My Reflections of Wing Chun Kung-Fu

By John F. Di Virgilio

Having entered my fourth decade of Wing Chun practice, I decided to write the following short reflective paper to help people interested in learning Wing Chun Kung-Fu. For those that already have years of martial arts experience, you will see some parallel experiences in your learning. But whether experienced in martial arts or not, some people will learn the entire Wing Chun system, and yet will become only passing collectors of knowledge because they cannot demonstrate the skills that only real experience can instill into a person.

The Wing Chun system was developed in old China. It was a time of revolution and turmoil, an era in which common people and revolutionaries needed personal fighting methods to survive. During this early period, firearms were only found in the ranks of the military. The common Chinese people carried only short utility knives and bladed tools. Bladed weapons practice for personal and family protection was a necessary part life. This was especially true in the vast rural and mountainous areas, where active groups of bandits operated without concern for any law enforcement. Hence, the early Wing Chun system was formed around the use of knives and unarmed (open hand) short hitting methods. Over several centuries, the system has been refined and regenerated by many teachers. However, what has not changed much is a core of useful strategies and tactics that really work. In contemporary times, the unarmed portion of the Wing Chun system is emphasized, while the double knives and the spearing long staff have almost completely faded into obscurity.

In all of human history, the universal mindset to survive an attack from other people is deeply rooted. First and foremost, the purpose of Wing Chun is to build strong personal character and fighting methods to survive predatory people. Wing Chun teachers vow never to teach bad people or give potential evil doers insight into their martial skills. Therefore, you must be prepared to carefully observe kung fu teachers, as the good ones will start teaching slowly and cautiously. With this in mind, it is best to find a highly-qualified teacher and start training your mind and body. Kung Fu means achievement (or development) of skill through years of hard and structured work. Though combat skill can be learned quickly, refined ability comes slowly. A good sifu (Si = teacher / Fu= father) knows well that the best skills and abilities ripen late. There is no universal time table of learning that fits everybody in the same way. Unless there is a clear and present danger nearby, you must expect to learn slowly.

Every person must evaluate his or her own personal needs and reasons to learn a martial art. Some people will find martial arts practice to be a great benefit for character building and personal confidence. Others will benefit from the heightened connection between psychological mind and physical body. Sadly though, a great many will lack either the patience or the self-discipline to stay with their teacher long enough to reap the benefits.

Wing Chun is a martial art with certain hard principles followed by many malleable patterns of applied skills. These hard principles are taken from the worst case (non-firearm) survival scenario in which the unarmed Wing Chun practitioner might have to face multiple opponents, some carrying bladed weapons. In this situation, even with the odds of survival greatly reduced, the Wing Chun practitioner still chooses to do his or her best to fight off the attackers.

First and foremost, know that any fist or kick that cannot be pulled back quickly will get chopped off. Hence, a great majority of Wing Chun techniques are kept close to the body. Wrestling techniques, far-reaching punches and kicks can easily become fatal for oneself and one's family. The best chance for survival can be found in effective use of quick footwork combined with short-range and quick techniques. At best, you will probably have only a few seconds to react. It is important to know that the Wing Chun system is a breakout system in which the person must engage and break through possible containment by multiple attackers. Wing Chun is not a bounce and shuffle tournament system.

The Wing Chun system is composed of a series of quick, short-hitting techniques called "ideas." The unarmed aspect of the Wing Chun system's ideas (applied techniques & methods) are grouped into five progressively-learned parts. All the parts must be carefully practiced under the guidance of a competent teacher and practiced with live partners. Written below is an overview of the five areas or arenas found in the Wing Chun open-hand system.

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More on John F. Di Virgilio can be found at wingchunkeun.com.


© Red Rebel Martial Arts - Orange County Kung Fu
Wing Chun, Kung Fu, self defense, street fighting, bare knuckle boxing and Qigong / Chi Kung (San Clemente, CA)

Jack Dempsey, Boxing Legend, Hero... Martial Arts Instructor?

