Note:
The following are notes that were taken at a Master Ho
seminar held several years ago in Chicago 1999.
History
of Wing Chun
1) A little bit about the discussion of the history of wing
chun. For the most part, I missed a chunk of the
history since the majority of it was discussed at dinner,
which I wasn't able to attend. But what he did talk
about several things at the seminar. As with all
seminars, Bruce lee always seems to pop up regarding his
history of wing chun knowledge. Now Ho Kam Ming was
with Yipman from 57 till the day Yipman died, however I
believe he stated that he studied with Yipman for 3 1/2
years or so and then taught for him for the next 3 1/2years.
He said for the most part that he was the one who
exclusively trained with Yipman, while many of the more
popular names we hear today actually learned from the
students. Yipman wasn't to hip in teaching that many
students, and when he did teach he would charge an arm and a
leg. I believe he stated the seminar that they held
today, something of that nature back then, Yipman would've
charged a grand for it. He commented a bit on why you see
some modifications in the art of wing chun, and he simply
said, that you modify something when you haven't completed
the entire art. Then he referred back to Bruce Lee
learning a mere 2% of the art. Yup, that's right he
stated specifically only 2%..
Wing Chun Fighting
2) Wing Chun fighting - This subject deals a little more
with his ideals on how to fight opponents and the mentality
behind it.
a) The concept of going in. when you finally
decide to fight, you go in. It’s as simple as that...
There is no case of sizing up the opponent being more aware
of certain things if he's a grappler or striker, etc, etc.
once you do that your thinking too much. That in his
opinion is wrong. I also asked, is there a certain
approach as far as stepping in. do you arrow or circle step.
And once again, he said you simple focus on going in.
And, this is the guts part that Augustine Fong has always
talked about.
b) When closing the gap, the purpose is to focus on the
chest, as soon as he moves, I hit him. Once the point of
decision has been made to fight or not. No matter who it is
regarding the fight, the philosophy is the same, if you know
how to adjust and your sticky hands is good, then you'll be
fine. Thus, if your sticky hands is superior you won't have
to worry once you move in. And this is against anyone
regardless of size. If you think too much
don't fight.
c) Concept of charging in covered again - when you charge in
your target is the center of the chest, can't move this
target as easily as the head - 1st technique is to focus on
the chest, target the chest - remember that your first blow
is the safest for you - once you touch you can go any where
after that because of your sticky hands. To add
further to the target area, he said while you can attack
other spots after your first focus, like head or throat or
whatever, he said when you hit the guy in the center, that's
to kill internally.
End of Part I
Observations of Ho Kam Ming
Like I said before, Ho Kam Ming is small, maybe even a 1 or 2 inches
shorter than Augustine Fong. He came to the seminar in regular
street clothes and was relatively quiet. But when Augustine Fong
would ask him questions from the audience, you could see the
excitement when he would talk theories and applications of wing chun.
He definitely loves the art. One thing that did seem sad
was someone did ask what he thought of how wing chun was being handled
currently throughout the world. And he mentioned that wing chun
was literally invisible. Thus, he commented both in north
America and china.
One thing you'll notice from just watching ho Kam Ming. Is that he
doesn't move with blazing speed. I mean he's gotta be 70 years
old or so. But yet at the same time, whenever a move was done
against him. He’d be in the right spot at the right time. In other
words, out of all the Sifu's I’ve met this guy has what is called
PERFECT, and I mean Perfect timing. Seriously, I've always
known that the emphasis on wing chun isn't about speed. But about
timing and positioning. And, he made it perfectly clear why its
so important. Without a doubt this guy could go half the speed
of all the other Sifu's and still hit you, since his timing is so
incredible. If you picture yourself rolling and how you have to do an
attack with your speed... cut that speed in half, and that's ho Kam
Ming hitting you just because he's at the right place at the right
time. Okay, I think he should be the official spokes person for Timex
or something.
