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Frequently Asked Questions
As with most martial arts, there are always questions surrounding
the art, the school, philosophies and how these factors concern
the particular individual. The following is a sample of the
Academy's most frequently asked questions.
If you have any questions that are not found on the website
please email us at sifusien
Why Wing Chun compared to other martial arts?
While martial arts are a great way to improve health and learn
self defense, Wing Chun is the easiest and fastest to learn,
it's the most effective martial art for people of any size
or fitness level and has clear fitness and energy level benefits
you will see from the first class. Wing Chun is a system that
was designed specifically by Shaolin kung fu masters to take
less training time and be more effective than any other fighting
style. Click here for
the history of Wing Chun.
Everyone is busy and time is precious. A
self defense system that can be learned faster and easier
is a more effective and useful martial arts style. A system
that allows you to progress to true confidence in less time
saves you time and money since you advance quicker. Health
benefits from Wing Chun are similar to Tai Chi and Qigong.
How should I start Wing Chun?
You can start any time. We offer classes 6 times a week. The
more you attend, the faster you learn and your confidence
will grow. You can start whenever you're ready to begin so
now is the time to do something good for yourself! See Class
Schedule for days/times.
What do I wear to class? Is there a uniform?
Yes, there's a uniform for kung fu and it's ideal to have
one. You need some variation of uniform as soon as possible
but just wear comfortable clothes to your first class. The
full uniform includes a kung fu jacket, pants and sash. Other
options are available. All uniform options are available from
us for various sizes. The Wing Chun uniform is ideal for the
art but you can start with just wearing light workout clothing.
Please wear indoor running shoes or go barefoot, no outdoor
shoes that could possibly track dirt in on the training floor.
Also bring water to class because your body and mind work
better when hydrated.
Hand Wraps & Footwear
Either hand wraps or wrist wrap punching gloves are a recommended
purchase. They allow harder punching without damaging your
hands. Special kung fu shoes are also available. They allow
you to kick better than either running shoes or going barefoot.
Special shoes and punching gloves aren't needed, but they
do allow you to safely hit harder so it's more fun. Additional
equipment is available for weapons training such as training
butterfly swords, staffs and sticks.
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Do you teach Women's Self Defense?
Yes, we offer a free Women's Self Defense running 3 times
a year, on Sundays, for 3 month sessions. We teach a self
defense course to prevent attacks, empower women to be more
assertive and in control under stress as well as deal with
physical attacks very effectively. The tools we teach can
not only save your life in extreme situations, but also empower
you to be more confident and assertive every day. This compact
course is offered for groups of 10-20 at a time.
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I want to
learn self defense but I'm not into fighting. Is Wing Chun
for me?
Yes, Wing Chun is ideal for non-violent self defense. The
best way to start is either with our Wing Chun Introductory
program or a Women's Self Defense seminar. Either way, you
will probably want to follow up with Wing Chun self defense
classes. Wing Chun is the most effective self defense system
that is very safe and easy to learn and we encourage a fun,
teamwork-oriented environment. We take self defense very seriously,
but our classes are also definitely fun and empowering. Our
techniques do not meet force on force as some martial arts
do. The best way to defend yourself is prevention. We teach
you to avoid and prevent combat situations as well as move,
deflect and turn an opponent's energy against them. Wing Chun
also includes powerful ways to kick, punch and control attackers.
All techniques are taught in a very safe manner. If you want
to learn self defense but are nervous that it might be uncomfortable
or difficult, definitely start with our Intro Program which
includes a private lesson and 2 weeks of classes. In no time,
you'll feel at ease and start enjoying yourself. Ongoing private
lessons are also available. See our Intro Program for details.
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What will Wing Chun teach
me to defend?
Wing Chun will allow you to dissolve almost any conceivable
open-handed or weapon attack. Wing Chun improves awareness
and teaches you positioning so that it's not easy to be attacked
at all. However, we also teach people how to handle all manner
of kicks, punches, knife attacks, club attacks, baseball bat
and other weapon attacks as well as defenses for grappling
techniques such as grabs, chokes and tackles, ground defenses
and other variations. We start with the basics and build upon
them as students progress through the levels. We teach joint
lock control moves to non-violently control opponents as well
as staff, wooden dummy and butterfly sword applications. See
our Skills page for details.
Wing Chun covers almost anything an attacker
could try either with bare hands or with common weapons and
is therefore an extremely complete system. Wing Chun will
improve fitness, flexibility and energy level but one of its
unique aspects is that it allows you to easily defend attacks
from faster, stronger attackers. In fact many defenses are
easier if the attacker puts a lot of energy into their attack.
This makes it uniquely appropriate for women concerned about
attacks from men, but as the system which Bruce Lee learned,
it is also appropriate for men of any age.
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Is there a belt system to Wing Chun? How long does it take
to advance?
Instead of belts, Wing Chun has 10 levels, progressing from
beginner to master of the entire Wing Chun system. All students
wear a black sash. Level 7 is equivalent of black belt in
other martial arts. After coming to Wing Chun class at least
twice a week for 2-3 months, you will be ready for your first
grading. At that point, you will be able to comfortably defend
a good number of common attacks from any size of attacker.
You do not need any previous experience with martial arts
of any kind to progress this fast. While students could choose
not to grade, it's a great idea to solidify your achievement
by grading and progressing to new material when you're ready.
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Is Wing
Chun a soft style or hard style?
There are variations of Wing Chun. What we teach is the best
combination of soft style and hard style with simultaneous
deflection and counter attack. By soft style, we mean that
we use the opponent's energy against them and we use footwork
as part of avoiding attacks instead of using force unnecessarily.
The easiest way to defend oneself is to not be where the attack
is headed instead of trying to do a hard block. A good Wing
Chun practitioner need exert very little energy to defend
attacks from bigger stronger opponents. This makes Wing Chun
safe and uniquely practical. Any defense system that requires
the practitioner to be superior physically to the attacker
is not very useful. However, Wing Chun is not all deflecting
energy. It also includes simple and powerful hard style techniques
to maximize your strength and speed when we counter an opponent.
We will show you how maximize your power so that you can easily
put down larger attackers when needed. As such it is a complete
system for any defense situation.
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