Pagoda Forum / Pagoda Imports Forum / Wing Chun Kuen

New WIng Chun class near Manchester

Iron Martial Arts — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:57:57 GMT

There's a new Wing Chun class in Oldham, near Manchester.

All Wing Chun enthusiasts are welcome, regardless of experience and lineage.

E-mail ironwingchun@hotmail.com for more details.

Do you have a root?

futsaowingchun — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:14:22 GMT

Hope you like it..

Do you have Root?

A lot of people who begin taking up a martial art for the first time, such as Wing Chun, tend to be overly eager. Many just want to learn the "good stuff" and jump right into advanced training. Beginner martial artists try to take short cuts by spending as little time as possible on the basics, bypassing the "hard, boring, and mundane" aspects of training like developing a strong root.

What they fail to realize is that a strong root is essential to building a good foundation in preparation for advanced training. Simply put, without a strong root you have no gung fu. What does a strong root really mean? Without a solid root, one's techniques will simply not work against someone with a developed root, and ones attack and defense will lack the necessary force to deal with their opponent's attack. A person who has failed to develop a strong root is like a house of cards, apply modest pressure and it totally collapses .Also a person devoid of a root has no real structure and can be controlled easily by one who is rooted. Without structure, this type of person must rely solely on brute force or sectional power to generate force (such as the power of only the hand or foot.) Although this type of power can be great, it is unconnected from the whole body and lacks the power which comes from one's root.

When issuing force from the root, however, whole body power is used. This power originates from one's root and is connected from the ground-up and transmitted through one's structure. Not just the portion of the hand or leg is used, but the whole connected body. This power is unbroken like the chain on a bicycle. When released; the force feels like being hit by a tidal wave or a sudden shock wave. This type of power is what gives the smaller person the ability to generate a tremendous amount of power compared to someone who relays solely on his arms or legs. In the old days of the great masters, you often heard about persons of a small stature who were able to defeat larger foes with their ability to deliver power beyond the normal. I'm sure such great masters from the past, must have spent a lot of time on their foundations and had tremendous root in order to accomplish these great feats. Besides basic horse and stance training another very useful way to develop a strong and stable root is from regular Chi Sao practice.

(The practice of Chi Sao is unique to the Wing Chun system.) By regular practice, one feels what it is like to have their root and structure tested continuously. This is very useful in root training. The constant forward pressure from ones opponent during Chi Sao is a great way to test the root. One must learn to channel this pressure from the structure into the ground, and issue power from the ground though ones structure. If your root is weak one will simply fall over or lose balance. This is the basic and most invaluable skill one should develop in order to advance to higher levels of training in Chi Sao.

In my opinion, one should not concentrate to much on fancy or complicated techniques in the beginning. The focus should be on learning how to root. Fancy hand techniques or combinations may seem impressive to the beginner, but without a solid root all those techniques go out the window. Without a firm foundation, one will not be able to issue any stopping power to one's opponent, or have the ability to use his structure. One will simply have to rely on external factors like speed and brute force to overcome their opponent. In conclusion, without a root, hands have no meaning and are neutralized and nullified. Without root, there is no gung fu.

By Sifu Michael McIlwrath

Fut Sao Wing Chun seminar 2009

futsaowingchun — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:44:19 GMT

Fut Sao Wing Chun seminar 2009
Date: April 4th 2009

Time: 12-3 pm

Place: Eastern Arts Holistic Health Academy
2212 Perkiomen Avenue
Mt. Penn, PA 19606

Fee: $75.00 at the door
$50.00 in advance

For more information contact:
http://futsaowingchun.info/events.html

Sifu Randy Koller 610.370.1999 or
Sifu Michael Mc Ilwrath at futsaowingchun@gmail.com

Seminar will be conducted by Sifu Joseph Ng

The focus of the seminar will be on Bridging/Disengaging techniques in the long,mid and short ranges. In the Fut Sao Wing Chun system. Other ideas or concepts way also be covered.
__________________

Fut Sao Wing Chun Structure

futsaowingchun — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:10:56 GMT

Power verses structure

In the Wing Chun Community, you hear mention of structure a lot of the time. The use of the word Structure as applied to Wing Chun has a rather ambiguous implication. I initially heard the word structure being mentioned during the early 80's in James Yimm Lee's book," Wing Chun" ( Bruce Lee's student ). However, back then I paid it's mention no mind due mainly to the fact that the word "structure" had no significance to me but also because the book failed to explain "structure" in any detail. It was not until much further down in time that structure became a hot topic of interest which for many years had lead to an overabundance of discussion and even a number of heated debates.

