Creating
openings is not unique to Wing Chun. It’s a universal principle
that all systems should employ. However, we have a very
strong system of creating openings, drawing, pushing and
pinning. Again, if you look at my trapping hands DVD, you’ll
see all of these principles applied, all of those attack
sequences utilising the principle of creating openings.
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Attacking the Blindside
“If your attack is going too well, you have walked into an
ambush.”
- Infantry Journal
Our system is evolved in such a way now that we are always
looking whenever possible, even when we’re on the inside,
to escape to the outside. We are looking to get the blindside
and then ultimately to get the back. We’ve developed a
whole series of techniques that allow us to get to the back. If
you’re standing in front of your opponent, centreline to
centreline, there are numerous ways to do this. It may take
an opponent feeding you something like a punch, a push, or
a kick, or you may set them up with arm drags, duck-unders
etc. Getting the blindside is easier when your opponent is
committed to some sort of forward movement but you can
actually pull it off both defensively and offensively. I can
initiate the sequence, get a response and then feed off that
and start getting to the back. If we get the back then look at
our theory of containment and consider our best options
when we have our opponent in our strike zone, ideally we
want them facing the opposite way. It doesn’t sound like it’s
a fair fight - they very rarely are - but if I see an opportunity
to expose the back or the blindside, then I’ll do everything
within my power to make that happen.
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Economy of Movement
In so much that we have a limited, or what I call a capped
energy reserve (you will gas out eventually), we must use the
principle of economy of movement as often as possible. This
is why a high level of technical skill is essential as it means
maximum outcome for least amount of effort. This applies to
all aspects of your game. Sloppy technique can cost you
dearly in more ways than one. Even elite athletes from time
to time will admit that certain aspects of their game are still
under construction and in need of technical refinements. This
applies to everything from the way you hit the bag to the
way you run or swing a kettle bell. There’s a technique to
everything. I have rolled with many black belts new to
grappling and always find that as they run out of ideas they
fall back into white belt mode and try to use brute strength.
Then, all I need to do is wait until they gas out then go in for
the kill, because when you gas you die. So remember smooth
and fluid technique and economy of movement is essential
to survival.
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Simultaneous Block and Strike
“Make it too tough for the enemy to get in and you can't get
out.”
This is a brilliant principle, but one that can be very
frustrating to get to work. This leads the student to become
disappointed when he cannot employ that principle. Let me
put it a different way, I would like, in a perfect world, to be
able to block and strike at the exact same moment, so that
my punch lands at the same moment of impact or contact as
the block. Sadly, this very rarely happens because in real time
we have a tendency to be either blocking or striking, but not
doing both together. So let’s change the way we look at it. It
is much more realistic that at the point of initiating the block
to immediately start attacking, so that yes you are blocking,
and the strike is happening simultaneously but the timing of
impact are not going to be identical. What this means is that
the defensive mechanism that we have naturally and the
trained response (the counter strike) that occurs with
repetition will be the counter strike trying to come out or
trying to get on to your opponent as quickly as possible but
very rarely at exactly the same time. However, the
movements are happening in the same sequence. So it is a
simultaneous block and strike, just don’t obsess with the
points of impact happening at exactly the same time because
it very rarely if ever happens. In a controlled environment on
the mat, demonstrating techniques, of course you can pull it
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off, but you’re counting cards. You know exactly what your
partner’s doing: he’s feeding you a punch at half speed.
You’ve already got a predetermined sequence in your head
and you’re just counting cards. It’s not real, it’s not real time.
This is one of those principles that if you pulled it off
perfectly, like you did in a demonstration, it might happen
once in a lifetime. The principle of simultaneous block and
strike still makes sense, however. To block and be countering
in the same sequence but not necessarily making contact at
the exact same time.
Utilising Touch Reflexes
We know now that Chi Sau develops a high level of touch
reflex. Touch reflexes are not unique to Wing Chun, other
systems have variations of Chi Sau. All they are trying to do,
as we are in Wing Chun, is develop certain attributes that will
allow us to interpret our opponent’s movements and his
intent through touch. It’s harder to fool someone through
touch than it is through set-ups and fakes. You’ll get a more
accurate read on what your opponent or partner’s doing
based on how you’re responding to the pressures of the
touch reflex training. That being said, Chi Sau is an invaluable
tool in your clinch work because clinch work, wrestling and
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu all employ touch reflexes, if not employ
them predominately. That’s why our system of Wing Chun,
and I think all systems of Wing Chun who do good quality Chi
Sau, will become very good at clinching, wrestling and
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu very quickly because you already have that
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foundation. You’ve already got the neural pathways already
laid so you don’t have to start from scratch.
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4
Shot Selection
“If the enemy is in range, so are you.”
- Infantry Journal
By shot selection I mean picking the appropriate weapon, at
the appropriate time, angle, and distance. It is no different
than a tennis player choosing to do a forehand versus a
backhand versus a lob or a volley. This comes about as the
battlefield is continuing in a state of flux. In other words,
your opponent is moving and you are moving. Shot selection
is critical because we get into habits when we’re practicing.
We practice in a compliant atmosphere, my partner throws a
front kick, I block or step to the side or move into the
blindside or the pocket as we sometimes call it and I throw a
triple punch or a low round kick, or whatever. Now if I get
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caught up into habit forming, that triple punch may be
inappropriate because, if I do the exact same block or the
same defence against a side kick the angles change quite
dramatically and if you step in and throw triple punch you’re
going to be throwing it to the back of the head and you’re
going to break your knuckles. So what I’m getting at is that
shot selection is a critical component, it’s a part of your basic
strategy in combat. So pick the appropriate weapon. It’s no
different to a Jiu Jitsu player getting really good at a
particular technique. He’ll find a dozen different ways to get
into the position to apply the technique and he will be driven
to do that by his personality or skill sets. Now when we’re
fighting with our hands and feet and when we’re free styling,
it’s very important that we have the right shot at the right
time and angle and to develop the skill sets to know what
shots are the most effective. I often get on top of my
students for being lazy: they’ll do a standard shot that
they’re accustomed to and they’ll do it from an angle that’s
inappropriate, or from the wrong distance that’s because
they’re caught up in that habit forming process of doing what
they want rather than what they need to do. Know your
angles and know your distance. If the distance is incorrect
you have two choices, if you’re a natural puncher and you’re
out of punching range you have to learn to bridge and that’s
a footwork issue. If you’re a natural puncher and you’re too
close you’ll need to fade back. If you want to save time you
should use a different strike. If you’re too far away for
punching then your kicking game comes in to play, if you’re
too close to strike with punches then elbows and knees come
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into play. There are appropriate strikes for that exact
distance but if you want to go to the strongest part of your
game then you’re going to have to learn to develop footwork
skills and distancing skills that allow you to tap into that. At
the end of the day, there is almost always a perfect strike at
that range and angle, and seasoned fighters always seem to
find the shot. So that’s why in our version of Wing Chun we
have a multiple striking system. Whenever you’re at a
particular angle there is a strike that fits that angle and that
line and that length. Chain punching is not enough - you can’t
win a tennis match at elite levels with just a forehand. Shot
selection is a critical part of the game, so don’t get caught up
in habits where you’re throwing shots that are really
ineffective and are not going to make it in the real world. I
teach my students very carefully, very purposefully to pick
the right angle, the right length and the right line.
