My sword background is primarily with Japanese and Korean sword work, so I found Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming’s DVD “Sword Fundamental Training: Solo Drills and Matching Practice” different from what I’m familiar with, but very interesting and very well done for an instructional DVD.

I’ve been very impressed with Dr. Yang’s DVDs on Chin Na, especially since my primary art of Hapkido also consists of many joint lock and pressure point techniques. So I wanted to learn more of the sword fundamentals from the Chinese arts that Dr. Yang teaches. This is a very good DVD to introduce those concepts and training methods.

The DVD is divided into six main chapters: Intro, General Knowledge, Techniques, Solo Practice, Matching Practice, and the Conclusion. These six main chapters are divided into more than 60 chapters to help you skip to the section you want to review and study. The entire program is a little over three and a half hours long, so you will want to take notes and skip back to the sections as you progress. There are subtitles that go along with Dr. Yang’s instruction. I don’t think they are necessary, but having them there does not hurt. They do not match the exact words of Dr. Yang, but convey the general concepts he discusses.

The first portion of the DVD focuses on information and history of the sword. It was very interesting and informative. It’s a lecture on the sword that includes Chinese proverbs on the sword. This portion was very interesting if you are interested in all things martial as I am. Dr. Yang then teaches 27 fundamental techniques with the sword. The instruction is very clear, and Dr. Yang brings out students to assist him in showing applications of the techniques. So many DVDs would just show the movement once or twice and move on to the next. Dr. Yang provides so much more, and it is really refreshing to see an instructor who goes above and beyond while teaching.

Like a double-edged sword, each side is important if the practitioner is to be truly successful. The first part, your physical training should arm you with not just physical techniques, but an understanding of the critical principles and concepts that are being taught by the technique examples. This way, you won’t have to depend on the preset techniques themselves, but instead will be able to operate in the moment, not against a stylized attack but, against whatever your attacker is throwing at you. Some of these foundational concepts include:

1) Cover

2) Strategic angling and positioning

3) Timing and flow

4) Proper distance

5) etc.

The second relates to attitude, or “heart.” No matter how tough you are, or feel in class with your friends, peers, and junior students, what matters in a real self-defense encounter is how you act and deal with the raw, animalistic violence being thrown at you by someone who isn’t pulling their punches and doesn’t care about your well-being at all. Will you focus or fold? The only thing that will matter is what you do when the moment is on you.

The next step in solo practice is all Qi Gong. You begin to work different aspects of energy within your study both for fighting and for self defense purposes. There are approximately 36 different primary expressions of energy in Tai Chi. You use your mind to direct the internal movement and chi into an expression. That expression is known as Jing. Jing is an expression of Chi or energy hence it is energy work. A few jing expressions are well known and some are quite obscure

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It is not easy to pinpoint a starting point for martial arts, since numerous forms seem to have been used all over the world for centuries. Most could have a different answer influenced by their opinion of what constitutes a martial art, so coming up with a definitive history could be tricky. However, it’s possible to determine when and where different types of martial arts got their start, that may provide a useful general history of these disciplines.

The fundamental meaning of martial arts is that it is different way of saying the art of waging combat. In its original form, martial arts experts used their skills just to survive, as the world must have been a much different place. In primitive society, people needed to kill or be killed, which meant that martial arts were the only way to survive in some situations. Most martial arts within this period were unstructured and involved doing whatever the individual had to do to live through the clash, however they have evolved significantly since this time.

Throughout the years, several types of martial arts have gained in popularity, but it can be said that just about all have more similarities than differences. For instance, in every martial art, each movement has a purpose and is directed towards a desired result. Additionally, each of them endeavor to teach principles to their followers, which are ideals through which the follower is supposed to live. In the end, all martial arts are also about self-defense, because they give people the opportunity to protect themselves against others in virtually any situation, which is definitely a good skill to have in any society.

As was mentioned previously, its impossible to pinpoint the time and location of the origin of martial arts, but evidence does exist that the Egyptians used hand-to-hand combat dating back to 2500 BC. This would make martial arts nearly 5000-yrs . old, so there is a long tradition of self-defense. Some believe, however, that the Egyptian form of combat was too primitive to be regarded as a martial art and point to the more structured version that appeared in China around 1300 BC. In Europe, evidence exists stating that a type of wrestling existed around 750 BC, which would be the first martial art that could be considered as such. The Greeks and Romans wrestled for sport around 40 BC and India had something similar at around 1 BC. No matter which historical reference you believe, you cannot argue that these ideas have been about for a long time and definately will continue well into the future.

For many, martial arts are considered a great gift and this gift has been handed down from generation to generation in a good many societies. While martial arts are no longer considered arts of war, they do teach physical and mental conditioning which can be used in combat. Many martial artists in the current society would prefer to walk away from a fight than accept one, which is where mental conditioning comes into play. Many of those people are some of the most relaxed and mellow individuals you have ever met, as they know that they possess this gift, but don’t desire to use it on anyone.

