Ladies and Gentlemen,

Firstly, Happy New Year! I hope you all had a well rested break and are eager to get back to training.

Since we start back at the Academy this Tuesday, I also wanted to inform you all that we are now running a new daytime class from this Wednesday. The class will run every Wednesday from 11am and is open to all levels. This will be a formal class that will consist of the normal components of our training. However, the last 20 minutes or so you'll be allowed to train what is appropriate for your level, i.e. sparring, chi sau, or lok sau.

While I'm not expecting this class to be well attended, due to the fact that many of you work during the day, it will be an experiment to see if it works. Of course, if no one attends then we will have to cancel the option for this day.

On a separate note, we now have a twitter page http://twitter.com/londonwingchun where I will place some very short updates and notes on training wing chun. If you haven't added me on facebook please do, otherwise our facebook group is http://www.facebook.com/londonwingchunacademy please join.

Look forward to seeing you all soon.

Warm Regards

Mark Phillips Sifu

http://www.londonwingchun.co.uk

WING CHUN in HONG KONG & CHINA 2009

Mark Phillips Sifu, Abid Mahmood Sifu and James Sinclair recently returned from a very exciting trip to Kong Kong and Mainland China. The journey was arranged to allow Sifu Mahmood the opportunity, after 27 years of training Wing Chun under James Sinclair, to experience the heart of Wing Chun Kung Fu in the homeland of this beautiful art. Sifu Abid is the Midlands Region Senior Instructor and runs his own full time kwoon (martial art school) in Hockley's Jewellry Quarter in Birmingham.


As well as having the opportunity to meet many of the UKWCKFA's friends and supporters it was also a chance to support the newly founded World Wing Chun Union.

With the tremendous success of 'Ip Man The Movie' Wing Chun Kung Fu has been propelled to iconic status, with mainland China particularly enjoying the film. As a result Grandmaster Ip Chun wished to unite all Wing Chun lineages into an umbrella organisation that would create an open forum for all instructors to discuss and analyse each other's approaches. As Wing Chun is one system, but with many approaches, it was felt that everyone could benefit from an open forum.

To promote the Union and raise valuable funds for charity, approaching 800 Wing Chun students gathered at the waterfront of Tsim Tsa Tsui in Kong Kong for a Guiness Book of Records World Record breaking attempt. There were so many lineages present it was necessary to adapt and create a simplified Siu Nim Tao (Wing Chun's basic form) in order that all participants perform the same routine. It was only a temporary measure and no students were suggested or expected to continue to use the 'Demonstration Form'.

During the rehearsals Mark and Abid managed to meet the stars of the latest Ip Man Movie, entitled Ip Before Man. This prequel focuses on the early training in Grandmaster Ip Man's life. There is also talk of a television series based on the life and adventures of Ip Man. Whilst there seems to be a little bit of remaking of history and poetic license, it is good for Wing Chun Kung Fu and martial arts generally. Grandmaster Ip Chun appeared pleased to see James again and gracioulsy took time to have a photo taken with Sifu Mark and Sifu Abid.

Mark, Abid and James were the only representatives from the United Kingdom and proud to have made the effort. They took their place toward the front of the huge harbour. After a few hours of repeated efforts a new record was indeed set for the world's largest Wing Chun display. The event gained tremendous publicity, being shown on Hong Kong and Mainland China's news channels and went out to a potential 1 billion viewers. Interesting a good portion of the footage shown on the news was of the UK representatives.

There were many people to meet whilst in Hong Kong, but thanks have to go to Donald Mak Sifu, who always seems to find the time to make everybody welcome. In fact Donald Mak invited James and his students to join his Russian students in China for a few days. It was good to see the spirit of Wing Chun is growing so strongly in Russia, Poland and other European countries, this can only add strength to the art and continue it's evolution.

The next stage of the World Wing Chun Union event took part in a huge parade in Foshan. There were well over a thousand people preparing various demonstrations from traditional dances to various martial arts. There was also the longest Dragon anyone had ever witnessed.