As far as myself is concerned, in the 25 years of Wing Chun training and the various sifu's I have trained under, I've never learned or knew anything about structure.It was not until only 4 to 5 years ago, when I met and started training with my current Sifu that I was able to witness what true structure meant. To my Sifu structure was the foundation of the Fut Sao Wing Chun system; without it nothing would work. Without structure one would have to solely rely on power and speed to overcome an opponent and therefore the more powerful and faster person would most likely be the victor of a fight. With structure one could hold, redirect, absorb a force greater then your own. This is the core training in Fut Sao and is what gives the "smaller guy" a fighting chance. Structure can be used to slow down your opponent, drain his energy, or to redirect his own energy back towards himself. The net result is that the one using structure will be able to out last his aggressor and ultimately win the fight. Structure can be either hard and ridged like a rock or soft and flexible like water flowing around a rock. It is what the old internal masters refer to as "the hard within the soft". In other words, the out side of the body (the muscles = external) is soft but the inside (internal) feels hard and solid

The situations I have experienced from my Sifu when I first met him are nothing short of astounding. At the time and still today I am younger, physically stronger, weight more, taller, and more massive. Nonetheless, when I tried to exploit these to my advantage (youth, strength, speed, and weight) it did not work and instead made it easier for him to make me succumb. I also tired much more rapidly then him due to the fact that I relied solely on my physical attributes. My Sifu has always told me," Kung Fu was designed for the little guy to give him a fighting chance". If you're already bigger, stronger and faster then your opponent then why train in Kung Fu. As mentioned earlier, when going toe to toe with someone power vs power usually the one who is stronger and faster will win. Or another way to look at it, is like having two cars with one that gets 15 mpg and the other car going 32 mpg. Even if the first car is better made and faster it will run out of gas before the second car does. In a fighting situation, using structure, one has advantages over pure strength or one's physical size. If all else fails, being able to conserve your energy more efficiently then your opponent surly will give you an advantage in a fight.

Sifu Michael Mc Ilwrath

What is Chi Sao?

futsaowingchun — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:48:24 GMT

I hope you like the topic..

What is Chi Sao?

In the Fut Sao Wing Chun system, Chi Sao or Sticking Hands practice is not treated as simply a drill or sensitivity exercise as performed by some of the other Wing Chun lineages. In Fut Sao, the practice of Chi Sao, is treated and is equivalent to close quarter fighting. The skills one learns in Chi Sao practice will bring the practitioner to a higher level of development in his art. When one trains in Chi Sao one is not simply practicing a purely physical art but something that is also energy oriented and spiritual as well. When one concentrates on drills or applications one can clearly see that the practice becomes purely a physical and limits development in other areas. As one progresses in Chi Sao, one comes to realize it is not all about fighting but rather knowing yourself and your opponent. When one has reached a high level of proficiency in Chi Sao, the practice of simple drills and applications has almost no functionality. When practicing Chi Sao at such a high level all applications become possible. As mentioned earlier, if one just trains applications and drills he is only training the physical and not the energy side of the art which has no application yet is contained in all applications.

I hear all the time people say, "if your attacked on the street no one will Chi Sao you." Of course they will not Chi Sao you as Chi Sao is a way of training and an attack on your life is another matter. It seems to me people do not really understand the purpose of Chi Sao training, but something one has to realize is what one does in ones training is designed to build and develop real skills which can be applied at will. Chi Sao gives one the means necessary to reach that level of skill of which I am writing of. When you Chi Sao with your partner it is more like the testing grounds of an actual fight. One does not need to pummel your partner into the ground in order to see if what you've learned has any real value. Chi Sao is about control. If I can control myself and my partner during Chi Sao training then I know I have already won and do not need to go any further. In a real fight it will be over very quick. Once a move has been made it will have already ended and either I'll have survived or not. There is no playing; there are no points as seen in Chi Sao competitions.

