WING CHUN ILLUSTRATED - August 2011

Sifu Kevin Chan's Interview with Alan Gibson at WIng Chun Illustrated.

 

Kevin Chan: A Passion for all Things Martial by Alan Gibson

 

Whatever Lineage they come from, Every Wing Chun practitioner in the UK will have heard

of Kamon and Kevin Chan. Kamon is one of the largest Wing Chun organisations in England

and Kevin, it’s founder, is just as passionate about his personal training as he is his coaching.

Quite apart from his credentials in the Wing Chun world, He trains in Western Boxing and

Thai Boxing and also holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. For Kevin, martial arts are an

intrinsic part of personal development, a philosophy that underpins everything he stands for.

 

What is your age?

44

 

Can you tell me something about your childhood background?

My parents are HaKa Chinese from Hong Kong. I was born in the UK after they immigrated

here in the 50s. They worked in takeaways and restaurants. Life was tough for my family;

with a lack of money, working long hours seven days a week and contending with a language

barrier. I moved nine times by the time I was 10 years old. At one point our family of six lived in

a rat infested bedsit. However, although constantly arguing with each other, my parents never

felt bitter or felt life owed them a living. They taught me the value of hard work, education and

the importance of honesty and integrity.

 

Please tell me about your sporting and martial background?

As a kid I enjoyed sport but was not very good at it. I was not a natural sportsman. I started martial arts at 11 years old with my uncle in Hong Kong. He taught his own HaKa style Kuen Mo. Since then I have practised; Gung Lik Kune, Tong Long (Mantis) as well as Boxing, Thai

Boxing, Wrestling, and of course Wing Chun, plus I have also gained a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Mauricio Motta Gomes in 2008.

 

Where, when and from who did you learn your Wing Chun?

I first learnt Wing Chun from my Sifu Steve Mair who was James Sinclair’s student at the time.

He was a very talented practitioner and teacher. I remember mentioning him to Ip Chun’s students back in 1990 when they asked me who my Sifu was. They started scratching their heads and Ip Chun jumped in and said ‘Ho Choong Ming’ which translates as ‘his Sifu is very bright and intelligent’. What struck me was that whilst Ip Chun normally seemed quite reserved, he talked very enthusiastically about Steve to his loyal students. To this date with his explosiveness and understanding I believe Steve to be an excellent exponent of Wing Chun and a gifted Martial Artist. Steve subsequently left James Sinclair, and joined the Sam Kwok Association in around 1989. I was already well into the Wing Chun syllabus by this point and was one of Steve’s instructors. I used to train with him in his garage, twice a week, sometimes with my friend Ross Mockaridge and Steve’s training partner Mark Hyland (my Sihing). Steve Mair and Mark Hyland taught me the complete Wing Chun system; the dummy, knife, pole and 3 hand forms as they themselves had learnt from Sam Kwok, Ip Chun and James Sinclair. Sam Kwok was my Sifu later, for about 2 years, during which time he tidied up my rough edges and gave me life membership of the Ip Man association, signed by Ip Chun.

 

Is there anyone in the current Wing Chun world that you consider an inspiration?

Steve Mair was my biggest inspiration; I aspired to be like him which drove my personal development. I still respect and admire Ip Chun. Whilst I was never Ip Chun’s student myself, and have only trained with him a few times, I always valued his comments and views during the times that he has taught and helped me. What really impresses me about him is that he doesn’t profess to be anything he’s not. When I visited him in 1994 in Hong Kong, he said there was nothing more he could teach me. It felt much the same as getting my BJJ Black Belt. His statement overwhelmed me at the time. His honesty was very fresh for a traditional master. I haven’t been in contact with Ip Chun for many years now, but hope to visit him and Patrick Leung later this year.

 

When and why did you decide to brand your own style as Kamon?

When my Sifu left the UK and moved to Denmark in 1990, I took over his venue in Croydon and Northfleet. I remained part of the Sam Kwok Association at the time but with a James Sinclair background. The skill sets of the two organisations merged into one. I valued James’ explosive and dynamic approach as well as Sam’s more classical training. I was also heavily into other martial arts at the time. I felt I could not give my heart and soul to the Sam Kwok Association neglecting what I wanted to do, or forsaking what I had learned previously. Calling it Kamon Wing Chun, a derivative of my name, allowed me to do what I wanted, remaining true to what I believed and valued. In many ways the formation of Kamon was very liberating; it was the turning point that allowed me the personal freedom to develop as a martial artist.

