Welcome to my FREE online Kung Fu training course. It’s designed to teach you Kung Fu for Self Defence, as best as I possibly can, over the internet, for free.
I’m a Kung Fu teacher from Swanage, UK. Come and train with me in Swanage if you like.
You won’t find anything else quite like this course online. Especially not for free! From its organisation of moves & priorities, to its detailed breakdowns of techniques & tactics, to its variety of complementary styles, to so many demos straight from Bruce Lee himself.
⚠️ This course is new – not yet complete
- Video based intros & demos will be added soon.
- Online testing mechanisms will be integrated soon.
What style will you learn?
In this course, I am teaching my own style of Kung Fu. You could simply call it Kung Fu. It’s the accumulation of everything I’ve learnt.
In terms of classical styles, it’s primarily based on Wing Chun for practicality, then cleansed with Tai Chi for balance. It’s also influenced by – and has a lot in common with – many other martial arts including Jeet Kune Do, Xing Yi, Aikido, Boxing, Judo, Ninjutsu, Fencing, Capoeira and more.
Having said that, practically every move I am teaching on this course was also taught very well by Bruce Lee, so I’ll be using plenty of his pictures, videos and words to supplement my own.
What ranges (distances) will we cover?
I like to organise all the techniques & exercises that I teach according to the ideal distance from the opponent while executing the move. For example, some techniques fall under jabbing & kicking range, some are based within power-punching range, some are reserved for tight-clinching range, etc. In this course we will focus on all ranges applicable to empty-handed combat, but we’ll briefly touch on the main ranges applicable to weapons based combat too.
What moves will you learn?
So far, this course covers the Top 10+ most important moves in Kung Fu for Self Defence. These include:
- The best blocks and counter-attacks
- The best pro-active pressure-point strikes
- The best chokehold submissions
- The best footsweeps & takedowns
What equipment will you need?
Strictly speaking, you don’t need any equipment to follow this course – just an internet connection. But it will be very beneficial to your training if you can get hold of the following equipment.
- A punch bag – ideally a Heavy Bag. Ideally capable of being punched at head height and kicked upwards at groin height (beware of metallic attachment points on the underside of many bags). Set somewhere that you can step around it, at least partially, and are unobstructed in throwing punches at head height and lower down the body. The heavier the better. Water is the recommended filling, but any filling will do, although you may wish to avoid sand filling as it is liable to damage your joints with long-term use.
- Simple unpadded Leather Gloves will be good for protecting your skin when using the punch bag. Being unpadded, they will have a close-to-bareknuckle feel and won’t hinder your movement so much as heavily padded gloves would. Make sure they are a good fit, so there’s no chafing inside.
- A Wooden Dummy – Wing Chun style. It should have two high arms crossed over, roughly level with your chest; one low arm roughly level with your naval; and one leg with a bend at roughly knee height. Ideally set on a large wooden frame which itself is attached to a wall (or to additional vertical posts), so it can absorb energy very well.
- A human Training Partner – ideally they will be of a similar height to yourself, or taller. But if you’re very tall, then your attacker is more likely to be shorter than you, so it’s equally worthwhile training with someone shorter than you in that case.
Notes
- Punch bags and wooden dummies are very useful training aids if you can afford them and have a suitable place to put them (in an apartment block, neighbours might complain). Let me show you my favourite drills for this equipment, including some classics that many teachers and students are doing around the world today, as well as some that I’ve personally invented, which you won’t have seen before – I developed them for my own training, and they’re great for honing certain Kung Fu fundamentals.
- If you have a friend you can train with, even if they have no martial arts skills, they can still help massively – I can guide you on how to train with them most productively.
- Shadow boxing is a precious exercise that requires no equipment, just enough space to move – the more the better. Even with all the equipment and training partners in the world, you should still do a bit of shadow boxing every day. If you’re new to the concept, let me show you how to do it. Even if you’re already shadow boxing regularly, let’s see if I can’t help you do it more productively.
Top Tips for beginners
These are actually the most important lessons you can learn about Kung Fu for Self Defence, in my opinion.
Technique priorities: before the fight vs actual fighting
Avoiding and de-escalating conflict are the MOST important Kung Fu techniques for Self Defence. Physical blocks, counter-punches, finger jabs, kicks, chokes, sweeps, etc are all LESS important than learning how to avoid and de-escalate fights.
So why train to fight, when we’re interested in peace?
It’s better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war.
Miyamoto Musashi
Training methods: online vs in-person
One of the most important lessons you can learn online, is understanding the limitation of learning solely online.
A few MINUTES of top-level freestyle Sticky Hands training in person, can produce better techniques than a few YEARS of Non-Sticky partner drills, which in turn can produce better techniques than a whole LIFETIME of following thin-air solo routines online.
So even if you’re committed to training online every day for the rest of your life, I highly recommend you supplement this with weekly classes in person, at a Wing Chun or JKD club near you, irrespective the quality of tuition available there, so long as they do plenty of freestyle Sticky Hands training. I also highly recommend you supplement this with monthly sessions of 1-to-1 private tuition with myself or the best teacher you can find in your country. This is liable to boost your performance exponentially.
But that’s not to say that online training can’t be productive. Indeed, there’s much to learn here. Especially on the theory side, with regards to fighting most successfully, and with regards to training most productively from home. So what are we waiting for? Let’s get started.