This is a review of the 4th Friendship Seminar, held in Los Angeles, California the weekend of January 12-14, 2001. The featured speakers were Sifu Benny Meng, Sifu John Crescione, Sifu Jerry McKinley, Sifu Marty Goldberg, Rene Ritchie, Dave McKinnon, and Dzu Ngyun.

The workshop began Friday night with an information gathering at the location for the workshop. A group of volunteers helped clean and prepare the workshop area for the next days' activities. After cleaning for several hours, the volunteers went out to dinner, discussing many Wing Chun topics late into the night.

Saturday Morning breakfast outside the hotel.

Saturday morning began with last minute preparation of the room. The day's workshop began with an introduction of the hosts, speakers, and participants. It was pointed out several times that the purpose of the Friendship Seminars was to gain an understanding of what other people do. An open mind and a willing attitude to learn were asked of all participants. Many lineages of Wing Chun have different points of view in regards to history, teaching, training and combat. The goal of the Friendship Seminars is to help understand the differences in the various lineages and build friendships and understand history, teaching, training and brotherhood in the Wing Chun community.

Speakers' Introductions

Following introductions, each lineage in attendance demonstrated their first form or its equivalent. The demonstrations were
 

Crescione Wing Chun by John Crescione
 

Sum Nung by Rene Ritchie
 

Wong Sheung Leung by Jerry McKinley
 

Traditional Wing Chun "Advanced" Siu Nim Tau by Marty Goldberg
 

Robert Chu Method by Dzu Ngyun
 
Ving Tsun Museum Curriculum by Benny Meng (Chahm Kiuh), Mike Mathews (Siu Nihm Tauh), Jeremy Roadruck (Biu Je)
Hung Fa Yi by Benny Meng, Alan Kong, Mike Mathews, Jeremy Roadruck
 

Yik Kam's Siu Lim Tao by Hendrik Santo

After the form demonstrations, the first speaker Sifu John Crescione discussed body positions as trained through forms according to proper skeletal and neurological function. According to Sifu Crescione, stances must be based on maintaining proper body function. An improperly aligned stance created a weak structure. When our skeleton is properly aligned, the ear, shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle are all in alignment. Wing Chun stances should maintain the same alignment. In a proper Yi Jih Kihm Yeuhng Mah, the knees are the only part of the body to change. The bending of the knees matches the tilt of the hip. When standing normally, one's weight should be felt between the middle of the foot, directly below the point where the ankle joins the foot. He used participants and applied kinesology (muscle testing) to demonstrate strong vs. weak alignment. The waist is the connection point between the upper and lower body. If the tailbone is "locked" under the hips in an extreme fashion, the spine is curved and the body is functionally disconnected. Overdeveloping the muscles at the front of the shoulder can also create this curvature. One of the reasons to pull the hands back in Siu Nihm Tauh is to maintain equal muscular development between the front and back of the shoulder. This can also be accomplished by doing pushups with locked elbows and moving the shoulder girdle up and down rather than pushing up with the arms.

Also included in Sifu Crescione's talk was a demonstration of a type of stretching known as proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF). In this type of stretching, pressing in the opposite direction exhausts the muscles that pull the body part to be stretched. A more detailed description will be included on the videotape of the workshop to be produced at a later date.

Following Sifu Crescione's lecture was Sifu Benny Meng of the Ving Tsun Museum with two assistants. Jeremy Roadruck discussed the political history of China from the transition of the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. This was followed with the oral history of the Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun lineage.  

Jeremy Roadruck discussing Wing Chun history

Benny Meng discussing the Hung Fa Yi's creation

After returning from lunch, Sifu Meng continued the discussion of Hung Fa Yi, placing the Saam Mouh Kiuh concept into combat through the Time and Space concept. Using Taan Da, Sifu Meng demonstrated and discussed the depth, height, and width (three-dimensional space) of Taan Da as it exists within the Hung Fa Yi system and its relationship to Jeung Ng's nickname of "Taan Sau".

Next up was Sifu Jerry McKinley, speaking on trapping and throws in Wing Chun. In a relaxed manner, Sifu McKinley demonstrated several different types of throws available through various techniques and related the techniques back to the three forms of Wing Chun. Using the laahp sau drill as a platform, Sifu McKinley took the workshop participants through several exercises from trapping to throwing. According to Sifu McKinley, any strike is a throw and any throw is a strike. One does not look for a strike or throw; one merely takes the opportunity presented by the opponent. If one were to focus on just striking or just throwing, one might miss the opportunity for a "more appropriate" technique, the opposite of what is sought. Trapping entails more than merely crossing the opponent's hands, to trap an opponent one must control the opponent's body and/or center of gravity. Each of the hand forms link to the weapon forms: Siu Nihm Tau equals the Dummy, Chahm Kiuh equals the Pole; Biu Je equals the Knife. Each of the motions taught in the weapon sets can be applied with the weapon or as a form of lock or throw when empty-handed. A small booklet of notes was provided for workshop participants detailing different places to grab the opponent's arm as well as angles to throw and body placement.

Following Sifu McKinley, Rene Ritchie spoke on training progressions in the Sum Nung system. Covering much the same material as in previous Friendship Seminars, Rene began with proper stance placement as taught in the Sun Nung system. After learning to root the body, participants were given a progression to train "linking" and "de-linking" energy within the body and structure. The progression began with a redirection of an opponent's punch by using a laahp sau motion. After gaining some proficiency with the motions, the punching partner was given a way to counter the grab by "de-linking" his punching energy and structure and changing it to a bong sau. Variations on this exercise were also provided.

Sifu John Crescione spoke once again Saturday night covering Dim Mak in Wing Chun. The material presented was an overview of major Dim Mak classification systems combined with an exercise on aim. Sifu Crescione has conducted two workshops on Dim Mak and the material presented at the Friendship Seminar was an introduction to the same material in less than two hours. Supporting his lecture were notes detailing major acupuncture points for Dim Mak as well as the energy cycles in the body through the organs as defined in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Sifu Crescione's talk ended the first day's workshop activities. The group went out to dinner and several participants continued discussing Wing Chun late into the night.