 

You state Kamon is progressive, what does this mean?

Whilst I value the classical framework of Wing Chun and the foundation that it provides, at the same time I believe very strongly in; progress, improvement, reform and individuality. I see classical training as a vehicle for self realisation and development, and not as a hindrance or a restriction. As a martial artist you should embrace creativity and personal expression. In doing so through the resulting progression both the student and the style grows, and the style takes on a new identity, remains fresh and exciting, and in accord with time. If the system doesn’t evolve and improve it will just eventually become watered down and no longer be fit for purpose. Stuff will get lost and nothing new will get added. It amuses me how Ip Man cut what he thought was unnecessary or over-complicated out of the art and added in new elements, but for some reason if anyone else does, it is considered sacrilegious! At which point does the traditionalist think is the cut off point of the evolution and change – Ip Man? It is ridiculous. They just contradict themselves. There wouldn’t be Ip Man Wing Chun or indeed any Wing Chun if evolution or progression did not occur.

 

You state that Kamon classes have a positive atmosphere and aim to promote self confidence and fitness. You clearly see these elements as important in martial arts. Can you explain further?

Kamon is as much about attitude and lifestyle as it is for self defence. Wing Chun should be seen as a vehicle for self development. The skills you acquire and the challenges you face whilst training should develop a positive mindset that incorporates skills such as; self discipline, persistence, problem solving, versatility, appropriate use of force and adaptability. The same skills become applied to fighting life’s daily battles. Practising Wing Chun should help you become more; motivated, focused and balanced in all areas of life.

 

Where and when did you learn BJJ?

I grappled since 1995 with one of my students Arthur Lutkis, a Sombo competitor and coach from Latvia, and later with my Kung Fu brother Ross Mockridge who is now 5th Dan Jui Jitsu and Sombo coach before BJJ. BJJ was a natural progression from this, and I began to learn BJJ with Chen Morales in London back in 2000 and later studied with Mauricio Gomes (Roger Gracie’s father) in 2001.You achieved a high rank in BJJ (Black Belt) Can you tell us something about why you decided to go down this path?I practiced BJJ for my own personal development in the martial arts. Ground fighting isn’t something that is addressed in Wing Chun and I felt that it was one of the areas that I needed to practise to be complete.

 

How have you integrated BJJ with Kamon Wing Chun classes?

Although I cover the clinch and use take down defence in Kamon Wing Chun I always advise my students if you want to learn to grapple, learn BJJ. Kamon Wing Chun is primarily a stand up style. How I integrated BJJ with Kamon Wing Chun is more conceptual. It has reinforced my value of non compliant partner training and live training. I try to reinforce the idea that making a mistake in training, like getting submitted in Jui Jitsu, is exactly that, a mistake, it is not failure. Everyone makes mistakes, it is how you learn from your mistakes that you grow and develop. You need to have the freedom to play and make mistakes and not to confuse mistakes with failure. Otherwise you will live and remain within your comfort zone playing it safe and growth won’t occur or will be heavily restricted. The BJJ practitioner also learns the value of evolution and deconstruction early on together with fundamental training. I teach my Wing Chun students the same values as the BJJ practitioner, not to be dismissive of; new ideas, techniques, or concepts, even if it’s from a rival academy or whatever. I share the idea with my BJJ colleagues that the style should adapt to a person’s mindset, framework and natural ability. What works for one individual could be a hindrance to others.

 

Would you say Kamon is comparable to JKD in many ways?