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5
The Road to the World
Championship
My preparation for the world championships started one
year out. A typical training day would start at 4.30 am with a
light snack and then off for a 10 km run. As soon as I got back
I would perform 100 squats nonstop with 60 kg, between 300
– 500 push ups and 500 – 1000 ab movements depending on
what my workload that day was. Breakfast, rest, then head
into the school for class. Afternoons were filled with sparring
and strength conditioning, followed by two more classes in
the evening. I have always been an advocate of weight
training and at a body weight of 75 kg I was benching 130 kg
and squatting close to 200 kg. These were not world records
by any means but I was without doubt the strongest in my
division when I got to Hong Kong.
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Beach training 1982, just prior to leaving for Hong Kong (a well placed
front kick to the solar plexus).
Sprints played a big factor in my prep, as fighting is both
anaerobic and aerobic. I was running 11 seconds consistently
and my lungs had never been stronger. During that year I
never missed a workout or sparring session and I attribute
my durability to having spent hundreds of rounds in the ring
with Joe who was continually giving me pointers. After years
of training with a man of his calibre, fighting guys my own
weight was relatively easy.
I studied diet and nutrition and strength and conditioning
and devoured books on the subjects. When it came time to
leave for Hong Kong I don’t think there was anything more I
could have done.
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The flight over was an experience in itself. I had never been
further than New Zealand so 12 hours on a plane was a bit
weird. Not wanting to lose condition (and probably due to
nerves too) I spent most of the flight stretching and training
at the back of the plane. I’ve never been one for sitting still
for that long.
Chris, myself and Arnold preparing to board.
When we arrived we were all shocked at the temperature
and humidity, close to 100%. I had never felt anything like it.
Hong Kong was amazing with a massive population in such a
small space. I literally could not believe how crowded it was
(remember I grew up on a farm). We were like a bunch of
school kids ogling at the local police force with submachine
guns, security guys standing outside jewellery stores with riot
guns, scary. Just about the entire comp stayed at the
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Miramar Hotel in Kowloon so everyone immediately started
eyeing off the competition. At the banquet, that evening, the
UK heavyweight (about 6”6’ and 120 kg) came around each
table trying to psyche out the heavyweights. When he got to
our table he tried menacing Joe, who was in a dark blazer so
he didn’t look that big. Joe proceeded to take his jacket off
and flex a little jokingly, the UK bloke walked away quite
quickly.
The next morning we went for a training run and it was a
nightmare: even in the morning it was just so damn humid
and the smog was murder. After that run, I decided that I
would be better off not training at all. The next big problem
was the food. Don’t get me wrong I love Chinese food but it’s
not my staple diet. For me it’s a treat. My body type requires
a lot of protein to perform and let’s just say when you’re
bringing in bus loads of fighters to eat you kind of go for
quantity, perhaps not quality. You can see from the photos of
me at the airport to the morning of the weigh in I was
starting to lose condition.
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The weigh-in (losing condition fast).
I remember on the day we went to Queen Elizabeth Stadium
for the ceremonial rehearsals being in awe of how big the
place was (you could probably fit two of them inside the Acer
Arena). I walked out from behind the stands to see the crew
setting up the mats and it was at that moment I realised the
gravity of what we were doing.
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Rehearsal
Comp Day
Finally, comp day arrived and I find out I was not in the first
draw. I was both pissed off and relieved as I could have a look
at some of the talent. Alan Stewart, our lightweight, is up
first against the Canadian lightweight champ. Alan was a
great little fighter with a Tae Kwon Do background before he
started training with us. It was a brutal fight, fairly evenly
matched until the Canadian hit him with a beautiful left hook
which dropped Alan. I was screaming at him to get up. I
remember him looking over at me and I could tell he was
hurt bad but he still got up, only to get knocked down again.
He was simply too damaged to continue.
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So we experienced our first fight and our first loss. I took Alan
back to the hotel. He was devastated, a year of hard graft
and it was over in a few minutes. He rebounded quickly
though and became invaluable in the corner.
Next up was Chris Wilson, our light heavyweight, an excopper with a strong boxing background up against the
Malaysian champ. Chris destroyed this bloke and it was our
first win and did wonders for team morale.
Day 2
The next night Joe and I finally get to fight. I went up against
another Malaysian fighter (they had a huge team of about
20+ fighters). I came out of the blocks like a mad man. I was
frustrated, I guess, watching and cornering the action. After a
furious three minutes of what was pretty much one way
traffic he couldn’t answer the bell for the next round.
Victory! I remember thinking no matter what happens
nothing can take that away. Later that night, Joe fought the
South East Asian heavyweight champ and it was just
beautiful murder. So here we were, two days in and 3 and 1,
we were ecstatic.
Day 3
We spent the day sightseeing and trying to relax. We had
been using Wong Shun Leung’s school as a training base so
we spent some time there in the afternoon. It felt amazing to
be amongst such Wing Chun legends.
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That night Chris Fought the American champion. He put in a
great effort but sadly lost by decision. The American went on
to win the light heavyweight division so no loss of face there.
Joe had a bye as there weren’t a lot of heavy weights in the
division. We had however had a look at the UK champion in
action and I was impressed. He was huge but he moved well,
with very strong kicks and solid hands. He simply
overwhelmed his opponent.
My next bout was against a Dutch fighter. I really knew
nothing about him but found out pretty quickly Dutch
fighters are hard bastards. We had a real slugfest: I took the
decision but broke three toes on my right foot, not to
mention multiple contusions. I had arrived and there was no
doubt it was only going to get harder from here on in.
Day 4
A day trip to the new provinces and a visit to Yip Man’s grave,
it was a sombre moment but added depth to the whole
experience. A nervous afternoon resting in the hotel fretting
over injuries and I had no idea how bad it was going to get.
