Academy News & Updates July 2009

Thank you

Thank you for your kind gesture with regards to the collection given to me when our new academy opened in Wood Green last summer. I have now used the gift to purchase new Thai pads for the school, which can be used by all our students.


Siu Nim Tao

The Siu Nim Tao (Stage 1) grading will take place on 11 July 2009 at 1.30pm. Please can all students who wish to take part, let us know as soon as possible. The grading will cost £25. Please also ensure that your membership and licence is up-to-date and that you have a full uniform.


Shower Room

I am pleased to inform you that work on the shower room will commence in the next couple of weeks and we hope to complete the work as soon as possible.

We do not expect that this will cause any disruption to the academy.


Friday Training

The Kwoon will now be open 7 days a week, including Fridays from 6 to 8pm for a drop-in session. This is a good opportunity for any student who would like to do some additional training.

Please note that the Friday’s drop-in session will be for a trial period based on demand.


Running Group

A group of students have recently organised a running trip every Wednesday at 8pm. The run lasts for about 30 minutes, starting from the Kwoon and involves a route to Alexandra Palace and back.

You are more than welcome to join them if you would like to improve your fitness levels.


Toilets

To keep the Kwoon tidy and clean, may I ask all students to take home their personal belongings at the end of each day and to discard any paper cups used and rubbish left behind.

In addition, please can you also leave the toilets as you expect to find them. Especially during the hot summer months, it very important that we keep the Kwoon as clean as possible.


1st Year Anniversary – 8 August 2009

It has almost been a year since our Academy has opened. To coincide with this date, we are going to organise the ‘Instructor of the Year’ and ‘Student of the Year’

All students will be able to choose their favourite Instructor (with the exception of Si Fu and Assistant Instructors) for what ever reason. This will give us the opportunity for us to recognise and appreciate their efforts and commitment to the school.

In return, our Instructors will be selecting a ‘Student of the year’ for 2009. This will be based on a number of factors such as attitude, dedication, determination, improvement and generally a student that we should all respect and admire. The choice will be targeted at all levels of training.

Selection will begin in 8 August 2009.


3rd Level Grading

The 3rd Level Grading will be taking place in the autumn of 2009. This grading is at Instructor’s level and it represents the transition for Instructors to become a Si Fu. Preparation is currently undergoing. Master James Sinclair will be assessing the grading on the day.

We will let you know when a date has been set, as I am sure many students would like to attend to support the Instructors.

Kind Regards,

Mark Phillips Sifu

http://www.londonwingchun.co.uk

Self Examination Principles for Martial Arts – By Onder Hassan

When training in the martial arts or life in general, there will come a time where we will feel discontentment at some point in our lives. Whether it’s lack of money, lack of skill or lack of confidence in ourselves to become the person we aspire to be, and what usually causes this is by putting other people on a pedestal or by comparing ourselves with others. There will undoubtedly be someone that will be better than you in some area or another and when you feel that way, chances are, you will always be unhappy. The key to being content is by judging yourself with you only.

I’ve personally found that the easiest way to overcome this is by keeping track of your progress by writing things down. What I usually write in my notes are as follows:

1.Progress reports – These consist of weekly progress of what I’ve learned and my understanding on the techniques and their martial arts applications. The benefits of this is whenever you’re feeling down, you could look back at your progress over the weeks and see how far you’ve come in your development. This would automatically make you feel better about yourself and your training.

2.Short /Long term goals – Write down what you hope to achieve in your training in a short or long term basis. So an example of a short term goal could be to implement and improve your hand and leg coordination. A long term goal would be to take and pass the Siu Nim Tao in a year. I find this beneficial as this would make you focus on your personal goals in Wing Chun.

3.Affirmations – Write down the things you would like to become; your ideal image. They can be positive statements about yourself that you could use to make yourself feel better. The benefit of this is that it could be used to increase your confidence in an upcoming event like a grading or a demonstration. The key however is not to use negative words in an affirmation, for example “I would like to be good at Lok sau” because that would naturally make it seem like you’re constantly striving towards it. Instead what you should say is “I am good at Lok Sau”. What this does at a subconscious level is it reframes your mind into thinking that you’ve already attained that goal. Eventually when you refer back to these notes, you will find that you’re thought processes have naturally pushed you into those ideals.

What this will slowly start to show is how important a person’s frame of mind is towards a goal or task and that it’s a person’s way of thinking that marks the difference between being successful and being ‘ordinary’.

For those of you who are reading this, I challenge anyone to apply these principles in their martial arts or wing chun training and general well being. It will make a difference to the way you view things about yourself and life. You are the person you think you are, and if you think otherwise… Think again!

‘If you think you can or you think you can’t, either way… You’re right!’ – Henry Ford

For more information on Wing Chun see http://www.londonwingchun.co.uk/info.html

Our New Academy in North London

The UK Wing Chun Assoc: London Martial Arts Academy has now moved to a new stat of the art studio. Which now boasts an improved level of fitness and martial arts equipment than before. We can now be found at: Unit C (2nd Floor), Cypress House, Coburg Rd, Wood Green, London N22 6UJ.

The new Academy is better equipped, featuring a new matted area, training equipment, pro shop, shower facility, natural lighting and ventilation. Please note the timetable will remain the same.

Public transport is also excellent within the area. There are sufficient buses*, tubes, and trains all within close proximity to the new Academy. Wood Green tube station and Alexandra Palace over ground train station is only a 5 minute walk away. There is also free parking on site and free parking on Coburg Rd after 6.30pm.

Also see http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=N22+6UJ&countryCode=GB for map of location.

