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FAQ's
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Unfortunately,
No. We have beginners start dates, where all new students are enrolled.
You will be placed in a separate class and not ‘thrown in at
the deep end’. To keep
all students of particular levels together. We have classes separated
by ability. We allow more experienced students to mix with beginners,
as they can help, but not vice versa. If you
are an existing wing chun student or lapsed student of another organisation
we would accommodate you to the appropriate class that your standard
dictates. As there are traditionally no gradings in Wing Chun, every
organsisation has a slightly different way of separating students
of differing abilities. We ask that you attend a beginners class and
we will move you up the ranks as appropriate. All beginners
are enrolled at the same time. After three weeks we close the doors
to new students and concentrate solely on those new recruits. You
will be trained together as a class and progress at similar rates.
You will stay together developing a club spirit and new friendships
and respect for your fellow training partners. Your levels of fitness,
co-ordination etc. will judged and training set accordingly, making
you feel comfortable. It is important to remember that your goal is
to challenge yourself and not compare too much to others. Students
do not like to be watched and we feel sure you would feel the same. We hold
regular 'open day' demonstrations and have a video projector which
we use to show Wing Chun footage of all aspects of our system on a
14ft screen. This is a popular event and is offered free of charge
or any commitment. It is open to everyone, even if you have no intention
of starting, or are training with another Wing Chun school or another
style completely. Is
Wing Chun Suitable For Everyone? Yes,
we have both male and female students all working hard together. We
have specialised sessions for children and run daytime self defence
courses for women and businesses, as well as private lessons for individuals
and small groups. In fact in recent times we have begun to teach within
mainstream schools as part of the physical education curriculum and
bringing an awareness of resposible self-defence. Do
You Have Ladies Only Classes? Yes, if there
is sufficient interest. Ladies may still train in mainstream classes too,
but it was a much requested move. The UKWCKFA
has classes and a syllabus specifically geared toward women who genuinely
wish to be able to defend themselves, whilst at the same time enjoying
the art of Wing Chun Kung Fu. If you wish to know more then please take
a look at this
page. Is
It Suitable For The Disabled? We have
taught the blind on many occasions and we have students with cerebral
palsey,wheelchair bound and other conditions which could add difficulty
to their learning. We have
to base our decision to be able to help on your safety in class. But,
if you wish to accept the challenge of learning, we will consider
the challenge of teaching. We would
like to work more with differently abled people. If you feel able
to put us in a particular direction we would be happy to hear from
you. We feel
strongly that there are too many people in this world only too happy
to tell us what we can't do. We want to allow people to try for themselves,
with people who will tell you what you can do. The likely
answer is no. We have students from 6 to 70 years of age. Older students
do tend to find it more difficult as they are more 'set' neuro-muscularly.
However, they do progress and tend to improve well. The biggest problem
is the students' own expectations in that they have so much enthusiasm
but the results don't come quickly enough. If you realise it is a
marathon not a sprint you will tend to relax and take each step at
a time, and not look too far ahead! Are
The Instructors Qualified ? All of
our senior instructors or 'Sifu' grades are registered by the prestigious
Ving Tsun Athletic Association in Hong Kong, which further validates
the high standard and reputation that the UK Wing Chun Assoc. has
around the world. All of
our instructors have been trained within the Association itself. The
potential instructors have to pass 4 grading levels before consideration
can be made to join the three year teacher training programme. The instructors
are all first aid trained by St John Ambulance and those that teach
children are checked through the police criminal records beaurau.
They also have full Professional Negligence and Public Liabilty Insurance
Cover. What
Are The Requirement For Training In Wing Chun ? The most
important requirement is that you enjoy the training and are willing
to dedicate yourself to a task. You do not need to be big and strong
to learn Wing Chun Kung Fu. What
Does A Typical Class Consist Of? Typically
a class begins with a warm up, then progresses to drills for punching
and striking efficiency on pads and then on to work with a partner.
The majority of any class is ‘hands on’ with a partner.
Many different facets will be trained, from self defence to visualisation
and meditation. We have
a well established grading system that is based around the UKWCKFA
syllabus. Traditionally, Wing Chun had no grading system. Until the
1970’s, Wing Chun was a very small style and there was no necessity.