Kamon Wing Chun is not comparable to JKD, this is a misunderstanding of what Kamon actually is. JKD was founded on an incomplete, partial understanding of Wing Chun. Bruce Lee was a legendary martial artist; however gaps in his knowledge of Wing Chun were addressed through the assimilation of other arts guided by his intelligence and artistry, as opposed to through the realisation and deeper understanding that can be attained through completion and dedication to Wing Chun itself. Answers to questions he was asking were already appropriately addressed within the system. Wing Chun is a complete stand up martial art and Kamon Wing Chun is firmly rooted in the complete classical Wing Chun system. I really value the whole Wing Chun system and ethos. It is a fascinating art to learn and I enjoy all aspects of it, and enjoy sharing it with my students. The art, after absorbing the fundamentals allows the practitioner to become creative. Like for all artists, this process should be dictated by passion and feeling. Rather like a painter you should paint according to intuition and let it come out from the soul, rather than trying to copy or imitate someone else’s work. The skills, other than Wing Chun, that I acquire have broadened my spectrum as an artist, and allowed me to paint my wing Chun picture accordingly. I teach all my students to value and learn from within the framework of the system and I am a strict disciplinarian when it comes to key aspects such as the forms, in which I pay particular attention to detail and try to instil this in my students . Whilst I believe in the heritage and preservation of the art itself and the philosophy and deep rooted Chinese culture it originates from, I also believe that every practitioner should not only have the opportunity to appreciate the art but to participate in its ongoing development. What we do today forms what becomes passed into the future. Heritage preservation should be combined with progression and evolution.

 

You have added elements of other martial arts to Kamon such as boxing and Thai influence; can you tell us how these fit in the mix at the class?

Wing Chun is an excellent system and I really appreciate all aspects of this unique style. It has depth and substance as well directness and efficiency. It truly combines the soft and hard of a traditional Kung Fu style. I genuinely enjoy both practising and teaching Wing Chun. However, I believe very strongly that it is an expressive system and should be taught in a practical, progressive manner to achieve effective results. Learning boxing and Thai Boxing has helped me greatly improve both myself and my understanding of the art. Boxing and Thai Boxing add practical value and realism. When I first sparred I used to hate it because of an underlying fear of not doing well and potentially being exposed as incompetent. I often felt overwhelmed. My partners could hit me and I could do nothing in return. I felt inadequate. As a result of this I stopped sparring for approximately 10 years, yet was still practising and teaching Wing Chun. I found myself avoiding the discomfort of sparring and came out with clichés like ‘my strikes are too deadly for sparring’ or ‘it is different in a real street fight’. I eventually faced up to this and found myself in a boxing gym, ‘The Park Tavern’ in Streatham and later boxed with my student Paul Webber, who is an excellent Boxer, and was the same age and weight as me. He made me feel relaxed and comfortable with my sparring. He made me realise the world did not fall apart when I got hit; it was merely part of training. I found myself Thai Boxing shortly after. I met Dino Meringou (who is now coach Lion Pride MMA and head coach at Keddles MMA) at the London Gracie Barra School and Dave Van Gass (who is now coaching at London Shoot). The three of us used to train twice a week – mainly just kickboxing sparring for about 5 years. It was a war every session! Particularly with me and Dave. The fear of fighting and sparring was replaced by nervous excitement and liberation. From my experience as a non natural fighter I really flourished with the right people around me developing my confidence and overall skills.Boxing teaches you to get over the shock and fear that a fight induces. It is this that normally stops us from performing, not pain. We simply confuse it with pain. You begin to understand rhythm, timing and movement in a non compliant way. It teaches what constitutes effective striking, and not just looking busy. Sparring and getting over the fear of it has really accelerated my development both mentally and physically. In class we box and spar only 50%. I always monitor my students closely and match them according to physical and mental ability. I am very aware of the shock and fear of sparring and the impact it had on me, but at the same time the very practical rewards.

 

With this mix of skill sets it strikes me that you could soon have a large team of competition ready fighters.

Do you have any ambitions in this direction for Kamon style?

