FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Ans. )No. Month to month payment.
A: In our training hall we use the family style approach to learning, so beginners through the most advanced intermingle with one another. Everyone in the school will help with the growth of your kung fu.
A: Ving Tsun molds to meet your needs, which means you can get any kind of work out you may be looking for. Whether you’re looking for a brisk and light workout, a meditative-movement based workout, cardio or extreme intensity — the flexible nature of Ving Tsun allows it to accommodate you in all of these areas. Those looking for cardio, strength building, and/or intense workouts will meet these desires after learning the basics of the system, which takes roughly 1-2 months (depending on your consistency and frequency of training). Chi-Sau is one of the more unique Ving Tsun exercises, it is very versatile when it comes to meeting workout needs. It can be done with intensity and explosiveness, such as boxing and wrestling or it can be done in a meditative manner, with some similarities to tai-chi. In many ways, Ving Tsun can be viewed as a mixture of the most efficient aspects of boxing, aikido, tai-chi, wrestling, judo, jiu-jitsu combined. Unlike mixed martial arts, however, it still retains its traditional, foundational flavor
A: No. We understand that you have a life outside of the school. So you may come at your convenience as long as it’s within the time frame that class is open. This allows students who work, study etc. to adapt their training to their schedule. Some students can come and train the entire time, while others may only be able to for a portion of the time. You train as best and as often as you can. Your kung fu is your kung fu.
A: Everything is based on you as the individual. Some students are there everyday of the week, while others attend every other class. Every student has a detailed program sheet as to track growth and progression. In life what you put in is what you get out. We just try to make it fun while you’re doing it.
A: Only the school shirts are required. Pants can be anything comfortable to you, and shoes should be flat at beginning stages for correct foundational development.
A: During training hours, it is common to see many arriving or leaving based on their availability and the flexibility of their schedules. We pride our selves on this flexibility while still being able to offer a hands-on approach to skill development. The training experience could be divided into three segments as described below:
- Partner exercises: (constitutes 70% of individual training time) These include sensitivity and timing drills designed to sharpen your neurological sensitivity. They can also include light to heavy sparring and flowing exercises.
- Solo mirror work: (constitutes 20% of individual training time) This gives you some individual time to work on your techniques and forms and make adjustments as necessary; whether it be in your hand positioning, body alignment, footwork or breathing.
- Equipment training: (constitutes 10% of individual training time) This includes the traditional wall bag for training and conditioning the hands for attacks, the tire-apparatus for training kicks, walking posts for correct stepping, and much more.
**A 25-minute timer helps to set the frequency with which students exchange partners and helps regulate how long an individual spends training a given concept to help make the most efficient use of time. However, students should not feel obligated to train a particular exercise, to train with a particular individual for the duration of the timer, or to immediately cease a training exercise when the timer rings. The timer serves mostly as a reminder as to how much time has passed during a particular activity.
A: Not only are we extremely safe. In our school we build strong foundation before you take you out in the fields per se. You decide when and how far you progress and what intensity you want. Everyone is extremely supportive and helpful in training.
A: We accept students as young as 12 years old. This is because the study of Ving Tsun Kung fu requires a lot of mental thinking of concepts, ideas, principles, and theories.
A: Unlike most styles of kung fu, Ving Tsun does not require one to be fast, strong, or flexible. These attributes may help but are not required. The system will modify itself to you according to what you need. So being overweight or underweight, tall or short will not matter.
A: We have had physically handicapped people train in our school/ family and to proudly add, some who have achieved a high level of skill. If you have any other problems such as health concerns, feel free to discuss it with us.
A: Depends on what you’re seeking. If its for self defense, within 3-6 months you will know 100% you have a superior understanding then you did beforehand. The hardest part about Ving Tsun is the first month and a half. Even though its enjoyable, this is where the most repetitive part is. Afterward, training will be geared on adaptation, change, fluidity, energetics, movement dynamics and flow. You really do not see how fun and exciting Ving Tsun truly is until you get past the basic foundation stage which is the first month and a half. Immediately from that day on every training session is new and different and this is where most students understanding and growth begins to soar.