That evening I took on a Burmese fighter, who was extremely
talented with a strong all-round game. My concern over my
injury evaporated when the bell went: you’re so full of
adrenaline it doesn’t really register. I used my height and
reach advantage to neutralise his game and as the battle
went on my confidence soared. And then it happened, in the
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closing seconds of the last round I threw a hard right cross
just as he dipped his head. Making contact with his temple I
felt my knuckle implode on impact. The pain shot up my arm
like an electric shock. The round finished and I had the win. I
was in the semis.
That night I witnessed one of the worst injuries I had ever
seen. Two lightweight fighters were squaring off for their
bout, the Hong Kong fighter was going through some
elaborate forms as the Thai fighter went through his pre-fight
ritual. The referee called them forward and the bout started.
The Hong Kong fighter charged in on the sprint. The Thai
fighter launched a perfectly timed jumping knee right in the
eye socket of his opponent. It looked like he had been hit by
a massive paintball, his face just exploded. The crowd was
stunned. As he slumped to the mat he looked like he was
dead. Our warm up area was behind the stands, a few metres
away from the first aid room (not a good idea). This poor guy
was stretchered off with a fractured eye socket, collapsed
cheek bone and heavy concussion – his head actually
changed shape. We saw a few stretchered off but nothing
like that.
When we arrived back at the hotel, and the extent of my
injury started to sink in, I had a moment of complete
stupidity – what if we can line up the bones and improve it a
little? So the boys held me down as our team manager
started to try and manipulate the hand – not with any skill
mind you –wrenching the fingers around to no avail. So after
making it worse I had a painful and pretty sleepless night.
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Day 5
The next morning I went to Sifu to break the bad news, it
looked pretty bleak. We discussed our options. Personally, I
felt we had come too far to let it slip away. So Sifu took me to
his herbalist and we soaked the hand in his Iron Palm formula
for a few hours and wore a poultice for the day. It was quite
amazing how quickly the medicine worked. The bruising had
already gone yellow by the evening and the swelling had
subsided considerably.
That evening the gods were with me, as I stood in my corner
ready for my semi final bout, my hand stuffed into a glove
and taped up, my opponent forfeited due to injury meaning I
had another 24 hours to rest the hand. I also got a chance to
have a good look at the man I would meet in the finals, a tall
and lanky Aussie boy that had caught my attention a couple
of nights before. This guy was about 6’3” or more with
massive reach and a brutal spinning kick, one of my favourite
weapons as well. He cut his semi final opponent in half with
it and I knew that I had to be very very wary of it.
Joe had the last bout of the night against the Malaysian
heavyweight and was pushed for the first time until he
scored a last round knockout, securing his berth in the finals
against the giant from the UK.
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Day 6
At last a week of massive highs and devastating lows was
nearing an end. Our team morale was extremely high with
only a little reserve of the fact I was a bit mangled and Joe
had to fight a giant. Other than that, we had represented
unified and undaunted.
I kept to myself for most of the day, this can be a good thing,
of course, but sometimes the dynamics of the team (mostly
acting like idiots) are a welcome distraction as the day
seemed to last forever.
So once again as I prepared for the finals, the hand was
stuffed into a glove and taped shut. This was it, the moment
of truth. Sifu was calm and that had a really positive effect on
me.
I remember touching gloves with my opponent and
whispering “let’s give them a real show mate” and then it
was on! Without doubt he was the tallest guy I had ever
fought in the ring or on the mat. I had to change my fight
plan, for the first time I didn’t have the reach advantage and
those spinning kicks were lethal. I kept exploding in and
trying to take the fight away from him up close – all those
sprint sessions finally paid off.
Fighting primarily off one side was frustrating but once I was
inside I was much stronger. Rips, hooks, knees and elbows
became my primary weapons. We fought ourselves literally
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to a standstill giving it our all, when he threw his trademark
spin kick I managed to sneak inside it and avoid any damage.
I got the call from Sifu at one minute to go in the final round
and I just threw everything I had, every kick and punch
combo I had left and managed to keep driving him back over
the line until the final bell – the decision.
Standing there in my corner so nervous, waiting for the
decision, your mind plays funny tricks on you. I kept saying to
Sifu “I don’t know if I did enough”. He kept saying “you’ve got
it, you’ve got it”.
At that moment when the ref raised my hand, I nearly
collapsed. All that hard graft, the thousands of rounds that
lead to that moment...an indescribable feeling.
King for a day.
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It’s party time!
The who’s who of Hong Kong Kung Fu.
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How happy is Sifu.
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6
Footwork and Movement
Movement is simply the cornerstone of our system. The
ability to close, evade, create angles and absorb impact is
critical. The elements of posture, stance, centre of gravity
and overall balance have to be mastered and the drills used
to do this must accurately reflect your needs in combat.
Movement also refers to slipping, ducking, weaving, changing
levels and simply anything that allows you to evade or
minimise injury while giving you the option to counter.
We must remember Wing Chun is a boxing style with a
relatively limited kicking arsenal on the street and therefore
needs to be addressed on some levels like a boxing system.
But unlike a boxing system we have options to grab, pin,
push or trap, which require a different set of developmental
drills.
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So this chapter will concentrate firstly on moving the body
upright, then some specific head movement and level change
drills.
Posture and Stance
Even though the battlefield is in a constant state of flux and
our guard will change according to our needs it is important
to address our opponent in the correct stance: feet slightly
wider than our shoulders and body angled at 45°, evenly
balanced, but with weight not sitting too heavily on the heels
and knees bent, basically an athletic stance - ready for
movement in any direction.
Long range guard
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Mid range guard
Zero range guard (the Visor)
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The Falling Step
As you push off the back foot you are literally falling forward.
When you land on the front foot you create a stretch reflex in
the lead leg. This energy can then be transferred directly into
a punch an elbow or even a level change.
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The Shuffle Step
This step will give you an extra half metre as you slide the
back foot up behind and beside your front foot, great for
covering distance and setting up kicks.
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The Half Cut
The half cut allows you to create sharp angles while you are
on the blindside and toe to toe, keeping your opponent
within the strike zone, also an effective step for arm drags off
your rear arm ,drive the back foot across and pivot off the
lead.