By Damian Ross

In 1917 nobody thought that Jack Dempsey would win the title, but with a 77 inch reach and his unorthodox stance he would destroy heavy weight champion Jess Willard. In the first round alone he would knock Willard down seven times, and by the third Willard was too badly hurt to continue. Over his professional career he would amass some 60 wins (51 by knockout) and of those 51 knock outs, 26 happened in the first round He only had 7 losses, 8 draws and 5 no decisions over his career. While that was impressive, Dempsey understood that boxing was only a combat sport and real fighting required you to abandon any sense of fair play. He proved time and time again in the ring that he was a great athlete, but in World War II he would show the Navy what real fighting was all about.

Jack Dempsey was born William Harrison Dempsey on June 24th 1895 in Manassa, Colorado the 9th of 11 children. By the age of 16 he was fighting for drinks in local saloons. Before settling down in New York City, he bounced around the country doing everything from digging ditches to cutting timber. He even worked as circus roustabout (workman or laborer). During this time, he still managed to refine his art. In addition to a powerful punch, Dempsey could also move fast enough to dodge an opponent’s blows.

Dempsey treated every fight like a street fighter not a boxer. He didn’t fight dirty, but he knew he had to end things quickly or he would only increase his chances of getting hurt. Dempsey had an outstanding career and would even do a number of exhibition bouts after his retirement, but finest moments would not come in the ring, but wearing a United States military uniform.

In 1917 when Americans were going off to fight World War I Dempsey kept boxing and working in a shipyard. After the war people accused him unfairly of draft dodging despite several attempts to enlist in the army and being told to keep fighting. Even though he was vindicated, it still bothered Dempsey personally. So when World War II rolled around he jumped at the chance to serve. He was first commissioned as a Lieutenant in the New York State Army National Guard, but he resigned and took a commission United States Coast Guard and would advance to the rank of Commander. He was made Director of Physical Education at The Coast Guard’s Manhattan Beach training facility in Brooklyn New York.

Instead of just teaching physical fitness Dempsey taught the new recruits how to fight. He worked with B.J. Cosneck, who was the Coast Guard’s hand-to-hand combat expert and a college wrestling champion. Dempsey and Cosneck would prepare the recruits to fight it out on the battlefield or in a barroom brawl. They would teach recruits self defense techniques from come-alongs to strangles.

During his time with Cosneck, Dempsey would write his first book titled appropriately How to Fight Tough. The book was easy to follow guide that told soldiers and sailors how to fight. It included boxing, wrestling, and jujutsu techniques. B.J. Cosneck would write his own book called American Combat Judo after the war which is also another less known but no less important work in the field of martial arts and close combat.

Training countless sailors would have been enough for Dempsey to silence most critics, but while serving as a morale officer in the Pacific he would achieve heroic status. During the invasion of Okinawa the last Japanese strong hold before Japan Dempsey was serving on the attack transport USS Arthur Middleton as the morale officer which was a non-combat assignment. When Dempsey then age 49 saw men he trained going into combat he insisted he go along and join the fight. For that act he would make himself a Coast Guard hero. After the war he would continue to serve with Coast Guard Reserve until 1952. As a solider and a world class competitor, Dempsey understood the difference between sport combat and real combat, and made sure every man he trained knew it.

More information on the author can be found at http://www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com

Family Lineage of Fist of the Red Rebel

Yip Man

• Leung Sheung
  

• Kenneth Chung

• Ben Der
  

• Ken Werner

• Karl Godwin

• Bill Graves

• Adam Williss

• Wong Long
  

• Robert Yeung
  

• Alan Vasquez
  

• Adam Williss
  

• Wong Chok
  

• Robert Yeung
  

• Alan Vasquez
  

• Adam Williss
  

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Students of Adam Williss & Lifetime Members of Red Rebel Martial Arts

• Tyler Caros

• Todd Blischke

• Lance Rifenburg

• Steve Hinesley

• Ryan Polfer

• Wade Adams

• Peter Fortin

• Heather Marcelynas

• Ashlee Williss

• Brittan McPheron

• Jim Schade

© Red Rebel Martial Arts - Orange County Kung Fu
Wing Chun, Kung Fu, self defense, street fighting, bare knuckle boxing and Qigong / Chi Kung (San Clemente, CA)