*Bus: Routes: 29, 67, 121 , 123, 141, 144 , 184, 221, 230, 232 , 243, 329, W3, W4

Ladies Only Wing Chun Training

The London Wing Chun Academy is currently running a 'ladies only' weekly workshop. The training session is organised by the students and overseen by one of our Assitant Instructors. Here's what one of the students has had to say about the class:

"The ladies session gives us the opportunity to improve our technique on a one-to-one basis as appose to a mixed, larger class. Typically we practice skills and combinations that have been taught earlier in that particular week, however as the session is informal the material varies accordingly. Female students that are working towards their grading also use the session to practice the skills required and get feedback from senior members on their progress.

Personally, I look forward to the ladies session because it is at the end of the week, it makes me feel more confident in a mixed class and it has encouraged me to focus more on my technique. The female students naturally have mixed abilities so it gives you exposure to some more advanced training if you choose to. The atmosphere is relaxed and everybody is encouraged to add some input into the content of the session, so we come away feeling really positive having focused on our weaknesses.

The duration of each session varies depending on the volume of students and how much time we are willing to put in. As the majority of students at the association are men it’s re-assuring for the female students to gather for extra training and to share our experiences."

For more information on our classes please visit our website http://www.londonwingchun.co.uk/

Instructor of the Year 2008

As you may be aware, in London Wing Chun Academy in Southgate all our Instructors are volunteers. And therefore a lot of personal time and effort is put into each and every class and student by our these dedicated individuals.

To show our appreciation, we would like you to choose your ‘Instructor of the year’ for 2008.

Therefore we would be grateful if you could vote for the instructor of your choice using the ballot box provided in the Kwoon. Please write down the name and the reason why you have selected your Instructor (The selection may be anonymous). You may also visit the Instructors profile page for an overview of other instructors at the academy you may not have trained with.

A quick reminder of our current teaching team:-

• Chris Cranie: Beginners Wing Chun/Fitness & Conditioning
  
• Peter Foreman: Intermediate Wing Chun/Guard Hand Skills
  
• Jonathan Thomas: Fitness & Conditioning
  
• Alexis Tomlin: Fitness & Conditioning
  
• Onder Hassan: Intermediate Wing Chun
  
• Adam Smith: Intermediate Wing Chun
  
• Barry Hawkes: Intermediate Wing Chun
  
• Carol Chan: Beginners Wing Chun/Fitness & Conditioning

Student of the Year 2008

In return, our Instructors will be selecting a ‘Student of the year’ for 2008. This will be based on a number of factors such as attitude, dedication, determination, improvement and generally a student that we should all respect and admire. The choice will be targeted at all levels of training.

Kind regards.

Mark Phillips Sifu


Both the ‘Instructor of the year 2008’ and the ‘Student of the year 2008’ will be announced on Monday 9 June 2008 (after the beginner’s class at 8.45pm)

‘Reality Based’ Edged Weapon Course 2008

• The ‘Reality Based’ Edged Weapon course was developed to teach individuals of a range of abilities the necessary skills and concepts required to cope with an assailant wielding a knife. The course itself is realistic, informative and presented in a manner that’s give a good overview of the use of the weapon by an attacker. Topics also include: the psychology behind such attacks, and some of the more practical strategies for defending oneself against a sharp or edged weapon.
  
  The ‘Reality Based’ Edged Weapon Defence System (EDS) is based on practical Wing Chun principles, with an added blend of control and restraint concepts that have been widely developed for the security industry. The course is ideally suited to individuals employed in high-risk occupations, as well as members of the general public.
  
  
  Objectives of the course:
  
  To provide a realistic overview of how and why knife attacks occur, in order to allow students the ability to categorise and respond to a potential level of threat. Students will be introduced to the basic principles of empty hand defence against a knife attack at close range. The seminar is meant to serve as an introduction, where students are expected to develop the ideas and concepts further with practice.
  
  
  Course components:
  
  • Introduction to the Knife
  • Psychology of Aggression & Violent Knife Crime
  • Environmental and Cultural Factors to Knife Attacks
  • Introduction to the three ranges of knife attacks
  • Practical applications against situations when Threaten with Knife
  • Application of Chi Sau to Knife Movement
  • Practical applications against thrusting attacks
  • Introduction to ‘Slash attacks’
  • Practical Debrief
  
  
  All abilities are welcome providing they have an attentive mind and a good sense of humour. (Note, that individuals who are not UK Wing Chun Assoc are welcome to attend). For further information please visit our website www.londonwingchun.co.uk, or contact me directly via mobile phone on 07976 855 259 (between the hours of 9.30 to 5.30), or simply email me anytime at mphillips@ukwingchun.com.
  
  Mark Phillips Sifu

Course Details:

3.30pm to 6.30pm Saturday 24th May

UK Wing Chun Assoc: London Martial Arts Academy
Unit 7, Chase Side Works,
Chelmsford Rd
Southgate, N14 4JN

Cost: £30 for Academy members;
£40 for non-members

Changes in Lesson Times

We have a made a small adjustment to the London Wing Chun Academy's timetable. The San Shou Kickboxing class has now moved to Wednesday nights starting at 8.45pm. As a result the Wing Chun beginners class will meet at 7.30pm, and the Fitness Conditioning Class will run at the slightly earlier time of 6.45pm.

Sunday's Kickboxing class will be replaced with a new Intermediate level Wing Chun class meeting every Sunday at 11pm.

We do plan to add a additional San Shou Kickboxing classes shortly so please visit our timetable for regular updates. Click here to see the new timetable.