Another point a lot of people seem to believe is that Chi Sao is merely "the rolling of the hands". Simply put, Chi Sao is not in the rolling, the contact point or the ability to always stick to the bridge. This brings me to another point, that Chi Sao "is not about always sticking or chasing the hand". It's not, as mentioned earlier it's about control. Chi Sao is found in any type of attack and the defense that one deploys in a real fight scenario. Chi Sao does not have to look a certain way. Again, the essence of Chi Sao is about control. Therefore, if I can control myself and your actions I'm using Chi Sao. WCK is very much based on maintaining a bridge which is conducive to Chi Sao training. Chi Sao training has many advantages over sparring. Most styles practice sparring from a non bridge non contact point. As sparring is also a good way to test and develop one's skills it is not the preferred way in Fut Sao Wing Chun system. Since Wing Chun is about controlled infighting it makes sense to use Chi Sao as a platform to test ones skills. Staying close and maintaining a bridge has an advantage over sparring where contact is lost. For a Wing Chun practitioner to be able to maintain a bridge is to his advantage while to someone like a boxer it is not. In fighting arts like Muay Thai or Western Boxing the idea of controlling the bridge is not part of the training, so Chi Sao is not needed for these types of arts. The advantage when you train with your partner in Chi Sao is that one does not need to gear-up as it is very safe to train granted that one has control. In sparring you must gear-up as there is no control and the idea is to pummel the opponent or score points as in point fighting. In Chi Sao, if practiced correctly, one can know he could have been hit without actually being hit. On the other hand, in sparring this is not possible one must hit the opponent. For beginners, psychologically, sparring can have negative effects due to the fear of being hit, and can ultimately affect their confidence and martial arts development.

--
Sifu Michael Mc Ilwrath
http://futsaowingchun.info

Preview trailer of Yip Man the legend

MarkHobbs — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:04:10 GMT

It's good to see a movie being made about Grandmaster Yip Man, and it has a good cast.

I'm looking forward to seeing this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4IW2Gg77lQ

Multi style Wing Chun Day seminar in Leicester

MarkHobbs — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:39:50 GMT

The Multi style Wing Chun Day seminar in Leicester took place on Sunday 7th September, and featured instructors:

Alan Gibson - Wong Shun Leung Method
Paul Elston - Elston Combat System
Mark Hobbs - Vietnamese Wing Chun & Yip Man Foshan Wing Chun

There are details for the day available at this website:

www.wingchunday.co.uk

However being one of the guest instructors, I just want to say that I thought this was a great day and very well organized. I really enjoyed teaching and being part of the day.

As always it was good to catch up with Alan Gibson and nice to meet Paul Elston as I have not meet Paul before.

It was also a pleasure to meet everyone that turned up to participate at the event, what a great bunch of guys.

So all in all, a great and fun day for everyone, with new experiences and different ideas on Wing Chun for all the guys that took part to take away and build off , so I feel that the day was a success.

So hats off to Jon Broster for organizing this event, well done! And thank you for including me.

I will be putting pictures up on the news section at www.kungfu-academy.com so everyone can see that days activities.

Robert Chu Interview With Mark Hobbs

MarkHobbs — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:24:47 GMT

Hi everyone,

I have just finished this interview by Sifu Robert Chu, It was enjoyable to write and Sifu Chu asked some good questions, I hope you enjoy the read.

An Interview With Wing Chun Sifu

Mark Hobbs

Conducted By Robert Chu

Can you give us a little background on your Chinese Martial arts training and experience? How long have you practiced? What have you studied?

At the age of five, I started doing Judo. I enjoyed Judo and went on to represent the Kent county Judo team. Around this time my father started showing me some Kung Fu. So it was my Father that first got me interested in Kung Fu.

I am now in my thirty’s so I have been involved within the Martial arts for a while and hopefully for a while longer as well.

Within this time I have studied a number of different Chinese Martial Arts. But the main influences in my Kung Fu are from Wing Chun, Tai Chi, Hsing-Yi and some Southern Shaolin.

I don’t claim to be a Master of all these arts as that wouldn’t be possible in the while I have studied, Therefore these arts are the main source of my learning experience that has created my understanding of the martial art as a whole.

What is your academic and professional background?

