The centreline is one of the most important concepts in the martial arts. People use it and are aware of it even if they don't realize. There are actually three separate centrelines and each one has its importance.    MIDDLE CENTRELINE - This line runs right down the front of your body and it's the line along which many of your vital organs are located   MOTHERLINE - This line runs right down the middle of your body and is responsible for your balance. Leaning too far forward, backward, or sideways will compromise this. You must always by balanced even if your weight is not…

The weapon is an extension of the person who wields it. This is an extremely important concept in the martial arts. After all, hand to hand fighting systems have their origins in weapons. You can take straight punches, hook punches, and uppercut punches, and you can see all of them in the staff. The key difference is that with weapons, everything is larger. Steps are larger, body rotation is larger, etc. But when we switch to hand to hand fighting, things become much tighter and closer. This is why we sometimes like to say "TRAIN BIG, FIGHT SMALL".   Take a look…

Our society has evolved in such a way that we've made things very easy for ourselves. Too easy. In fact it's so easy that we hardly have to move and can sit the majority of our day sitting. As a result of this, back pain and stiffness are extremely common. The human body was never meant to spend this much time sitting and we're paying the price for it.    Fortunately there are some exercises we can do that can help with that. Check out the video in today's blog post to learn more!  

The centreline is one of the most important concepts in the martial arts. Particularly in the Wing Chun system, the centreline is the key to everything. Unfortunately there are so many people out there practicing these arts who have no clue about it. It may sound ridiculous, but it's true.    The stance from Wing Chun known as Yee Jee Kim Yeung Ma (or Character Two Adduction Stance) is the primary method for training this. Every Wing Chun practitioner learns this on the first day of class and shifting follows soon after. As crucial as these things are, very few people actually…

You know the old expression "Too much of a good thing"? Unfortunately it also applies to health and fitness. I've heard it countless times over the years. "I love the way working out makes me feel. I want to do it every day". There's also "I just need to workout every day. My day just isn't complete without it". And of course we have "It's been months since I ate any junk food. I love the way healthy eating makes me feel. I don't ever want it again".   At first glance, someone might ask "What's the problem?". Let's look at these…

The weapon is an extension of the hands. This is a very common understanding in the world of martial arts and one particular weapon where this applies perhaps more than others, is the Wing Chun Butterfly Swords. They essentially resemble large butcher knives with hand guards. Basically every technique you can do with your hands can be done with the swords. In fact, I don't think it's possible to truly understand the proper energies of Wing Chun without the swords.    When you look at empty handed techniques, they're done with what we call a small frame. Everything is tighter and more…

I believe meditation must be a part of your health and fitness program. It can help teach you proper breathing, help deal with stress, balance the body with softness in contrast to hardness and tension, and much more. There are different types of meditation that can be done, but by far my favourite type is moving meditation. This is also called Silk Reeling in the Internal Chinese martial arts. In this video, I cover the basics of moving mediation of this type.   A few things to remember is a simple formula 1. ROOT 2. BREATHE 3. CONNECT   So looking at these one at a time, ROOT refers…

One of the biggest challenges in the martial arts is understanding proper range of your weapons. A sawed off shotgun might be great at close range, but is completely worthless at long range. One of the best examples of understanding range is from the movie "The Hunt For Red October" starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin. In the film, there was a scene where a torpedo was launched at the submarine. Captain Ramius (Sean Connery) ordered the helmsman to move the sub right towards the torpedo which seems like a suicide move. However he knew that the torpedo only arms…

The ability to remain calm in a real situation can be very difficult indeed. It almost seems like a contradiction. It sounds very strange to relax while you're trying to hit someone and avoid being hit, but you must do this. One of the keys to doing this is learning to control your breath. This is done through Qigong breathing exercises. If you practice these exercises regularly, it will have tremendous benefit to your overall health and the ability to remain calm.   RELAXATION, AWARENESS, INTENT are the keys to combat. You must stay relaxed inn order to be properly aware and you…

The heavy bag is one of the most recognizable pieces of equipment in Boxing and other martial arts. Indeed it's one of the first things that come to mind when you think of the martial arts. It can come in many shapes, sizes, and types. However there are two major categories. One is the hanging type which can hang from a ceiling hook or from a heavy bag stand and the other is freestanding with a water or sand filled base. Top me the best is the hanging type from a ceiling hook. You can of course get a great workout no…

