Wing Chun help! How can I close the gap between my instructor and myself?

I've been doing Wing Chun for a few years now and just when I think I'm starting to get good I'll spar with my instructor and he beats me effortlessly. I always get so discouraged when I spar with him because he can beat me absent-mindedly while carrying on a conversation with someone. No matter how much I practice or how hard I try, I can't come close to matching him. I do the forms every day, but it seems like I could practice for ten years and I still not be able to match him. Other than the forms, what else can I do to improve my Wing Chun skills? Anyone have any ideas?

Wing Chun help! How can I close the gap between my instructor and myself?
Two things for you, one: You've already lost because you are TRYING to beat your teacher. You answered yourself there. He can beat you while holding a conversation. That doesn't mean that he's not thinking just that his mind is uncluttered with thoughts like "I have to beat this student" like yours is cluttered with "have to win have to win".


By TRYING to beat him you are actually helping / telling him how to beat you. Because of your strong intentions of domination you will be more easily lead. Next time you do it, don't TRY, just do it with the mind that if there is an opening . .go for it. I am not saying that he won't still beat you but you should notice a change. And if you really get the hang of it so will he.


And secondly. When he teaches you, he is practicing also, as stated above. But once you start training to get yourself better, for self improvement, and not for the purpose of beating your teacher, that is when you'll really start to improve.
Reply:Try a different school for a few months integrating your skills with the other skills - I started with one karate school then


changed to Jiu JItsu - I improved -
Reply:He's the instructor. If you could beat him, then your training would be complete. Keep in mind that every day that you train, he also trains so you never actually catch up to him. Your frustration is also a weakness. The more frustrated you get, the more predictable you become.





Remember, you are using the techniques that he taught you. It would only make sense that he knows how to counter them.
Reply:Welcome to the martial arts! You have received your first enlightenment that all sincere martial arts eventually experience: you can never truly master Wushu; or in my case, Budo, since I'm an Aikido guy. If you could beat your instructor after only a few years of study, then he's no instructor worth studying under!





Perhaps you should get together with other students of equal ranking and spar on your own outside of class. Forms alone are much different than sparring. Also, it wouldn't hurt to begin cross-training in another style. There's nothing like studying another style in order to reveal the weaknesses in another.
Reply:Dude. He's your instructor. If you could beat him, then you'd be the instructor.


Insted of getting discouraged when he defeats you, just think about how much you stand to gain by learning under a teacher who's that good, you know?


I mean, could Daniel beat Mr. Miyagi? No, but look at how much he learned from Mr. Miyagi.
Reply:by "sparring" do you mean "chi sau" as that is not sparring. Its a drill.





fight him with full resistance and attack like a boxer.





If you are sparring the "wing chun" way and have not cross trained your art, then you will not be a very good fighter.





One major critisism of wing chun- and most CMAs is that they don't cross train outside the CMA sphere or even against other arts. Thus the reputation of Wing Chun is that it won't work against other arts.





Whether you agree or not this is the perception and even if you do train hard within your own school. If this is the case then take this into account and try your skills cross-training.





If you have done this realistic type of training and still can't beat him using techniques other than wing chun then it is because he is better than you and what he is teaching has merit.
Reply:You are not supposed to beat him because he could probably kill you if he wanted to. If you want to fight then do like I do and talk some **** while playing basketball or get drunk and grab some girls a s s. Or you can join a fighting club or a tourneyment or I'm sure you can test your skills somewhere. :~)
Reply:Take up boxing and all of his chinese ****** slapping game will be thrown out of window. However be careful because that's when he will start to throw bunches of wild punches such as hay makers, windmill punches, hammer fist to top of the head, etc...
Reply:He is your Sifu.





What do you expect to do, teach him?





You may have learned the hand forms but have not been taught application yet or do not have enough San Sao (open hand sparring) experience yet.





A few years of martial arts experience against a Wing Chun Sifu is not enough.





Mind your arrogance and apply what you 've been taught.





