do videos really work?

[The Heritic]

just wondering what ur opinions are on teh issue

personally i cant find a southern school around here, so i have resorted to taking the option of videos on hung gar from wing lam, and was wondering if this is a smart path... any input?

we are the wakeful, wry, and watchful -a.f.i

[fiercest tiger]

i teach correspondance courses and they work, ive had excellent feed back and all my guys talk with me at least once a day, via phone, email , msn and icq.
i give written test and they have to video themselves and send a tape back to me to correct and add more info etc.

it depends on the teach how much info and how he teaches it!

hope this helps!

oh i almost forgot if its just a demo or a form its no use, it must be explain right and it must be informative. :D

come & visit us!
http://home.iprimus.com.au/ykm
yaukungmun@hotmail.com

[The Heritic]

thnx for the reply, well from what i see wing lam gives real good info and feedback when u send in a video for him to critique (sp?) and from the video(s) i have he does a very good job of explaining... so i guess its a decent fix till i can find a school near me...

we are the wakeful, wry, and watchful -a.f.i

[sifuchuck]

I'm in the same boat--I've had some group and private lessons with Sifu Lam, but for the most part, living in the Great Lakes, I have to rely on his videos. They are good--but no substitute for the real deal. Each Spring the Wing Lam School in Cleveland has a big tournament and Sifu Lam does a seminar there. You should at least try to make those so that you can get some personal instruction from your sifu. Also, try to save up enough money to fly down to Sunnyvale and spend your vacation there training in the Kwoon. I plan to go next summer.

good luck--and if you are ever in the Milwaukee area let me know--we can hook up!

chuck

[Shaolindynasty]

Those vids are great! I learned Lian Bu Chuan from the Shaolin series but I did not keep it up. It was an extra thing for me. It's very hard to learn useage from a video but easy to learn the form. In the long run I just decided to focus on the stuff I learned from my Sifu. You can learn from video but it helps even more if you have a partner.

Witness the Dynasty!!!
New Site! www.shaolindynasty.cjb.net (http://www.shaolindynasty.cjb.net)

[Laine Nakachi]

I'll have to agree with you people who learned from Wing Lam's video series.Regardless what style you're learning.I too have heard good reputations about wing lam's videos.

The difference is that when you go to a regular kung fu class as an example.You have to practice the sets and applications , repetively so you don't forget.

The instructional videos,you can watch it repetively,but still be able to see the set and it's applications.

I learn from videos too.And always keep an open mind when you're learning something new.For a regular kung fu class,well, this is my input as soon as you get home make your own notes video tape your self doing the set if possible.

Take Care,


Fe luk

[hasayfu]

For all you Wing Lam Video students, props to you for being dedicated and learning from a far.

As a student of Wing Lam Kung Fu I see a lot of your fellow V-students come by and have a few observations to share.

In the beginning, try to match Sifu exactly. Look at all parts of his body. If the arm is at chest level, your's should be. Look at the elbows, knees, amount of bend in the joints, which leg steps where, how the waist turns, which shoulder is higher, how far apart are the limbs, etc. EVERYTHING.

I see alot of people have the gross movements in the right order but they miss all the things that make it work.

Pet Peeve#1. The Kiu Sau should be as close to 90 degrees as possible to the forearm. Keep stretching till you get this :-)

After you have got it exact, question everything you are doing and make it work for you. Take in all the training you have done and read and ask why does something work. It's best if you have a training partner.

As near perfect as Wing Lam's videos are (Look at the slow motion replays and notice how level and direct the energy flows), he is still human and there are things that could be slightly off.

Also, disregard the applications. Most of them are real basic and used to show you the gross movements. Think of your own. Try them out. This will improve your kung fu immensely. Question where the energy is coming and going. What you have open and what you have protected.

Finally, spend a week at Lam Kwoon when you can. The difference I see with even a week of training from the V-students is great. You'll get enough material to last you the next 6 months to a year.

In closing, these are random musing from an intermediate student and not from Sifu. Take them or not. I've learned a few sets from tape and showed them to sifu. Out of the chute, I had a long way to go for them to be right but it was a very good start.