A lot of people in Martial arts come from different careers and professions. I however have only ever been into Martial arts. I always aspired to be a martial artist and so I only ever did part time work until I started teaching Martial Arts when I was eighteen so my professional status has to be a Martial artist. I teach at my school the “Kung Fu Academy” both traditional Kung Fu and MMA. However I also co-own two other companies’ one is “Pagoda Imports” which is the original Wing Chun equipment company in the U.K and the other is “Primal Fight Gear” which is a street inspired MMA Fight Gear brand.

I understand you traveled throughout Asia, would you tell us about what you learned and your experiences?

I have traveled all around the world to learn Kung Fu, not just Asia. I have studied with different teachers in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, America, Australia and the U.K. The reason I travel is to study with certain teachers that I feel can add to my Kung Fu experience.

However out of all the countries I’ve visited, I enjoy China and Hong Kong most as there is more Kung Fu than I have time, I may be there to visit someone in particular, however I try to make the most out of my spare time and visit other schools and teachers, most teachers in China are very nice natured and are always open for a discussion on the subject of Kung Fu, which is something you don’t normally find so much in the West as normally ego gets in the way, as every one has something to prove.

How did you get into Wing Chun Kuen?

I had heard a lot about Wing Chun and I liked Wing Chun’s main objective “efficiency” the least amount of effort to achieve the maximum result. What a great idea, then I asked myself how I could achieve it.

I was talking with my friend and he invited me to meet his Wing Chun teacher and then my interest grew from there and has expanded into my 18 year Wing Chun journey.

Regarding Wing Chun, I know that you have studied different lineages of the art. What did you get out of the study of multiple lineages, rather than sticking to one?

One thing I have discovered over the years, researching and learning Chinese Martial Arts, is that no single Wing Chun system is better than another, as it’s all Wing Chun and so should all be based around the same core ideas’, if that’s the case different lineages are just different expressions of the same ideas, so how can one be better than another?

Therefore if you work the core ideas of Wing Chun correctly then the out come just comes down to the individual’s ability to express Wing Chun method correctly, Wing Chun simply put is the most economical way to control the centre.

What is unique about the training that you received under your sifu Lun Gai?

Sifu Lun Gai taught following strict rules which created the "Faat" a precise method of approach; Sifu said that Grandmaster Yip Man was very insistent about this methodology and so everything I learnt from Sifu Lun Gai had to follow this method.

The essentials of Yip Man "Foshan" Wing Chun are broken down into a layered learning method. This is a massive area to cover.

First you have to understand about why we need structure. Structure helps to achieve "displacement". There is a famous Kung Fu saying "A few ounces can move a thousand Kilo’s” To understand the relevance of this saying, first you need to understand how to create structure, once you understand this, then you can begin to learn how to influence someone else's structure, using a few ounces to move a thousand Kilo’s to do this you have to understand about rooting.

To create structure you have to align the skeletal system to be able to structurally maintain posture when a force is being exerted against you. This allows you to absorb the pressure by transferring the energy against you into the ground.

Using an aligned skeletal frame allows us the ability to utilize a minimum amount of strength or muscle creating Minimum effort; maximum results bringing together the Wing Chun frame.

Next we need a Wing Chun bridge referencing method, for three dimensional placement of our fighting tools, for correct understanding of height and width, to do this we use six gate theory, and Long-short bridge hands to understand structured depth. This creates an understanding of how to zone our body using an imaginary grid or matrix, so we know instinctively where the points of structure are for our tools, which in turn give us our understanding of shapes.

Shapes are expressions of structure so this is about how to understand our structure before trying to influence our opponent's structure.

This structure method is about occupying or maintaining space by taking your opponents energy through your aligned bridge into your body and down your legs into the ground, avoiding the collapsing or folding of your bridges. This is considered as solid energy, your body is now unified. Now you can take the pressure, you can force your way into an opponent’s center, a unified body attack or if you can’t handle the power of an opponent you could recover while maintaining your same space a unified body recovery.

The other way is to dissipate the energy. This method requires what is known as listening or sensitivity. This is considered soft energy, and ties in with the moment when an opponent tries to move a shape off centre. To hold the shape now requires the use of excessive muscle, and so to try to hold this bridge requires effort which means it is no longer structure, it is strength as there’s no spine or centre alignment for pressure. So if your Structure is broken you need to Dissipate, fold, Separate, Circle, Elbow pull, Snake plus lots of other energies.

