06.24.08
Posted in Greg's Consciousness at 10:23 pm by Greg
East Meets West Synchronization
The year was 1964 was when I realized that I was going far away and may never come back to my home again. That was the first shock of my life and it woke me up to reality. NO-THING was forever. For the first seven and half years of I lived in Hong Kong. Everything I read, saw, and wrote was in Chinese (Cantonese) and written in characters. Then the next shock came when I immigrated to San Francisco. I did not understand any English. So for the next seven years, all I learned and spoke was American English. During middle school, I studied three years of Spanish. In high school, I studied three years of Mandarin. So by the time I was seventeen years of age, I had studied four different languages. My personal opinion is that, from the order I learned the languages, naturally activated both sides of my brain in symmetry.
The next shock was two years later when our family moved out of Chinatown and into the Excelsior. There were only a hand full of Chinese students in my grade and none of them spoke Chinese. It was quite an adjustment from mostly all Chinese to none in my class. Two years later, I began middle school and had to change schools again. I had one close friend each grade, but I spend a lot a time alone thinking and asking questions to myself. After school I would go up to McLaren Park and sat in the mountains by myself. Nature was a calming place for to be. I could hear the cars from far away. I talked to myself in deep thought. Mentally I would gaze into the future, plan out situations, and saw how things came together.
I had always seen and thought about things in a different way than most people. I felt I was misunderstood but at the same time I wanted to be different from everyone else. I wanted to be myself and live life the way it was designed for me. I enjoy going with the flow. Every time I forced things, it just did not work out as planned. At an early age, I understood the Tao, but was still a lost soul. I did not know why my life was the way it was. I was nine years old.
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Posted in Greg's World at 7:30 pm by Greg
The Beginning:
Siu Lim Tao ~ Before we begin the Siu Lim Tao, the most important parts of any form, is the opening and the closing. The opening stance for setting the structural foundation of the entire Wing Chun System is the “Yee Ji Keem Yueng Ma”. Yi Ji in Cantonese is translated as the Chinese character two. Keem is translated as pinch. Yueng can be translated as lamb, sun, or yang depending of the character. Ma is translated as horse. Understanding the meaning of the name will give the clues necessary for learning, training, and most important self improvement training the stance.
The Function of “Yi Ji Keem Yueng Ma”:
The “Yi Ji Keem Yueng Ma” trains the Yin energy of the body. Yin has several meanings such as hidden, female, and potential. There are three Yin Meridians (Spleen, Liver, Kidney) which flows up from the feet to the upper body.
Use the “Yi Zhi Keem Yueng Ma” to build a strong foundation for advance techniques. When the student understands how to connect the entire internal parts of the body to the external parts of the body to work as one unit, internal strength will appear. It is similar to a puzzle where after sorting out all the pieces, the final step is to complete the puzzle.
Read the poem of “Yi Zhi Keem Yueng Ma” in the Poetry Training section. Being orally taught and understanding of the philosophy are necessary for learning properly.
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06.20.08
Posted in Greg's World at 10:38 am by Greg
After training three years at the United States Kung Fu Academy with Sifu Chris Chan, I was instructed by Uncle Chris to train with my Uncle Stanley Chan. Uncle Stanley was a closed door student learning private lessons from the Great Grandmaster Yip Man for 10 years. Yip Man said that Uncle Stanley had the fastest hands of all the students he had ever taught. Believe me he was not only fast but smooth and super strong as well.
Training with a group class was much easier because of the group energy. It was tough training with Uncle Stanley because it was one on one. Uncle Stanley had a great eye and could point out every mistake. There was no hiding anything. I had always to be on or else. I felt so dumb at times because of the complicated hand combinations that were taught. Also flexibility, Ling Wood, had to be trained. Body positioning was simple but not easy to execute.
I remember watching both my uncles, and their moving hands were like a blur. My uncles would say, practice what you think you saw. Their power was true power. Unless one felt their hands, you have no idea. To be truly great, one first needs the master to orally explain the philosophy of the style. Then the master must to take you by the hands in Chi Sao or Sticky Hands practice. In order for the student who really wants to learn the proper way, the teacher has to take time to lead, guide, and care. It is really a perfection of a system that to lead to self mastery.
I trained with Uncle Stanley for 2 years. A martial arts philosophy is after training diligently for one year opens the little idea. Five years one begins to understand the little idea. Ten years the little idea becomes the reality. Twenty years and the big idea will appear.
Traditionally, the first form of Wing Chun, Siu Lim Tao, is practiced for the first year. The second form, Chum Kui, is practice for four years. Then the third form, Bui Zhi, is taught. When taught properly, and if the student had natural physical skills, mental capability, the Wing Chun system can be learned in a year.
Uncle Stanley and Uncle Chris had created their own training system for Wing Chun. It is the same thing what Bruce Lee did. The beauty of the Wing Chun system is that even though we learn the same forms and techniques, everyone could adapt the Wing Chun system to their own mind and body. Thus the first form is called the “Little Idea Form.” My personal opinion is “Siu Lim Tao” is the greatest form from Shaolin.
More on the Siu Lim Tao which lead me to co-creating a self healing system for the 21st century is next.
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06.19.08
Posted in Greg's World at 11:47 am by Greg
Every journey begins with the first step. My first beginning step towards my destiny was learning the art of Wing Chun Kung Fu. The year was 1971, my first year of high school. My teacher and uncle Grand Master Chris Chan, told me that if I found the internal power myself, it will be worth more than gold.
For 5 years in my father’s garage, before I began training, I played with the children of the private students taught by Uncle Chris. Because of cognitive learning, learning by watching, I found understanding the forms of Wing Chun was not difficult. When I practiced the first form called, Siu Lim Tao, my arms would move into positions by themselves. It used to scare me. No one had ever talked about chi gung or energies in the early 1970’s.
Uncle Chris is the greatest motivator with his pure emotion while teaching the class. Even though there were many students during group training, it seem like he was talking to you directly, giving directions to correct you orally. It was amazing how much he knew and had to offer, but only if you understood what his words meant. During hard and heavy training, it was difficult to remember most of the instructions. You can only work on correcting only a few things under that kind of pressure. Concentration was the key. Sifu Chris always said that it was more in the mind than the body. He said Master Yip Man told him that if he practiced the Siu Lim Tao daily, he could become the strongest man in the world, and Chris believed. Chris has never been defeated in challenges and street combat fighting.
Wing Chun specializes in teaching “Gum Gok” in Cantonese meaning sensory perception. Blind folded training while practicing “Chi Sao” in Cantonese meaning sticky hands and wooden man training was the secret. You better have a good practice partner, someone you can trust with your life. Accuracy, speed, and power are the name of the game. Have self confidence and courage beaming from your eyes. With the eyes of a tiger and the heart of a lion, you will be in a state of fearlessness.
In Oriental medicine, the heart is the housing of the mind. Your mind must be clear, quick, and decisive. Stay calm during duress, relax, and go with the flow. Position yourself securely, well balanced, and stability is the key for a solid foundation. Knowledge of the ancient philosophies in combination with modern science, eastern culture in combination with western culture, finally healing and killing will reveal the secret of the holy grail of the martial and healing arts. Find it for yourself and you will travel your own path filled with life giving energy. Maybe you will be able to live a quality, wonderful, long healthy life while living your dreams too. That is what I found out during my 36 year journey so far. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. It is always a blessing to be alive, breathing, and well.
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