Whilst I do train with and teach MMA fighters, this is separate for the purpose of the school. My goal is not to teach MMA or build a team of fighters. I enjoy the development of the individual through the Wing Chun style. That’s what is gained most from learning martial arts overall. I appreciate more, now than ever before that Wing Chun is a complete martial art rather than just a fighting system. The last thing I want myself is to get into a physical altercation. Not because of fear, but because it just isn’t conducive to being a balanced human being. The mix of skills has given me the creative scope to understand Wing Chun’s strengths and weaknesses and explore the art by deconstructing it. I find the more literal interpretations of Wing Chun to be rigid and inflexible. I think this stems from a constant excessive use of energy, an over reliance on forward movement and an overly aggressive mentality. I don’t do Biff Chun! Instead energy use should be sophisticated and direct, with the appropriate use of force for any given situation. This results from a balance between natural footwork, positioning, energy, structure and relaxation of mind and body. When you get this mix right and add explosiveness combined with appropriate timing the results are extremely effective. This in turn develops the same mindset, to be a balanced individual. My students would struggle to hurt someone without good reason. They are not trigger happy, but can handle themselves effectively when necessary. What I am trying to achieve is to bridge the gap between literal Wing Chun and natural movement. How Wing Chun fits the individual not the other way around through individuality and creative freedom. Ultimately I want my students to realise their own Wing Chun. You can’t tell them what this is; you can only really help them with the journey. They have to realise it themselves. I don’t want to create imitators. Twisting your body structure imitating Yip Man with elbows tucked right into the centre is simply unnatural for most guys over 60kg, or those with broad shoulders. It is like wearing Ip Mans clothes. It may look good on him, but it’s not going to fit you. And you certainly wouldn’t want to fight in them. It’s not one size fits all. Where Wing Chun doesn’t work it is often clearly a misunderstanding or an overly literal interpretation desperately clinging to tradition, possibly because it worked in the past.

 

Kamon has a very commercial model underpinning it. Can you tell me something about your background in business and marketing?

The true success of Kamon is not because it has a commercial model; it is a commercial success because it appeals to people’s intellect. That’s why people join and stay. Kamon’s reputation has grown organically more through word of mouth than marketing and advertising. I have never watered down or adapted what I teach to appeal to or attract a wider student base. Much of what I do is through instinct and as such what I teach must feel right. I am after all a martial artist first and foremost. I believe in teaching honestly and professionally at all times. I detest time wasting or just going through the motions. It is through these values that I have had commercial success. I value my students as individuals. I talk and listen to them respectfully and I give them my experience whole heartedly. I really believe in treating people how you would like to be treated, that the win win formula will happen naturally. I don’t hide behind a persona and have never used someone’s name directly to build my own reputation. I believe in myself and am comfortable in my own skin. That’s why Kamon is a commercial success.

 

What are the future plans for the development of Kevin Chan and Kamon?

Training and teaching Wing Chun and martial arts for me is a point in time. What Kamon Wing Chun will be in 5 years time will be different from what it is today. All the fundamental and classical elements will remain the same, but it will evolve and develop and take on an exciting new form. Ask any of my long term students and they will tell you that Kamon always keeps developing and there is no doubt that today we are better than we were 5 years ago. Just like I am getting better than I was myself 5 or 10 years ago. The school and myself will keep developing in this way, moving forward, because we do Wing Chun as a passion and a lifestyle, not as rule. It would sadden me greatly if the next generation or the generation after was not better and more rounded and evolved than the current.

 

 

 

 

Martial Arts Illustrated

"Kevin Chan a man for all seasons"

 

 

 

MAI editor, BOB Sykes spoke to Kevin Chan about his passion for all

things martial from Wing Chun to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

 

This article originally appeared in the February 2011 issue of Martial Arts Illustrated

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Why and where did you originally get involved in martial arts?

I originally got into martial arts whilst living in Hong Kong at around 11 years old.

Initially I learnt my uncle’s personal style of Kung Fu – Kuen Mo. I went on to learn

Gung Lik Kune, Tong Long with Sifu H B Un. Later when I was living in the UK

I studied Wing Chun with Sifu Steven Mair and trained under Sam Kwok and Yip Chun. Following this I established the Kamon Martial Art Federation, that has been a big part of my life ever since. I took up groundwork with my student and friend Artur Lutkis, who taught me Sombo, and I continued to train Sombo with Ross Mockridge. Eventually I started to learn Jiu Jitsu with Chen Moraes, and then with Mauricio Gomes, my primary teacher, and his son Roger Gracie. Despite having already two decades of martial arts behind me which include the grappling arts, Mauricio used to beat me around the mat effortlessly and I felt completely helpless.Although it was a complete domination and an uphill battle just to survive, he made the experience enjoyable in a sick sort of way. His classes were relaxed yet focussed and training was more like hanging out with a bunch of friends than a structured class which I was previously used to. I believe I flourished in this type of environment he created. I now teach in the same spirit as I learnt from Mauricio. I am truly blessed to have trained with him and to have received my black belt from him.My previous martial art training has also included boxing at the Park Tavern Streatham until it closed down, continuing to train with my friend and boxing coach Paul Weber. During this period I kickboxed extensively with Dino Meringo and Dave Van Gass. Neil McLeod has helped me with my clinch work and wrestling. I have been very fortunate throughout my life as I have always had skilled training partners who have all helped me in one form or another, which I am very grateful for.