The Truth of Bruce Lee

By Paul Bowman

In a consideration of the most famous people of the 20th Century, Davis Miller places Bruce Lee in the top four. Many may wonder about the point of such a futile and ‘nerdy’ exercise: why arrange famous names into a hierarchy? But Miller’s point in making the list is not to argue for the importance of Bruce Lee. Rather it is to point out that although Bruce Lee is surely at least as well known as figures like Elvis Presley, Adolph Hitler, Che Guevara and Ghandi, nevertheless, Lee is the one that we know the least about. A household name that is immensely well-known and yet unknown, Bruce Lee remains an enigma. However, this enigmatic status is not that of a mysterious Taoist priest or High Plains Drifter: Bruce Lee’s life is not shrouded in a mystery that derives from a lack of knowledge or information. Information about Bruce Lee abounds. Archives and records about Bruce Lee have not been lost in the mists of time. Rather, what Bruce Lee suffers from is what postmodern theorists called a legitimation crisis in knowledge. For, a huge amount of information has been amassed about Bruce Lee. He lived much of his life openly. He documented, recorded, took copious notes about and even filmed his training and teaching. Evermore text is produced about Bruce Lee. Myriad different discourses involve Bruce Lee or are even structured by a figure (or figuration) of Bruce Lee. And four decades after his ‘arrival’, Bruce Lee studies, fandom, worship and criticism continues to proliferate. Nevertheless, there is a crisis in knowledge about Bruce Lee. The ‘truth’ of Bruce Lee is interminably and vehemently contested.

This enduringly ‘controversial’ status has arisen for reasons that are surely overdetermined. For, the sense of – and the significance of the – uncertainly surrounding Bruce Lee relates not only to the still-surprising and contentious issue of his premature death; but it was doubtless intensified and foregrounded by the equally surprising and contentious death of his son, Brandon Lee, who died in equally bizarre, unclear and peculiar circumstances. For Bruce Lee died in circumstances that are to be regarded as either ‘mysterious’ or as ‘dubious’. His son, Brandon, was accidentally shot and killed on the set of The Crow, whilst filming the death-scene of the character he was playing in the film, by a gun that was meant to fire only blanks. Brandon’s death provided more fuel for and reignited various enduring conspiracy, murder, mystery and even ‘curse’ theories. For, the unexpected death of Bruce Lee had immediately precipitated conspiracy theories and action-adventure fantasy scenarios in which he had been assassinated by triads because he was revealing too many secrets of kung fu to westerners, and that they had dispatched him by a secret death-touch, or by poison. The poison thesis was also attractive to those who in a less Fu Manchu inspired vein fantasized Lee as the perfectly honed and impossibly pure and fit paragon of health. In some of these narratives, so pure and free from contamination was Lee that he had died from a reaction to a single aspirin or other such putatively trivial painkiller. This was because he had never taken such supplements before, so his body could not handle them. The reciprocal obverse of this theory is the sex ‘n’ drugs ‘n’ rock ‘n’ roll version, in which Bruce Lee had met his end thanks to too many prescription and recreational drugs. The latter thesis is currently in the ascendant.

(There is also, a simultaneous excess and dearth of knowledge about Bruce Lee’s martial art ability. Insofar as this excess and absence relates to the cinematic representation of his image and the difficulty of verification in the society of the spectacle, this too is a quintessentially postmodern problematic. Indeed, it is around this latter problematic that many questions condense, and the situation can be inverted and displaced. For, when it comes to the verification of knowledge of and about martial arts, the question becomes on of what ‘knowledge’ might actually be. There is an irreducible problem of verification here, to which we will return.)

