What to do when inactive, so @ home

[TzuChan]

Hi all, long time no seen :)
So those of you who remember me, I was the belgian fellow looking for a school, willing to do it in another country if I had to lol :) Found one in Belgium now, with Sifu Krauss, but since I have exams now at university I don't have time to go to my trainings, so I was wondering what I could practice at home, chain punches and The first form is what I do, that's all, you guys some real life experience ideas ? :)

[TzuChan]

Ow yes, I didn't wanne start another post for this but :

Are there any nice home videos (note I do wing TZun, not wing CHun, which are a bit different) that you recommend me to use at home ? Not as an individual training, more like .. an extra to the training I take, cause since it's so far to my Training Center I can only afford to go once a week :(

[Mr Punch]

Not quite sure what you're asking...

Practice what you learnt in class. More chain punches. More stance work. More slt. And more slt.

Do it in front of a mirror, so you get used to being automatically on centreline and keep your shoulders relaxed.

Then do it some more.

Sorry, that's all I can offer. Nobody said it was going to be interesting did they??!! But I love it anyway!!!:D

[dbulmer]

TzuChan,

Practice your footwork and stance. Everything else follows from that. Practice your forms but remember your basic footwork as well.

The other thing I'd recommend is working on your physical flexibility - try www.stadion.com. This is something you can do and measure objectively and it'll help you with your footwork and other technique. Don't get me wrong - WC is not about physical prowess but I think you'll find it easier and more beneficial the fitter you are. Also helps you to feel a little more relaxed.

[TzuChan]

Well I'm already very fit I think, I mean I do euhm what's it called in english .. well like on the olympics, gymnastic, the men do them tricks on the two bars, it's called 'the bridge' in dutch ;)

Thanks for the replies guys

[anerlich]

If you do Olympic Gymnastics at a reasonable level you will probably be stronger and more flexible than most WC students. Might want to do some cardio work though, as gymnastics requires little of that.

Offtopic, but the names of the Olympic apparatus in English:

Floor Exercise
Vault (or long horse)
Horizontal Bar (or High bar)
Parallel Bars
Rings (or still rings or roman rings)
Pommel Horse (or Side horse)

(I competed in and coached gymnastics all the way through high school and university)

As said, practice forms and footwork. Good footwork will pay BIG dividends. But also practise you basics in combination, not just hands but kicks as well.

The best thing to do is practise basic techniques over and over. But because they are basic and boring many people do nothing instead. BIG mistake. Both Ken Chung (r5a, you with me?) and Emin Boztepe are famous for spending hours practising a basic technique or combination over and over. You could find worse role models.

[TzuChan]

Parallel Bars
That's the thing I did the most, **** painfull when you fell of :(

But about the footwork, the only thing I learned so far from footwork is to move forward and turn, and backward of course, so that you walk forward, chainpunches, then when you reach the end of the room, 180° turn and punch coming over your shoulder. Nothing else yet, and kick blocks .. SNT is all hands in Wing Tzun over here, so far, as i said I miss alot of lessons because of the lack of time/availability :(

[DelicateSound]

Just try and fit in as much basic stuff possible. Same with any art at first. i.e: Footwork whilst walking, SLT at your desk, Blocks on the bus.....

At the end of the day the more you put in the better you'll be. Positive Correlation.

Nothing will substitute going to class.

[Gandolf269]

One of the more (somewhat) interesting excercises we do to help our footwork is to move around the room using advancing steps and turning steps. For example: move forward for 3 steps, turn right (90 degrees), then forward for 4 steps, turn left (90 degrees), then forward for .... You get the idea. You move around the room in Pac Man like fashion. Add punches at the turns and/or chain punch. But the excercise is for your footwork and turning punches, so if chain punches makes you tired and your footwork sloppy, cut back on them. The goal is to make crisp turns and make sure your hips are squared up. You can also add kicks into the mix too.

I also read somewhere to use a bike innertube around your chest and move from Tan Sau to Bong Sau back to Tan Sau. It is supposed to help train forward pressure. I cannot say if this works as I have not tried it.

[gnugear]

Stepping, turning, SLT. Get yourself a sandbag ... I really like using that. I also do a lot of standing around in the horse stance (watching TV etc). You can never work too much on your root.

[TzuChan]

hehe
You must look pretty funny at home then lmao ;)

I'll do that, thanks guys

[Alpha Dog]

The harder you try, the slower you learn. Study Wing Chun, go to the movies, have some coffee somewhere, look at girls, have a life, witness the improvement.

[TzuChan]

I disagree with you on 'the harder you try ..'

[Shadow Dragon]

Originally posted by Alpha Dog
The harder you try, the slower you learn. Study Wing Chun, go to the movies, have some coffee somewhere, look at girls, have a life, witness the improvement.

Not a WC Student, but have to agree 100% there.

The stories of the masters of old, training for 8hrs a day and NOT doing any work are simply wrong.
Asians worked till the day's work was done, and had NO weekends off till us lazy westerners introduced them.
They still had to buy food, wash dishes, cook, wash clothing and earn a living besides MA study.
Also not sure how many could afford Oil/Candles to train at night.

You need to keep a good balance in your life between MA and non-MA related thingys.

Peace.

[TzuChan]

That's not what I mean, with hard work I mean one hour hard work a day, will do wonders .. I trained one hour every day instead of 3hours one day in the week for gymnastics, on the parallel bars, that is like .. hard work as hell, couldn't have gotten that good with the other program .

[Crow1981]

anerlich, are you thinking of getting Sonnon's Leg Fencing when it comes out. If you do get it soon, please do a review if you have time. Thanks

[anerlich]

Crow,

a bit off topic, but ... I'm not sure he has leg fencing out just yet. Or has he?

When cash permits, I will definitely buy that series (way expensive in $AUS). I got Fisticuffs (4 tapes) at the beginning of the year, that's a definite mind blower. Scott Sonnon is the best kept secret in MA still IMHO.

PM me and give me a few days, I'll give you my thoughts on Fisticuffs.