 

Has what you have learned affected the way you train?

Yes, most definitely. How I used to train in my early teens to early twenties was much more classical training. Until my mid twenties it was what I see as my apprenticeship years, and was very much about finding myself. In my later twenties it was a case of establishing what I needed to do to improve myself as a martial art practitioner. This was the period that I established the Kamon Martial Art Federation which itself became a necessary step to explore and express myself through the art of Wing Chun. It was around this time that I made a transition from being a martial arts practitioner to being what I consider to be a martial artist in the true sense. The major difference between how I train now stems from this transition, in that I now know my self. I train what I believe in, and I believe in what works. I no longer feel a need to justify what I have to do to develop myself to myself or to others. I trust my self awareness and intuition. In the past for instance when I explored other arts apart from Wing Chun it was frowned upon. Or if I experimented with ideas it was seen as not traditional and therefore a form of deviation, and was dismissed as my not understanding Wing Chun. Some in the Wing Chun community would try to make you feel guilty or were very quick to put you down. Now I don’t care. I enjoy what I do and I enjoy what I teach, and I can see the results.At 43, I am very aware of time wasting. I try to be as productive as possible in the available time whether it is training or teaching. For Instance in my own training in BJJ I always use a stop watch. One hour of sparring normally takes 2 hours. Every time I time the belt up again, take a drink of water, chat etc I stop the clock. I always add on extra time, and always look for the maximum benefit in my time. I am not looking for short cuts or a way of cutting corners, but am always interested in how to achieve results more effectively.In my Wing Chun teaching I teach the complete classical Wing Chun system. I always teach the depth of understanding behind the art, but I don’t like dragging it out, or making it something its not. I am very pragmatic, and not interested in doing things for the sake of doing them, they have to produce results. I don’t like being, or teaching my students to be busy fools.

 

You teach Wing Chun and Brazilian Jui Jitsu. These are surely two opposite ends of the scales. Are there any common threads or are they simply styles apart?

There are no similarities in techniques. For me the common threads are conceptual. Both Wing Chun and BJJ rely on intuition, awareness of your own body, an awareness of an opponent’s body through tactile feel, muscle memory, timing and flow and an understanding of using force correctly. For me understanding and being able to put these factors into action is far more important than techniques alone. An understanding of these factors allows you to be adaptable and versatile. I use these same concepts in all the arts I practice. I believe to understand these concepts are to understand one of the key factors of effective fighting whatever style. Much of what I train and teach incorporates this element above all else.For me Wing Chun gave me a great awareness of my body to practice Jiu Jitsu. Jui Jitsu gave me a phenomenal advantage of feel through resistance to develop my understanding of the above factors for Wing Chun. Both arts help enrich each other.Teaching WC and BJJ is no different. I believe in deconstructing a style and adapting it to a persons build and mindset. I do not have eureka moments. Everything comes out through play over time. In both arts I dislike the biff mentality! I don’t enjoy what my BJJ colleague, Michael Russell calls Biff Jui Jitsu or I call Biff Chun. I always believe in using appropriate force at a given moment. Whilst I believe in effectiveness I don’t believe that this should just be achieved through power and aggression, or what my BJJ students call meat head moves. It’s simply not for me. Like I say to my BJJ white belts some of you would already be black belts if it was just based on aggression and toughness.

 

Are you a modern or traditional martial artist?

