I have just finished two days on the Tse Qigong Centre Wing Chun weekend. I just got home and it has taken me an hour to stop smiling. There are not many places you can go for two days of martial arts training and feel like this. Why so much fun? Well, it is a combination of things.
1. The environment – Grand Master Tse has created a place that people from different backgrounds can come together – like family – and practice this wonderful skill in a safe space.
2. The course itself – there is a wealth of knowledge in the centre, where everyone is actively trying to improve themselves and others. Hence, no matter who you are training with, they are trying to get better and (in the process) making you better.
3. The fun – Wing Chun is inherently fun but there is so much depth and history to this skill. Because Wing Chun is not about ‘force against force’ it is something that can be learnt and enjoyed without worrying about being hurt or the size of the opponent.
The course itself felt effortless. Like good Wing Chun, it just flowed.
Each day started with a warm up. Unlike some other seminars, we did not start with a lecture. I did not really think about this until writing up the seminar! The course consisted of
* Chi Sau – no one that studies Wing Chun can resist doing Chi Sau if there is a large group of people that you don’t know that well. Everyone’s hands are different and in order to improve you need to touch hands with many different people.
* 10 Star Footwork – everyone got a chance to learn some of the different aspects of Wing Chun’s footwork. Many people only concentrate on the hands and therefore really don’t understand the importance of footwork.
* Kicking Techniques – everyone got a chance to learn some of the different aspects of Wing Chun’s kicks. There are more than you think! So interesting, and fun!
* More Chi Sau – but this time with kicking! Not something people practice a lot of. Lots more laughing and smiling here as people realise it is very risky to try and kick with someone more senior than you!
To summarise… Fun, learning, fun, and a great meal on the first evening. In my book, a really great way to spend a weekend. Thank you to everyone for making it such a great weekend.
by Peter Walfisz
Student Comments
I had the most amazing time for this wing chun weekend.
The opportunity to learn some 10 star footwork and kicking techniques personally has been invaluable to me.
I’ve also especially enjoyed the opportunity to chi sau with my kung fu brothers and sisters, which has been an incredible learning experience for me.
Thank you to sijo for hosting this extraordinary event.
I look forward to the next one!
Robin
Wing Chun weekend was great and being on the new Elleray Center hall was exciting too.
As always, it was so nice meeting again with many Kung fu brothers and sisters from many places touching hands together and learn so much from each other.
Sigong focused on teaching us a lot about stepping and kicking.
We even trained, carefully, a session of touching hands where kicking was allowed and people really had so much fun and enjoyed it a lot!
Maybe as much as the delicious dinner on Saturday.
Thank you for organising this seminar Sigong! Looking forward to the one at the end of year too!
Michalis A
It was great to participate in the Wing Chun weekend. I loved going into detail about the 10 star footwork and the kicking techniques – but most of all the plentiful chi sau! It is always good to get together and improve the skill. Thank you, Sigong.
Best, Tom Hogg.
Wing Chun Weekend: How fun to try chi sau with kicking after learning some of the leg techniques! We had a great new space and it is so good to come together with everyone. Learning the ten star footwork in groups was also fun yesterday. Thandks Sigong for a great weekend and dinner! Lee B
Great weekend. I can’t belivleve it went by so quickly! So many impressions – so much to digest. Thank you to everyone there for making it a fun and educational experience.
Thank you for a great seminar Sigong.
Paul Hogg
I had an amazing time at the Wing Chun weekend, thank you Sifu for hosting an incredible learning experience. Everyone was friendly and helpful. I learned so much, not just new techniques, but also guidance on correcting my hand and leg positions. Also, the meal afterwards was a great way to meet everyone. Thank you again.
Mark B
Thankyou TaiSigong for a very enjoyable and informative Wing Chun Weekend. It was great to go over the first 4 stars of the ten star footwork and the kicking techniques. This has filled in many gaps for me and I feel I now have a deeper understanding of the footwork. It was good to be able to try out the kicking techniques and TaiSigong gave many valuable insights into their use. Looking forward to learning more, there is always more to learn! Thanks to everyone for some great Chi Sau and help with where things are going wrong. It’s always a pleasure to Chi Sau with everyone and meet up again. Thanks for a great weekend, Rod.
Thank you for a very enjoyable Wing Chun Weekend. It was great to see everyone and touch so many hands. It’s always interesting how different people’s hands can be and how they change over time. Practicing 10 star footwork and kicking was a lot fun, and adding it to Chi Sau brings a whole new dimension to think about; definitely higher level. The new space was exciting and the meal was, as always, superb. I’m very much looking forward to Chi Sau day. Thank you Sigong.
Sam P
A fantastic weekend of Wing Chun, so much to go home and digest. Every time Sifu explains a technique, be it footwork or leg technique, it goes deeper into this amazing skill. It was great to see everyone, thank you Sifu.
Peter A
Great Wing Chun weekend, lots of Chi Sau with everyone on the course, some new hands and some had not seen for sometimes, so was good to reconnect and spend time together. Learnt a lot from all the questions on the 10 stars footwork, and was good to have another chance to practice some of the kicking techniques and understand them better. Doing Chi Sau with kicking was a first too, the icing on the cake for the course! Thank you Sigong for a great course. Christine