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The Full Cut
If you are blindsided yourself the full cut can get your
centreline back onto your opponent, allowing you to take
back control of the frontal plane, drive the front foot back
and pivot on the rear
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The Open Cut
The open cut enables you to control the distance and angles
while on the blindside If the guard is crossed, also an
effective step for arm drags off the lead hand
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Entry Technique
This movement is used when you want to bridge the gap just
beyond kicking range (basically it’s a high shoot). It is critical
that you compress your core and stay behind the shield of
the shin and arm guard and lunge forward off the back foot
keeping the centre of gravity low, I prefer to attach this to a
level change – such as a double leg takedown – for optimum
results.
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Footnote
This represents a large portion of our footwork. Once you
become proficient at these movements attach strikes,
punches, kicks, knees etc. Combining all the steps add level
changes, head movement, increase the complexity so that
your footwork and strikes flow together seamlessly.
The Weave
At this range your guard is compressed and chin down. As
you flow from one side to the other feel the weight
transference, this will influence your choice of counter
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strikes. If you feel your opponent’s glove brush over your
head your timing is perfect.
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The Peek-a-boo
Made famous by Mike Tyson, the ability to draw your body
straight down quickly gives you options off both hands.
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The Draw
Basically you are changing your shape and not entirely
withdrawing. Slide your lead leg back suck in your gut and
then quickly move back into position. This is great for fast
counters against kicks.
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The Slip
Simply moving your head side to side, this is reliant on
excellent core strength to ensure fast and economical
movement.
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Changing Levels
Martial arts in general are not that great at changing levels,
the explosion of MMA worldwide has gone a long way to
rectifying this problem. Martial artists are finally being
exposed to quality wrestlers and BJJ exponents and
developing a more complete game. The ability to change
levels quickly is essential and opens up a whole new world of
takedowns and tactics.
The Double Leg Lunge
If you want to take your opponent down you must include
changing levels, as not all takedowns will be hip throws or
reaping sweeps etc, and it adds a critical aspect to your game
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The Sprawl
A must for counters to double leg takedowns.
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The Shin Box
If ever you find yourself down, it is imperative to know how
to get up without getting damaged. Tuck your shin under
your butt and drive up, keeping your guard in place.
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So as you can see, there is tremendous workout potential
here. Combine everything: cut steps with kicks; shuffle steps
with levels changes; full cut to falling step to front kick to
double leg etc, it is only limited by your imagination
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Footnote
I think what the biggest problem in many systems of Wing
Chun is the footwork is not athletic. What I find primarily is
you’ve got all these really fast intricate hand movements yet
you have this really archaic set of footwork that the structure
based upon. That just does not make sense to me. Often when I’m watching my students move - get down at a level
where I can concentrate on their core, so I usually sit down
or squat down so I can look across the room. Then I make
correlations between where their head and shoulders are
moving in relation to their core, hips, knees, feet and so on.
I’ll get a pretty good indication from that as to where their
centre of gravity is, where their balance is, are they arriving
on time, are they late. By that I mean, if their centre of
gravity has a tendency to stagger in after their feet have
landed or they have a tendency to be falling forward because
their upper body is too far forward. Once you spar someone
who is really good - who’s got great footwork - you can be
found wanting. So it’s really very critical that the system’s
footwork reflects your needs and footwork, sadly, is
something that most people overlook, they look at it as
something that you do in between doing something cool. But
I think footwork is cool. I think having a great sense of
mobility, movement with control and a true connection to
your centre of gravity is all part of the poetry of movement
and essential in any system of martial arts. We want to
remove that feeling of being clunky and disjointed and
develop flow, balance and control, because if you really look
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at Wing Chun - and this is my perspective on it - it’s all about
controlling energy and movement. When you can do that,
then you really have something.
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Opening of the Headquarters in Surry Hills.
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7
Flow
“Knowing others is intelligence; Knowing yourself is true
wisdom. Mastering others is strength; Mastering yourself is
true power” – Lao Tzu
What is flow and how does it relate to my game? Why is it so
important? How we feel about what we do and the feedback
the experience offers us directly impacts our outcomes and
performance. Flow is completely fused with motivation, a
single minded immersion that is the ultimate in harnessing
emotional balance and harmony in the process of
performance and learning.
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In flow emotions are contained and channelled in a positive
and energised way, totally aligned with the task at hand to
the point where time and space can become distorted as the
athlete delves deeply into a limited and precise field of
attention – a perfect harmonious experience where mind
and body flow together effortlessly.
Common descriptions for flow are:
“In the zone”
“Focused”
“In the groove”
Benefits of Flow
There is much documentation on the relationship between
flow and performance enhancement and the development of
skills and personal growth. When one is in flow state he or
she is totally focused on mastering outcomes, and as
mastering occurs only new and difficult challenges will
stretch one’s skills. One emerges from the experience with
great feelings of satisfaction and competency.
How to Create Flow
1. Clear goals – challenge level and skill level should be
high
2. Challenge levels and skill levels must strike a balance
3. High level of concentration
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4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Action – awareness merging (becoming absorbed
into the activity)
A strong sense of personal control over the
activity/task
Combined with a loss of self consciousness as we are
absorbed into the activity
This can lead to distortion of time as your subjective
experience is altered
Clear and concise feedback so you can make
adjustments as you go
Being self aware and possessing self belief
Many times the outcomes to challenges are influenced more
by what we believe we can do that by our actual skills and
abilities. Individuals with high levels of self belief may be
better at achieving flow state according to studies carried out
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the 60’s personality traits such
as curiosity, persistence, low self centeredness and a high
rate of performance in activities done for intrinsic reasons
only.
Creating the correct mindset will always have a direct impact
on our performance combined with the correct physical
preparation we are priming ourselves for higher tactical,
technical and self mastery outcomes.
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8
Theory of Containment
“The easy way is always mined.”
Now we need to talk about the theory of containment. It ties
hand in hand with the previous chapters shot selection and
movement. Imagine you have a radar beam zeroing in on
your opponent from your centreline and at a 45 degree angle
from that centreline fans out like a radar screen and you
want to keep your opponent inside that zone as often as
possible. Your footwork skills and your ability to angle off will
allow you to contain your opponent. This is critical because
you want to be able to utilise the best strikes in your arsenal.