However, the quasi-official story favoured, sanctioned, countersigned and legitimated by Bruce Lee’s official inheritors – a publishing and production enterprise fronted by Bruce Lee’s widow, Linda Lee Cadwell and the writer she has granted privileged access to Lee’s personal archives, John Little – plumps for a rather more problematic narrative. This can be seen most clearly in the Hollywood film, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993), a film that Meaghan Morris rightly calls ‘a sanitized as well as hagiographic interpretation of Bruce Lee’s life as authorized by his widow’ (Morris 2001: 181). Of course, Dragon is ‘just a film’. But, it is at the forefront of a particular sort of representational project, a sanitizing and hagiographic project, and it deserves attention at least insofar as it claims to be ‘the’ Bruce Lee story.

The peculiar feature that runs through the film is its sustained self-contradictory proposition that Bruce Lee developed a set of martial principles at the same time as it represents them as having been always already present, ‘in’ Bruce Lee, even in his (entirely spurious) childhood training in wing chun kung fu. The real twist of the knife comes in the form that these supposedly always already present principles of jeet kune do are represented in Dragon as the flashy cinematic moves of Bruce Lee’s celluloid kung fu. Thus, we see the pre-teen child Lee training wing chun drills on the wooden dummy and then breaking away from the repetitive drills and into a concluding series of back-fists (reminiscent of the killing blows Lee lands on the Japanese cook who infiltrated the Jing Wu school in Fists of Fury in order to poison Lee’s sifu), accompanied by Lee’s signature cinematic sustained kiai. Coming from a pre-teen child, the effect is obviously and deliberately comical. But the motif is a stock in trade of the Lee myth: one must break out of routine and ‘be spontaneous’. (As Meaghan Morris rightly notes, this is taken up as the structuring pedagogical motif of No Retreat, No Surrender.)

However, this explicitly or literally advocated spontaneity is not something that Dragon manages to encapsulate or represent. The famously ‘anti-institutional’ Bruce Lee is represented throughout Dragon as regularly striving to establish a chain of kung fu schools ‘like MacDonald’s’; and what we see taking place within those schools is precisely the sort of relentless rote repetition of standardized moves that not only Bruce Lee but the entire pedagogical style of Chinese martial arts teaching refuses. (Such repetition is characteristic of Americanized/militarized Japanese and Korean systems such as karate and taekwondo.)

Thus, what is shown in Dragon runs absolutely contrary to what the dialogue and narrative purport to advocate.

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Paul Bowman's blog Theorizing Bruce Lee can be found at theorizingbrucelee.blogspot.com/. He is Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at Roehampton University.



© Red Rebel Martial Arts - Orange County Kung Fu
Wing Chun, Kung Fu, self defense, street fighting, bare knuckle boxing and Qigong / Chi Kung (San Clemente, CA)

Simplicity and Relaxation Become a Dangerous Weapon

Even Bruce Lee had to start from somewhere, right? He underwent extensive training, a disciplined education, and rigid instruction in martial arts in order to become one of the greatest. What then did Bruce Lee study that allowed him such a fantastic understanding of martial arts? From the formative ages of 13 years through 18 years, Bruce Lee studied the beautiful yet highly dangerous art of Wing Chun.

A form of Kung Fu, Wing Chun is a relatively easy to learn method of close quarters combat. The style of Wing Chun focuses upon simplicity and relaxation. The underlying philosophy preaches the economy of motion and directness of action. There are few, if any, large and elaborate "moves" in Wing Chun. The idea is to effectively defend oneself and to do so with quick strikes intended to end the altercation as fast as possible.

If it is so effective, why then is it rather obscure in terms of it being publicly recognized?

Paul March, one of the trainers at Boise's "Wing Chun Kung Fu Council", likens the art to soccer.

"Wing Chun is like Soccer in America. People know about it, but not that many people participate in it. Everywhere else around the world, like Europe and Asia soccer is huge. And in martial arts, so is Wing Chun," March said.

Paul was trained in the lineage of Ip Man, one of Wing Chun's most influential fathers. Ip Man was the teacher and trainer of Bruce Lee during his few years of Wing Chun tutelage.

"Wing Chun teaches relaxation. A punch is much more effective if you're not all tense when you throw it. If your fist is clenched, your biceps and triceps flexed, and your whole body clenched, that's a lot of energy being used and you haven't even done anything. A punch that is thrown while relaxed will have much more energy behind it," March said.

