Moi Fa Martial Arts Academy

27th October 2008 - Qi Gong.

Over the years I have had the opportunity to learn and practice various forms of Chi Gung (Qi Gong). Its a strange thing as some people just dismiss these exercises without fully understanding them. I used to dismiss things that now I promote as my understanding has developed.

The first set of chi gung exercises I was exposed to are from the seven star mantis kung fu system, this set is known as 18 lohan gung. The whole set takes about 45 minutes and can be very demanding. You would think that chi gung is soft and gentle but some of the exercises involve forms of push ups, bridging and lots of twisting of the body.

The hardest and funniest element of chi gung is doing exercises that make you look and feel silly. The lohan gung has many of these but I find these are the real gems and provide me with the most benefit...I just try not to do them in public.

20th October 2008 - Friendship, Kung Fu and Ladyboys.

Last week I had one of my teachers and his kung fu brother visit. Its always a great honour to have my teachers visit so that my students can see where the skills come from. What's even more rewarding is the continued building of friendships and trust that is developed and its also a chance to reminisce about past times. (Oh and advice on how to survive Thailand!)

On the Saturday evening several of us took Sifu Derek and Si-sook Malcolm out for a Indian Curry. Naturally Beer and Wine helped the curry go down (and Fanta for us drivers!) and it was a good time to meet and catch up. Some of the students had not met Derek or Malcolm before and it had been several months since Michael and I had a chance to relax with the boys. After a late night catching up is was an early start on Sunday for Tai Chi. Malcolm wanted a 7am start on the beach but thankfully we talked him out of it this time. Sunday morning covered Tai Chi and 7 Star Mantis applications. The afternoon was focused on Medical Qigong and early evening was focused on forms corrections.

13th October 2008 - Congratulations to Ben.

Last week I taught Ben the last part of the Double Knives, Baat Jam Dao Form. He is the first of my Wing Chun students to complete the form so forgive me if I get all emotional. Ben knows he has a long way to go before his knife skills are polished but just getting through the form is a nice mark of achievement. For me its great to have students who are developing and as a teacher its rewarding when the pieces fall into place. Several of the senior students including Ben are showing great progress in their Wing Chun thinking and skills. Hopefully a Black Sash grading is not too far off for some of them as that will be another mark of achievement for both myself and the students.

I don't hold information back from the students I teach but I do wait until a student is ready both mentally and physically. As a teacher I want students to have a good grounding in Siu Nim Tau and Chum Kiu before they progress to Biu Tse. They should further have a very firm understanding of both fighting theory and the wooden dummy training before learning the Baat Jam Dao.

6th October 2008 - Zombie Nation.

How much of your life do you spend just cruising without any focus on the present? I have noticed when people come to martial arts they don't often come to study! What I mean is they turn up fall into line and follow alone with the moves, very rarely do I see people concentrating 100% they normally look around the room, talk or just look like they want to sleep. We all feed of each other, so if your partner is motivated and pushing you then your will hopefully be performing better.

In Chinese this is called Yi (Yee) and is called spirit. This is expressed through the eyes and is a very useful attribute to develop. Even when warming up you should be focusing your mind, developing the "eye of the tiger" and searching for your peak mental and physical level. If you can't do it in class, how are you going to manage under stressful conditions, when tired, confused and scared. I hate using Bruce Lee references but remember what Bruce was telling the student near the beginning of Enter the Dragon...Check out the film again....

29th September 2008 - Weekend Violence.

Over the last weekend it seems like there was a massive amount of knife related incidents in press. On the local news alone I counted four separate events with at least one of these being fatal. I find this a worrying trend and I can't see it being turned around. The only thing that could possibility turn it around would be much harder punishments for knife carrying and crime and I suspect the government is not willing do what is necessary.

I practice martial arts mainly because I enjoy it. The mental stimulation, the struggle to make your body do what is difficult, the friendship and camaraderie between the group members are all very important aspects to me. We must not forget that the added bonus of an interesting pass-time is the increased ability to defend ourselves and our loved ones and in this day and age its worth seriously considering the realistic application of your chosen martial art. Keep it fun, keep it functional.