I am neither, I value both. I like to think that I learn from the past, work in the present and through practice shape and establish the future.Do you think that to be a good fighter you should focus on one style?It depends on whether you mean a good fighter for Jui Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts, or self defence. For a good fighter in Jui Jitsu, he may only need to do one style if his concern is neither for MMA or self defence. He may want to supplement it with wrestling or Judo, but if he wants to be a good Jui Jitsu fighter for competitions there is little point training something like kickboxing. He can focus solely on Jui Jitsu and the arena he is specifically training for.If you want to be a good fighter for self defence it’s a whole different story. I believe every style has strengths and weaknesses. To deny that your style has any weaknesses means that either you don’t know your style, have an unrealistic appreciation of fighting, or that you are simply living in denial. I believe that If you add cross training arts like boxing, Jui Jitsu, clinchwork and maintain an open minded and realistic approach to attack and defence to pre-emptive strikes it will naturally allow your art to grow whatever the style.

 

Is this what you regard as a complete martial artist?

These are some of the factors, but the greatest factor is the mindset. By mindset I don’t mean just how assertive one is in a fight. Being a complete martial artist is about how he deals with himself and how honest he is with himself. He must accept being uncomfortable mentally for change and development to happen. It is nature’s way of moving forward. For the practitioner of the traditional martial arts, accepting methods, strategy, or techniques from other arts is often difficult even though it is logically beneficial. I believe that the complete martial artist needs to have a realistic understanding of himself and despite feeling anxiety to change, will seek new experience and adapt himself accordingly and continue to grow and develop, which will benefit both himself and his art as a result.It’s funny really but Wing Chun is the only art I have trained where people will insist, when they have been hit, that YOU are doing it wrong rather than admit they have a hole in their game. They cannot accept what has just happened and instead of readdressing their training to solve the problem so that it doesn’t happen again, they live in denial.Humans being humans use excuses, and although in BJJ they don’t try to tell you that you are wrong when you are submitting or dominating, excuses still occur. They will say things like he is strong in an effort to take away your technical ability or ask about your weight in an effort to say you have a weight and strength advantage, or may even make statements like I have not trained lately implying that they could probably beat you if they had been training more. I believe as a complete martial artist you should be honest to yourself and avoid excuses. To be a complete martial artist requires self acceptance and appropriately addressing your strengths and weaknesses. A practitioner must accept a drop in level of comfort as part of their training and growth can only happen through physical and mental adversity and challenges. Through training he develops the mental capacity to master himself and thus become complete.

 

What does your training schedule consist of?

Training for me is a life style. I am a martial artist. I don’t train because I have to, but because I want to. Whether Wing Chun, Jui Jitsu, Boxing or whatever. I would much rather hang out on the mats than going out to the bars and clubs or go shopping, it is a lifestyle choice. I am very fortunate to have good people around me who are passionate about what they do; we share a common love of martial arts. I train every day, how much and what depends on what I have on and who I am training with on that day. I normally do at least two hours of stand up a day, whether it is Wing Chun, Boxing or Clinchwork, mainly because these are the areas some of my private students want to work on. Some of the private students I develop come around and do an hour of chi sao or an hour of sparring, so during that time it allows me to train, and I am getting paid for it!I have not quite managed to achieve this with Jui Jitsu simply because I have only started teaching it professionally since attaining my black belt three years ago. With BJJ I meet my training partners and friends to train at least 4 times a week. Every day I am doing something I enjoy. I count myself incredibly lucky to do something like martial arts that I am passionate about whilst supporting my family through it.

 

What do you say to critics you are no longer serious about Wing Chun?

I would say I am a martial artist first and foremost. Because I do BJJ it does not mean that I am not serious about Wing Chun or I favour BJJ over Wing Chun. If you have children you don’t love one more than the other, you love them equally and appreciate their differences. In actual fact I probably train more Wing Chun now than I ever did!

 

What do you say to critics of your deviation from the traditional and your personal adaptation of Wing Chun?

My personal adaptation changes, it will keep changing. How it works in 3 years time will probably be different from how it works now. Wing Chun and training should be seen as a point in time, constantly adapting and changing. The BJJ practitioner is very quick to adapt. They readily absorb new techniques and new ideas and are not restricted by the view that they cannot learn a technique if it is from a different academy or style. They value progression and evolution. Looking forward rather than the traditionalist looking back to a time they think was better.Wing Chun is a concept based art, with an incredible richness for self expression at its core. Many practitioners don’t realise this, they think it is a literal art. They get stuck at an early development level, of imitation and never progress to deeper levels of personal understanding and self expression. This results in a fixed and rigid understanding of Wing Chun. They prefer the comfort of clearly defined problems and solutions, techniques and specific applications of techniques, and this becomes limiting. They can see deviation from this robotic approach as deviating from Wing Chun itself.

