Sometimes the simplest, clearest instruction can appear mysterious. Chu Shong Tin would often use the term “I just relax” when explaining how he moved. Anyone who trained in his Hong Kong kwoon would soon learn the Chinese term, ‘fàngsōng’, as CST reminded his students again and again that the main thing to do was to…

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“The purpose of Siu Nim Tau is to train the mind to accept the idea of not using force”. Even when filtered through translation the precision and economy applied by Chu Shong Tin in explaining the concepts of Wing Chun is breathtaking. However, even CST would sometimes struggle to convey some of the intricacies of…

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A few years before his death, Chu Shong Tin gave an interview where he outlined the progression of his teaching. He divided his career as a Sifu into three periods, each of which I was fortunate enough to experience over the thirty years that I trained with him. The first period was naturally influenced by…

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I first met David Bates around 2005 at the International Wing Chun Academy. He presented as a supremely fit individual. His hobby at the time was gymnastics, his forte being the rings and pommel horse. Personally the ability to negotiate these disciplines appears to me to be somewhere around the same skill level as being…

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Training Wing Chun as Chu Shong Tin prescribed can benefit one’s health. This may be the case in regard to any martial art; however the CST method with its emphasis on standing meditation has produced some remarkable results. In this article I will relate just a couple of cases that I have observed first-hand. Just…

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New Year resolutions are fascinating. Vast amounts of people awake from the slumber of just getting by and seek to take control. This says much about the optimism of our species. I think it is an attractive quality. By this time most people have already failed at their New Year’s resolution, if they even bothered…

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