You need to be able to keep your opponent in that zone,
keep them contained while you’re in the process of breaking
them down. Should your opponent move to the outer edge
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of that strike zone you can contain him or her with footwork
or strikes. It’s no different than a boxer cutting off the ring,
it’s the identical principle but we don’t always use a ring so
we might be pushing them into a corner or using whatever
obstacles are in there path to your advantage, but as you’re
moving around the mat or moving around on the street,
there may be nothing there that you can use to contain him
except your footwork so it needs to be exceptional and be
drilled religiously, it is one of those things that is often
overlooked. A lot of martial artists think of footwork as
something they do in between doing something that’s cool,
but to me footwork is cool. So you contain your opponent
and that way you’ve got the most amount of leverage on him
for your strikes. You can drive him back in play with low
round kicks, round kicks to the body, hooks to the head. If he
breaks out of the zone for whatever reason, you have two
choices, one you can do cutting steps and bring your
centreline back onto him and that’s a critical skill that you
must develop, or if he gets deep on the blind side of you
(because once he moves past your shoulder he’s on the blind
side/pocket), this is when you have the option to do spinning
kicks, spinning back fists, spinning hook kicks or spinning
sidekicks to bring him back in, to harness him (all higher risk
options than keeping him contained in the first place). So
these are ways of containment no different to our ground
game if I can keep my opponent contained in side control the
submission will come. So keep your centreline on him, you
must practice the principle of containment. A perfect
outcome would be that my centreline faces his centreline,
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but he’s facing the other way (you’ve got the back). That
would be an ideal scenario. But most of the time, your
centreline is going to be facing his. A good outcome would be
your centreline facing his side, which means you’re now in
the blind side and it’s literally a two on one deal because
you’ve now blocked the other side of his body by being on
one side. Now you’re forcing him to scramble and some
people make poor decisions under pressure and this leads us
to the next chapter.
After an exhibition bout with the great Bill Wallace.
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9
Theory of Diminishment
“If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn't plan your
mission properly.”
- David Hackworth
The Theory of Diminishment is both a physiological and
psychological fact. All of the things we’ve talked about in the
past – containment, shot selection, movement ,creating
openings ,flow state – are all designed to get us to the point
where we are in the dominant position or the dominant
mindset in a combat situation. What does the theory of
diminishment mean? Let’s say you’re walking down the
street, and you’re in code white, you’re completely zoned
out and there’s a mugger waiting for you in an alley way, and
he’s pumped up to 100%, he’s psyched, ready to go in other
words he’s primed. Now as he launches his attack, you being
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in code white - or even code yellow (when you’re aware of
your surroundings but not feeling threatened) - can and
probably will find this to be a tremendously stressful
experience and what you most likely will have is a massive
adrenaline dump and you freeze and he takes you out, robs
you and runs away. But if you have the ability to tap into
your combat response and have a way to use that
adrenaline, you don’t just fall over and give up, you arc up,
you hold your ground, you pump yourself up mentally and
physically, you go from 50% to 100%. This takes away some
of his confidence and he goes down from 100% to say 80%,
now you are in the dominant situation, that extra 20% can
mean the difference between life and death. So if you can arc
up to 100%, hold your ground and show him that you mean
business, you can push him from 100% even further down to
stuff all and all of a sudden you are in total control of the
situation. You have applied the theory of diminishment. You
have reduced his capacity to attack you and to achieve his
outcome. Now physically this can happen also, you’re
sparring or competing, you’ve got two athletes
approximately in equal in speed, power and endurance but
what is the difference between one athlete and another?
When one wins, the difference is usually because that one
athlete is tapping into his skill sets - into his speed, power
and endurance; into the timing and tactical aspects of the
game more accurately. And remember Damage is
Diminishment. Say your opponent gets a really clean thigh
kick in on you and corks your leg, he has now diminished
your capacity to throw kicks, and he has diminished your
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capacity to throw punches because you can’t step off that leg
as effectively. Or you step to the blind side and you rip a shot
into the floating rib, and you crack the rib or you wind him,
you’ve now diminished his capacity to breathe, and it doesn’t
matter how big and strong you are, if you can’t get enough
oxygen in you can’t fuel the engine. So the Theory of
Diminishment is, to psychologically and physically break
down your opponent’s defences, and their ability to perform.
You have to break your enemy’s spirit. So how can you do it
psychologically? You use the principle of deceive, distract,
destroy. In a combat scenario on the street you can deceive
them that you’re weak so that they develop over confidence
and miss important tactical cues. Once deceived it’s time to
distract and destroy. Or you can just simply have a better war
face and arc up and show them that you’re not going to just
quit, that can take away a guys game right there. There are
many ways to undermine your opponent that have
devastating physiological and psychological effects. So the
theory of diminishment is to continually to break down your
opponent while at the same time building your game
upwards and developing momentum and taking control.
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After a full contact bout with Benny “the Jet”. The best I’ve ever been in
the ring with.
Benny and I in action.
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10
The Point of
Most Resistance
“The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.”
There is a principle in Wing Chun called the “Principle of
Least Resistance”. I often remark in class - now I’m joking,
well sort of joking - that somebody took the text book of
Wing Chun and they read the principle of point of least
resistance and thought “Oh great, I don’t even have to try.”
So they sat down and thought about it rather than getting off
their arses to train and sweat and sometimes bleed. The
point of least resistance to them means “Ah it’s a technical
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thing. It means I don’t have to be strong, I don’t have to be
fit, and I don’t have to be fast”. Look, it would be great if I
could say you don’t have to be strong look it would be great
if I could say those things but I’d be lying. Admittedly,
technique beats strength almost every time, but you have to
be strong at that technique and you have to be fast at that
technique. So you can’t just encompass the principle of point
of least resistance but it is a great combat strategy. If I’m in
combat I will always be looking for the point of least
resistance, but when I’m training, when I’m preparing for
combat I’m always training in the point of most resistance. If
I can make a drill more productive by making it more difficult,
if I can make an exercise more productive by doing it slower,
adding more resistance, decreasing the leverages so that I
have to recruit more muscle fibres, I will do it. I never train in
the point of least resistance, I train in the point of most
resistance so that when I’m in battle I can tap into that
strength, that stamina, that ability. Because remember we
have a finite energy reserve, you will gas out, you will run out
of gas eventually. So my training has to reflect that, in so
much that I must train at a level that will allow me to fight for
as long as possible at the highest possible level should I need
to. I will always look for the point of least resistance
infighting/sparring to preserve as much energy as possible
but I will train as if I’m going to be fighting a marathon. So
the point of most resistance means: if you can make a drill
more difficult and get a greater training yield out of it, simply
do it. Don’t be fearful of it. Just smash it as hard as you can.
Learn to train in pain (obviously not injury pain) and that will
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pay dividends when you’re sparring, when you’re wrestling
and grappling and it will certainly pay dividends when you’re
on the street. Because if you’re training in a lazy manner and
you need to tap into something hardcore in a life and death
scenario you’re going to get eaten by the carnivores.