 

Is your adaptation of Wing Chun watered down?

I have been criticised for teaching a watered down version of Wing Chun, but this simply isn’t the case. Again I think it arises from a lack of understanding of what I am actually doing with Kamon. I am not teaching MMA or watering down Wing Chun, I am developing myself and my students understanding of Wing Chun through adaptation to an evolving understanding of Wing Chun and combat. I study my students hard and I carefully introduce new concepts, paying close attention to how these are being absorbed. If they are picked up we move on, if they are missed I will find new ways of communicating the concepts. It is all about developing the students, and being sure they absorb the concepts in a working and practical sense. For instance we do sparring in a similar vein to boxing or stand up MMA, so people dismiss what I am doing as MMA and not Wing Chun. Or Wing Chun with a bit of boxing thrown in. Learning boxing has helped improve the art. Firstly, it gives you realism, it teaches you to get over shock and fear, which a fight induces, Getting over shock and fear strengthens your mindset under pressure. You can then develop a working understanding of range and position and movement, lines of attack, rhythm and timing and what constitutes effective striking. Boxing should be seen as a great compliment to Wing Chun, and should be endorsed rather than avoided. Rather than watering it down boxing is one of the arts that has enhanced my Wing Chun.Changing the way I teach adapting to the feedback I get from my students is nothing new to Wing Chun training; look at how Ip Man used to teach. Some of the key drills in Ip Man lineage Wing Chun are drills he created himself to bridge the gap between his and his students knowledge, to covey his ideas. Some of these are trained today in such a rigid way; they have lost their meaning or purpose. I have further adapted the drills and way I teach to fit the students. The drills are a means to an end, not the end itself. They should not be sacred. Adaptability was the key to Wing Chuns success in the past, but for some reason has become lost to many through Nostalgia or an overzealous clinging to tradition. Tradition should only ever serve as being a base for further exploration, it definitely shouldn’t be a constraint that prevents or restricts exploration. In a changing environment an organisms adaptability is the key to success, Wing Chun is no different. I guess what I would say to critics of my adapting Wing Chun is that my adaptation of Wing Chun is simply an expression of the Wing Chun art itself.

 

So what’s next for Kevin Chan?

I have a few seminars in Hong Kong that I am looking forward to. I taught some earlier this year and last year that were arranged through my friend Thomas Fan, who teaches BJJ and MMA over there. I taught some seminars on BJJ and some on Wing Chun. The Wing Chun seminars were about Kamon Wing Chun, and how I like to train. They were attended by some very experienced Wing Chun guys and I shared some good ideas which I hope they took away to develop their art in a practical and effective sense. I appreciated their attitude; they were very interested in ideas on how to develop Wing Chun.I was invited by a well known company to establish the Kamon federation in China, where they wanted me to teach the young affluent Chinese. They appreciate my style as being classical yet modern and they see it fitting in with 21st century Chinese culture. The modern Chinese perceives Kung Fu as old fashioned which is the case in China and Hong Kong, which makes it fairly unpopular. For instance Taekwondo and Karate are more popular in Hong Kong than Kung Fu. Whilst the Chinese continue to love Kung Fu films, they don’t practice it much anymore. The Hong Kong company I mentioned could see a niche, and were hoping I could address it, but I couldn’t take up the offer as I have got a beautiful family with an established life in London, and it would be too unsettling for them, it wouldn’t be fair.I will continue to enjoy my life in the same way I do now. I want to do more wrestling and clinch work to improve my stand up in the clinch. I want to develop my boxing, and I am currently looking at a new boxing camp for fresh feedback for personal improvement. I still regard BJJ as still a new art to me and I want to grow further with it. Although I have no current plans I cannot see myself not competing again. At the same time my Wing Chun is always organically growing through play and it will continue to develop this way.More importantly I want to develop my students (my friends) to the best of my ability as I truly believe the arts live through them.