On second thought join a TKD school.








Check out this article....








Karate Convert





--By Pete Spier








When I moved to Syracuse, NY, I did not know what I would find. I hold my First Dan in both Taekwondo and Hapkido and I worried about whether or not I would be able to find a school in which to continue my practice of the martial arts. Upon first consulting the local yellow pages, I was overwhelmed by how saturated the martial arts market was here. In Syracuse, there are literally, 34 different schools and branches to choose from, and that number is constantly growing! What to pursue?


After some consideration, I concluded that I would continue my studies of Taekwondo and Hapkido in an effort to attain my Second Dan. Taekwondo schools are in somewhat lesser numbers here. There are 3. One sounded reputable and the other two were clubs and fitness centers. Nevertheless, I called all 3. The one that returned my call was the more reputable sounding.


I attended a class there to observe and speak with the Master. It felt like a very commercial atmosphere; fancy uniforms, lots of mirrors, and nice carpeting. I chose to speak with the instructor, only to find that they were not a Master of the art. Rather, they themselves were a Second Dan. He explained to me that I would have to enter as a white belt because my school taught International Style Taekwondo though registered with the World Organization. They explained that some of their moves were modified while others were wholly World Organization Olympic Style. I was supposed to train with the black belts but wear a white belt while working my way through the belt tests; fortunately, witnessed, on occasion, by the Master, toward First Dan. In this way, following what he estimated would be a year, I would re-attain my First Dan and only then be allowed to pursue my Second Dan. They would not teach Hapkido nor weapons, of which I was also trained in. I chose to investigate other styles in our area.


After some degree of soul searching and research, I chose to take advantage of the only Wing Chun Kung Fu school around, Salt City Athletics. I attended my first class, participating in the workout and technique drills as a "hands on" way of seeing whether or not I felt comfortable with the style. Unfortunately I did not. Not in the least.


The Wing Chun stance was close together, knees slightly bent, elbows in, and hands up. My Taekwondo stance was much wider and in it, I stood with my side facing my opponent. In Wing Chun, I was to face my opponent shoulders squared, head on. In Taekwondo, I had to hit hard and fast while snapping my kick or punch. In Wing Chun, I was supposed to hit quickly, though the choice of hard or soft was more determined by the situation than the style. It felt uncomfortable. I was continually reminded not to enter into my Taekwondo stance. "Keep that stance tight!" Sifu shouted. Additionally, Chin Na techniques differed from my Hapkido techniques in not using any pressure points and not requiring large arm movements or spinning.


The difference lead me to moments of frustration that made me strongly consider ending my study of it and settle a strangely deja vu white belt in Taekwondo. Then I began to learn the Sil Num Tao. In this first form, translated, "Small Ideas", I found the thing that made me wish to stick with the style. It was the key to why when I sparred with the other students, whenever I resorted to my Taekwondo training while they fought me on the inside, I consistently ended up arms crossed and near defenseless. It was the Sil Num Tao which taught me that small, tight, movements such as a basic wrist roll, in some situations was faster and more effective than was any of my previous karate training which would in order to address the same situation, take twice the energy that it took when I applied proper Wing Chun techniques. I have stayed with Wing Chun ever since and could now never return to karate.


Indeed there are things left over from my Taekwondo training which have given me a faster understanding of some techniques in Wing Chun. I find myself quick to understand the kicks, stretches, and some portions of the forms. However, at first it did hinder me. So how do I feel about now being a Wing Chun Kung Fu man? Surprisingly good. Especially since, in my case, the act of finding my new Wing Chun school and master, Sifu Walsh, might be considered as luck! My Taekwondo master was similar to many karate masters in promoting their own style and dismissing kung fu as ineffective! Thus, I never really thought that I would stick with Kung Fu. Instead I entered it thinking of it as some transitional training before pursuing another karate school as to give me an idea of what it was like to fight Kung Fu artists! Lesson learned: Don't knock it until you try it!








Copyright 1996. Pete Spier.