7 Stages of Training

I sat down earlier today after training and tried to categorize the stages each student must undergo.

This is what i came up with...

Bearing in mind that at this point this might be total BS and i may regret this post later...

1. Center

In the case of VT, no student can progress without first having the basic understanding of this concept.

2. Structure

Since in all of Kung fu and really most everything else in life, how far we get depends on how strong a foundation we have in what it is we do.

I don`t see how VT is any exception, a tree with no roots will never survive in the Forest, your basic structure derived from a good solid stance is the key to everything else in VT.

3. Movement

Combining the first 2 points into point number 3 is essential, there is no way you can be good at fighting if you cannot move well. Movement means we must relearn the first 2 points over because once you start moving everything changes all the time.

4. Shifting and Angling

Point 3 must therefore be combined with points 1,2 and 4.

Learning how to shift, change angles and how this affects all the earlier points will lead to a good understanding of how to fight well.

5. Covering

This concept must replace blocking. In VT there is no time to Block, if you are under attack you can cover to give yourself a chance to start fighting back.

6. Entering

All of the above points are pretty meaningless without the mental readiness, Timing and co-ordination to be able to get into your opponents space and do some damage.

7. Finishing

This could mean running away from an ambush, or it could mean making the choice to fatally injure another human being in order to survive.

Either way it involves mental determination to make a snap judgement and see it through to the end.

So for the time being this is what i consider to be the 7 steps that  anyone looking to become an effective fighter must under take.

Of course each step in itself has different levels to achieve and always a higher goal to aim for.

inside these points you can find lessons in Attacking, speed, distance, timing, accuracy, strength, fighting intelligence, reflexes, problem solving etc.

But if you can get your mind and body around these 7 steps i am confident enough to say, that i think it will make you a good fighter.

Mike Daley

kobeeishunken@mail.com

１８日のえいしゅんけんのクラスは。。。

先週は本当に楽しかったです。

新しい生徒、ミノリさんとタケオさん二人がクラス参加しました。

We practiced basic footwork, drilling the forward shuffle step,

short and long stepping,

stepping and punching and Pad work before drilling the moves in pairs and experimenting with Toi Ma footwork.

Then class was very enjoyable, a little tough for our beginners but they gave it their best and that is what counts.

Unfortunately due to the uneven number of students i had no time to take pictures, more footage of next class though.

Class of the 11th

Yesterday was a sunny day, 4 members of our club attended class

2 People came to watch the class, the man and woman expressed an interest and hopefully we will see them next week.

1 member was unaccounted for.

Class focused on VT foundations, the Kim Yeung ma, Center line punching and the beginning of lat sau jik chung and Musculoskeletal development.

Our close rang punching drill helped our members get their head around these core concepts and the importance of correct structure, relaxation and body alignment.

If you would be interested in joining one of our classes they will be held every wednesday night from 7pm

for more information 

contact us by email@ kobeeishunken.mail.com

or checkout our Facebook page www.facebook.com/kobe.vingtsun

First class back.

This week i held the first VT class since the last one back in July.

We had only three in attendance,

It was a very interesting class.

The class format has been altered slightly to accommodate for the different levels of experience, we now have 2 student who have been training for 6 months, 1 student who has been training for almost 3 months and 3 beginners.

This week we did a basic punching drill with the pad.



We went through the 小年頭方 section by section.

And we started a new set of drills that will become the standard for all new students.

This week we did the first of the drills, the basic punching drill.