“There’s no substitute for hard work” – Thomas Edison
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11
Sil Lum Tao Form
A complex and often misunderstood form in the Wing Chun
system is the Sil Lum Tao this rich and rewarding form offers
many internal and external benefits to the practitioner. This
chapter is not written to teach you the form in a visual sense
per se - the DVDs are far more effective for that purpose but to give you the essence of the form and how to direct
your thoughts and focus. What I believe to be one of the
deepest principles of the form is the development of unified
body and mind made body. The structure, posture and
breathing patterns of the form are so critical to reap any
benefits, also applying the principles of engagement – by that
I mean how you engage your base with the apparatus (the
floor), how you engage your core, the execution of dynamic
tension and the integration of these with your mindset –
when these aspects become greater than the sum of their
parts, we really come to understand how much of an entire
unified mind /body experience the Sil Lum Tao form is.
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At first, students generally concern themselves with initial
problems such as the order of things. As a student progresses
through the system they spend a great deal of time initially
just trying to keep up with what’s happening in front of them
(mimicking), so their general concern is simply with what
comes next. We consider that the very base level. However
even at that base level it is critical for the instructor or coach
to instil the right work ethic – that yes, there is an order to
things on a visual viewpoint, but there is also a correct order
of things in the sense of internalising the correct structure or
internal posture and how you continually engage all aspects
of your physiology with a purposeful mindset, that by paying
attention to even the slightest detail is in its essence
embodying pure engagement.
We are drawn to attention in starting the form when we
stand with our arms to the side pressing against the thighs,
feet together in a tall ready posture. This is really designed to
bring about a sense of awakening in the student. So the form
starts to me when we slap our hands on the sides of our
thighs and stand tall, that’s really your wakeup call and the
form begins at that moment.
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As we breathe out, taking effort to empty completely the last
portion of air out of the lungs, so that the first intake of air,
as our arms are raised, the internal breath breath, at that
point is profound and the lungs fill as the arms draw back.
While we draw back the arms and open the ribcage we
engage the upper body through the shoulder girdle with both
a contracting tension and a lengthening tension, this
encourages a full expansion of the lung developing our
internal and external posture and flow of chi.
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As we descend into the stance and begin to engage our base
we move our feet into position in two semicircular
movements and at that point, before we proceed, we grip
and engage the floor and rotate our hips, tilt our pelvis,
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touch the tongue lightly on the roof of the mouth (to engage
the front and back trunk meridians) and engage our core
before we move on (a section more often than not
overlooked).
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Now we search for the centreline in the middle gate and
upper gates by crossing our arms in the centreline - this is
also part of the grid pattern principle unique to our method and then withdrawing the arms back into that strong riding
stance. We then execute a vertical punch down the
centreline on both sides and as we do the Huen Sao (which is
performed at the end of a great deal of our movements)
maintain a conscious effort to promote a full stretch through
the wrist while still rotating the elbows and shoulders to
create a full Huen Sao (rotating hand) that has actual combat
application.
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From here we move into the Tan Sau (spade block). As the
Tan Sau pushes into the centreline we are consciously
running through a continual loop of engagement of the feet
and how that corresponds with the calves, the hamstrings,
the glutes, the pelvis being tilted, we’re consciously drawing
or gripping the floor and opening our pelvis. As the pelvis tilts
under we’re opening it outwards, the core is engaged, the
back is strong and firm. As we push the Tan Sau into the
centreline we are constantly monitoring the dynamic tension
in the arms. We have a shortening tension through the back
muscles but a lengthening tension through the chest muscles
on the chambered arm. We have a contracting tension
through the chest muscles and a lengthening tension on the
back muscles on the lead side (agonist &antagonist). So you
can feel the corresponding stretch versus contraction, at the
end of the Tan Sau rotate the wrist and perform a dynamic
palm strike there is a front step in this sequence and
therefore you must reengage your base, withdraw the arm
back to the solar plexus then push forward on that line.
Perform a Jut Sau (snapping block) and then a Tarn Sau
(bouncing block), Huen Sau and palm strike. This sequence of
moves is performed three times then repeated on opposite
side before we move in to the second half of the form, once
again, best to refer to the DVD for this section.
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We should be experiencing the Sil Lum Tao form in three
distinct breaths. In high tension days you will be doing it with
an Ibuki style breath, which demands a tremendous amount
of focus and concentration and a great deal of core work. On
other days we will be using a slightly more relaxed breath,
either Taoist or Buddhist breath. I recommend that you study
all three different breaths as they are developing different
Chi cycles or Chi cultivation.
So the principle of the Sil Lum Tao form is not just the order
of things from the external viewpoint, but the order of things
in engagement, breathing, focus and concentration on the
internal aspects. The next level, correctness of technique not
only relates to the structure of your arms, body posture
angles etc, but also to the way you’re engaging ,breathing
and dynamically tensing your body throughout the entire
form.
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The third aspect that we touch upon is rhythm and flow –
how to co-ordinate and synchronise our breathing with our
movements. Whether it be a blocking movement, a dynamic
tension movement or a striking movement, when to move
with speed and power or to be slow and controlled, each one
corresponds and interrelates with the breathing cycles, and
the flow of Chi is affected by this. As we achieve flow state
we become totally aligned with the tasks at hand and the
form is now becoming more than the sum of its parts, the
rhythm and flow of breathing and movement essentially
giving the form life.
The emphasis is on developing a sense of oneness (flow
state). All these things come with time and practice. The
body is the gateway to awareness, becoming in tune with
your breathing, your body and your mind.
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Some movements from the second half:
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12
Chi Sau
I am aware of methods of Wing Chun out there that train
almost entirely in Chi Sau, but for the life of me I don’t know
why. It’s a great drill, and develops great attributes but to
train it to the exclusion of all else is quite ridiculous. If unto
itself it was the Holy Grail we would have all figured it out by
now. To compete in today’s environment you have to have a
balanced game. You need to be competent at striking,
clinching and wrestling. There is no single drill or training
method that will address all of these disciplines. Chi Sau in all
its forms - and there are many, cross arm, parallel arm,
pummelling, any and all clinching drills - can only help you
develop an aspect of but not an entire game. Many years ago
I had a guy come into my school and immediately wanted to
get on the mat with my senior students. I didn’t know who
this guy was and I was being very cautious. He went on about
his training history and his lineage (always with the lineage)
so I grabbed one of my fourth levels, who had only been
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doing double armed Chi Sau for about three months. This guy
had eight years experience, primarily with Chi Sau. In the
beginning they were fairly even, then I suggested bringing in
clinch work and takedowns from there, and this guy was
completely lost. Suddenly he was a white belt. This poor guy
had been doing eight years of Chi Sau and it had never
evolved to the point where they were doing any kind of
clinch, takedown work or anything serious. I don’t think I
could stand there year after year doing the same
monotonous things.
