Burning the fat - Wing Chun style

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/ksteem/yBhlpmTG-wing-chun-dummy.jpg
Like many, I put on some Covid weight. For me, not so much from staying home, but from having to work so many extra hours. The extra hours certainly disrupted from my normal routine. Not a heavy exercise person normally, but was on a good program of walking 1-3 miles nearly every day. Now with all the sitting behind a computer for 70 hours a week or more, I've got an extra dozen or so (or so) to get rid of. Not to mention I can feel the breathing out of shape. So, back to an old enjoyment for me, Martial arts. I've studied several over the years, Wrestling, Karate, Taekwondo, Kickboxing, Kali, Tai Chi, but my favorite was Wing Chun and Jeet-Kune-Do (The way of the intercepting fist).

**Wing Chun History:** Wing Chun was invented by a Buddhist nun named Ng Mui. It was designed specifically to exploit weaknesses in other combat styles and also to provide an advantage to smaller fighters against larger opponents. The style was named after her first student, Yim Wing Chun. The style was later popularized in China and Hong Kong by Grandmaster IP Man (Yip Man). He later taught Bruce Lee, and most may know the story from there. Bruce later evolved the original teachings into additional modifications, which he called Jeet Kune Do. Wing Chun is a close quarters fighting system that is ideally suited for confined spaces. The techniques are designed to viciously incapacitate an attacker - not to score competition points. In fact many of it's strikes are designed to cause throat and eye damage, or break and cause destruction to joints, so they are banned from MMA and UFC type competitions. It is primarily an empty-hands system, but many schools now also teach weapons in the advanced training such as dragon pole, and butterfly sword. Many practitioners also learn other weapons such as kali or nunchaku. Unlike most traditional systems that teach block and then attack, Wing Chun combines defense and attack into a simultaneous response. While other styles draw back or "cock" their punch, Wing Chun hits without warning from any position. While other systems require a wind-up to generate force, Wing Chun uses the structure of the body to create power in a small space. The famous Bruce Lee "3 inch punch" is a prime example of this power (google the video!). Another excellent exercise and training technique is "sticking hands" (Chi Sao). This develops balance, trapping, prediction skills, contact reflexes, and intense conditioning of the forearms when practicing with a partner. (I remember 6" bruises up both arms for days after practice when first starting at full speed.) Then there is the famous wooden dummy (Mook Jong), pictured here. The wooden dummy is used to teach range, positioning, flow, and precision in movements in addition to checking structure of the body. Lastly, some new movies called IP Man (and 2, 3, 4) were released in the last year on streaming platforms. This just barely based on a few real-life history items, but does provide some great entertainment and realistic fighting scenes that clearly show some of the simultaneous defense and attack techniques. If you like martial arts movies, be sure to check them out! What are you doing to stay healthy? Post some pics!
Originally posted here: https://hive.blog/sports/@ksteem/burning-the-fat-wing-chun-style