I've spoken in the past about the importance of the Sil Lim Tao form for Wing Chun and other martial arts. Now it's time to break it down move by move, section by section to get a better understanding of it. To start, there are three sections of the form. The first section is done to teach proper positioning and energy, particularly the forward elbow energy so necessary for Wing Chun skill. The second section is to teach you to recover from a bad position. And the third section is to teach energy release and power. All are needed for…

Sometimes people have difficulty understanding step through or shifting footwork when it comes to the hands. But if you put a knife in your hands it all makes more sense. There's a real flow to it that's hard to get with just the bare hands, but it can be transferred over with weapons.    You may have heard people say that the weapon is an extension of your hand. That's exactly true. Any of the techniques you can do with the knives or other weapons can be done with the hands. Not only that, but the personality of the weapons would always…

Forms practice is a very large part of the traditional martial arts. They serve many purposes. One is that in the old days it served as a glossary of the techniques of a martial art. The majority of the population was illiterate at that time and forms were a way to physically pass down the techniques and spirit of a martial art. Another is that it helps to ingrain the techniques into your subconscious improving muscle memory. And a third is that they are good exercise and in fact great for cardio as well as coordinating the body.   However for our…

These energies were taught to me as The Eight Energies Of Wing Chun. However, I've come to realize that they are universal to all martial arts. Understanding these energies will vastly improve your knowledge of the martial arts and how to use the various attacks and defenses. Here they are.   1. LISTENING ENERGY - This is also known as sensitivity and is an integral part of all martial arts. Once there is contact between you and your opponent, a bridge has been created. You can feel your opponent and your opponent can feel you. Listening energy is what will allow you…

We're living in very unusual times to say the least! With things being locked down, gyms closed, restaurants closed, theaters closed, travel being extremely restricted, our lives have been turned completely upside down. There is light at the end of the tunnel and I'm confident that 2021 will slowly see improvements to allow us to return to normal. But one undeniable fact is that this past year with so many people living sedentary lifestyles, has seen a lot of unhealthy weight gain. I personally know some people who've packed on 25 lbs or more this past year. Normally one's day…

Having some "Go To" strikes that you can use when needed might save your neck one day. In a self defense situation, high fancy kicks and other similar strikes are completely worthless and might even land you on the ground which is the last thing you want. There is no place for being fancy in a self defense situation. The martial art of Ving Tsun (Wing Chun) is perfect for that and can be used even if dealing with a larger and stronger adversary. In fact, it's the only martial art I know of that was developed by a woman.…

The heavy bag is certainly one of the best pieces of equipment you can use. It's a fantastic cardio workout, develops explosiveness, power, timing, and so much more. And of course it's essential to develop your strikes for all martial arts. It is important however to use it properly. Learn to form a fist correctly and also use the proper energy. The golden rule (and this may sound a bit strange) is this:   IF YOU TRY TO HIT HARD, IT WON'T BE.   I'm sure that sounds very weird, but the reason why I'm saying that is if you think about trying to hit…

In this video I go over the fundamental concepts that you need to know in order to practice Qigong properly. Remember that in Qigong there is a Sinking or Dropping energy to everything. Also proper relaxation is important as is breathing properly through the nose (not the mouth). Take a look and see what it's all about.   For more information, click here

Footwork is without question the most important element of martial arts. It's the foundation for everything you do. One expression my Boxing coach always likes saying is "You box with your legs, not your hands!". Anyway in the video I go over some basic exercises that can be used to develop the footwork. There are four drills in total.   1. Half Step Drill 2. Full Step Drill 3. Two Step Method 4. Four Corner Stepping  

Qigong is one of those things you may or may not have heard of. However Qi or Chi is something many people have heard of. It's been featured in countless movies and tv shows. It was even spoken about in the movie Kung Fu Panda! So what is Qi and what is Qigong? Qi is your life energy or life essence as some people like to call it and Qigong is the method which cultivates it. However unlike how it's portrayed in movies or by scammers, it is NOT some type of magical power or energy you have in your body.…