Let’s look at it this way, let’s look at what we’re doing and
the training yield. Simply put, we’re developing touch
reflexes. These are essential attributes in clinch work and
interpretation of movement but until we clinch they have no
relevance. The biggest problem I see with Chi Sau is poor
structure. If I roll with someone who has a very weak
structure, who doesn’t understand the exact position of the
Bon Sau the exact position of the Tan Sau or the Fuk Sau, all I
can feel is gaps everywhere. So I don’t have to bring my A
game. All I do is keep exploiting his mistakes. So the first and
foremost thing I get all my students to do (and I roll with
every single one of them to make sure they get this right) is
to develop structure. Then once you have structure you then
have to understand how much energy or force to apply. Too
heavy and you’re setting yourself up for arm drags, snap
downs, hip throws etc. Too light and you’re going to collapse
and set yourself up for pins, sweeps and takedowns. Once
the structure and the pressure or energy is balanced out, I
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now have to make things work. Now I have to create
openings or try to force the error and that’s good Chi Sau,
because now we’re on a level playing field (something I never
want on the street). What I get my students to do for the first
few months when they’re rolling and I get my most senior
guys to do this consistently as a revision, is what we call
“beating the drum”. Where instead of worrying about
anything fancy - no Larp Sau techniques, no this, no that - all I
get them to concentrate on is beating the drum. In other
words, if there is a gap or there’s too much pressure or not
enough pressure at any point during the roll they’re allowed
to punch their partner in the chest, hard enough that you
don’t want it to happen again. That shrink wraps the game.
All the little gaps and all the little errors get corrected very
quickly because no one wants to stand there and have
someone pounding away on their chest. So you self correct,
the game develops, it evolves, almost instantly and I’ve
tested someone’s Chi Sau, pointed out two or three mistakes
and because they were diligent, tested it again a month later
and almost flawless. Beating the drum is a big factor in that.
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Now if you think about how many techniques there are in Chi
Sau it looks like it’s a fairly limited platform because of the
structure. You’re kind of stuck on this continual rolling
pattern. But when you know that movement is not just
restricted to punching and palm strikes, that you can do hip
throws, takedowns, single legs and double legs, Chi Sau
becomes a really exciting and interesting game to play. I’m a
big fan of it, but like skill drills or attribute drills, I don’t
obsess with it, it is just a part of our ongoing process. It is a
part of the game, but it is not the whole game.
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Footnotes
It is very important in Chi Sau that you understand that the
energy levels must be just so. It can’t be too heavy, can’t be
too light, the structure has to be just right, so that there are
no gaps for your partner to strike you unless he creates them
so that he has to work. So these are essential components
that a lot of systems of Wing Chun I’ve seen seem to neglect.
Their Chi Sau is way too fast, very sloppy and poor in
structure. These guys do fine against their own kind, but
when they train against something that has a little bit more
structural integrity they generally seem to be found wanting.
There are good guys in all systems of Wing Chun, don’t get
me wrong, what I’m saying is the system is designed in such a
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way and Chi Sau is exacting in the way it is structured, and if
it’s not performed that way, if the work ethic isn’t there or
the attention to detail, then the training yield is always
compromised, let’s face it crap technique yields crap results.
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13
Bon Sau/Larp Sau, Cross Arm
Chi Sau, Trapping Hands
These are all drills that develop skill sets and attributes.
Bon Sau/Larp Sau
The primary purpose of Bon Sau/Larp Sau is to condition the
forearms and strengthen the shoulders. There is a flow
aspect to it which relies on the Larp Sau so that you can keep
flowing. The Larp Sau is a skill that you’re developing in the
drill itself, but it is not the primary aspect of the drill. It
should just be called “Bon Sau drill” but it’s called Bon
Sau/Larp Sau because the Larp Sau keeps sweeping your
partners arm out of the way so you can punch again and vice
versa. The trick to making this work is to not punch toward
the face but punch toward the chest, because that forces
your partner to draw his Bon Sau up very strongly which
gives the shoulder a much stronger training yield and the
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forearms get smashed, so the forearms become very hard. If
you think about your first line of defence, it’s going to be
your shins and your forearms, and the first things to go when
you’re tired are your legs and your shoulders. In wrestling it’s
the back. Once you’re fatigued and your arms and shoulders
drop, you’re not punching with any authority you’re not
blocking correctly. You’re starting to become open and
vulnerable. So developing tireless shoulders and strong
forearms that can take high impact is a critical part of Wing
Chun conditioning.
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Cross Arm Chi Sau
Cross Arm Chi Sau is designed to give you a more rounded
training effect. If you think about all of the angles that you’re
doing in Cross Arm Chi Sau you’re working the shoulder from
many angles. So you’re getting a more complete
development of the shoulder girdle, and the forearms are
being hit on different angles and different lines and different
lengths. Now the entire forearm itself, both the bones and
the muscles are getting a more complete development, so
this is like another step up. Bon Sau/Larp Sau is like the first
rung of the ladder, Cross Arm Chi Sau is the second rung of
the ladder. You cannot compare these two skill sets to
Parallel and Double Arm Chi Sau because in the Parallel and
Double Arm Chi Sau there is a lot more finesse, it’s a more of
a subtle touch reflex drill. The development of Bon Sau/Larp
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Sau and Cross Arm Chi Sau contributes to tireless shoulders
and strong forearms.
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Trapping Hands
Trapping Hands is different all together. All the skills you’ve
developed in Cross Arm, Bon Sau/Larp Sau, and Double Arm
Chi Sau all contribute to trapping hands. But Trapping Hands
to me is a really versatile way of developing close quarter
skill sets and fluid thinking. What I like to do with Trapping
Hands is take the drill itself out to 10, 12 or more moves,
where both sides are attacking, defending, slipping, blocking,
changing levels, pinning, pushing and pulling so that it
becomes a very complex matrix style drill. The philosophy
behind that is if you can pull these drills off in real time, even
in a training environment, you’re developing neural
pathways and the ability to think so quickly under pressure
that you can tap into those skill sets in a live situation. I
personally find Trapping Hands an exciting and brilliant way
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to get the student thinking very quickly on their feet.
Trapping Hands should be done with kicks, leg attacks and
arm drags. We do them with snap-downs, double leg
takedowns, firemen’s carry, hooking sweeps and more.
