Jason Clarke Wing Chun Self-Defence

20/11/2023

Help Sarah Lloyd raise money to support Alzheimer's Research UK

21/08/2019

Jason wishes to thank everyone for his birthday wishes, he's very grateful xx

17/05/2017

Ryan

Long Eaton Wing Chun Academy School of Martials Arts. Located in Nottingham, accessible off J25 on the M1.

Sifu - Jason Clarke 25 yrs teaching

27/01/2016

Long Eaton Wing Chun Academy School of Martials Arts. Located in Nottingham, accessible off J25 on the M1.

Sifu - Jason Clarke 25 yrs teaching

17/10/2015

Lop Sau on the wooden dummy

17/10/2015

Solo training is and should be an essential accompaniment to any martial art.
You cannot excel in any art without training alone, this would include physical and mental training, the Wing Chun bridge for this gap is the wooden dummy.
I have known many martial artists not involved in Wing Chun to have performed and practiced on wooden dummies. Speed, power, timing, technique, footwork all included in drills and forms.
I myself began my dummy training within months of learning Wing Chun. Whatever I was taught from my Sifu, including the two main hand drills, Lop Sau and Chi Sau, I would take home and perform on the dummy. Lop Sau in particular, my personal favourite, see the videos to accompany the dummy history passage below.
Whatever drill in whatever style of Wing Chun you are learning, be creative and adapt it and practice it on the wooden dummy.

The wooden dummy known by its Chinese name Muk-Yan -Chong is pronounced "muck- yahn- Chong and goes back centuries within Chinese culture via the Monks. Legend has it that there was a hallway containing 108 dummies and it was a set challenge for each monks right of passage to accomplish certain tests on each dummy before they could leave the temple.

At this time the dummies were used with the animal kung fu forms as taught to the monks. It was not till later that the Nun Ng Mui introduced it to Yim Wing Chun as a training aid, it stands to reason that if Yim Wing Chun was the first student of Wing Chun she had no partner to train with so the dummy was introduced. For those that do not know yes you've guessed it wing Chun was the first students name hence the name Wing Chun.

Rather than have 108 dummies Nun Ng Mui turned it around so that all 108 techniques could be practice on the one dummy. Of course I am only relaying of what I have heard as history truly does get fabricated a little with time, with that in mind I'm sure there will be an element of truth to it all.

Apparently the original/traditional dummies where a lot different to the current ones, we have grandmaster Yip Man to thank for a modern day dummies as he had no place to plant a traditional dummy in the ground so his student Koo Sang came up with the wall mounted design.

Legend has it that in the Shaolin Temple there was a tunnel filled with 108 dummies, in order for the monks to complete their training they had to pass through this tunnel. Each one of these dummies performed a certain technique which the "graduate" monkeys had to neutralise on their way out of the temple.

When the Shaolin Temple was destroyed, there were no recorded deaths and no life insurance to prove such accounts, so history blanked itself. The complete history of the Shaolin Temple cannot be narrated no explained in detail, thus the vague historical documentation of Shaolin archives and Chronicles. Only certain and distinct character is like if you are remember to this day like Nun Ng Mui, The creator of wing Chun kung fu, Who escaped and Incorporated a training set using a single wooden dummy into her new fighting style.

Whether or not these legends are true we cannot say for certain, however in Wing Chun kung fu the wooden dummy set is an excellent way to develop your positioning and your techniques. It is important to remember though that the wooden dummy cannot develop your feel and contact sensitivity which need to be developed in order to fully appreciate how the wing Chun system works, this is done through chi sau.

You can practice and develop all the wing Chun techniques on the wooden dummy as well as working on your footwork in order to understand the correct distances at which each technique is most effective.

There are basically two kinds of wooden dummy: The floating one is preferable as this enables you to strike it and have the dummy "give" so that it does not transfer all the rebound energy back into your striking arm/leg. I have two dummies ..one on a stand supported with metal crossbeams..can take a hell of a whack !! The other is a floating one I made from scratch for £30! Shop around to find the right dummy for your space and to suit your styles of training.