A: Yes/No. Depends on what you are looking for. VIng Tsun students will experience different types of energy this in turn allows one to learn how to deal accordingly. How you use it in your life is according to the individual. Not everyone will be interested in the sparring/ full contact/ martial aspects. That’s the beautiful thing about the system it modifies itself to you. Whether you peaceful or aggressive the system will change according by your nature.
A: There is no belting system in kung fu though we implement things to motivate students and indicate an individual’s level of technical knowledge. There’s a saying in Ving Tsun “let the hands do the talking.” So as you train with different individuals you will know their skill.
A: Yes. Whether you are a newbie that knows nothing or a season martial artist from a different system/style you can greatly benefit from Ving Tsun principle, concepts and ideas. Think about it as upgrading your knowledge whether it be for self defense, sports fighting, massaging, yoga etc. Please contact school for more info.
A: All these are different spelling of the same system depending on what region and family. Of course there are preferential differences according to teachers but the underlying and principles and concept are basically the same. The expression of those princples/concepts also may vary.
A: There are so many systems and styles of martial arts that to explain all may fill several volumes of books. Kung fu itself has many divisions. Ving Tsun is one of the most widely spread and amongst the fastest growing martial art system. There’s hard/soft and internal/external within martial arts. Ving Tsun is unique since it can be all of these. Remember, the system modifies to the nature of the practitioner.
A: In our lineage oral history, the system was greatly influenced if not formulated by a female. We had many female students reach high level of skill in Ving Tsun when they could not in other marital arts. As a self defense art for females, it is highly effective but will of course require training. We assume that our opponent are heavier, stronger, faster, and taller then we are. From this point, Ving Tsun then teaches us how to overcome these attributes.
A: Many schools these days offer a wide variety of styles. We focus on quality over quantity. Also we aim to transcend styles. Unlike most styles of martial arts, Ving Tsun starts out simple and gets more refined. Adding several styles “may” and often does lead the student off on many tangents in the beginning. Even so, at its core it’s a system of principles/concepts and ideas and can be integrated into any other style harmoniously. Some martial arts school reserve Ving Tsun for its higher level of training due to the fact that its direct, efficient, and effective as martial art system. In our eyes, Ving Tsun is complete in itself.
A: This can help you or hinder you depending on the individual . We ask you please empty your cup when you train at the school. some of the habits have to be relearned and this may be frustrating to individual who have trained for some years in other system. But it will pay off in the long run.
A: In the beginning stages we focus primarily on stand up fighting, however as the student progress in skill level ground fighting will be covered.
A: No. We supply the majority of the gears. Also we practice control so that unnecessary injuries don’t occur. However, if you feel the need to purchase protective gear, talk with you Sifu or older kung-fu brothers/sisters so they can let you know what kind of gear you might consider purchasing.
A: This depends on the day and the hour of training. Remember students will continue to arrive throughout the time frame that classes are held. So up may see 6-8 students for the first hour and by the next hour or so have 14-18 students or vice versa.
A: Kung Fu when translated means “skill attain through hard work.’ For example, a Master Chef is considered as having good “kung fu” in cooking/culinary. We do not do ”Kung Fu!” The result of your training s your “Kung Fu.”
A: No. Everything in Ving Tsun is simple and straight to the point. Ving Tsun movements has to fill these so call quotas: it has to be “relax, efficient, direct, all movement must have economy of motion, and lastly be reasonable. You will not see cartwheels, spinning jump kicks, summersaults, or animal mimicry in Ving Tsun.