Everything goes because it’s all part of the trap, pin, push and
pull process. It’s a bit of a misnomer to say Trapping Hands
because now it’s just trapping, you could be trapping with
the foot, trapping the head, you could be trapping the arm,
the leg, getting the back it’s all part of the trapping game. If
you look at all of the skill sets that Wrestling gives you and
you look at the grips and the clinch manoeuvres that BJJ has,
there are so many parallels in Wing Chun’s Chi Sau and
trapping game. So to me it’s a natural evolution to adopt
wrestling skill sets and BJJ skill sets into the Trapping Hands
because the structure is right there. There are so many skill
sets that wrestlers and grapplers have that are essential to
any martial artist. Our version of Wing Chun is really just like
a sponge, it absorbs all these skill sets readily. I’ve got guys
that have been wrestling for just a few months, we have a
great wrestling coach Amir and these guys are becoming so
accomplished so quickly. It’s the same with BJJ, I have a great
coach John b Will, and tapping into his knowledge has
revolutionised our game. It’s because the open mindedness,
the work ethic and the structure is there.
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14
The Winning Mind
Let’s look at the five traits that influence peak performance:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Confidence
Organisation
Motivation
Arousal
Concentration
These five elements affect each other both positively and
negatively. When things are going well and we are in flow
state we find it easier to concentrate; when motivation is
high we find ourselves in an optimum state of arousal.
Ideally, if all traits are optimised we create a synergistic
effect and performance improves. We all possess some of
these traits but perhaps not all, so self-reflection is essential
in developing a successful blueprint.
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1. Confidence
Confidence is a deep belief within yourself of your own
ability to do what is necessary to achieve a particular
outcome. Self efficacy drives us to greater heights, it is the
voice inside us that constantly reinforces us and believes in
our potential to succeed. A high level of confidence means
we will try harder for longer and keep raising the bar.
Ultimately self efficacy is part of a package deal that includes
positive feelings regarding self image, body image, etc.
Conversely, low confidence sets us up for failure more often
than not. Often it is the perception of our abilities and not
our abilities themselves that dictate our success or failure.
Simply put “What you believe you achieve” if you believe you
can’t win then it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy, but by
definition you can’t win them all, you become good at BJJ by
having to tap many many times but that moment of failure is
also a moment of truth, it’s an opportunity to grow and
expand. Negative self talk only reinforces the loss of
confidence caused by your own initial failure. Negative
messages shift our focus from the task and is simply outcome
orientated not mastery orientated.
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2. Organisation
Organisation makes you feel prepared. When you feel
prepared you increase the potential for peak performance
due to the fact you feel less anxious, more confident and
more motivated. Being organised means setting goals. You
must decide what you want to accomplish, how you’re going
to accomplish it and when. Your goals should be realistic and
yet challenge you (remember flow state and challenge versus
skill sets); they must also be specific and measurable because
what you can measure you will monitor.
Create a plan that will allow you to detail all the steps you
need to achieve your outcomes taking into account
constraints and contingencies such as injuries, layoffs, etc.
Simply, keep it real.
You also need ongoing feedback. Seeing progress keeps us
pumped and motivated, so a weekly evaluation of your
progress is essential.
3. Motivation
The driving force behind our success is motivation. Great
deeds will not be done by willpower alone, your emotional
investment in the success you seek, the pleasure you derive
from participation and the satisfaction you get from seeing
all your hard work pay off are parts of the motivation
package. But remember, the investment must be yours; the
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goals must belong to you. Goals imposed by parents, coaches
and peer groups seldom last and can simply kill motivation.
Most athletes fall into one of two categories: Outcome Goal
Orientation or Mastery Goal Orientation. Outcome
orientated athletes focus only on winning and since we know
you can’t win them all, this short sighted approach is doomed
for failure. These athletes tend to implode when you
experience a loss. Athletes that are Mastery orientated don’t
like losing but understand that as they accept greater
challenges or perhaps suffer injuries that the occasional loss
is part of the journey. They tend to be less influenced by
outside factors, deal with the stresses and anxiety of
competition more easily and have greater persistence in
pursuing these goals.
When we become so fixated on the outcome or how well
someone else is doing we lose flow state, it breaks our
concentration and we lose focus on our own technique and
skill sets. So if you go into every challenge with a Mastery
Orientated Mindset you never really lose, you keep learning,
improving and succeeding.
4. Arousal
In the flow state chart you can see the correlation between
the different levels of arousal and challenge states. Ideally we
want to achieve optimum arousal where we are perfectly
primed for performance – this is characterised by:
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






A high level of focus
A high level of concentration
High output/productivity
Streamlined thinking
Elevated blood pressure
Elevated respiration
Adrenaline and epinephrine output
Being perfectly primed gives us a sense of confidence,
strength and precision that makes challenging tasks seem
effortless, as in flow state athletes can have a distorted sense
of time and a complete loss of objective constraints. On the
other hand, over stimulated athletes tend to show signs of
anxiety which only serves as a distraction and can lead to
“choking”. We need to accurately read the situation/threat
so we can prime ourselves correctly.
5. Concentration
Concentration is the ability to focus on whatever is important
for completing a task without being distracted by elements
that are irrelevant. You need to be able to filter out what is
nonessential to your performance. All of the previous
elements depend on this pivotal trait.
Differing types of focus are tunnel and funnel vision. A
basketball player must have the ability to read the state of
play where he is in relation to his team mates, opponents,
the ball and then have the ability to zero in on the basket for
the shot. These shifts in focus occur in 0.2 – 0.6 of a second,
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and even though we might lose focus from time to time for
whatever reason – injury or the fear of injury being the most
common – the ability to refocus quickly while under pressure
to regain composure is essential.
These five traits are the foundations of the Winning Mind
they are the blueprint for success but remember the map is
not the terrain, it must be driven by action.
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Conclusion
Well there really isn’t one. This book and this system is a
work in progress, I have witnessed its evolution for over 30
years and it is a by far a better system now and I get excited
thinking about where it will be in another 30 years time ... I
hope you have enjoyed reading my viewpoints on our great
system made ever more greater because of your
participation.
Sincerely,
Rick Spain
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A great street fighting technique...not!
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The A Team: Robbie, Darren, Ricky and Jonny; 1988 Australasian Kung
Fu Championships.
Happier times with Sifu.
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Some of my originals. Front row: Vadim, Jimmy, Rosey and Andrew.
Back row: Steve, Alfredo and Dave.
Never take life too seriously.
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