Relaxation is just one way in which Wing Chun differs from many other forms of martial arts. The concept of "attacking the attack" is one of the core principles of the Wing Chun style.

"Attacking the attack is when someone throws a punch at you, and while you block the punch, you do so in a way that will both block and hurt the person. It also helps you to get into a control position" March said as he demonstrated the concept on one of his brave students. The master and the disciple stood face to face. With a quick step and a flash of a fist, the student attempted to strike Paul near the throat. Recognizing the attack, Paul "attacked the attack", and with a loud Slap! March forcefully blocked the punch and quickly had his other fist directly in front of the student's rapidly blinking right eye.

It may have seemed violent, but, both had been training for a considerable time. The demonstration had been done many times before and both men knew what they were doing.

"We are not a militage camp. We do not make our students run laps or do push-ups. Everyone knows how to do those things and they can do them on their own. People pay for lessons to learn how fight and to defend themselves" March said.

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This article was written by Bob Beer. It can be found in its entirety can be found at The Arbiter Online.

Bruce Lee's handwritten essay on Gung Fu

In the below essay, Bruce Lee describes what he referred to as Gung Fu. Bruce Lee simply spelled the word Kung Fu as Gung Fu. Kung Fu is another word for Chinese martial arts. As we know, Bruce Lee's Gung Fu was essentially Yip Man's Wing Chun.

Gung fu, the centre of the Oriental arts of self-defence, is a philosophical art that serves to promote health, to cultivate the mind, and to provide a most efficient means of self-protection. Its philosophy is based on the integral parts of the philosophies of Taoism and Ch'an (Zen) - the ideal of being harmonious with and not against the force of the opponent. Just as a butcher preserves his knife by cutting along the bones, a gung fu man preserves himself by complementing the movements of the opponent.

The word gung fu means "discipline" and training toward the ultimate reality of the object - be it health promotion, mind cultivation or self-protection. There is no distinction to make between the opponent and the self because the opponent is but the other complementary (not opposite) part. There is no conquering, struggling, or dominating, and the idea is to "fit" harmoniously your movement into that of the opponent. When he expands, you contract; when he contracts, you expand. Expansion then is interdependent with contraction and vice versa, each being the cause and result of the other.

Gentleness/firmness is one inseparable force of one unceasing interplay of movement. If a person riding a bicycle wishes to go somewhere, he cannot pump on both the pedals at the same time or not pump on them at all. In order to move forward he has to pump on one pedal and release the other. So the movement of going forward requires this "oneness" of pumping and releasing. Therefore, gentleness alone cannot forever dissolve away great force, nor can sheer brute force subdue one's foe. In order to survive in any combat, the harmonious interfusion of gentleness and firmness as a whole is necessary, sometimes one dominating sometimes the other, in a wavelike succession. The movement will then truly flow, for the pure fluidity of movements is in their interchangeability.

So neither gentleness nor firmness holds any more than one half of a broken whole which, welded together, forms the true Way of martial art. The tendency to guard against is from getting too firm and stiff. Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind. This is why a gung fu man is soft yet not yielding, firm, yet not hard. The best example of gung fu is water. Water can penetrate the hardest granite because it is yielding. One cannot stab of strike at water and hurt it because that which offers no resistance cannot be overcome.

In actual application, gung fu is based on simplicity; it is a natural result of four thousand years of exhaustive experimentation and is of highly sophisticated complexity. All techniques are stripped down to their essential purpose without wastage or ornamentation, and everything becomes the straightest, most logical simplicity of common sense. The utmost is expressed and performed in the minimum of movements and energy.

The method for health promotion is again based on water, as flowing water never grows stale. The idea is not to overdevelop or to overexert but to normalise the function of the body.

© Red Rebel Martial Arts - Orange County Kung Fu - San Clemente
Adam Williss' realistic, practical self defense, authentic Chinese martial arts and Qigong (Chi Kung)

Wing Chun vs. Jiu-Jitsu

By Phil Bradley

The sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) has, without a doubt, caused a renewed interest in the communities, as well as introducing the martial arts to a brand new audience. Personally, I love the UFC and what it is doing to promote it to the masses.

