On Teaching- the first lesson

[AndrewS]

After a hiatus from teaching, I'm getting things rolling again, and had, for the first time in a while, a person with no exposure to Wing Chun by to train last night.

In the course of about an hour and a half we went from:

the basic stance (character two), with physical examples of the use of adduction to :

basic utilization of the torso to put force in the ground from the stance to:

the turn with stance testing to:

stepping forward with the structure/ground line developed at first, projecting the structure to the arms to:

the groove for moving the arms using the ground in front of the body (i.e. the punch) to:

maintaining the locked in structure in the arms to allow one to shift and punch (tan dar) to:

the first two sets of form, each piece based on the mechanics shown before to:

finish with a light 'live' drill using the stance to shut down a double neck tie (plum).

I figure next time we'll review, and start on moving the structure explosively (punching), and work some basic footwork with some live work on knee splits and low kicks, as well as basic mount escapes.

Just some grist for the mill,

Andrew

[Ultimatewingchun]

Not bad for just one class.

[RedJunkRebel]

Good class. I like how you started the new student out with the basic stance. IMO, its the most important thing in Wing Chun and should be taught first.

[sihing]

In our kwoon our "Introductory" lesson consists of the introduction of the Neutral Stance(basic stance) and how this is the foundation for the other stances to which there are four total (left side neutral, right side neutral, front stance, and neutral stance). From there I go onto the basic punch and give 4 or 5 reasons why it is very efficient and effective. Then onto the Man/Wu sao structure, and then one technique, usually the Bil Sao and side step front kick combination, which can be applied to almost anything coming towards the head or upper gate. Usually I start them off using it against the straight punch, slowly showing the advantages it can give you if applied correctly with good structure in form and timing, then showing how it applies to a wrist/elbow/shoulder grab, rear hook, round kick, etc, reinforcing the concept of simiplicity prevelant throughout the art... After that I usually demonstrate a little Mok Jong for them and show them the weapons of WC then inform them of our pricing plans and answer all their questions. We have a good sign up rate using this method and it demonstrates to the people with no MA background, and also those with MA experience, how effective WC is and of course what the school has to offer them. This process usually lasts 45 minutes or so but two days ago I had one that lasted 1 1/2 hrs, too much detail on my part sometimes, but I tend to get into it and enjoy this part of the whole experience.

James

[Tom Kagan]

What, no knife work?


Unless you have an Olympic caliber athlete in front of you, I suspect your hiatus has allowed the feeling of 'not having enough time so I'll cram in as much as possible' to boil over.

How about taking one or two live drills (perhaps those you mentioned) and figuring out how to make them interesting enough and enjoyable to last, say, three weeks of classes or so? In the long run, both you and your student might be better off this way if you are attempting to shorten the learning cycle (in my opinion). Of course, your mileage may vary.

[captain]

andrew,get the andy armitage book on teaching.none ma ,but a good way to learn how to teach different types of learners.

Russ

[Kevin Bell]

Hey Andrew,

I believe teaching is a skill in itself not only re -affirming what one's already learnt but learning how to communicate and deal with different people with different paces of learning. Good stuff

Did you get a chance to look at that routine? If so dont worry about putting it up here dont want to get away from the point of this thread.

Cheers
Kev

[AndrewS]

Tom,

I actually made a serious effort to rein myself in, in an attempt to avoid that phenomenon. I think what I'm going to do is build in another stance-based live drill each session, slowly integrating, while doing very hands-on refinement of mechanics. The thing I want to stress is going from a pure mechanics cooperative drill, to a simple live application drill, to a piece of form, so that each piece of form is taught after getting the body feel you would have in actual application, using the form to consolidate what is learned, rather than just going for choreography.

Russ,

I'll check it out.

Kevin,

I've been meaning to e-mail you about that. I'll try to send something out tonight.

Later,

Andrew

[old jong]

It will vary depending on the new student's learning habilities but it usually follows that model:

1) YGKYM and Chor ma
2)The basic punch from the stance
3)Pak sau with an explaination of the center line theory and triangle
4)Basic Tor Ma stepping/combined with Punching
5)Dan Chi Sau overview with explainations about Fok Sau and sticking

That's usually enough for one day. I advise them to practice at home everyday and to contact me anytimes if they have any problem with the material.

BTW,I like to teach as fast as the students are capable of learning but I can go as slow as needed if necessary!...

[AndrewS]

OJ,

I've made a point of minimizing arm work for the first few months of training since I started teaching a decade ago. I've found this approach, while not commercial, tends to hammer the important stuff early, and make for good lasting quality in those who've gone through it.

FWIW,

Andrew

[old jong]

I understand what you say Andrew. I personaly do my best to ingrain the foundations in new students and have them to understand what they are doing.I Will let them play with their class mates sooner but I am on their back the second their YGKYM is not up to my tastes.So far,many of my students have a very good rooting developped but some are more lazy.I tend to respect their own individual learning pace.

[Ali Hamad Rahim]

Originally posted by old jong
It will vary depending on the new student's learning habilities but it usually follows that model:

1) YGKYM and Chor ma
2)The basic punch from the stance
3)Pak sau with an explaination of the center line theory and triangle
4)Basic Tor Ma stepping/combined with Punching
5)Dan Chi Sau overview with explainations about Fok Sau and sticking

That's usually enough for one day. I advise them to practice at home everyday and to contact me anytimes if they have any problem with the material.

BTW,I like to teach as fast as the students are capable of learning but I can go as slow as needed if necessary!...

You got it right, that's pretty much what I do, anything more or other that that, will be too much. real slow is the way.

Ali Hamad Rahim.

detroitwingchun.com

[old jong]

I firmly believe that Wing Chun should be taught very slow!...They used to do that in the old days;having students standing in YGKYM for months,slowly extending their fook and bringing back their wu.But...Who would tolerate this today?...Today,students want it all fast! They will disappear from your schools like puffs of smokes if you would dare to teach them the old way.This is why JKD was invented IMO!...
So,we have to adjust and provides with more material in less times at the risk of having them developp a superficial Wing Chun.
There are very few real disciples of the art anymore!... We have to deal with custommers now!...

[old jong]

Originally posted by Ali Hamad Rahim
You got it right, that's pretty much what I do, anything more or other that that, will be too much. real slow is the way.

Ali Hamad Rahim.

detroitwingchun.com

Ali-
I think your post relates to my last one a lot. But what we do today is still really fast compared to the old days!

[SAAMAG]

Generally speaking, my first lessons are strictly posture and stances/footwork, with a little introduction into the chung kuen. and the first section of SLT. But I inform them that without the foundation of the posture/stucture and stances, none of the rest will work.

Once that is grasped for the most part, then we move more into the mechanics of the hands...punches, palms, single and double arm movements, drills, CK, more drills, chi sau, sparring, etc...etc..etc..