Wing Chun Footwork - It's Not Chinese Dancing!
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Yoshi Kundagawa
Mar 29, 2013, 3:30:04 AM3/29/13
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Article Title: Wing Chun Footwork - It's Not Chinese Dancing!
Author: Yoshi Kundagawa
Word Count: 635
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=134274&ca=Recreation
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�So, what�s the new dance step you�re doing, Yoshi?�
Yeah, I hear that all the time. Even from people who should know better. You probably do as well, particularly if you do footwork for Wing Chun. Wing Chun, or �Chinese Dancing� is a soft style with a strong philosophical bent to it. The name originally came from the ideograms for �Ever Spring�, and it�s appropriate. I was getting tired of walking with bruises and pulled muscles, and needed to switch to a softer style while I was recovering. I like Kung Fu styles, so learning Wing Chun was like falling off a log. Only without as much falling, or as many punches to the sternum. Though the joint locks did remind me I was doing a real martial art. (One piece of advice � anyone who says �Hey, let me show you a joint lock!� is a sadist. Just say �no�. Really.) In some ways, Wing Chun is like the early forms exercises you do for Kung Fu, only carried to their logical extreme, rather than used as the fundamentals of a hard style.
What drew me to Wing Chung, aside from the sprained wrist on my primary punching hand, was the fluid footwork that its practitioners had. Well, OK. It was the fluid footwork that I saw in Jet Li�s movies, while waiting for the cast to come off. Even so, just from watching the movies, I could see immediate uses for Wing Chun footwork in my repertoire of techniques once my wrist healed. Wing Chun footwork focuses on balance � more so than with a strong kicking style, which can leave you very exposed trying for a circle kick.
In particular, the footwork demands that you settle in a low stance, but not one that�s so low that your mobility gets hampered. Now, I know, everyone who does martial arts has heard about this stance, or that stance. And unless you�re working in front of a mirror, you�ll do the sloppiest stance you can get away with without your sparring partner kicking you a new one. What I found interesting about Wing Chun is that the form drills (San Sik is what they�re called) REALLY emphasize fluid motions. Let me tell you, doing it right � you�re going to sweat. And the muscles in your quads and hams are going to burn�but my word, is the end result worth it. Those forms become second nature, like they�re learned by your knees and hips, and you just do them � once the pain has gone away.
Of course, everyone will be talking about your new dance steps, but Wing Chun footwork pays for itself nicely � since going into it, I�ve been much more conscious of how my bent knees increase my reach with punches and elbow strikes, and it�s been a lot harder to throw me to the mat in Jiu Jitsu. The parts I�ve had to compensate for from the footwork I�ve learned have been in mobility. It�s sometimes possible to �plant� too hard � which makes it tempting to break stance to give pursuit, particularly when you�re flowing from a down block and trying to transition into a kick � at that point, the Wing Chun footwork has to kind of �skip a beat� while you move back to a harder Kung Fu kick.
Either way, I�m glad I took the time to learn this. It�s given me a good base to work from, and a few more tricks to throw into sparring matches. Particularly fun is when someone makes fun of the dance steps and then comes up to me and says �How�d you do that, Yoshi?�
About The Author: Yoshi I Kundagawa is a freelance journalist. He covers the mixed martial arts industry. For a free report on wing chun footwork, visit his blog: http://www.martialarts3000.com/wingchunseekingbridge.html
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=134274
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
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*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Yoshi Kundagawa
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=134274
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=134274
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: Wing Chun Footwork - It's Not Chinese Dancing!
Author: Yoshi Kundagawa
Word Count: 635
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=134274&ca=Recreation
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=134274
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=134274
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
�So, what�s the new dance step you�re doing, Yoshi?�
Yeah, I hear that all the time. Even from people who should know better. You probably do as well, particularly if you do footwork for Wing Chun. Wing Chun, or �Chinese Dancing� is a soft style with a strong philosophical bent to it. The name originally came from the ideograms for �Ever Spring�, and it�s appropriate. I was getting tired of walking with bruises and pulled muscles, and needed to switch to a softer style while I was recovering. I like Kung Fu styles, so learning Wing Chun was like falling off a log. Only without as much falling, or as many punches to the sternum. Though the joint locks did remind me I was doing a real martial art. (One piece of advice � anyone who says �Hey, let me show you a joint lock!� is a sadist. Just say �no�. Really.) In some ways, Wing Chun is like the early forms exercises you do for Kung Fu, only carried to their logical extreme, rather than used as the fundamentals of a hard style.
What drew me to Wing Chung, aside from the sprained wrist on my primary punching hand, was the fluid footwork that its practitioners had. Well, OK. It was the fluid footwork that I saw in Jet Li�s movies, while waiting for the cast to come off. Even so, just from watching the movies, I could see immediate uses for Wing Chun footwork in my repertoire of techniques once my wrist healed. Wing Chun footwork focuses on balance � more so than with a strong kicking style, which can leave you very exposed trying for a circle kick.
In particular, the footwork demands that you settle in a low stance, but not one that�s so low that your mobility gets hampered. Now, I know, everyone who does martial arts has heard about this stance, or that stance. And unless you�re working in front of a mirror, you�ll do the sloppiest stance you can get away with without your sparring partner kicking you a new one. What I found interesting about Wing Chun is that the form drills (San Sik is what they�re called) REALLY emphasize fluid motions. Let me tell you, doing it right � you�re going to sweat. And the muscles in your quads and hams are going to burn�but my word, is the end result worth it. Those forms become second nature, like they�re learned by your knees and hips, and you just do them � once the pain has gone away.
Of course, everyone will be talking about your new dance steps, but Wing Chun footwork pays for itself nicely � since going into it, I�ve been much more conscious of how my bent knees increase my reach with punches and elbow strikes, and it�s been a lot harder to throw me to the mat in Jiu Jitsu. The parts I�ve had to compensate for from the footwork I�ve learned have been in mobility. It�s sometimes possible to �plant� too hard � which makes it tempting to break stance to give pursuit, particularly when you�re flowing from a down block and trying to transition into a kick � at that point, the Wing Chun footwork has to kind of �skip a beat� while you move back to a harder Kung Fu kick.
Either way, I�m glad I took the time to learn this. It�s given me a good base to work from, and a few more tricks to throw into sparring matches. Particularly fun is when someone makes fun of the dance steps and then comes up to me and says �How�d you do that, Yoshi?�
About The Author: Yoshi I Kundagawa is a freelance journalist. He covers the mixed martial arts industry. For a free report on wing chun footwork, visit his blog: http://www.martialarts3000.com/wingchunseekingbridge.html
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=134274
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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