Dissipation is not considered a structure but transitional, therefore it is energetic based. You can still attack as well as defend of this phase.

Often it’s thought that if you use structure then you can’t be mobile. This is incorrect; you first learn structure without footwork, then you progress your use of movement to the three body facings which are front body, angled body left, or angled right side body. This brings about awareness of waist.
To make sure that when utilizing the angled body tactic we stay within the realms of Wing Chun concept of simultaneous attack and defense we have to align certain parts of our body to that of our opponent's. This information is not exclusive to Wing Chun. All methods of Kung Fu should utilize this understanding as it is a common tactic. What makes Wing Chun different is that it can only use tools that reflect the concept of efficiency within this space. As Wing Chun employs fewer tools it needs to employ concepts, strategy and tactics to fill up this area instead.

Now you can add footwork to the knowledge you have attained so far. Foshan Wing Chun has a generic term for all the footwork - eight directional stepping, as you can imagine from the descriptive name there is a huge possibility of creating different body angles and lines through slight foot and body movement.

From each foot position we can still use front or side body angle positions; this is achieved by understanding waist and opposite core energy separation from the lower and middle body centers. In any stance and in any of the three possible body angles we still need to be able to maintain our position by taking the power from contact point through the body and down to the feet. The amount of pressure against us when we do this will be decided by range of contact, an example of range contact could be the difference between long bridge and short bridge and what part of the arm or even body is in contact - is it forearm, wrist or even elbow, shoulder, etc.?

All in all once you understand stance then the posture has to become alive and mobile this brings in to play the footwork. This gives rise to many possible ranges, angles and lines for defense and attack.

Wing Chun uses lots of different strategies and tactics, half are about understanding and the other half are flow related as the only constant you can rely upon in combat is change. So we need the ability to change and influence through being alive. This again shows the middle path.

Master Lun Gai told me that Wing Chun is the middle path and using the above information the middle path is what we are expressing.

Tell us a little about the concepts/principles/training of your Wing Chun system.

A concept is an idea or a theory, this is a developmental base we can use for our minds to direct our Intention. A principle is a fact it is nature made it can’t be argued this then is what we have to use to drive our concept a principle will be expressed by the body so we have to understand the concept “mind” to be able to express the principle “body” correctly.

Wing Chun being a conceptual art means that we train our base methodology around understanding concepts as concepts can expand, change and flow into each other where as techniques can’t expand as they are what they are singular expressions which make for a static action which has no life. The thing you have to remember is that change is the only constant that you can rely upon, so having tools that are able to expand and change means your tools are alive and adaptable which is why Concept and principle are so important.

What do you think martial artists can gain through the study of Wing Chun?

The question every Martial artist should ask is how do I understand how to achieve minimum effort to achieve my maximum results? This is the pinnacle of Martial arts, its called efficiency.

Wing Chun is the idea of efficiency, which is removing what isn’t needed; people from other styles could use Wing Chun to develop an understanding of waste.

How would you compare the effectiveness of your Wing Chun and what is commonly practiced as Wing Chun?

I wouldn’t want to compare differences or compare the effectiveness of the Wing Chun I teach to the Wing Chun others teach. I will just explain what I do and leave it to the readers to compare the differences for themselves, hopefully while keeping an open mind.

Do you think different styles of Wing Chun are important?

Yes, a style is an individual’s expression, As long as the understanding or system of Wing Chun is behind the style, then different people expressing Wing Chun can only be a good thing.

However if there is no understanding of the core ideas being expressed then this is not correct, this then couldn’t actually accurately be referred to as Wing Chun, this is quite common to see, which is a real shame.

What do you think is the goal of Wing Chun training?

Control of the centre with Efficiency “The Middle path”

Do you feel that you still have further to go in your studies?

Yes, of course. The day I say no to a question like this would be a sad day for me, I know the question and answer about what we are trying to achieve with Wing Chun but I couldn’t ever pin point the end of learning or trying to achieve it, as every day adds new experiences which just builds more to the whole, which in turn allows us to take a little more away.

Has your personal martial art changed/developed over the years?

Yes, of course, my Martial Art has changed.

I always say that “If you don’t know, it doesn’t exist”.

