Poole Academy of Wing Chun

Having a fantastic but exhausting week training with a fantastic group of people

What is a Mc Dojos?
There are some martial arts clubs still around that will do the following.
• Sell you a certificate / belts rather than giving it to you for hard work and progress in skill.
• They Promising black belt ranks in unrealistically short timeframes (e.g., 2-3 years),
• Avoiding pressure-testing or resistance sparring to prevent injuries and keep paying students comfortable.
• Saying it’s too dangerous to use.
• Fake flashy Techniques
• Instructors who claim to use "no-touch knockouts" or chi blasts rather than realistic, biomechanically sound self-defence.
• Mandatory Testing Fees: Charging hefty fees every time a student tests for a new belt,
• Making it nearly impossible to fail the test.
• Some clubs are franchises – be careful!

What you can do
Look out for the above signs.
Always give the class a try and don’t be pushed into signing up to anything,
Ask for any hidden or additional fees like insurance or club clothing and equipment.
Always ask lots of questions of why you are doing xyz in the class, this is good.
If they give you an unclear answer be wary.
Do they have a DBS certificate if teaching kids class?
There are Free classes that you can always try out, this is a good way to have a go without any commitment. Obviously, there is a catch as it’s a good way to get you to join. Also try all different types as not all clubs are the same even 2 karate classes in the same style can be very different.

BE AWARE !
There have been a lot of recent attacks with machetes and knives in Bournemouth and Poole
While it sounds like a good idea to go and do some training against weapons this may be much worse than no training at all the best thing you can do in this situation is run away and not confront them , no amount of training will make you like Jason Bourne and is more likely lead you into a false sense of security and then get seriously hurt , rather than using your natural survival instincts and flee. It takes 1000s of hours to be half good at this and one small, tiny cut in the wrong place and its game over.

Is boxing or karate dangerous to teach young kids?
No, it isn’t so why do people think Wing Chun is?
Wing Chun doesn’t reply on how hard your bones are, that’s why it’s good until old age as they are then very brittle. Wing Chun is not meant to be force on force it’s about very cleaver angles and body mechanics. This makes it ideal for everyone, especially smaller person like myself.
I teach kids not for the money but so they can help themselves if they ever need it.
Sure, if you train a hard-core traditional karate style kids may get a few damages that they later in life will suffer, but this style is not very common anymore. I and many others I know all did karate from the age of 5-6 onwards and have no effects later in our life and Wing Chun is a softer style in some regards so perfect for children to learn.
Our classes start from about age 6/ 7 – dependant on their ability to understand what we are doing, and we also have a lad with some difficulties and has come on leaps and bounds since his first class a few months ago and is now a completely different person in class.
For people who don’t know what body mechanics in Wing Chun are: -
Body mechanics in Wing Chun is the science of generating maximum power and stability by aligning your skeletal structure, relaxing muscular tension, and using your whole body's mass as a unit. It replaces raw muscular strength with geometry, weight distribution, and efficient leverage
Instead of pushing with arm muscles, practitioners stack their bones (shoulders, elbows, and wrists) to form a supportive framework directly behind the strike. This channels the force of your entire body mass through your skeletal structure, allowing smaller practitioners to output massive force
Wing Chun techniques are oriented around your center. Power is generated not just by the arms, but by combining a moving center (driving your entire body mass forward into the target) and a turning center (using hip rotation and spine torque to multiply the force)
Rooting is the concept of connecting your body to the floor. By pushing correctly through the heels and dropping weight via the legs, force is driven upward from the ground, through the waist, and out to the point of impact.
This can all be used in unison to unbalance your opponent
This may sound like magic, but I can assure you that it is very real and can be used in combat.
Here is an example of a small person showing the energy that they can generate through structure Just look at the video below.

AMAZING Wing Chun Demo on Absorbtion - Chu Shong Tin Wing Chun Hong Kong https://www.mindfulwingchun.online/In this video Chu Shong Tin dem...

Children’s martial arts
Some Wing Chun schools won’t hold children’s classes as they say it’s too dangerous or won’t be effective enough against an adult, this is normally from someone who doesn’t fully understand it. I know that I would rather my child knew how to bite, eye gouge, kick, punch and know some groundwork that might just give them enough of a fighting chance for them to get away. Body mechanics to some extent will help a smaller person take on a larger one. This is what Wing Chun is all about. We try to make it as realistic as possible within reason, so they aren’t shocked if something did happen. please message us for more info

We train because we love it, not for profit, just for the pleasure. I don’t see the subs as money rather I see it as a token of respect. Quality doesn’t come cheap, but I keep the class rates low just to cover my overheads and nothing more, I tend to use my own money to buy any equipment needed. Nothing is ever FREE in this world there is always a catch or alternative motive
We train in a fantastic art and have a strong linage where you must put in the effort. We feel that you must also pressure test what you have been taught, otherwise there is no point. This is vital, otherwise it won’t be effective when you need to use it. “Learn how to use and not to copy “
As Wong once said, I let my hands do the talking, he famously declared that if you wanted to know how good your Kung Fu was, you didn't need belts or forms.
Wing Chun generally doesn’t have gradings. I have had people turn up saying I have xyz grade in Wing Chun, but this is meaningless in the real world an attacker won’t ask to see your credentials, this grade is normally only club specific and not transferable to any other linages.