I recently watched a video of CST setting up a senior student to do a pivoting side slash.   CST set up the student several times, gave explanation for why it was difficult for the student, and then demonstrated the movement (effortlessly) himself.  In some ways the video was no different than any other of him, or what happened every night in a typical class.  What was interesting was afterwards I saw and heard explanations from at least 4 very experienced wing chun teachers who each disagreed with the other about what had happened, and essentially how CST did the movement.  You might be surprised to hear that I did not agree with any of them.  I would not be surprised to hear than none of them would agree with me!  Buy why the differences?
 
The teaching methodology of CST was that he would allow a student to do a movement in their own way (they usually did it incorrect), he would show them what they did, show them what it should feel like, then set them up to do it in the way he felt it should be done.  That method was repeated time and again until hopefully the student was re-educated. If all of the students got a similar education why would they not only feel very different, but also explain the methodology they learnt so differently later on?
 
Here is the problem.  When a student first copies a movement they are confident that it is correct,  It feels correct.  CST would then set them up to do it differently and obviously the feeling was very different (it felt wrong).  When they try to recreate the movement they rely of feeling, but if we go to the start of the paragraph then we already have established that their feelings are incorrect.  Their kinaesthetic sense was proven unreliable (like a set of broken scales)
Last year I went on a race track day;  I drove a Ferrari and an Aston Martin for 3 laps each.  As I drove into tight corners the instructor said to me to keep accelerating until I reached the relevant marker on the side of the track.  Although I heard him I found myself braking heavily way too early.  Each time we went around I got a bit braver, but although I wanted to keep accelerating my brain said no and put the brakes on (the exact opposite to what I was told).  I felt that I would crash as my belief (backed up with my feelings) told me it was not possible for a car to move in that way.  Afterwards I was taken around the track as a passenger or a touring car race driver, even in a slower car I was astounded by the speed and control, it was on another level that I thought existed. 
 
Even if I had got a second chance to drive, I would not have been much quicker.  The fact is my sense of feeling needed to be re-educated totally as they were unreliable. I was inspired but really that is only the start. The only way to learn to drive like that would be go around thousands of times with an instructor, follow the instructions of when to turn, break, accelerate etc until I knew what was possible.  After that point, I would be able to start experimenting as to whether a change in my own instruction would make me quicker.  However, my feeling would not be the arbiter of speed, the evidence would have to be the clock.
 
So, to get back to wing chun.  When someone was set up by CST they usually commented that although incredibly powerful, they felt nothing.  However, with more experience a student starts to develop an awareness of the connectivity of the body and the inter-relation of joints and muscles etc.  The process that you are trying to understand is how the various parts of the body inter-relate (and are co-ordinated by thought) and for a long time in the process feeling is really counter-productive to doing this.  I am not entirely sure many people have grasped this difference, but I say now that if you rely on feelings instead of an educated system of habits of use, your wing chun will not be of an internal nature.  You will be trying to use wing chun techniques to make up deficiencies in your body use.
 
Most people interested in CST method wing chun  do not need to learn more wing chun, they need to relearn to use their bodies without using feeling and sensitivity as a guide as what they are currently using is inherently unreliable under pressure.  You need to understand how the body co-operates with gravity, how the release of joint in one direction creates a counter stretch in the next muscle group and that affects the whole.  Wing chun then becomes a method of manipulating your own body structure which is instigated with a thought.  I am going to be honest and say that although everyone needs to relax more, as an instruction it is generally useless in most contexts.  Sometimes you need to relax a muscle, but that is usually to get a counter response from another part of the body so the whole is in balance.  It is the balance of the whole which you are seeking, with no direct thought about relaxing of individual parts.
 
This idea of training is a real challenge for most people, to ask someone who has developed a sensitivity of feeling and alignment to reject that system, to rely on over-aching instructions relating to how the body works optimally; its really tough.  Even when you see and experience the truth it is hard to accept.
The question then is how can you learn something which is specifically about kinaesthetic sense at the same time as rejecting bodily feeling.  Well, in the same way as you would need to sit with an experienced race driver and do as you are told to learn to drive professionally, you need a lot of time with someone who can do it it better than you who can guide you.  Someone who has walked the path and made the same mistakes which you will have to make time and time again until your successes outweigh your failures.  Even if they are not a teacher, they may be able to provide a more subjective view than you have yourself.  The first step for myself was over a decade ago when training with Mark and Jon, we consciously chose not to complete with each other but to assist and provide feedback.  That opened a door to understanding which continues to fascinate me.

CAN WE, WILL WE, WHEN WILL WE REOPEN?
 
