Starting W.C

[Raipizo]

Hello guys, I'm starting my training in Wing Chun but the only problem is that there is no instructor in my area to train with so I'm kinda forced to use other resources. do you guys have any recommendations? thanks

[GlennR]

Hello guys, I'm starting my training in Wing Chun but the only problem is that there is no instructor in my area to train with so I'm kinda forced to use other resources. do you guys have any recommendations? thanks

Honestly, you cant do that.

Find a local instructor in another style

[Vajramusti]

Honestly, you cant do that.

Find a local instructor in another style

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get the best instructor in your area

[hulkout]

There are many things that you can teach yourself. Unfortunately, martial arts isn't one of them. You can learn to play guitar on your own through books and videos. As long as you get a good sound, it's correct. You can learn to draw and paint by yourself. As long as it looks good, it's correct. With martial arts, the only way to know if it's correct is from live feedback. You can copy forms and drills and it may look correct. But when you test it, it might not be. You need an instructor to teach you all the small details and give you the live feedback. There's just no other way. Once you have some experience under your belt, it is possible to pick things up from videos and books. But by then, you will have a good understanding of structure and principles. Otherwise, you'll just be wasting your time or even worse, develop bad habits which you'll have to work hard to undo if and when you eventually join a Wing Chun school.

[trubblman]

Hello guys, I'm starting my training in Wing Chun but the only problem is that there is no instructor in my area to train with so I'm kinda forced to use other resources. do you guys have any recommendations? thanks

Where are you located in Ohio? There are VT teachers in Ohio in certain areas. A not so good teacher can probably teach you more than any video.

[Raipizo]

Problem is nothing much interests me. I have been in karate before but I lost interest in that because I really love Kung Fu. I live in Northeast Ohio I looked online and pretty much the closest instructor for me is in Cleveland which is quite a drive let alone it's dangerousness. Again my neck of the woods is pretty dry on Kung Fu instructors and I wish some were closer to me. One of you guys move to Painesville Ohio and set me up Lol.

[Vajramusti]

Problem is nothing much interests me. I have been in karate before but I lost interest in that because I really love Kung Fu. I live in Northeast Ohio I looked online and pretty much the closest instructor for me is in Cleveland which is quite a drive let alone it's dangerousness. Again my neck of the woods is pretty dry on Kung Fu instructors and I wish some were closer to me. One of you guys move to Painesville Ohio and set me up Lol.

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Why dangerous? Buddy Wu teaches wing chun sround Cleveland. If you are serious about anything including kung fu- you have to sacrifice something. Sifu Wu learned from Ho Kam Ming.
BTW I once lived in Kent, Ohio

[Raipizo]

It's in east cleveland I think, plus it's about an hour drive. Wish my area wasn't so dry with martial arts

[Raipizo]

Where are you located in Ohio? There are VT teachers in Ohio in certain areas. A not so good teacher can probably teach you more than any video.

I'm pretty much right on the lake, around Thompson and Geneva

[TenTigers]

An hour is nothing. I traveled several hours out of state to see my Hung Kuen Sifu once a week.
I traveled into NYC's Chinatown 1 1/2 hours each way-often coming home at 2am to train with my SPM teacher.

If you can study with Buddy Wu, it would be well worth your time.

The other thing is, you need to be as honest with yourself as I am going to be with you now-if traveling a few hours once a week to learn from a good teacher is a bother to you, maybe you aren't really serious about training. Real training, and learning Martial Arts requires discipline.

[Vajramusti]

An hour is nothing. I traveled several hours out of state to see my Hung Kuen Sifu once a week.
I traveled into NYC's Chinatown 1 1/2 hours each way-often coming home at 2am to train with my SPM teacher.

If you can study with Buddy Wu, it would be well worth your time.

The other thing is, you need to be as honest with yourself as I am going to be with you now-if traveling a few hours once a week to learn from a good teacher is a bother to you, maybe you aren't really serious about training. Real training, and learning Martial Arts requires discipline.

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Agree completely. Just facts.I moved from daily training in Tucson, AZ from my Augustine Fong sifu's kwoon to Las Cruces, NM where I opened the first regular wing chun training hall (now dispersed)in the fall of 1979 and came back to Arizona-Phoenix-in 1985. Now 110 miles away from the Tucson school.

For 6 years I drove roundtrip 540 miles for weekend instruction on Friday, Saturday and Sundays.No regrets.

When you find a good and skilled teacher in something that you like-convenience diminishes in value.

joy chaudhuri

[Lee Chiang Po]

You can probably find some good books that will give you the basics and you can learn from that. Eventually you can find a good sifu. People learn from books. Every subject in public school is taught from a book. You can read it over and over until it makes sense. However, it is only going to take you so far unless you have a real good understanding.
If you are wanting to learn Wing Chun, don't settle for some other system of martial art. You don't have to do that, and if you do, you won't be happy with it. I am sure that there are good books out there that can feed you the basics and explain them so that you can grasp it.

[mjw]

Travel or find another style or art perhaps contact the school an hour away they may know somebody closer or try a different style of kung fu IMO

[Grumblegeezer]

You can probably find some good books that will give you the basics and you can learn from that. Eventually you can find a good sifu. People learn from books. Every subject in public school is taught from a book. You can read it over and over until it makes sense. However, it is only going to take you so far unless you have a real good understanding.
If you are wanting to learn Wing Chun, don't settle for some other system of martial art. You don't have to do that, and if you do, you won't be happy with it. I am sure that there are good books out there that can feed you the basics and explain them so that you can grasp it.

Jackie, you talked about how you charged a bundle to train people to make sure they took their training seriously and didn't waste your time. Heck , how serious can somebody be who won't try driving a couple of hours to learn from a sifu? Would you train somebody like that? Based on what you've said, I doubt it!

@Raipizo -- I'd say, find a real sifu, make the drive, then maybe advertise and recruit a training partner to share the drive with and to practice with on off-nights. Maybe you'll get lucky and the sifu can direct you to some senior students closer to you. There are a lot of WC people who train privately and don't show up on google.

[Raipizo]

It's not so much as a drive that deters me but I just don't feel safe in Cleveland. I was possibly going to try to see if a student or someone lived a little closer. School and work also make a long drive nearly impossible. As for books I read some but obviously a teacher or partner is way better. I wish someone would open up a W.C school by me! lol.