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Thread: WC Pilgrims

  1. #1
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    WC Pilgrims

    With boxerbilly's recent This forum sucks, I'm launching this new thread in the spirit of our Shaolin Journeys thread, mostly because I really like the title 'WC pilgrims'.

    ‘It wasn’t an easy journey’: meet the wing chun pilgrim who found a deeper purpose in Hong Kong’s martial arts community
    Martial arts master Marc Guyon made his professional debut in 2014, but just wants to impart his wisdom on his disciples
    PUBLISHED : Friday, 08 December, 2017, 7:00am
    UPDATED : Friday, 08 December, 2017, 11:15am
    Andrew McNicol
    https://www.facebook.com/andrew.mcnicol.501
    https://twitter.com/AndrewMcSport
    https://www.instagram.com/andmcnix/



    When French wing chun master Marc Guyon left his finance job and set foot in Hong Kong five years ago, he only expected to stay for a few months.

    A jobless and visa-less Guyon intended to learn from the Hong Kong’s acclaimed wing chun masters and return home with sufficient wisdom to open a school of his own.

    “It was very symbolic,” said the 33-year-old with 18 years of wing chun experience. “I was teaching it in France but I wanted to come to the city that developed it; the home of Ip Man and Bruce Lee.”

    Little did the Frenchman know that five years on, he would be the one spreading wisdom and would become a pivotal figure in Hong Kong’s contemporary mixed martial arts (MMA) scene.

    [IMG]src="https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2017/12/08/297f7f62-db10-11e7-91af-f34de211f924_972x_093502.jpg"[/IMG]
    Guyon arrived in the city three years ago to learn from top wing chun masters. Photo: JTP

    “It wasn’t an easy journey ... it was very hard to make a living here,” recalled Guyon (professional MMA record 3-4) after his winning display at Just MMA’s inaugural Hong Kong promotion on December 1.

    “But it’s not really about me, any more. I am here to prove that martial arts is for everyone.”

    Guyon eventually found a job thanks to his master's degree in finance, settled down with his Hongkonger wife, Carmen, and had a son with another one expected to arrive around Christmas.

    “We’re very happy about the second baby. They will have only two years’ age difference so they’ll be able to train together,” Guyon quipped.

    He made his professional MMA debut in 2014 and left the finance sector a year later to pursue a full- time career in martial arts. With all his attention turned to his lifelong passion combined with a vast support network to encourage him, Guyon could not be more sure that this is his calling.


    Guyon is an important figure in the French community in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

    “I feel like a part of Hong Kong now, more integrated with society,” said the head instructor of MGK Wing Chun and MMA, and current president of the Overseas French Association of Hong Kong.

    “I was a white collar guy. I want [similar] people in Hong Kong to watch me and think, ‘oh my god, this guy used to be in finance as well, and after some training and fights, he went professional. It works’,” Guyon said.

    “I want to prove that martial arts is for everyone – people in Hong Kong are busy but can spend a little time doing it.”

    Guyon trains primarily out of Hong Kong Fight Club but frequents other gyms to maintain an all-encompassing fight game.


    The Frenchman wants to guide the new generation of mixed martial artists in Hong Kong. Photo: JTP

    “I’m an open-minded martial artist,” said Guyon, who has previously competed in boxing, savate [French boxing] and holds a blue belt in jiu jitsu. “Some are very loyal, but I’m the opposite. Some old-school people won’t like this, but many people contribute to my wins.”

    His latest win over Macau’s Adunsak Rangmard was a particularly high hurdle – one that Guyon passed with flying colours despite being out of action for more than a year.

    “It was kind of a comeback fight for me,” he explained. “I suffered a broken jaw from a previous fight [with Chinese promotion Art of War in July 2016] but I’m back on track.

    “To be honest, I was a little disappointed because I thought I would finish the fight in the first round. I thought it would end quickly because of our different styles. I still have a lot to learn.”


    Guyon after his latest win in Just MMA’s inaugural Hong Kong promotion. Photo: Andrew McNicol

    Guyon was draped in French and Hong Kong flags after making the celebratory rounds with a rapturous Wan Chai’s Southorn Indoor Stadium crowd.

    “I had a lot of support because I’m from Hong Kong now; my students, my networks came to watch – there was a lot of pressure but I made a lot of people happy with the win.”