The Foshan even was astounding with tens of thousands of people lining the approx 2 mile boulevard waiting in anticipation for the now famous Wing Chun style to be demonstrated. As there were only 3 UK representatives James, Mark and Abid worked alongside the Polish team which was particularly good, building respect and good relationsThe Polish students are all great guys, hard trainers and take Wing Chun seriously and have developed good skills.

The audience were extremely welcoming and cheered as the Polish and UK team moved along the boulevard to demonstrate at various points. It is extremely rare that an audience of such magnitude would appreciate the subtleties of Wing Chun, but Foshan is not like other cities when it come to martial arts. We were informed that Foshan is a true hub for Southern martial arts and that is possible that three quarters of the population have experience in one of the many styles to be found there. It was great to be greeted so well by martial artists in Foshan and to see the 'Little Bruce Lee's' in their yellow cat suits all using their nunchakus to great effect.

James, Mark and Abid then went on a trip with the Russian students of Donald Mak Sifu. It was very enjoyable to see other parts of Southern China and visit some of the beautiful landmarks in the region from beautiful mountain scenery to idyllic peaceful temples. The only problem was the temperature and humidity which made every walk resemble a hard training session!
Before going back to Hong Kong a stop was made back in Foshan to visit the Ip Man Tong. This is a museum within a temple in the heart of the city. The museum is dedicated to the Ip Man lineage of Wing Chun, depicting the recent history of Wing Chun and it growth outside of China. It is impressive to see how Wing Chun has mushroomed from a little known art to a world wide phenomenon is such a short period of time. Of course Karate has been outside of Japan and Okinawa for much longer, but the growth of Wing Chun, is incredible. Heading back to Hong Kong James, Mark and Abid still had a few more people to meet.

The last of 6 hotels in 10 days was situated in the bustling area of Wanchai. Whilst in Wanchai James, Mark and Abid visited Grandmaster Chau Lin Fat (Dennis Chau). In fact Grandmaster Chau Lin Fat is the Wing Chun Grandfather of James Sinclair as he is the teacher of James' first Wing Chun teacher. It was disappointing to hear that Grandmaster Chau Lin Fat had been asked not teach other people based in the UK, but as a true gentleman he ignored this somewhat selfish request and took some time to explain some of his fascinating approach to Wing Chun Kung Fu. Grandmaster Chau Lin Fat is a very humble gentleman with genuine skill and understanding. He has a very effective approach to Wing Chun and produces some good students.

A trip to Hong Kong would not be complete without a visit to meet Grandmaster Wan Kam Leung. In fact James, Mark and Abid meet with Master Wan on three occassions. Grandmaster Wan is a charismatic and talented individual. Again he is very humble and takes the time to make everyone feel they are special. On the last meeting he invited James, Mark and Abid to a beautiful evening meal, all the more enjoyable with his engaging conversation and sense of humour. The next day James filmed some video of Grandmaster Wan demonstrating various facets of Wng Chun. He showed his form, wallbag training, dummy knives and performed some double chi sau with Sifu Abid. James has since edited the clip to include in the great teaching seminar held in 2008. This will be released on DVD with English subtitles and is a must have for anyone interested in deepening their understanding of Wing Chun.

Lastly, but by no means least James Mark and Abid went to visit Master Fung Man. He was originally a student of Master Law Bing one of the original student of Grandmaster Ip Man. After Law Bing passed away Master Fung trained diligently under Grandmaster Wong Shun Leung. Fung Man is a lovely human being, and has good Wing Chun ability. His nature is so humble that he trained in sticky hand with both Sifu Phillips and Sifu Mahmood for quite some time. Later James and Fung Man Sifu trained together and had an enjoyable exchange of skills. As stated Fun man Sifu has a very humble nature and he requested that Sifu's Mark and Abid teach his students, which was very honouring and was enjoyed by all.

Since this trip a number of students have requested to know if we will be going back. We are hoping to take up to 60 students in November 2010 with 20 students from Mark, Abid and James' schools. If this is something you would be interested in please inform us as soon as possible as a LOT of arrangements would need to be made.

http://www.ukwingchun.com/

http://www.londonwingchun.co.uk/

http://www.midlandswingchun.com/

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)