The Importance of Proper Speed in Technique Execution

When practicing martial arts or self defense techniques, speed of execution becomes very important. Many martial arts schools believe that unless you practice at very fast or real time speeds, you will be ill prepared or unable to do them during a real life confrontation.

While full speed execution can be beneficial, it can also be sloppy and inefficient.

Varying your execution speed as competency increases can be invaluable if done properly. It is recommended to perform movements slowly when first learning. This provides an environment that fosters proper execution of all aspects of the technique. It is easier for a martial arts instructor to correct minor mistakes during the slower execution phase. This ensures proper movement, technical proficiency and allows for the student to be successful.

Once a student feels comfortable with the movement, it is possible to add pressure by increasing to moderate speed while still focusing on perfection of execution.

It is important to state that repetitions are important regardless of speed. This provides for training what is referred to as "muscle memory". Muscle memory means that movements practiced over time will become automatic and reflex responses. This is the main factor with variable speed training. Slow movements for perfection and moderate movement for added realism. During the moderate movement phase, it is possible to have your opponent initiate a strike at full, or near to full, speed. This allows you to respond to the initial attack in real time. Once the strike is deflected or blocked, the student can proceed at the appropriate speed to ensure proper technical execution.

In short, it's not necessary to practice or perform movements and techniques at full speed. Training for muscle memory with variable speed ensures that, when needed, the speed of execution will be there.

Now, when I speak of techniques I mean whole techniques. I am not referring to endless punching or kicking in front of a mirror or on a heavy bag. All this teaches you is how to punch and kick. Anyone knowledgeable in martial arts, MMA or self defence, knows that you must learn more than just that in order to be successful or victorious.

Siu Lum Canada is Winnipeg's Shaolin school. We teach the Siu Lum style of kung fu. Our training revolves around real life situations and real life solutions. There is no question that we will not answer.

Watch our video and get a glimpse of what we do at Siu Lum Canada.

Follow us on Twitter at @SiuLumCanada

Email us at siulumkungfu@gmail.com

Sport Training vs. Real Training

What makes Siu Lum Kung Fu (aka Shaolin) different from MMA or mixed martial arts?

I think the answer to this question warrants a deeper description as to what MMA or mixed martial arts started out as.

A very, very long time ago (as in almost two thousand years ago) an Indian monk named Bodhirama developed the first system of kung fu. Over many years and with many different practitioners from all over China who studied different forms of kung fu, they all formed one

complete and comprehensive fighting system – Siu Lum (or as you probably know it from TV and movies, Shaolin). Therefore, Siu Lum kung fu is technically the first real form of Mixed Martial Arts (or as you know it from TV and movies, MMA).

Interesting Fact Time: Did you know that most modern forms of popular martial arts have only been around since the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, such as Karate, Aikido and Tae Kwon Do.

MMA is a sport based martial arts system utilizing what participants, practitioners and coaches believe are the best techniques from multiple disciplines – nothing wrong with that, at least they’re

heading in the right direction.

The most common disciplines utilized for ground fighting are Brazilian jujitsu, amateur wrestling and catch wrestling. Techniques for what they refer to as "stand up" fighting are derived from Judo, Karate, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, and Tai Kwon Do.

These techniques all have one thing in common that makes them the perfect fit for the sport of mixed martial arts – they are all competition or sport based.

No matter what the practitioners of these individual arts or MMA say about the historical origins of their devoted area of practice, one cannot argue with the fact that sport has infiltrated the combat and real self defense applications of these disciplines.

This is not to say that some of these martial arts do not have movements that would work in a street fight; however, most of these movements are not taught due to the fact that they are illegal in the ring or there are liability and moral issues with teaching how to actually harm your opponent.

Sprawling, rolling and lying on the ground with your opponent might be an acceptable idea in the ring with a referee; however, in today's society a one-on-one fight might not be on the menu.

In a multiple attacker scenario the last place you want to be is on the ground or mount as you are open to kicks from your opponents’ friends.

As for stand up, all of the disciplines mentioned fight using linear method. This means putting yourself direct in line with potentially a bigger, stronger and better opponent. There are no weight classes in street fighting.

No one can argue that there are rules in competitions and MMA tournaments. These rules have been put in place to protect the competitors from kicks or knees to the face and elbows to the spine if they slip while attempting a take down. There are rules that prevent you from striking the throat, hitting certain pressure points, gouging the eyes and breaking fingers. In other words, the rules are there to protect the fighters from inflicting real(ly) serious damage.

