Hi Ging Mo Fighter,Originally posted by Ging Mo Fighter
Just wondering how far you can get in Wingchun
If you purchase a book teaching in detail many things about wingchun
purchase a well made and correct wooden dummy
purchase a book on how to perform lots of the techniques?
Well, as usual, I'll be one to break ranks, and say that I feel it's a waste of precious money and especially time to try learning Wing Chun from books, videos, and the internet. Resharing (below) my thoughts from a previous thread. Combined with input from others, at least you'll have some different perspectives to consider.
Regards & best wishes on your journey.
- Kathy Jo
Originally posted by kj
I don't like to give "advice" - no one takes it anyway.But I will offer a few thoughts and suggestions.
- Find the best instructor you can who meets your requirements and expectations, regardless of where they live and teach. If you cannot find someone you feel has the highest levels of competence in what you wish to pursue, or if you cannot travel to find it, my advice would be to consider a different art where you can obtain top quality instruction. I realize others differ with me on this point, but to my mind pursuing a martial art is too much of an investment to settle for second, third or fourth best in learning, even in Wing Chun. Obviously, you will set your own criteria for what you feel is best, just as others do.
- Travel there to train as often as you can, whether once a day, once a week, once a month, or once a year. Make the most of every visit, and soak up information like a sponge.
- In between visits, practice yourself silly. Even without hands to work with, you can still continue to build your foundation and many of the necessary capabilities working alone, especially working the sets, sandbag, stepping, turning, etc. The kung fu is something you have to earn anyway, and not something your teacher can give you.
- After you have some time in and some foundation built (both physically and in understanding), get a wooden dummy. It won't substitute for a live partner, but it will help. Invest in a good wooden dummy too, don't waste your money on junk.
- Find yourself at least one partner to practice and learn along with you. Finding a partner is not easy; finding one who is a good partner for you and who will stay the course even harder. But aside from the right instructor and diligence in your personal practice, this is a most important piece. Not only will you have someone to practice "on" and with, but your two heads in learning will be better than one. If your new partner can become enthused as you are, encourage them to go to the class/school with you, wherever it is, and be an extra sponge for learning. You will also motivate each other. Until you get a partner, however long that takes, keep practicing on your own and do not make this a constraint or showstopper. But do your best not to delay on this any longer than you must.
- Once you and your partner have some foundation between you, and are solidly along and confident in your training path, find others to share and grow with. But word to the wise ... don't fancy yourself a master before your time, and don't try to play like one. Just walk the path with the others regardless who is ahead or behind or who leapfrogs; you must all help each other along. Humility is not only admirable, but appropriate for most mere mortals. A truly good teacher even learns from their students.
- Be persistent and patient.
- Don't waste your time trying to learn from books, tapes, or on your own without the best hands-on instruction you can avail yourself of. Reading and researching is okay provided you don't go bankrupt, but you cannot rely on any of that to help build your kung fu; trying to learn from such venues may do more harm than good in the long run. It is better to train under the guidance of an excellent instructor once a year, than a poor instructor every day. Kung fu is something you must build for yourself, it cannot be handed to you at any price. The time and effort is too much of an investment to waste on guesswork, trying to resolve unresolveable inconsistencies, or building bad habits that will take two or three times as long to undo. We get old too fast to waste time that way. Besides, that money is better invested to travel to a good instructor if need be.
- Meet with, engage with, and share with other Wing Chun people and other martial artists whenever you can. Don't rely on this as your primary training though. If you have chosen carefully and wisely, you should follow your teacher's guidance, and not become distracted with everyone else's methods and advice. And I guarantee you will get more of it than you bargain for. However working with others to the degree and level that you are able is an invaluable way to keep your eyes open, your mind sharp, and your practice honest; it will also challenge you so that you can continue to grow in skill and understanding. It will also present many questions for you to research with your teacher. Working with others will also help you to see when in-path corrections are needed, even if that correction means you should further explore other teachers. Sometimes we don't hit quite the right thing for us first time out of the chute.
- Oh, and did I say be patient and persistent?
This is just off top of my head, and I'll think of a ton more once I hit "send." Short on time though, so will stop at that.
FWIW, my teacher lives over 3000 miles away from where I am. I did not select him because of overwhelming convenience, yet I found a way to make what I was looking for and hoping to learn into reality. These thoughts are gleaned from real life experience, not some impossible dream. Your priorities, constraints, options, and course will almost certainly be different from mine; so please consider this just some starter ideas for generating more of your own.
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. Even though it was rhetorical, you are insulting my teacher (if that's who you're talking about). You know the drill - insulting him is insulting me.
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