Introduction

Hi, I'm Jim. You may know me by my blogging pseudonym 'Sylvan Strawberry Farmer' but based on the number of comments posted in response to said blogging so far [on urban gardening], I'd guess not. No worries, on to more exciting topics, namely Kung Fu. You can't help but get a little excited even saying it, Kung Fu! Did it work? Are you pumped up yet? I am. Honestly, training the martial art of Wing Chun Do with my friends Ryan and Trent under the tutelage of Manuel Delpino (aka Manny) has been a dream come true. Sound cheesy yet? Let me explain...

I've been obsessed with martial arts since I was a wee boy. Yeah, it's pretty common for young boys to dream of being martial arts masters, just ask my brothers. Whether it was running around being ninjas, pretending we were Bruce Lee or Jean Claude Van Damme, or just beating each other up in various ways, we were hooked. Despite the massive interest I had as a youth, my family never had the means to send me to any lengthy formal training. I remember the one TKD (Taekwondo) seminar that I attended (sans fee) as a 10 year old boy. Back then, I had a serious case of asthma and we were poor, as such, my doctor told my mom that I qualified for a free martial arts seminar. She was reluctant, but my unrelenting begging quickly wore her down. I remember the night like it was yesterday; a brown belt with a sweet pornstache ran us through about 20 minutes of warm up drills (basically punching and kicking air, followed by stretches) before letting us loose on some kicking pads. It was two hours of heaven. I was so into it, I even got picked for the 3 on 1 demonstration at the end. Essentially, 3 students took turns coming at the brown belt instructor one after another, allowing him to demonstrate effective methods to handle multiple attackers. I was 3rd, and I got drilled in the face with a front kick. Luckily he didn't get me square but it hurt like hell. Call me a masochist but I liked it and I learned a valuable lesson that night; "Don't fear the black belt, fear the brown belt." Essentially, what I'm saying here is that one of the major things differentiating a black belt from a brown belt (in as much of what I've seen as a relative novice) is that a black belt has the control to finish a technique without the risk of really hurting you but I digress.

Fast forward 17 years... I start becoming friends with a guy who attends Wednesday poker night, Ryan. Ryan seems to be my kind of cat: competitive sports fan, athletic, laid back, extremely nice guy. After we both bust out of the game one night, while discussing our failed poker strategies, he mentions that he is really into Kung Fu. Upon this realization, I'm asking him all kinds of questions; Where do you train? How long have you been at it? What are some of your favorite techniques? etc. I think it was a combination of the beer we'd drank and the strange haze in the room but that evening, in me, Ryan had found a disciple. At that point, I really couldn't devote much time to training but each week after poker, he would run me through a few drills, hoping to instill the basics. (In contrast, Ryan lived at a noted Kwoon [Kung Fu terminology for Dojo] and trained as much as possible) I remembered his words and did the drills at home, much to the chagrin of my roommate who still thinks I'm crazy for punching the air as much as I do.

That brings us to the Summer of 2009. About 3 months ago, Ryan mentions that he's in the process of recruiting one of his old instructors for a once a week training session. Manny apparently used to train at one of the studios that Ryan started out in and was a martial artist of some repute. (He helped author a seminar on Bruce Lee's 1 or 3 inch punch) Enter stage left was one of the most impressive martial artists that I've ever had the chance to be around. Manny is a barrel chested, lightning quick Wing Chun wrecking ball. I won't be exhaustive in singing his praises (yet) but I'll give one example from our first meeting: We ended our first session with a game/drill called quickdraw. Remember the game as a kid where you would try to slap some one's hand before they could pull it away, it's kind of like that. The secondary partner would stand just past arm's length away from the primary attacker with his hand just outside his pectoral muscle on the same side. The primary would then try to thrust his arm out (from a gunslinger position) in attempt to strike the secondary on the guarded pectoral before the secondary (defender) could knock it away. Sounds easy right? Wrong. Ryan was already lighting me up and in my opinion, he was going to do the same to Manny when we switched. (After all, Ryan in comparison to him was much leaner and quicker looking) After switching, there was no contest, Manny dominated him like it was Ryan's first time. I'd never seen a guy so stocky move so quickly. Without flinching he was already in on Ryan, landing with a hard thud on his chest plate. Again and again, same result. Ryan got his hits in too when it was his turn to go but it was Manny who would be crowned the King of Quickdraw that day. Needless to say, you don't want this guy coming at you with bad intentions.

We've been going for some time now and I've learned plenty but in hopes of catching you guys up with what I've been learning and in order to reinforce some of the principles I've been taught, I will end each post with a few principles that I'm currently working on.

1. Stay centered! I have a tendency to keep my hips open (i.e. pointed slightly left) in my southpaw stance. Even if I have my shoulders completely square, if I don't flex my hips slightly and square up, it leeches power from any technique I might attempt. Square hips, square shoulders! (Thanks Donny)

2. Feel your base! Ryan has stressed that my base needs to get better. I need to feel my solid base under me in everything I do. Whether it be firing out punches at a bathroom mirror, opening a door at work or in the midst of a drill at practice, base is key. If I were ever to find myself in a street fight (God forbid), having a good base will put me ahead of 90% of the guys out there. Being firmly planted will add power and quickness to almost any technique.

3. Startle! Manny is the king. He can mentally go to zero, and scare himself into action. The resulting technique is practically as fast as the human body can move. My startle is just a crude impostor, I telegraph, lean, flinch, etc. It's easy to see me coming, now. Manny and Ryan have given me a new drill; when I watch TV I'm to get in an open bai jong (upright base) and startle at the TV whenever the camera angle changes. Practice, practice, practice.