There is a reason that practitioners of real Kung Fu do not or are not allowed to participate in MMA competition. Kung Fu utilizes a realistic approach to ending the confrontation as quickly as possible and with as little effort as possible. If you look back far enough say 1000+ years, you will be able to trace each of the martial arts mentioned back to the Shaolin (Siu Lum) temple.

What that means is Siu Lum is the root form of the majority of modern martial arts, and when an art is based on Siu Lum, Siu Lum practitioners can defend against it simply because we know its root form.

Throughout time other martial arts have taken a few root forms from Siu Lum (Shaolin) and created whole systems from them. When you know the root; you know the system. Bruce Lee started to strip away this corruption of the martial arts and get back to the root before his death.

In short, Siu Lum Kung Fu is a realistic martial art based in the historical and authentic origins of most modern martialarts. Practitioners utilize efficient and effective techniques that work in

all techniques and environments.

There is no place in sport for Siu Lum Kung Fu and no place in Siu Lum for sport based movements or techniques.

Siu Lum Canada is Winnipeg's Shaolin school. We teach the Siu Lum style of kung fu. Our training revolves around real life situations and real life solutions. There is no question that we will not answer.

Watch our video and get a glimpse of what we do at Siu Lum Canada.

Follow us on Twitter at @SiuLumCanada

Email us at siulumkungfu@gmail.com

The Siu Lum Cost Advantage

In today's society it’s always go, go, go; rush; rush; rush. It’s getting more and more difficult to commit to doing anything long term.

Work takes up to 8 hours (or more) per day. Then you get home and dive right in to the children's activities. With the day to day family life, it is understandable why most people don't make time for themselves.

Many activities require three or more days of commitment in order to extract perceived full value from them. This is usually why they are short lived. Life gets in the way, and before you know it, you are mulling over whether or not it’s worth it.

At Siu Lum Canada we train one hour per week. Where is the cost advantage? Where is the value? Let me explain and the answers will be evident.

What are the advantages to training once per week?

• It is far easier to set aside one hour per week when bogged down with a busy schedule.
• It allows the movements to move from the conscious mind to the subconscious mind and become reflex responses.
• Siu Lum Canada students are constantly challenged to remember movements under stress due to the break, and this simulates real life stress when dealing with the unexpected.
• The mind and body require time to absorb and recover.
• Allows Siu Lum Canada instructors to keep class sizes small and provide more personal instruction.

What do I do during the other 6 days of the week?

• Siu Lum Canada students are given numerous techniques and exercises designed to improve reflex response, speed, strength, as well as help them become more technically proficient during class-taught movements.
• 15 minutes per day time commitment for the exercises.
• Siu Lum Canada students are expected to reflect upon movements taught and imagine possible scenarios where they could/would/should use them. This provides an opportunity for the student to answer scenario based questions for themselves, or discover scenario questions they would like to bring to the instructors attention.

Now think about your current or previous class. It doesn't matter what martial art. There is training several days a week. What is the majority of that martial arts training? Cardio? Techniques? Do you practice punching a bag over and over and over again?

Let’s say you have three classes a week at one hour per class. You’re already up to three hours (in case you didn't know). Your travel time obviously depends on where you live. For arguments sake, let’s say 20 mins there and 20 mins back. Now, times that by three. Your travelling time per week is 120 mins (or 2 hours for those of you who are time telling disadvantaged). That’s 8 hours a month!

Now you’re up to 5 hours for one week. That’s 20 hours a month.

Now let’s factor in gas. If it’s winter time, you’re warming up the car to drive there; warming up the car to drive home. You get the picture. With the gas prices the way they are, and depending on your vehicle of course, you’re looking at minimum $100 per month if you’re lucky.

So, you think that you’re paying what the martial arts school advertises. You think that you’re getting “value”. Maybe you are, maybe you aren't. But, if you think you’re paying the advertised price of $80 (or whatever) a month and getting great value by going three times a week, you may very well be possibly wrong. You’re paying $80 + $100 + 8 hours of time spent away from your family because you’re driving + 12 hours of time spent away from your family because you’re in class.

THAT IS A VERY BIG COMMITMENT AND INVESTMENT.

The cost advantage or benefits for Siu Lum Canada:

• Predictable class schedule
• Real life, real time training
• Less travel time, meaning less gas money and time away from family
• Low time commitment
• More personal instruction
• Smaller class size
• Self-driven home training

Siu Lum Canada is Winnipeg's Shaolin school. We teach the Siu Lum style of kung fu. Our training revolves around real life situations and real life solutions. There is no question that we will not answer.