A: Yes. We offer one trial class to let the potential student “experience” what training will be like. Be aware that this could work against you if your mentality is to get immediate results. It is extremely important to remember that your trial class is like reading the “acknowledgement” in the beginning of any given book. It will not give you a good overall picture of the system. The comparison is like wanting to be a pilot and asking to go to a trail class to become one. On the first day, the instructor might have you do nothing more than switch knobs on the control panel. This may sound surprising, but you may ask questions like “why am I not n the air” or “this has nothing to do with flying.” One cannot come to a trail class and get a complete picture of what the fighting aspect of Ving Tsun is about. To emphasize this I’ll repeat what my elder kung fu brother said on may first day of training more than a decade ago “Don’t dip your feet in the pool, jump in it.” In doing so you taste the kung fu. That’s the major drawback trail classes in that “you” as a potential student may only dip your feet in and as a result not real know how the water really feels. I hope this helps.
A: In our opinion it is the best form. There are anaerobic exercises such as sprinting or ballistic-type movements, and there are aerobic exercises like jogging. While some young people love the feel of anaerobic exercise, those types of exercises may not be possible or even healthy as one advance in age. Although Ving Tsun can be anaerobic, it mostly falls into the category of aerobic exercise. Science has confirmed that the best types of exercises, especially for the heart, are moderate aerobic exercise that are held for 30 minutes or longer. We cannot speak for other marital arts schools or even other schools of Ving Tsun, since different instructor teach differently. Besides contributing to a healthy heart, the system also focuses on the development, strengthening, and flexibility of the joints, ligaments, muscles, tendons, and sinews.
Some systems stress movements that in the long run may wear out certain joints on the body; however, this is not apparent until the damage is done. Ving Tsun does not take this approach to developing skill. In Ving Tsun, we are like physicians of the body, learning how best to run our body’s “engine”. It’s not uncommon fora Ving Tsun practitioner to be able to practice well into their 80’s and still be effective (in fact we have a few skilled kung uncles who fit the quota). But be warn. it takes time, which is something most people seem to lack these days. Short-term versus long-term investment seems to go out the window as far as health. Most individuals wants immediate results, and they may choose a style that gives them immediate results whole sacrificing their body along the way. if you can handle the fundamentals of the first 2 t o 3 months of training, then you will begin to see how healthy it really is as you receive the physical benefits. We train good fundamentals before putting you in the “field: because Ving Tsun takes an approach designed to systematically advance the body,mind, and spirit.
A: Although there are various interpretations, the principle/theories of Ving Tsun are very similar from school to school. The elegance of Ving Tsun is encompasses in the fact that the principle allow the individual to adjust the system to suit them. As a result, the way Ving Tsun is taught in “our” school is not based simply on learning a series of techniques for specific fighting scenarios, but princples/theories that encompass the nature of combat. In addition to that, the approach to teaching is flexible with a strong emphasis on foundation building. Even in the Ving Tsun family, quite a few instruction may not follow this approach.
After completing the system, I began to visit my elders and my Si-Fu’s (teacher) elders within the Moy Yat family, as well as grand students of Grandmaster Ip Man. As a result of having learned and shared with many other lineages of Ving Tsun, my perspective of Ving Tsun has broadened. Furthermore, I was able to attain better perspective/approach to teaching that allows a certain level of flexibility. In this way, I am able to adapt to the needs of different students. For instance, what a small person can do versus larger person may vary. This can also apply to a person that is flexible or inflexible, strong or weaker, tall or short, etc. Some teachers tailor their approach to instruction to a particular type of person (usually themselves). That is, their approach to teaching Ving Tsun may be forceful and thus more suited towards a larger person. Therefore, when men/women of smaller staure go into Ving Tsun school of this nature, they may not get the best out of their Ving Tsun training. The approach I take towards teaching can be tailored towards any individual of any size. This was also how Grandmaster Ip Man and GrandMaster Moy Yat taught.
“The purpose of Ving Tsun Kung Fu is to lead you to be free and relaxed. This can never be achieved if you are tied physically or emotionally to techniques. You must free yourself from dependence on mechanical expressional and trust your body, your own kung fu to protect yourself.” -Moy Yat