If you are lucky enough to have someone open your eyes and show you what does exist, then you are no longer in the ranks of not knowing.

Now you are no longer blind to the knowledge a whole world opens which you can explore, as you explore you gain new experience with new experience comes learning which in turn generates growth, growth creates change or a better word may be development, so yes if I hadn’t grown over the years then something would be very wrong with my understanding.

Martial arts nowadays are often referred to as a sport… would you agree with this definition?

A Martial art that has no competing therefore has no rules of engagement can’t be considered a sport; this would be because the art would be considered to have too many dangerous applications to be considered safe for competing athletes. This would be categorized more as self-defense.

A sport would have certain rules in place to try to maintain a certain signature look depending on the form of Martial Art competing this is evident if you look at different types of competition being Judo, Taekwondo, Boxing, Muay Thai or Cage fighting. The other reason for rules is to create a safe environment for participating athletes.

A lot of Martial Arts mix these two schools of thought and so are a blending self-defense and Sport, which as a learning method can compliment each other and work really well.

What is your opinion of MMA?

Great, I really enjoy MMA, It a great testing ground for the core skills found in Martial arts, in a reasonably safe environment. All Martial arts being Traditional or Modem are built on principle therefore if you understand your Martial Art you should be able to change the concept to adapt to the new environment in this case the MMA arena.

I have recently been coaching some MMA guys in Kung Fu skills to help improve their MMA, one of the guy’s who came to me, fights in Cage Rage this is held at the prestigious Wembley arena, London and is the biggest MMA event in the U.K and Europe, he just won his last fight against a top Russian Sambo Fighter.

I also sponsor some of the U.K’s main Pro MMA fighters so I know the MMA scene in the UK quite well, and so like I said I like MMA, it is a great sport and testing ground for core Kung Fu skills.

Pagoda Imports co-sponsored an event at Seni this year, what is your opinion about the International Chi Sau Open?

That’s right; Pagoda Imports Sponsored the International Chi Sau Open and Alan Orr was the promoter of the event,

Personally I like the idea of a Chi Sau competition; however this doesn’t seem to be the view of everyone within Wing Chun.

What I say to them is ask yourself this question: can Wing Chun and competition mix? The answer from a traditional perspective is NO! And this is quite true as we talked about sport versus self-defense earlier, so the people that oppose the Competition are in fact correct to do so, as it would be too dangerous to use Wing Chun as it should be used in a real fight with no rules.

But let’s step away from Wing Chun and look at MMA, Judo, Ju-Jitsu, Karate, Taekwondo, Muay Tai ect. These are also too dangerous to use in competition, so what is it they all do? How do these arts develop a competition?

They take the main core skills of their art and make this the main focus of their competition, then certain rules are brought in to make participating in such an event safe, This is why this part of their arts are referred to as the sporting sides.

The International Chi Sau Open is a sporting side of Wing Chun, if you see it like this, then how can you not like the event.

Traditional arts will need a modern take to commercially survive in a new world where combat sports are becoming more and more popular. So Some form of competition to give Wing Chun a modern take is a good idea, however this competition has only happened once so far so we, as with all things we have to sit back observe and learn so next time we can try to improve on the first event, as with all things it takes time to get it right, so it will take a few more attempts yet to develop the competition to something everyone is happy with, so the best thing every one can do is to try to support the comp in a positive manor so we as a Wing Chun community should try to make such a event grow in the right direction so we can all benefit form it in the future.

What general advice would you have for martial artists?

Ask the questions and then question the answers.

What would you say to someone who is interested in starting to learn martial arts?

Ask yourself what you want from a Martial Art, then do some research to find a place where you feel you can achieve your goals, follow up with some research about the club before joining, as there are a lot of charlatans in Martial Arts. Finally make sure you enjoy yourself.

What is it that keeps you motivated after all these years?

I just enjoy myself; I have fun and keep healthy, this makes me feel good, which means I’m happy, I’m quite easy to please.

What is-was your philosophical basis for your martial arts training?

Yin Yang

What do you consider to be the most important qualities of a successful martial artist?

Success is relevant to the individual, so my opinion has no meaning to this question. What one persons deem successful could be completely different to someone else’s. So therefore success is in the eye of the beholder, so who am I to judge.

Is there a book in the works?