I hope that everyone is well and has been able to continue training over the last few months.  The online classes have been a really pleasant surprise for us, they have allowed to devise a method of group teaching which supplements our usual one-to-one coaching approach.  If you have not been able to join, we have maintained the core group of the club very well with regular classes reaching 20 attendees.
 
In the same way as when we entered the lockdown, government advice is changing quickly and there is potential that we could open the doors to a class in July.  If that becomes possible, the question for us is what will that look like, who will come and what will we do.  I am going to some ideas here for students to think about, and ideally you can text, email or FM message me with what your preferences are so we can get back to training in a way that benefits us all.
 
My thoughts are:

• The Tuesday venue is the larger place, so I think that at first we could open there one day a week to see how it goes.
  
• The venue is large, so I think up to 16 of us could be in and remain 2 metres apart with ease.
• We can keep the windows open for good ventilation.
• I will provide proper hand sanitizer which everyone would have to use when entering.  If the government says we need masks, we will wear them
• If the government changes to 1 metre distancing, we could get close enough to do adjustments etc.  Also, there is potential for chi sau(???)
• Students would have the option of staying at the back of the class and maintaining distance, which those with a lower risk profile could agree a different approach for themselves at a closer distance.
• I think that in the past we have let some students train in a ‘none Sung way’ as they adapt to our methods, from now on we will be more strict to ensure training is what we believe.
  
• We will take the group work from the online classes and adapt that to the start of the class (group form work for the first half an hour).
• We will maintain a weekly online class for the wider group.

 
The big question I have to ask students is will they come to class if and when the regulations allow it?  I appreciate that some have health and financial issues and that they may have to wait.  Financially I do not want to pay £30 to rent a room which will be empty, so I need to know who is interested?  If there were only a few students would you pay £10 a session?  My preference is to charge £8 drop in if the group is a good size, but would students be willing to pay say £30 a month instead (some months you would get 5 sessions, others you might miss one).
 
So lots to think about.  I need to hear from you to get an idea of where we are at now.  I have been teaching privately over the last month and I am very encouraged by the development of our senior students who will be able to assist us with teaching as they have a good grounding in Sung methodology.  Exciting times ahead.

September, just like January, is usually a time when we get new students eager to try out wing chun, or alternately a few old faces reappear with the intention of starting again. Come October most of them have vanished. It is a cycle I have seen for almost 20 years of training in martial arts.

I am not sure how people reasonably expect to learn any martial art if they only want to commit to once a fortnight of training, and even that is usually if there is nothing else comes up that day. Even for some that do train with us for several months and start to grasp the depth of this wing chun, many still think that two hours a fortnight will make them a ninja. You can see the disappointment when after a year or so that things did not work out that way and other people progress much quickly.



There is always an excuse available to us not to train, feeling tired, bad weather, bad day, drinks after work, money; the comfort option is provided by our brain as a ready waiting friend. But just because we talk about relaxation does not mean there is not work to be done. I do understand the dilemma, I’ve had two kids since I started training, a busy job and loads of potential distractions. But you have to ask yourself the question if I am not willing to try now, to put in the work, when will you do it? Really, when? If your daily training routine is an exercise in avoiding discomfort, to pamper yourself after work every night, then it will only get harder for you. In fact ask yourself the question how busy are you really? How much time in front of the telly, computer etc, hanging around with people so not to feel awkward by saying you have something else important to do. Then ask yourself - what if? What if you actually put some time aside and tried standing practice every day, came to classes or even had a private lesson. If you have not really tried and do not intend to, then failure is guaranteed.



I am not writing this blog to have a go at anyone, just holding up a mirror to us all. Plenty of people have come to the club and in a short period seen a big improvement in their wing chun, in their physical, mental and emotional health because they have taken the decision to commit to themselves to a difficult endeavour. I train every day, I give my all for every minute of every class but I know I can be lazy sometimes. But what we do not want is to look back and say that maybe we could have been better, achieved our goals, if we actually put that extra bit of time in. Maybe turn off that telly or put the phone in the other room; don’t be half hearted. You only get a return if you make an investment.



So make a choice, if not coming to every class maybe one extra class a month. If you are one of the many people who have said to me you plan to visit Sheffield for private lesson, then do it. Why would you say it to yourself if you do not beleive it? There is only one person you will be letting down and failing if you not not try.



Motivation comes and goes, it is the drive to improve ourselves which we must cultivate if you want to achieve. There are days that you have drag yourself out, days when it hurts to stand for long period, days when the mind wont stop wandering, but if anything worthwhile was easy everyone would be a master. So stop putting it off, stop watching youtube as if that provides all the answers, and get training. Maybe you will not like it, maybe not see any improvement, but better to try and fail than never know what you are capable of.