During the last 20-years, individuals have begun training in multiple martial arts to take part in a sport called mixed martial arts. This evolution has taken quite a while to come to fruition, as various martial arts have existed for hundreds of years. Through participation in mixed martial arts, individuals can learn many different physical skills, but can also become familiar with the mental skills that go together with this physical ability. By combining all of these varieties of martial arts together, martial artists are now more skilled than ever and have brought together philosophies from a range of different cultures along the way.

Moving forward, we will likely see a further evolution in martial arts, as more obscure forms will start to enter our society. Since these arts have existed for years and years, it will take some time for people to perfect them, but it will occur, just like it is with more mainstream martial arts today. As long as this expansion occurs with peace in mind, it should be a fantastic time for all martial arts practitioners, as they will have the opportunity to learn much more about their craft.

Above is an introductory video why Wing Chun is so awesome.  But I would also like to add some other benefits that wing chun training provide

The advantages of wing Chun is that its a subtle martial art that doesn’t rely on strength or hard physical conditioning.This is crucial as it means you can continue to training throughout your life, with no age limit. This is crtitical, as you get older. Depending on how old you are when starting your wing Chun training you are full of beans as you learn your craft.The beauty of wing chun is that you can start ant any age form 10- 60+.If you are a little bit more mature you will find Like i did your body may not have the give it once had.  That’s Ok.There is no need to be flying ninja to be effective. . Wing chin kicks are straight kicks and low and targeted.

This is mainly due to efficiency of movement.A face kick requires he fighter to make a huge twist to his body, telegraphing the move. To a trained fighter, does not matter how fast you are this can be picked up pretty easily.  That’s why training of the eye and understanding the principles of fighting and martial arts is more important than being able to execute a flamboyant move.

Think of it this way as you progress with Wing Chun you will learn to love it and you will actually get better with age.  Imagine being in your 30s- 40 ‘s 50s and beyond and really being proficient but also excelling at Wing Chun. .

This is the key to Wing Chun’s success and something to be mindful of when choosing any method ok kung fu training or any martial art.Whats its longevity? How sustainable is the training over time.  If it is too aggressive and physically demanding you may find it has a use by date.

As basic as it looks , once you master the wing chun dummy,  it can see your training and development go from strength to strength

The wing chun dummy or  Muk Yan Jong form, is an essential part of your wing chun training.

As there are many Chinese kung fu styles there are various kung fu wooden dummys

The Wing Chun wooden dummy is the most popular form of wooden dummy. The Wing Chun dummy uses an arm and leg configuration designed to cultivate fighting skill and chi simultaneously The form is performed against  a “wooden Dummy “, which is made ups of a thick wooden post with two upper  arms, a lower arms and a representing an opponents body in in various positions and the lines of force the body can give out.

Although representative of a human opponent, the dummy is not a physical representation of a human, but an energetic one. Wooden dummy training aims to refine a students understanding of angles, position footwork and develop full body power. The wing chun dummy is where the open hand forms are applied and understood as a whole.

The Hong Kong wooden dummy is a wall mounted version of the Wing Chun Wooden Dummy that hangs using two wooden slats through the body of the wooden dummy. Version of the wing chun chun dummy where placed in the ground. The modern design was created by Yip in Hong Kong to fit the needs of living in an apartment.

The wooden slats on which the muk yan jong is mounted has a springiness that is similar to a human opponent’s involuntary reaction and allows the user to practice absorbing energy into his/her stance. Because of the springiness the dummy is called an alive dummy. Without it being mounted, the older version it is called a dead dummy.

A lot of people  I meet interested in wing chun training or any  martial arts or even on taking a class.  However the number one thing that holds them back is that they think its too late, they say to themselves “I’m too old, I don’t want to make a fool of myself etc….

This is quite common and one of the reasons that hold people back from learning or expanding into the martial arts.When i started i thought i was too old at 22, my instructor was 31 when he started and he was amazing.  It was only until later that I found out that after spending many years of doing various martial arts it was only when he was in his early thirties that he started wing chun and devoted all his training around the art.

Soon he was training full time and dedicated his life to becoming an instructor and delve even deeper to become a very knowledgeable practitioner of Chinese medicine. All beginning with the basics of wing chun training

Looking back and I remember the classes had a wide range of ages. From guys in their late teems/early 20’s to guys in their 30’s 40’s even 50’s just starting out, trying to figure out the wing chun dummy.(frustrating everyone of all ages).

I suppose the beauty of wing chun is that it does not require any special skill prowess.you wont have to fly through the air or execute some extravagant kicks..you are literally grounded and stick to basics.The techniqies are easy to learn and low impact.  If anything wing Chun training will help your flexibility, helps with weight loss and improve confidence.Fitness is a main reason people begin wing chun. People see it as a way to get fit and make it fun.