No one else? No problem!

I hear the following question fairly often. Perhaps it’s one that you have as well!

This issue comes up when a student is going away for some time. Also, training partners aren’t always available. Or, there’s curiosity about how to employ all means of advancement, which is four-fold.

One of these layers is Personal Practice. It addresses the problem of:

How can I train by myself?

This is what I do and tell my students to try. I invite you to join us too:

Form

Benefits: Stronger foundation and higher refinement

Choose one of the WingChun Forms you know:

• Siu Nim Tau (Small Intention)
• Tsum Kiu (Seeking Bridge)
• Biu Jee (Darting Fingers)
• Mok Yan Jang (Wooden Person Pile)
• Gerk Fat (Leg Methods) I
• Gerk Fat (Leg Methods) II

Commit to doing it three times:

1. First, train at normal speed to warm up. Just be natural.
2. Second, train at slow speed for best technique. Calibrate everything.
3. Third, train at fast speed and stress yourself. Keep it clean!

Function

Benefits: Clearer visualization and deeper coordination

Remix your Forms by creating new sequences, such as starting from:

• Right Man Sao (Inquiring Arm)
• Left Wu Sao (Protecting Arm)
• Jing San Ma (Frontal Body Stance)

Then proceeding to:

• Right Gan Sao (Dividing Arm)
• Left Wu Sao
• Right Juen Ma (Revolving Stance)

And finishing with:

• Right Wu Sao
• Left Tsong Kuen (Thrusting Punch)
• Right Jin Bo (Arrowing Step)

That’s a simple example. The permutations are endless. Here’s a tip! Think about an attack or combination and how you would resolve it.

Flow

Benefits: Greater fluency and fewer gaps

Draw from Lat Sao (Casting Arms) or Puen Sao (Coiling Arms) and play the initiator A:

• Lat Sao 3A begins with Bong Sao (Winging Arm), Lap Sao (Pulling Hand) and Gwan Kuen (Rotating Punch)…
• Puen Sao 1A, 8th Student Level (8 SL) begins with Pak Sao (Slapping Hand), Tsong Kuen, Gwat Sao (Scraping Arm)…

Then switch and do the other role B in response:

• Lat Sao 3B responds with Pak Sao, Bong Sao, Wu Sao…
• Puen Sao 1B, 8 SL responds with Wu Sao, Bong Sao, Bong Sao…

Don’t forget footwork! But you get the idea. Can you smoothly run through each side to completion without interruption?

Finally

Do not attempt all of the above at once! Invest 5 minutes daily. If you have the time or motivation, add more. Avoid overwhelming yourself to sacrifice quantity for quality. For longevity, overzealousness is as detrimental as indolence!

Positive and negative are always concurrent. The con of solo training is that you don’t have dynamic impact or mutual feedback. The pro is that you develop keen self-reliance and discover your own connections.

Action does not replace, but vastly improves, interaction. Like a dance duo, your movements are half of the pair. It’s valuable when you trust yourself to perform both roles equally well.

Working alone is doing your homework! It allows you to get more out of class. It makes you a better study partner. It helps you ask effective questions.

Hope this outline helps. Let me know about your Personal Practice! How do you train yourself?

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