Below are four video's showing different angles of Lop Sau on the dummy.

17/10/2015

17/10/2015

17/10/2015

Lop Sau on the wooden dummy

25/08/2015

Leen Goang Jau

Due to the potentially damaging effects of striking a tightly packed sandbag, it is vital to the trainee to apply medication known as "leen goang jau", or "Power training wine", to the hands before and after Iron Palm sessions. Striking the hard, abrasive surface of the sand bag without proper medication, poses the risks to their trainee or bruising and disrupted blood circulation" if carried on for extended periods. Iron Palm training without medication can result in severe injury to the hands, arms and even internal organs.
A Chinese herbal formula is used for the blend of leen goang jau by Sifu Augustine Fong and should be mixed with some form of consumable alcohol such as rice wine, brandy or whiskey although it is NEVER to be taken internally under any circumstances. The ingredients for making this formula can be obtained through any Chinese pharmacy. The pharmacist will also be able to recommend the best one to mix it with. It is very important that an alcohol-based is used in the makings for leen goang jau; alcohol is rapidly absorbed through the pores and into the muscle tissue carrying with it the herbs. After carrying the medication deep into the hands, the alcohol then quickly evaporates, leaving the herbs of the liniment to form their function. Besides this advantage, alcohol-based leen goang jau helps to relieve pain and bruising.
Although an oil-based based medication will carry the herbs into the hand, it takes a long period to evaporate and is less effective. Vinegar-based medication should not be used as, over extended periods, it causes the bones to become brittle and subject to breakage upon hard contact. Using a water-based liniment causes pain in the hands. After a period of training with proper medication, effects of the leen goang jau are absorbed into the muscle tissue of the hands and the trainee will not no longer suffer bruising and pain, even after gruelling sessions that would leave an untrained hand raw and bleeding. In fact after a few months of this training, the hands begin to develop a type of "itching" or tingling during sandbag punching that encourages the trainee to punch even harder without fear of damaging the hand.
As mentioned earlier, the hands should also be soaked in medicine after training to soothe the bones and tendons as well as to toughen the skin of the hands. This toughening prevents further injury and allows the trainee to develop his iron Palm skills more quickly. Although medicating the hands might at first seem unnecessary to a young, strong trainee, the iron palm practitioner should heed the fact that much of the damage is done to the tiny blood vessels of the hand by training without leen goang jau and may not manifest itself until many years after the initial damage is done. This damage usually comes in the form of an uncontrollable shaking of the hands as well as involuntary muscle spasms. As the main point of all Gung Fu training is self defence and development, which encompasses the health and well-being, it is counter-productive and contradictory to intentionally risk damaging the body through the very training performed for its benefit.
As a young Martial Artist many , many years ago all this was told to me and of course I duly followed by using the medicine when doing heavy arm and certainly all punching sessions. The results speak for themselves.. my hands are non calloused and have no injuries or arthritis. I have seen many students from many classes come to me with broken down hands from severe punching and breaking drills without using and worse still NO knowledge of any medication they should be using. The idea of any martial art is to build up your body internally & externally...not smash it to bits !! I myself do about 2 thousand punches a week+ with no side affects..my knuckles and hands are pretty solid.
So for any Martial Artist seeking to toughen their body..the next time your Instructor asks you to break or punch some form of striking board without using any medication ask them WHY?

13/08/2015

Thanks to everyone who attended class last night. As you can see from the pictures we were doing Lop Sau with attacks on the floor and after a pretty intensive warm up we finished with form work after which I trained a six three circuit with Sare Lloyd that included Press ups,Indian Clubs,Slam Ball,dumbells & finished with her kicking and punching me as hard as she could...I think she enjoyed that the most !!!!!! Back next Wednesday..