Self-Defense with WingChun and Escrima.
It’s been a week. And quite the week!
I wrapped it up with five more Private Lessons, an Escrima Class, a Regular Class in Bruchsal and another in Karlsruhe tonight. All just over the last few days after the IAW Event.
Does the training madness ever stop? Gladly, not. This is a good thing. Let’s call it a healthy obsession. An illness of wellness. I have been incurably addicted for a while. Sorry if you caught the bug from me!
Here’s a telltale symptom. You want to learn everything as soon as possible. At first it consumes you. Then you manage the urge better by pacing yourself. You let the passion inspire instead of inflame you.
For instance, I want to share a realization I once had. On Monday I was reminded of it. In order to understand Sifu and embody what he does, I must train everything he teaches. Obviously, that’s WingChun, including the Combat and Degree Programs. I’d probably take cooking lessons from him if he offered them.
One art is already a substantial study. But again, no rush since we have a lifetime, though that could end any day. However, as a consummate artist, I was missing something.
If WingChun is color, Escrima is grayscale.
The broad strokes of weapon action are like the stark contrast of black and white photography. Tone is emphasized over hue. This makes shapes appear clearer. In Self-Defense, it is total body motion. Twisting and turning. Spinning and spiraling. Rising and falling. Contracting and expanding.
So to access the full IAW palette of movement requires the dynamic duo of WingChun and Escrima. With both at hand, you have more options. The former is subjective, where you are the weapon. The latter is objective, where you have a weapon.
If you feel kind of stuck in WingChun I’d encourage you to try Escrima. Do so to tap into another side of you. It awakened a second force in me that I’ve blended as one power. Or you could say I have two terminal diagnoses now!
Tomorrow begins the second leg of my trip. Sifu and I are stepping onto the TGV. Will you wish us a bon voyage? Let’s check back when we’re in France!
Have you done Escrima or plan to? Tell me your experience working with a weapon. What have you gained? Please comment below:
Sifu Paul Wang 
“Does the training madness ever stop? Gladly, not. This is a good thing. Let’s call it a healthy obsession.”
I could not agree more, and in my opinion there is no greater dream than to train Wingchun. Sometimes, I feel like I am training a bit to hard but then I realise that I am in “the flow” and that actually it’s perfectly normal to let the Wingchun unleash a little. Thanks so much for this.
Kind regards,
Adam.