After touching hands with other Sifu's like Emin, William
Chueng, etc, etc how is Ho Kam Ming different. Well, after
rolling with these guys there extremely soft. But then touching hands
with ho Kam Ming. Wow. Imagine a force, with no force.
Man, that sounds weird. But you touch hands, with him and you can feel
the force to the point that you can't attack him, but at the same time
it’s so soft as if nothing is there. Yeah, that's the best my
writing skills can describe it, but I'm telling you it’s the
weirdest feeling. You can't feel but love the art and be
addicted to it, for the mere part that after touching that you want to
have that as well. When I rolled with him he was correcting my
moves and trying to get the main points across with chi sao... The
main point being. Nothing. No muscle, no power at all.... just pure
bone structure, once you use muscle that's no longer wing chun.
And he made his point perfectly clear... when I rolled and tried to
get through. It was impossible to get through. I believe that my chi
sao is fairly decent but obviously child like when compared to Ho Kam
Ming, but at the same time I tried small blink like movements to get
through, but still no luck. Seriously he was feeling and stopping
movements like that. I can see now how sensitivity stops speed.
It’s just unbelievable.
Now I notice lately on the message board regarding a discussion of
Yipman and Hulk Hogan. I couldn't believe there's even
posting of this. So just my 2 cents regarding this. If Yipman
fought Hulk Hogan. Hulk would die. There's no doubt in my mind.
Hulk would be dead, dead and dead. Once you touch hands
with someone of Ho Kam Ming's Caliber you'll understand why... first
once you touch, you won't be able to move, and once you move and he
hits you, you will die. It’s as simple as that. If
he were to hit you, you would be dead. That’s the energy, force,
chi, or whatever you want to call it. I remember a couple of
seminars ago that Augustine fang stated that once you touch hands with
a wing chun man, he could control your every movement. And now it
makes perfect sense.
Another thing I wanted to add...about his teaching... other Sifu's are
great, they may explain things in a sentence. While Ho Kam Ming breaks
it down to one word. While wing chun deals with getting rid of
excess his teaching has become allot simpler and easier to understand.
Well, he has what, about 50 years of wing chun or so right.
Some Cool things about the seminar
One of the coolest things that I saw in the seminar. Was watching Ho
Kam Ming and Augustine Fong roll with one another. Awesome, just
awesome, I always wondered what 2 masters would look like rolling
against each other. And obviously with the entire wing chun bullsh_t
bickering against each organization, I knew I’d never see that. But
watching them roll was cool. In the end, ho Kam Ming even corrected
Sifu Fong and showed him an opening that he missed. Wow...
Sorta like the scene in Phantom Menace. There are always 2 a master
and an apprentice...heheheh
Well that's it for now. Hope you enjoy the reading
end of Part II
All application is learned through sticky - bong
sau application can be hi or low but concentrate on the center
2) don't attack too many ideas
3) basic - foundation - Siu Lim Tao when you can control yourself you
can control others
4) if you're aware of bone structure never ever use muscle - that’s
how you relax
5) student knees are fairly apart - sorta weird pak Sao from form
barely moves an inch
6) the purpose of 1st move the cross - for blocking leg kick - purpose
of Siu Lim Tao the motion of hands focusing in the whole structure -
applied when losing balance - only when your falling will this
application work,
7) difference between energy and tension - is energy you will flow
freely
that's the difference and tension you cannot react to it
8) 1st little idea - take it one step at a time, take it step by step
9) tan sau - the hand is like an arrow, remember no force at all
just enough to keep it up
10) what your thinking when doing the form, is focus on the area that
your doing on what your doing at the moment
11) it should be slow - when you do Siu Lim Tao
12) bottom of weight should be equal and you should feel yourself
touching the ground
13) after you do the form double and single sticky hands - teach you
how to execute your power
14) you won't be able to touch him - with chi Sao - you should execute
the full move
15) 3 most important things about chi Sao 1 ) timing 2) power 3)
control
16) sticky hands is to force people to stick to you - not to
stick hands
with, if you use more power he feels that right away
17) to improve all forms is the foundation of the system
18) Siu Lim Tao some of the motions are in fact not useful, side ways
chop in the form, actually used to develop bil gee, you won't be able
to get that from doing it forward, target only one
19) always punch center - kills, power is speed and timing
20) different types of timing, no forward power with leg power
concentrated in the rear, difference between 50/50 and 100/0
21) example - both hands grabbing don't use hand use body
22) if you turn only one foot when shifting you don't turn the center
23) distance and timing - most important feel is the most important
thing of doing the turn, don't need power to hit
24) Bruce lee learned about 2% of the art
25) explosive power everything in wing chun is in fact scientific
August 15th
1) good footwork drills when your by yourself - Cu Long simply showed a
combination of simply stepping arrow, double, and circle stepping..