And while some of you might think that since this article is titled “Wing Chun vs. Jiu-Jitsu” will attempt to “trash” Jiu-jitsu, you would be wrong. In fact, far from it. Jiu-jitsu has more than proven itself both in and out of the ring, and even if it didn’t, those that know me already know that I have a great respect for all martial arts.

Instead, articles such as this are merely to educate the Wing Chun practitioner in arts they might be unfamiliar with.

In that light, let’s take a brief look at how a Wing Chun fighter could approach a jiu-jitsu fighter. Note that this is only a “possible” scenario, since anything can and usually does happen in the real world. On the flip side, this is not the ring and there are no rules. So if something here pinches a nerve, take into consideration that there are tons of “what if’s” out there.

First, let’s consider a jiu-jitsu fighter’s preferred method to fighting. Striking is not out of their realm, but their primary goal is to submit you, to lock a joint to the point that if you don’t give up, you’ll never use it again. In addition to this, you can quickly get choked out without even knowing how they did it (and yes, they’re that fast).

So how does a WC fighter contend with this? Number 1, NEVER EVER grapple with a grappler. Let me repeat that: NEVER EVER GRAPPLE WITH A GRAPPLER. You wouldn’t box a boxer, and you wouldn’t kick fight with a kicker. Fight YOUR fight, not the fight of the attacker.

Possible responses are:

1. Against shooting in, drive your elbows into the back of their head or the back of their neck. Immediately continue with chain-punches and drive them into the ground.

2. Another response to shoots is to immediately start slamming your fists into their face, head, neck, throat, etc. Wallbag and dummy training condition your fists and limbs to withstand a great deal of punishment like this if trained correctly.

3. Remember section 2 of the Siu-Nim-Tau? Or most of the Chum-Kiu? Many think that Wing Chun does not have anti-grappling movements, forgetting that the art was created to defeat the Shaolin methods (many of which are grappling, takedown and fighting methods). Yes, Wing Chun DOES have anti-grappling and anti-takedown movements. In fact, the first and second movements of the wooden dummy are exclusively for that very thing.

Some will vie to “sprawl out” against an incoming shoot, and at first it doesn’t sound like a bad idea. But if you sprawl out, then you are going to the ground. The ground is the last place you want to be, particularly with a grappler.

First of all, the ground is the grappler’s preferred environment. It is there that he/she works best and is in their realm. Second, our art’s preferred environment is standing up. On the ground we are very limited, particularly in the real world when the attacker’s buddies are coming in to join the fray.

Ground work for the ring is essential, but in the real world where cowardice runs rampant (and is usually followed with “whiskey muscles”), your odds of having to contend with more than one attacker are greater than ever.

Do you really want to be on the ground where you have limited mobility and you are at the bottom of a dog pile? No, you don’t. So increase your odds by doing everything you possibly can to stay off the ground.

One other possible response is to utilize knees into the face, coupled with driving your palms down on the back of the head, adding a double force to the effect. It is not as easy as many think it is, but it “is” a viable response if trained.

Now, nothing can truly beat working your skills against a willing jiu-jitsu practitioner that wants to experiment working with you. At first, you might find yourself in situations that you never thought you would be in. But don’t look at it as a “bad” thing; instead, keep it a learning experience and always stay positive by examining what works in Wing Chun against these types of attacks.

Work the concepts, and work them to competence. Don’t just do a few drills and think “I got it.” No you don’t. It takes thousands of repetitions to create a nerve pathway so that something happens automatically without you having to think about it. And that’s how many times you have to work every concept of Wing Chun to make it automatic.

Remember that this is just a basic look at the “what if’s.” There are tons and tons of things that “could” happen, so think about this as you work your drills and learn more about the concepts that makes Wing Chun truly effective. In this way, you continue learning more about something in a different light that was right in front of you the whole time.

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More on Phil Bradley and his methods can be found at awca.com.


