If you’re looking for martial arts Leeds, you might want to know more about our style. What kind of martial art is Wing Chun Kung Fu? After all, not all martial arts are the same. Some cater more for children, some are angled towards sport and some, like Wing Chun, are definitely more suitable for self defence.
Wing Chun is a no nonsense martial art based on economy of motion and minimum movement. It is designed for a fight or flight situation where your life is potentially on the line. Strikes to the most vulnerable parts of the body are the most useful in this kind of situation. Eye strikes, knee kicks and kicks to the groin and other vulnerable body parts such as shin, solar plexus and nose as also used.
These kinds of attacks cannot be used in sport martial arts and are usually banned in a sport setting.
But for a martial art to be effective, you want moves which can be used quickly.
What Is Wing Chun? A Traditional Martial Art in Leeds
Wing Chun was originally designed by a woman, as legend has it. It was designed for small people to be used against bigger, stronger attackers. The original art of Bruce Lee, Wing Chun’s “sticky hands” was applied to Lee’s own martial art Jeet Kune Do, he thought it so effective.
What is Chi Sau? Chi Sau is a training practice unique to Wing Chun which teaches close quarter striking and centreline self defence. Chi Sau is “played” as a game in close proximity to your parter. It gives you an understanding of centreline theory when dealing with incoming attacks.
The main aspects which are learned through Chi Sau are Position (body not just arms), Energy (use of it), Reaction and Technique or PERT. Chi Sau gives you a kinaesthetic awareness of your partner through hand to hand touch. Once the basic positions are learned, each person attempts to land a hit on their training partner, or unbalance them (or both). However, they must not allow their training partner to land an attack on them.
Martial Arts Leeds – Wing Chun Theory
The interplay of Chi Sau is the perfect learning environment to understand main principles of Wing Chun.
- Centreline theory – whoever controls the centreline the best will eventually come out on top
- perfect positions – not allowing yourself to allow a gap where the opponent has an opening
- Maintain relaxation – keeping relaxed allows you to read your opponent more clearly
- Lost hand strike forwards – upon loss of contact an attack should be immediately launched (without thought).
Wing chun has low kicks. However in the game of Chi Sau, kicks are off limits unless agreed upon by training partners. Wing Chun also uses chi gurk – or sticking legs. Chi Gurk is similar to Chi Sau only with leg contact. Each person attempts to kick the leg, or unbalance the opponent while maintaining their own position.
Martial Ars In Leeds – Wing Chun For Self Defence
Wing Chun is definitely designed for self defence, not for sport fighting. Much of its arsenal cannot be used in the ring. Eye strikes and kicks to the knee are strictly off-limits in a sporting bout. Such an attack could render the opponent disabled or blind.
But in a self defence situation, your life might be on the line. So attacks like these are useful in a dangerous situation of self defence. Of course you cannot strike your partner in the eye in class. It would be devastating. So careful consideration is taken while training to look after your training partners. Chi Sau too is very close quarters. It would be easy to hurt your partner by accident during training at close range.
So we are careful to teach control before increasing the energy in Chi Sau for this reason.
What We Practice In Class
Our classes are typically divided into five main training regimes. These include:
Drills – using repetition to install techniques which become automatic
Chi Sau – close quarter “sparring” with control – sticky hands
Freeflow – an attacker and defender scenario to bridge the gap between street fight and chi sau
Testing – testing involved understanding some internal aspects of Wing Chun. We test the stance to make sure you understand it correctly. Proper stance lets you direct force better into the ground and deliver greater force when needed.
Forms – hand patterns to be practiced solo outside of class are taught to install basic principles and understanding