In addition to that a drill was done with the stepping, staying square
and center, while forcing opponent into a corner. As with
everything start of slow and then build up the speed once you have the
flow.
2) When closing the gap, don't worry about anything. Focus on going
through the opponent. It’s not necessary to size up the
opponent, as to whether he's a grappler, striker, or whatever, the
philosophy is simple. If you do that, then you'll be thinking
too much.
When closing the gap, the purpose is to focus on the chest, as soon as
he moves, I hit him. Once the point of decision has been made to fight
or not. No matter who it is regarding the fight, the philosophy is the
same, if you know how to adjust and your sticky hands is good.
If you think too much don't fight.
3) regarding the pic, it simple shows that it doesn't matter which
side bong sau is to counter the punch, as long as you understand what
the move is for, it can be applied to the situation. Thus, the
demonstration simply showed bong sau, with both arms.
4) How high should tan sau be? Once you feel lost of power and
structure, then you need to adjust and change to another move.
5) Jaam sau or jeong sau - is used to go into the gap and find the
opening... just like the opening move for the dummy form, its used to
search for the opening
6) purpose of dummy - angling, positioning and no muscle should be
used when touching the dummy, simply tapping it. Closing the gap
is improved because of the dummy, which helps you learn positioning.
The dummy also develops the release of power
7) what's the most important thing.... Positioning and timing -
control &
distance - how to relax to get the power - is the main thing in wings
chun
Observation’s while ken's rolling.
Match his power, elbow has to be high, then immediately sinks down
when doing tan sao. Remember; no power at all, no power. If elbow
doesn't sink enough bicep is tense, elbow moves a very little motion
when it’s dropped - have enough tension to hold it up. Just enough
so that the arm is supported - when doing fok sau, just move forearm.
- The elbow during bong sau helps to stabilize it. Not located in
shoulder at all. Never ever withdraw the elbow. When doing bong
sau, palm faced outward - you shouldn't feel any strength at
all, and should be flexible
speed and time allows you to control the force
8) when doing tan sau, its wrong to force the elbow into the
center.... it shouldn't be squeezed in but in fact occupy the center line in a
natural manner.. All movements should be natural, other wise its forced and
that's not wing chun.
9) Proper rolling - both sides should be equal with a slight pause, so
you
can learn how to feel, but from one point to another its fact.
Emphasis
should always be on positioning and timing. If you roll back and forth
without feeling, you’re wasting your time; it’s at those points of
pauses where you learn to feel the openings and what to do.
10) Single sticky hand shouldn't even touch or hit, remember when you
hit someone you have to step forward. Other wise you offset your
center and your reaching... must step forwards, always step forward to
maintain your structure - whenever you attack you step in
11) elbow moves first in bong sau
12) when dealing with jamming - step back - don't use force, if you
use your arm you will use, the arm stays where it is and the body is
what moves
13) its the positioning if you pull straight ahead and can't move,
pull a
different way... that's the key, there's a weakness in every
positioning,,
you just have to know where it is. This demonstration involve me
leaving my hand out real stiff, and he didn't pull it forwards but to
the side and downwards and was able to move me from it
14) this note involves rolling hands. How was it that Augustine fang
was able to pull me when I’m rolling, because if I give a little
more energy than necessary, he was able to pull me from stepping back
with the body and maintain his foks slightly down. Thus, never
step back because you want to, you do that because he's using energy
and then because of that you use it. If he has light energy then you
move forward.... always maintain the distance - at the same time other
observations is when you move in... You step with same foot and tan
sau, its structurally stronger, that's when you move in - feel the
force and go with it... remember the drill that he does with one
finger and you simply follow, learn how to do this.