© Red Rebel Martial Arts - Orange County Wing Chun - San Clemente, CA

Karl Godwin - A True Master of Martial Arts

By Jesse Moon

It is difficult for me to put a summary of Karl Godwin in one short bio. Karl is simply one of the most amazing individuals in the world. Karl is my teacher's teacher and is based out of Sanford, FL (near Orlando). He was taught the Wing Chun system by Ken Werner, a student of Ben Der in San Jose, California. Karl began his training over 30 years ago and has consistently trained daily since that time. As a result of his discipline, he is truly an accomplished master of our art. 

"I can say with all honesty that he is the only true martial arts master I have ever personally known or had the privilege to train under." - Jesse Moon

In addition to training on his own, Karl is equally dedicated to his students success and to propagating our art. Sifu Godwin has shown his students how to train traditionally and intensely but also how to think outside the box. Karl has ties with Sifu Kenneth Chung in California, who is Ben Der's teacher and is the wellspring of Leung Sheung Wing Chun in America.

I had the honor of meeting Karl in 1996 while visiting the Orlando FL area. After that I would periodically travel with my instructor to visit Karl's school. In 1997, when my teacher closed his school, I became a formal student of Sifu Karl's school and have received a large portion of my training from him. I enjoy his classes very much and consider myself fortunate to be able to train with him in person regularly. His classes are intense and rewarding and I have a very good student-teacher relationship with Sifu Godwin. I am the 12th student to have finished the Wing Chun Mook Jong under Karl and remain a Si-hing in good standing at his Seminole Wing Chun School in Sanford.

Karl's top students include John Gendall, Kevin Povalite, Russ Schiebenburger, Bill Graves (my Sifu) and many other very accomplished teachers and practitioners. Karl's school meets several times each week and is one of the best places to receive the best training. 

Information about Sifu Karl Godwin can be found on his website at www.floridawingchun.com

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NOTE: Karl Godwin is Sifu Adam Williss' teacher's teacher (Sigung).

© Red Rebel Martial Arts of Orange County - San Clemente

Wing Chun Kung Fu student fighting for his life with Leukemia

The below letter is from a fellow Sifu in Florida asking for a card from each of us to be sent to his 15-year old student that was recently diagnosed with Leukemia. I'm asking everyone that reads this post to send a card or a letter. - Sifu Adam Williss

There is a family of 3 that participates in my class, mom and her two children. One child who's name is Logan recently has been diagnosed with Leukemia. If you have never seen what this cancer does to someone, pray that you never do. It has been quite depressing for me and the mother of course is absolutely heart broken. Logan is a 15 year old young handsome man who had reached the rolling hands level (in Wing Chun) including catching and running. Now he is fighting for his life. He has not shed a tear and he has not complained. This young man is a marvel to the nurses and doctors at Arnold Palmer hospital as he is stoic in dealing with his condition. I understand why this must happen when it does and logically I accept it. However, I cannot accept that this must happen to innocent people who have done nothing to anyone and who in life are kind and gentle. Is not life truly a mystery? I cannot write much more than this, my heart just is not in it. I will ask all of my kung fu brothers and friends to take a moment and to please send a card of wishing well to this fine young man who refuses to wear nothing but his kung fu shirt in the hospital. Most importantly please take a moment each day to say a quick prayer for Logan. I thank you all with heavy heart and may God bless you and yours.

Cards to Logan should be sent to: 

WVTAA Post Office Box 4091
Attention: Logan
Winter Park, FL 32793

Thank you kindly.

Darrell Jordan

© Red Rebel Martial Arts of Orange County - San Clemente, CA

Traveled Paths of a Martial Artist

By John F. Di Virgilio

After many years, the martial artist is very aware of his or her refined accomplishments and limitations. Having been properly coached, exposed, and seasoned, the poised martial expert can free play techniques with little effort. Without thinking, he or she can instantly create useful combinations for a range of situations. Much of this ability does not come from driven emotion but rather from an awake yet uncluttered mind with nothing more than the will to survive. At this level, the martial artist is no longer constrained to earlier learning principles and methods but can move freely. In a nearly sudden reality reversal, Wing Chun principles and ideals that earlier directed one’s actions now follow and support one’s actions like fitted clothing. The practitioner is now truly a free form kung-fu expert. Your teacher will smile at the moment, for it is birth of a new master and at the same time a rebirth for the old teacher.

