Introduction
Hi. Welcome to Martial Arts City. And welcome to my new FREE online Kung Fu training program. It’s designed to teach you Kung Fu for Self Defence, as best as I possibly can, over the internet, for free.
This course is still new – not yet complete. Videos will be added soon, so you may wish to bookmark this site and check back later.
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. It’s primarily based on Wing Chun and Tai Chi, but is also influenced by Jeet Kune Do, Xing Yi and other martial arts.
Having said that, practically every move I am teaching on this course was also taught very well by Bruce Lee, coincidentally, so I’ll be using his pictures & videos to supplement my own.
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 pressure-point attacks
- The best chokehold submissions
- The best sweeps, slams, throws & 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.
- 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.
- 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, 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.
Please bear this in mind, as you enthusiastically learn all the physical moves in this course – nurturing peace deserves even more energy.
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.