22nd September 2008 - Following your path.

I am in a position now where I have been training and teaching Chinese Martial Arts for many years. Thus far I have not found any reasons to change my Sifu in either Wing Chun or Seven Star Mantis styles. I feel lucky that my teachers don't restrict me from being an individual and following my own path through life. I say lucky but maintaining any type of close relationship for many years requires a certain balance of freedom, respect, love, good judgement and trust.

As both a teacher and student I have witnessed and been party to the breakdown of relationships within martial arts and their is always a sad element either because of the way the break up happened or just because a journey has come to an end. As a teacher its always sad to loose close students, as a student its always sad when your training partner is not there. Most relationships will end at some point but its important to act with respect and dignity and see that sometimes people need to change path so that they can continue their own journey.

15th September 2008 - Preparing for training.

Age is a funny thing. I don't feel older than I was ten or fifteen years ago but my body keeps telling me I am. I find that I need to warm up thoroughly now, where as when I was a teenager I could kick head high without warming up. I also find that injuries take longer to heal which makes me avoid dangerous moves more. So if you can avoid it don't get old. Failing that take some advice from the older generation.

If you consider yourself more mature than other students, make sure you warm up before class starts then you will already have a head start before class warm up begins. When possible spend a few minutes at the end of a session, stretching and cooling down. (you can talk to fellow students while doing this). Another thing that you can do is take the first few reps of a drill lighter or slower and build up the intensity as you feel. Talk to your partner and listen to your body and you can do martial arts for the whole of your life.

8th September 2008 - Martial Arts or Brawling.

I love watching the UFC, Boxing and Kickboxing competitions. As martial artists we have never had a better opportunity to analyse and learn from fighting conflicts and sporting competitions. You will learn many important points from analysing MMA competitions but try and keep a balanced view of the differences between competition and self defence. The physical and physiological differences can be vast. For example you don't want to go to the ground in the street, its not as nice as on thick mats!. Something that is very evident from the top competitors is what good human beings and martial arts role models they are. The majority of top quality sports people are also highly developed on a mental and spiritual level and not just a physical level. Its difficult to be at the top of your game if you are unfocused, don't have good quality support systems and a certain degree of intelligence.

5th September 2008 - interaction with our Atlantic cousins.

In the last couple of weeks I have had several interactions with North Americans. One thing that really stood out from all my recent experience has been their professionalism and good manors. It has made me look at both my behaviour and that of everyone around me. Now I have no doubt that some North Americans don't behave in a professional and courteous way but that positive experience I have had certainly should propel me in the right direction instead of brushing it aside. I think life can be very difficult and its easy not to take the time to be courteous to your friends and family but that's no excuse in my mind. To be honest I think we take those close to us for granted the most sometimes.

2nd September 2008 - Struggling with the Yang Tai Chi Long Form.

Recently I have been progressing my study of the Yang Style Long Form. As some of you are aware, tai chi forms are done a slow pace to allow you to work on structure, balance, coordination and relaxation. The added benefit I have found from the slow pace is that if you lose concentration for a second, you can forget the next move in the form.

I used to find tai chi very difficult to get my head into but the long form has brought the system to life. My Grand teacher Master Ou, really expresses the martial applications of the form and this has brought new meaning to the moves and possibilities of the system. For now I am happy to keep struggling with my tai chi. I am nowhere near the level I hope to be but I can see the steps in front of me.

26th August 2008 - Learning to lose...a common mindset.

I love attending seminars and training with world class martial arts instructors. After attending a training session with Ernie Barrios of WSL Wing Chun I was reminded about an essential training principle. The principal can be described in many different words, "invest in loss", "Learning from your defeats" etc. The main think is to remind yourself of this mindset and use it frequently in your training.

Whether you are pushing hands, sticking hands, sparring or practising structure tests, keep reminding yourself that your partner is there to help you not defeat you. Training brothers and sisters should keep this in mind, be there for your partner and he will be there for you. The better your partner gets the more it will help you.