With some advice from his or her old teacher, the mature free form stylist can now see that the path forward is divided three ways. It is the three-fold path that comes face-to-face with all mature martial artists. You must choose one of the paths, knowing that once a path is chosen it will very difficult to abandon. The dynamics of each path make it next to impossible to give any of them a clear description. With a good amount of vagueness, my advice for the free form list is to choose either path two or three. The following description starts inversely with path three.

In the third path, you return to your teacher to learn teaching skills and rediscover the many traditions of becoming a successful teacher. It is here, as a teacher, that you come full circle with your experiences. By returning to your roots, you see your can see your accomplishment from the ground floor and not from floating near the skylight. You see yourself in your students as they evolve and mature. It is a shared experience in which the teacher also relearns the same lessons. Hence, the old adage, teach once and learn twice, becomes self-evident. This path is best known to me because it is the path that I have chosen. In this path, your actions and teachings will live on for generations as example of successful teaching of the whole person (not brawlers). At this point in your life, your teaching methods are best served with good portions of traditional Chinese philosophy, those of Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. These philosophies with help student see things in different perspectives, which in turn will enable students to find the needed balance in their thoughts and actions. Having the right mindfulness is the first step in learning any hobby, vocation, or profession.

In path two, the master greatly reduces his or her martial arts practice time. Instead, they turn their attention toward building a family, developing a business, and building a good community. These people make up the strongest part of society and know how to live life to the fullest. They know well how to mediate between the highs and lows in daily life. Peace and reasoning are brought to the community because of these types of people. Lastly, people who choose path two or three know with great certainty when enough is enough, and that pursuing the martial arts to the extreme without a moral purpose will be destructive.

Despite being taught such wisdom and learning under the guidance of a great master, there are many who will be drawn to path one, the dangerous path, almost all of them young males below the age of 30. In taking paths two or three practitioners will never reach 100% of their potential skill. Because of the demands of teaching or business they will only reach 80-90% at the most. In path one, they choose to chase the last 10-20% of skill through competition or brawling. This chase quickly transforms into a single-minded, self-serving, compulsive obsession. Few will survive the ugly and harmful effects found along this path. Indeed, the last bit of martial skill can only come from regular combat and hurting many people. It is a cold-hearted, lonely, and painful path with only a minuscule chance that one’s name will become truly legendary. A vast majority of people in this path will suffer terrible injuries to their minds and bodies. Therefore, it is my opinion that legendary figures like Achilles and Miyamoto Musashhi, despite their unmatched skill and heroic names, were nothing more than ugly, self-centered, and cold-blooded murderers. Others might say that they were just plain lucky to escape death. One thing is for sure, they were both soldiers who lived in a militaristic society surrounded by warfare. Neither of these legendary figures developed any notable students or reared a family. However, these men an be credited for helping society thin out the shameless, reckless and dangeous side of the population that traveled the same path.

There is yet another path that should stay nameless. Nameless and broadly defined, this last path can become deeply rooted in the person's psyche. In most cases this path becomes very destructive to the person but also to the people around them. This type of person is very self-absorbed, and wants the admiration of the surrounding people and community. Initially, they may seem to be good, but they are truly self-centered, so much so that they begin to nurture a growing self-proclaimed confidence, much of which (but not all) is contrived and false. Their world usually self destructs into internalized depression or outer-directed anger. Fortunately, there are a few people in this category. They usually have powerful, attracting, personal charisma, and because of this, they are the most dangerous to society. They tend to build strong cult following of misguided and insecure people. Not many martial artist fall into this path, but beware of bombastic and propagandistic religious, political, and business leaders when they are hungry for status and worldly power.

It is best to keep all things in life useful as well as small and simple. Few understand that over-refinement gives rise to over professionalism and unneeded bureaucratic hindrances.
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This article is by my Sibak, John F. Di Virgilio of Hawaii. More can be found on him at wingchunkeun.com


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