Now with the massive popularity in martial arts and the focus Bruce
Lee gave to Wing Chun, it is necessary to separate students of differing
abilities in order to better teach them. We have found the implementation
of a grading system has benefited the students immensely, giving them
clearly defined goals. The UKWCKFA
has a grading system that is based around the usual learning syllabus
in Wing Chun. Preliminary
Grading Consists of basic punching, footwork and distance
judgment Sui
Nim Tao Consists of first form, hand combinations, lok sau,
dan chi, and sparring Intermediate
Consists of first & second form, hand & leg combinations,
lok sau, single & Double chi sau and sparring. Cham
Kui Consists of first & second form, double chi sau, multiple
assailant, blindfolded sparring, one arm sparring, back to the
wall and cornered sparring and breaking techniques. Wooden
Dummy Consists of Dummy Form, Drill Form, Free Form and Empty
Form 100
Man Challenge. Consists of fighting 100 opponents in succession. Bui
Tze & Luk Dim Boon Kwan Consists of forms, Chi Kwan, power
and sparring. Bart
Cham Do The form, application and sparring. When
confronted with an angry individual who is intent on causing you harm,
it is reasonable to expect that you may need to be physically aggressive
to counter his actions if it becomes violent. However,
training is certainly NOT AGGRESSIVE at first, but later classes could
certainly be assumed to be so by an uninformed bystander. But it must
be understood that by the time the students are training with such
intensity they are highly skilled and emotionally controlled. The
'aggression' is purely physical, they are not training with 'temper/anger'
but intense determination, and focus, there is a difference. An out
of control aggressor is very dangerous as they no longer consider
the consequences of their actions, if they knock you down they may
well kick you and cause severe damage, even if you are no longer able
to protect yourself in any way. Our students have to learn to deal
with this type of, often maniacal, temper and yet remain civilised. There
is a statement by Sun Tzu in the art of war which says (in victory)
'give your opponent an honourable retreat'. Basically, one can say
that if you do defeat your aggressor you can allow some mercy in the
hope that he does not seek revenge. The aim of martial arts is to
defend yourself against attack, not thuggery bullying or intimidation.
No. You
can get severely injured in a real fight. However, you should expect
some bruising and minor abrasions in class from time to time. The
aim is to improve, not be injured more each time you attend class
than you ever would in most confrontational situations. We train our
army to fight in life or death situations but we don't aim to kill
any of our troops in training! One of
the ambitions of nearly every student is to improve their fitness
at some level. All beginners are treated carefully and the training
begins with gentle exercise and education before any real strenuous
activity is emphasised. We do encourage you to continue with any exercise
programme you may be undertaking. We often
find that students who have never exercised undertake to do so in
other ways in addition to their martial art training. We find the
general health and fitness improvement in most students is considerable
and is generally continued as their desire to improve their Wing Chun
skills grows. Students find that if they are fit they are able to
train for longer in class with focus and concentration and develop
skills more readily. How
Long Will It Take To Get Good? How long
is a piece of string? It is not a precise question as every person's
definition of good is dependent upon what they want the skills for.
As a rule of thumb a student should be well disciplined and have considerable
punching power after the first year and be able to look after themselves
in most unarmed situations. However, they must train hard with intention
and direction in each session, don't drift in and out and miss classes
and you will be rewarded more quickly. There
are a number of schools claiming to teach you the ability to defend
yourself in just a few weeks. They quote learning to swim or ride
a bike as examples of how a person can learn skills in a short period.
We can all learn to swim in a pool relatively easily, and riding a
bike is a matter of balance. Neither of these equate to the fear,
anxiety and sheer danger of dealing with a violent, aggressive individual
who may be psychotic, on drugs and intent to sexual assault or worse,
or the multiple difficulties of weight, height, strength stealth,
distance judgment, left handed, right handed, punch, kick, knees,
bite, scratch weapons and multiple assailants. Try swimming down white
water rapids and extreme mountain biking and you may have a starting
point when potentially fighting to save your life! Tell
me about the UKWCKFA... ? The UKWCKFA
branches only have a new intake of students a few times a year, generally
Dec/Mar and Sept/Oct. However, our 3 full time schools have monthly
intakes. We do this for a number of reasons. To enable
us to take on new students to replace some students who may have left.
To keep
students of particular levels together. We have classes separated
by ability. We allow more experienced students to mix with beginners,
as they tend to help, but not vice versa. Contact
the Association and ask for an application form to a branch that is
local or convenient for you. You have a one month trial period during
which you only pay for your tuition. This month is in place to enable
a you to assess the style of Wing Chun Kung Fu and our teaching quality
in order to ascertain whether or not it suits your requirements. The Association
is a membership based organization. We have an annual fee of £50
(£40 renewal) which covers the student for insurance purposes.
This fee is also used to keep the prices of uniforms and equipment as
low as possible, and to support the branches that are not as well attended.
Where
can I find the addresses of my nearest branch ? The Association
has a number of branches. All of our instructors have been trained within
the Association itself. You can
go to our club directory page by clicking on this link: UKWCKFA
BRANCHES Only during
your first month on a beginners course. We are a membership based organization
and you may only attend courses and seminars run by the UKWCKFA if you
telephone and request a place. The Annual Summer Camp held on the last
Bank Holiday in August is available to all. How
Do I Become An Instructor ? We have
a three year teacher training program that is available to students
who pass the UKWCKFA first and second level gradings beforehand. We regularly
take on students from other schools and will consider them for instructor
training if they have a good standard. If you are already a teacher
and wish to join a high standard teacher support programme and have
the backing of a well respected Assoc. then please contact us and we
can discuss the matter further. We are not political and have no hidden
agenda! The Association
was formed in 1985 by Master James Sinclair. On this web site we have
a profile on the chief instructor. To access the page on him click here:
MASTER JAMES SINCLAIR. You may
read some of his views as expressed in an interview for Martial Arts
Illustrated in Deb 1999 which has been reproduced in our site, please
click HERE to read
it now.
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