LO MAN KAM WING CHUN NORFOLK
WELCOME TO JOIN US
LO MAN KAM WING CHUN NORFOLK
Lo Man Kam Wing Chun Kung Fu Norfolk, VA We teach the Traditional Ip Man (Yip Man) Wing Chun under Grandmaster Ip Man’s nephew master Lo Man Kam Wing Chun system, and follow unique instructions of training from Sifu Gorden Lu the only direct descendent of Ip Man teaching Wing Chun in US. Systematically we will guide you in developing your own style of Wing Chun. How is this possible and is it for you?
Let’s explore these questions a bit further to see. But first, let me tell you about our lineage. Lo Man Kam Wing Chun Norfolk is teaching by our senior instructor William Blackwell who studied under Sifu Gorden Lu since 2010 at Virginia Beach Wing Chun Kung Fu School. Sifu Gorden also is the son of Master Lo Man Kam (Grandnephew of Grandmaster Ip Man).
Now that you know who we are, let me explain what you can expect from our training. The first thing that you will learn is the first form, called Sil Lim Tao. It literally translates as “little idea,” or “little imagination.” It’s called this because it gives you the basic structure of stance and hand movements. Each movement has an idea behind its proper use and execution. We don’t learn to fight from the form, we learn the ideas of how to use these movements and structures in the fight. Everything that you do has a purpose and is rooted in something that can be broken down and understood. By understanding what you’re doing, you’re able to determine for yourself whether you’re doing it right or wrong. This is how Wing Chun works.
When We teach you a technique, we will show you where it comes from in the form. In knowing where your techniques come from, knowing how to execute them correctly, and knowing how to correct yourself when you mess up, you’re in essence teaching yourself. It’s like when the teacher asks you to check your division problem. What do you do? You multiply the divisor by the answer. If you learn how to physically correct your own techniques, over time, you will be able to measure how well you’re progressing for yourself. You won’t have to wait for the instructor to tell you or give you a belt to prove how good you are.
When we see that you have an understanding of what you’re doing, We will give you more to work on. You will get to a point where the instructor won’t have to show you all of the possibilities. You will learn to see them for yourself. This is what we consider developing your own style of Wing Chun. There are principles and ideas that dictate the best moves to make in a fight. One of Wing Chun’s principles is to use one of your hands to control two of your opponent’s hands. We call this “one controlling two.” There are several ways to do this and we will teach them to you. Over time, you will learn that you are more successful at “one controlling two” with a few of the techniques others.
Not only can you do them against one particular person, but most of the time, and against most people, those techniques work well for you. You will have classmates that may be good at certain techniques that you may not be so good at. This can be in part because of their size, height or natural ability. You both learned the same techniques, but use different techniques to get the same results. At this point, you are all developing your own distinct styles of Wing Chun that personally suits you. This is also what we mean by, “We don’t fight by the technique, we fight by the principles and ideas.” It matters not what techniques you use, but did you follow the idea and achieve the principle? If so, then you’re good! This is how Wing Chun works. This is also how it grows and remains relevant.
We don’t throw things away. Everything that you learn, you will use it again in some way. We learn to personalize what we do in order to make it the most effective that it can be. It takes time to develop this level of integrity in your Wing Chun, but it’s time worth spending. We can’t determine how long it will take you. You will determine that by how well you grow and develop, how much dedication you possess, and how well you can relax and allow your training to flow through you. There are books waiting to be written about Wing Chun in the years to come. The only way they can be written is through personal experiences and lots of sweat and hard work.
You have to walk a path in order to know where it truly leads. One can come back to tell you of the sights that they’ve seen, but it’s nothing like smelling the fresh flowers still covered in the morning dew, feeling the texture of the bark on the trees, and taking in all of the breathtaking views. Words won’t suffice. They only rob the firsthand experience of its splendor. Wing Chun is a very personal book that you write with your teacher and classmates, hand-to-hand, foot-to-foot and weapon-to-weapon. For those that walk the path of training long enough, they will learn that Wing Chun is so much more than just chain punches and push kicks. It’s something that lives in your bloodstream.
It works in your mind to give you new ways of perceiving reality. It proves to you that you can tackle a thing no matter how hard or complicated it may seem at first. It becomes a part of you that no one can ever take away from you. We invite you to come and journey with us to see where this journey may take you. Your book may end up different from ours, even though we’re all using the same notebook and pen. And that’s a beautiful thing.
William Blackwell
WELCOME TO JOIN US!
LO MAN KAM WING CHUN NORFOLK
@ Norfolk Baseball Academy, 702 W 22nd St, Norfolk, VA 23017
Instructed by: William Blackwell
William Blackwell is a Marine Corps Reserve Gunnery Sergeant, practices Ashtanga yoga, and has been a student of Sifu Gorden Lu since September of 2010. He currently teaches Wing Chun at the Norfolk Baseball Academy, 702 W 22nd St, Norfolk, VA 23017, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.
For more details, please contact him at:
(757) 581-1474 or willwingchun@gmail.com.