    “I have a lot of friends who watched and don’t know a thing about MMA. They still can’t believe I do it and think I’m a bit crazy ... that it’s for barbarians.

    “But I want to give it a good image. I think that’s my role.”

    “I’m 33. My objective is not to get into the UFC or anything like that; my objective is to make people understand what martial arts is.”


    Guyon is a wing chun master. Photo: JTP

    Marc Guyon has outgrown his personal journey. As he humbly puts it, it’s no longer about him any more. Rather, it is about the people around him; his disciples; the future breed of Hong Kong mixed martial artists.

    And what is the number one rule of the Guyon fight community?

    “I’m a martial artist. I fight when I have to fight. My challenge is to show people that you have to keep going – it’s not all about the theory.

    “I want to have a few more fights – a few wins, a few losses – and I want my students to be a part of the adventure. Prepare together, train together, do rounds together, sharing the experience.

    “Everyone helps each other out and this has to continue.”
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  2. #2
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    Wing Chun Odyssey

    I'd be remiss if I didn't add these archived articles from 2003 contributed by SEP+OCT 2001 Cover Master Benny Meng.

    A Wing Chun Odyssey: part I



    A Wing Chun Odyssey: part II

    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  3. #3
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    Starting to rethink the thread title of "pilgrims"

    Maybe 'Journeys' is better after all. It took more effort to search this thread out again.

    Feature: Chinese Wing Chun Kung Fu gains popularity among Palestinians
    Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-24 22:17:24|Editor: huaxia
    by Sanaa Kamal

    GAZA, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Aboud Zayed, a 12-year-old Palestinian from Gaza city, showed his skills in Wing Chun Kung Fu, winning the applause of his master and colleagues.

    Aboud and 40 other students are learning Chinese martial arts at the Palestinian Cultural School of Wing Chun Kung Fu, based in the northern city of Beit Lahia in Gaza Strip.

    The school, Palestine's first school teaching various forms of Chinese Kung Fu, was opened in 1989 and has witnessed an increasing number of students in the past few years.

    "I joined the school four years ago, in an attempt to control my hasty actions and to be able to control my reactions in a way that suits all situations," Aboud told Xinhua during a short break at school.

    Through sport, Aboud said he was able to rely on his inner energy, rather than on violence, adding that this sport changed his character from a violent to a calm one.

    Aboud, together with his colleagues, receive practical Chinese martial arts lesson three times a week for two hours each time.

    The boy, whose idol is Ip Man, teaches his colleagues some Wing Chun basic techniques and combat skills. He said he is willing to become a professional master in the future.

    Wing Chun is a concept-based traditional southern Chinese Kung Fu style and a form of self-defense that requires quick arm movements and strong legs to defeat opponents. It is the only martial art that was created by a woman.

    "Wing Chun is based on developing the inner capabilities of a fighter," Wing Chun master Alaa Zayed told Xinhua.

    "Through Wing Chun, which is a spiritual martial art, a fighter can control his opponent rather than destroying him," he added while observing one of his students showing newly learned techniques.

    More than 60 percent of the Palestinians suffer from depression and psychological pressure, Mental Health Organization in Gaza said in a recent report, noting that this has been caused by the difficult economic and political conditions.

    Wing Chun students have to pass several stages, Zayed said, adding that they learn about patience, endurance and inner strength.

    "The students also learn combat techniques as well as controlling fingers with high efficiency," he said.

    The master added that students learn martial art styles that depend on the strength stemming from relaxation rather than violence.

    "At the advanced stages, the students learn how to fight with a cudgel, practice on a Wing Chun wooden dummy and finally we teach them how to fight using the Butterfly Swords," Zayed noted.

    Meanwhile, Walid al-Nazli, another Wing Chun master who is currently training 15 students in Gaza city, said Wing Chun provides practitioners with self-confidence and the ability to control all their deeds.

    Al-Nazali emphasized that the students must be "patient and wise" to master Wing Chun greatly, noting that the Chinese martial arts are used as "a real remedy for many psychological problems."

    "I hope more Chinese martial art schools would be opened in Gaza to serve as cultural bridges between Palestine and China," he said.

    This story really needs a pic.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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