Everyday Mindfulness

Just thought I should post this as after all, it is what led me to mindfulness in the first place!

I have practiced Wing Chun for over 3 years now and all I can say is that it is is the most effective martial art I have come across for self-defence purposes (I'm not closing my mind here, just so far I haven't found anything AS effective for everyday self defence situations)

If you are going to try it out, please drop me a message first because lots of places teach crap. Just so you know. I can help point you in a good direction.

As for midfulness, it forces me to be mindful. The sessions we do are tightly marked and there is extreme attention to fine detail and as you progress, if you don't pay attention then you will get belted, and possibly bleed. As we say though, it's better it happens in the controlled environment than out there on the street...so not quite your peaceful Tai Chi/Qi Gong stuff that some may prefer. But I promise you, you will come out a lot stronger as your mindfulness is really put to the test!

I've not heard of Wing Chun before. Perhaps you could write a bit more about it? I am not liking the sound of being belted but am always interested in learning about new things

Wing Chun is a southern Chinese martial art, commonly practiced in Foshan and Hong Kong.

It is a tight, compact system, which stressed simple, efficient movements. There are three empty hand forms, a double knife form, a long-staff form and wooden dummy form.
Sensitivity training is accomplished through Chi Sau, or Sticky Hands.

In applicable terms, it has some similarities to Tai Chi as a boxing art. I practiced Wing Chun for a little while, although I found the internal arts to be more applicable.
You're right in saying that a lot of Wing Chun schools teach poor-quality material. This is due mainly to Bruce Lee, who studied Wing Chun as his first art before developing his own system of Jeet Kune Do. A lot of wannabes popped up trying to cash in on his name.

Thank you, that's very interesting.

Yes that's all pretty accurate Medway Saved me a job haha

@FeeHutch For a bit of entertainment, the film "Ip Man" is very good...semi-biopic of Bruce Lee's first teacher in Foshan with some not-to-exaggerated fight scenes

I should add that it comes under the Kung Fu umbrella

rara wrote:Yes that's all pretty accurate Medway Saved me a job haha

@FeeHutch For a bit of entertainment, the film "Ip Man" is very good...semi-biopic of Bruce Lee's first teacher in Foshan with some not-to-exaggerated fight scenes

I'll keep an eye out for that

Hi rara,

I'm a keen UK Wing-Chunner too, however I haven't had any formal instruction for almost 10 years .

I went to classes for more than 3 years but then became frustrated with the lack of mindfulness in the teaching and partner work, so I went looking for 'deeper' teachings.

More on my mindfulness research and practice of Wing Chun and external martial arts here on my blog.

I think I am finding stuff 'hidden' within the Wing Chun forms through learning YiQuan - more about that and mindfulness on my blog here.

I think urgency of attention ("Like one's life depended upon it" - JKZ), spontaneous relaxation, physical and psychological sensitivity, and emotional resilience are key traits required for successful and progressive mindfulness practice, and Wing Chun KungFu seems to hold the potential to add to the cultivation of, and test those things.

It is a wonderfully 'elegant' art in the sense that it is so practical and it works. The Bong Sau appears to be it's key treasure for me, and the Tan Sau coming second.

Wing chun is the epitome of mindfulness in martial arts.

Practicing Siu Nim Tao everyday will make you start to notice the subtleties in all the movements.

Chi sao will help you learn to automatically react based on feeling vs. what you see with your eyes. It's pretty amazing.