Watch our video and get a glimpse of what we do at Siu Lum Canada.

Follow us on Twitter at @SiuLumCanada

Email us at siulumkungfu@gmail.com

Province of Manitoba Unveils Anti-Bullying Plan Aimed at Youth

The province recently came out with an anti-bully plan. While I believe it's a step in the right direction, it just seems a little unrealistic.

While instituting laws to protect children may promote adult intervention, they become ineffective due to the CanadianYoung Offenders Act. When the consequences can't be enforced, and the youth of Canada are well aware of their rights and privileges under this act, this seems to be an ineffective route to dealing with the problem.

While I agree that awareness is a part of the solution, it is not in itself the solution. We are aware of bullying…anyone who went to, or goes to, school is aware of bullying.

I am 39 years old and was bullied in school. Not just high school, I was bullied in elementary and all the way to grade nine. I was small for the age, barely 5 feet tall and maybe 90 pounds. I was bullied by “friends”, groups and older kids. Now I don’t remember, and not that it is some excuse that warrants being bullied, if I would mouth off prior to these instances, but I do remember that I would run away a lot. I lived 1 km from school and would often run all the way home. If I was caught I would cower and wait for them to loosen their grip. Then I would strike them as hard as I could and run some more, hoping they didn't catch me. I used multiple routes to get home safe. I remember my mother bringing me back to school and complaining about the way I was being treated. I don't remember if there were ever any real consequences for my bullies.

Once I hit grade nine, I grew to 5’9” and 170 pounds. I caught up and passed my bullies and unfortunately took revenge by fighting them. I admit that I did become a bit of a bully, and I threw around my new found size. I have since found those people and apologized.

As I matured, so did my reasoning and my understanding of right and wrong. If I saw someone being bullied or victimized, and I felt I could intervene to stop it then I would. 

I have children who have been victimized by bullies, and as a parent I have stepped in where necessary. My children are in martial arts and sports to build their confidence and ability to stand up for themselves and what is right. I have educated them as to what is proper internet use and how unforgiving the internet can be. They are both teenagers now at 13 and 15. Do I still worry…absolutely. Do I talk to them regularly about acceptable behavior both on and off the computer? You bet I do!!

We have identified that bullying is a growing problem and yesterday was the time to find a solution. We need to get to the root of the problem. The article of the province's new plan is starting at the end of the problem and is working backwards to a solution. This will take too much time.

I'm sure my experience is not unique. I'm sure there are tons of children and adults that can remember when they were the victims of bullying. We need to educate our children from a young age all the way up to the time they graduate and enter the workforce. Include the effects of bullying as part of the curriculum at all grade levels. In history, point out the bully-like behavior of oppressive regimes like Hitler’s. Discuss what may have happened to him as a child to create such hatred.

We took a strong stand against racism in the early 90’s, and the tool was education. We now stand against intolerance due to sexual orientation, and the tool was once again education.

Given that we now know that education is probably the most effective tool to combat this epidemic, why would we waste time and money coming up with laws that can't be utilized effectively as a consequence? We need to empower our children with the knowledge to combat this form of intolerance. We may not reach all of them, but if we reach enough that are willing to stand up together against the bullies, eventually there will be no bullies to stand up against.

Siu Lum Canada is Winnipeg's Shaolin school. We teach the Siu Lum style of kung fu. Our training revolves around real life situations and real life solutions. There is no question that we will not answer.

Watch our video and get a glimpse of what we do at SiuLumCanada.

Follow us on Twitter at @SiuLumCanada

Find us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Siu-Lum-Canada/371969609504305

Email us at siulumkungfu@gmail.com

Our Violent Nature

A scorpion wanted to cross the River.  Unable to swim, he asked a frog to carry him over to the opposite bank.

“No way!” said the frog. “You’ll sting me and I’ll drown!”

“Of course I won’t sting you,” said the scorpion.  “If I sting you we will both drown, and that wouldn't make sense.” 

So the reluctant frog let the scorpion climb onto his back and started to swim across the river.  Half-way across, the scorpion stung him. 

“Whoa!” cried the frog.  “You said you wouldn't sting me!  Now we’ll both drown.  Why would you do that?”

And the scorpion replied: “it’s my nature.”

We, as a society, are beginning to live in a constant state of denial. We have forgotten our true nature. We attempt to suppress it daily, yet it finds its way out. We are violent. It is a fact. We all have violent tendencies. We try to fool ourselves into believing that we are incapable of violence.

Take this scenario for example: As a parent you come across a bully sitting on top of your child, punching away.