Maybe one day, you can never say never as who knows what can happen in the future. But at the moment I am to busy with other commitments.

How do you tie in your work in Wing Chun and your professional life?

They are the same, so they are already tied together.

Tell us about Pagoda Imports

Pagoda Imports has earned its reputation for supplying the highest quality Wing Chun equipment available. We get all our products made to our specs, these are not off the shelf items, we pride ourselves on everything we do, this is why we continue to innovate, pioneer and improve every single thing we do,

Wing Chun is my passion so I want everything to be the best it can be, this is why Pagoda is seen as the standard bearer for martial artists seeking quality training products, and our designs find their way to nearly every continent of the world.

The craftsmanship of our products is second to none this is why we are described as the “original Wing Chun Company” by our customers.

To visit go to www.pagoda-imports.com

And about Primal Fight Gear…

Primal Fight Gear was born out of our desire to create a completely fresh approach to fight wear that wasn’t just skulls, skulls and more skulls; we wanted to produce designs that reflected our own style and influences that were inspired by the modern hip hop and graffiti movements. Our designs are raw, edgy and original, and capture the true essence of what Primal is all about. Sure we could have played it safe and produced the same old, same old everyone else was happy to keep churning out, but we’ve always been leaders not followers, and not afraid to stand where others fear to tread.

Primal continues to collaborate with some of the most talented artists and illustrators in the UK, to come up with our own flavor of designs that look equally at home on the street as they do in the gym. We continue to innovate, progress and impress with our own unique brand of MMA apparel and equipment that truly is Engineered To Fight……..

To find out more visit www.primalfightgear.com

Thank you, Hobbs Sifu for interviewing with us. You've certainly given us some great insights!

Thank you, Chu Sifu for interviewing me. It is always a pleasure to share information with like minded people who understand what Wing Chun is about.

Hopefully in the future more and more people will come to also release the benefits they can get from the study of Wing Chun and Chinese Martial Arts.

How may we reach you?

Sifu Mark Hobbs is Chief Instructor at the “Kung Fu Academy”, a certified representative for Grandmaster Lun Gai in the U.K and Australia and only certified representative for Vu Ba qui Vietnamese Wing Chun & TaiJi outside of Vietnam. He is a member of the Foshan Chin Woo Association and a former Close Quarter Fighting “CQF” adviser to the Australian S.A.S Regiment. And also a partner in Pagoda Imports the U.K’s largest Wing Chun supply company and Primal Fight Gear Street inspired MMA gear.

Tel: +44 (0)1342 315565 Mob; +44 (0)7793 134 223 Email: Mark@kungfu-academy.com

Web: www.kungfu-academy.com www.pagoda-imports.com www.primalfightgear.com

Kung Fu steped up and won at Wembley Arena at Cage Rage 27

mark hobbs — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:39:14 GMT

[b]Team KFA Fighter "Jody Cottham" won in Cage Rage 27 in a lightweight War with Umidjon Mavlyanov. Jody won via Submission (Guillotine) 3.16 Rd2 [/b]

Jody Cottham has been training at the Kung Fu Academy under the tutelage of Sifu Mark Hobbs, for his fight at Cage Rage 27 held at Wembley Arena, London, fighting for Team KFA.

Jody won this Lightweight war against the Russian fighter Umidjon Mavlyanov, in the second round, after a series of reversals on the mat, Jody Cottham sunk in a guillotine choke for the victory at 3:16.

This was a hard fight, Jody even broke his hand. There was a lot of leather thrown by both fighters, yet Jody controlled the fight well keeping his composure, escaping some well placed locks and working into his ground and pound game, eventually winning the fight with a well placed guillotine choke.

This was a great result for Jody Cottham and for Team KFA. It is also great to see Kung Fu skill sets being utilised in the sport of Cage Fighting, giving recognition and confidence back to the traditional arts in the current world of combat sports.

For more more information and photos please visit:

http://www.kungfu-academy.com/page.asp?pid=75 [/url]

Newbie

futsaowingchun — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:45:08 GMT

Hello everyone..I'm from the USA.I study a style of Wing Chun Called Fut Sao...Hope to converse with some of you in the future..

UK Wing Chun

Kris Wu Tang — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:01:08 GMT

Hi,

so what are peoples thoughts on the current state of UK wing chun today???