15) Punching bag is not for force its for focusing
16) concept of charging in covered again - when you charge in
your target is the center of the chest, can't move this target as
easily as the head - 1st technique is to focus on the chest, target
the chest - remember that your first blow is the safest for you - once
you touch you can go any where after that because of your sticky hands
17) wing chun kicks is most powerful than hands it stops the attack
from coming in, even deadlier than the hands - there are 8 kicks total
in wing chun but each one is retractable for a total of 16 - he stated
that you do things and learn things in order, and that's hands first
before kicks, a simple kicking exercise that he showed was stand on
one fought with guard up for 2 minutes.... - maintain the center of
gravity. Each side should be 2 1/2 minutes. He stated that doing
1 leg Siu Lim Tao is not good, if your going to do Siu Lim Tao then do
Siu Lim Tao, if your going to do leg exercises than do that...because
you can focus better - remember you don't chase someone with kicks you
use kicks to jam opponents - with kicks your stabilizing leg is
slightly bent, thus your literally sinking - once again, legs are
better to block at if he comes in with an attack
when dealing with wing chun kicks, you have to be careful when moving
in, you have to wait first after he does his first kick to move in,
since he has a retractable kick, you move in the moment he touches the
floor, that's called perfect timing . On the other hand, when
dealing with other kicks from other styles, don't worry at all. Just
move in and attack his center.
Assume someone is doing spin kick is it better to let him do the kick
and then move in or attack him from the back when he does his spin -
obviously, its when his back is turned Pau pi chun his ass.
18) Something about sticking, if you control his center of gravity,
then how can he control yours - thus, you have to have a good center
of gravity.
19) Regarding controlling - wait till his hands moves - when
jamming occurs you have to feel the force - the idea of fast motion
- he created a v and tried pushing his hands fast and the hands would
not move, on the other hand, if you push with one finger slowly it
will move - laws of physics. - Remember when doing chi sao move 1 by 1
for sticky hands, then you can feel peoples reactions – if you do
slowly you won't know the timing, if you do fast, you won't feel the
sensitivity of openings - timing is a combination of slow and fast,
you have to learn both...- when he moves, and you don't move that's
called controlling - decide when your coming and going the moment of
touch, if you think its to late - up and down then feel between tan
and bong fast than relaxed - one by one you get used to the feeling
ROLLING
20) step same foot tan sau when you feel the force, when you step back
- always be aware that its equal
21) punching - w/ the punch focus on the punch the end part and simply
push with the elbow using no power - elbow simply pushes and shots out
like arrow using no power - you will feel the knuckle go in just like
a saw going back and forth that is the proper motion, without any
muscle in the hand - the last 3 knuckles will connect why? Because
structurally more sound
with arm also bent in this position its harder to break it.
22) with pak, you do it slowly laws of physics - this is the
drill we did
while doing sticky hands - from bong to tan and jet - positioning is
everything - wing chun doesn't use any muscle at all the human bone is
the main structure using the bone to hit people, not muscle - it uses
bone
23) spiritually - detachment
24) in future - when practicing kicks, both sides of kicking do more
on the left side than right - just so that you develop both sides
equally
25) doing forms, concentrate on 1 form at a time, 10 days segment,
otherwise you won't be able to focus on the purpose of each form - on
thing at a time - the dummy you can do everyday, order of learning
hands, legs, then weapons, if you learn to soon, the weapons will ruin
your knowledge or concept of hand motion - Siu Lim Tao is just a
little idea step by step
26) his opinion that Wing chun is the ultimate martial arts