Do you:

1. Talk to the bully and explain what is wrong with his/her actions?
2. Do you wait to address it with the bully’s parents?
3. Or do you immediately and violently rip this bully off of your child?

I would go with the last response, and I believe most parents would do the same. Does this make me a bad person? I don’t think so. I acknowledge my violent nature, and through my martial arts training have learned to cultivate and control it.

By constantly trying to suppress our competitive, and sometimes violent nature, we are creating extremes. We have people who are passive and unable to deal with any conflict. By comparison, we have violent offenders. For our passive citizens the most minor action against them can be traumatic and shut them down; or worse, cause them to break down.

This can be seen as a random act of violence perpetrated by an otherwise good person. We are creating children who do not know rejection. We are afraid to tell them “No”. They grow up with this sense of entitlement and are unable to rationalize when they don’t get what they want. The schools don't make them repeat the grade if they fail. Recently in Edmonton, a teacher was fired for giving his students an F. Some youth sports already do not keep scores, so there are only winners and never losers. Parents are powerless to discipline their children due to societal norms. 

Our children grow up not knowing consequences. Kindergartens are taught about assault and what it means in terms of the law. We keep them so sheltered from any type of conflict that they grow up without the necessary rationalization skills to comprehend or think through a problem. Instead they act like toddlers throwing a temper tantrum and lash out at the very environment that created them.

There are people in neighborhoods throughout the world who face violence and death daily. By contrast, there are people in gated communities who try to put as much separation between themselves and those neighborhoods. We prefer to watch violence on the news and give thanks that it’s not happening here.

Well, it does. And it will continue to happen here. I am not religious, but I will occasionally use quotes I am familiar with. “Love thy neighbor”. I agree with this as it preaches treating others with love. However, it says nothing about trusting your neighbor. Without trust, there can be no betrayal of trust. You can love your neighbors all you want…there is nothing wrong with not trusting, and being cautious.

We get our fill of violence on television through our sports and cable programming. “It’s entertainment” we tell ourselves. Yet a good portion of these viewers will not admit that they are capable of the same violence that they are watching.

“To your own self, be true.” Accept and acknowledge who you are and the evil things you are capable of. This is the first step to being a good person. If you don’t believe you are capable of evil things, then you are in denial. Many “good” people who believed that they were doing what is “right” have been behind some of the most despicable atrocities throughout time. Hitler believed what he was doing was the “right” thing to do, and I’m sure he thought himself to be a “good” person no matter how deluded we think he was. The Catholic Church was responsible for a convert or die campaign during the crusades.

We cannot ignore these facts. They give us the ability to reflect, acknowledge and learn. Every culture has endured its level of violence. We have had wars over beliefs and opinion. Does it make it right? Nope, but it’s a fact.

Each and every one of us has had a moment where we have had a violent or aggressive thought and subsequently dismissed it. The fact that you can consider the action with thought is an indication that you are fully capable of executing that action. This doesn't make you a bad person. It just makes you a person.

We need to accept our violent nature. You cannot suppress your aggression to the point of inability to recognize it within you. Once you accept that you are capable of violence, then you have taken your first step towards controlling, not suppressing, your violent nature. It is part of our primal drive, and it is who we are.

I'm sick and tired of people blaming video games for our current epidemic with children. Be it obesity or violence. It's called parenting people. Be involved with your children. Invade their room and spend time with them. Engage them in activities and teach them the difference between right and wrong.

I know it's hard when two incomes are now required just to live and survive. I know you are tired from your day at work. I know your kids hate you and don't want you around. Make the choice today to intervene in your children's lives, and sacrifice some of the overtime and income if necessary to be the kind of parent you want your kids to grow up and be like.

I have made many sacrifices for my children and postponed dreams just to be sure that I would be an influential part of their lives. I can always make more money. My peace of mind comes from knowing I did my best to provide the guidance and support for them. Remember they learn from example, and if your actions don't match your words then you can't blame them for copying your mistakes rather than listening to your advice.

Siu Lum Canada is Winnipeg's Shaolin school. We teach the Siu Lum style of kung fu. Our training revolves around real life situations and real life solutions. There is no question that we will not answer.

Watch our video and get a glimpse of what we do at SiuLumCanada.

Follow us on Twitter at @SiuLumCanada

Find us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Siu-Lum-Canada/371969609504305

Email us at siulumkungfu@gmail.com

An Ounce of Prevention

There is a saying that an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure. Although this statement is normally references disease and illness, it is a simple statement that can translate into many aspects of life if you just use your imagination.

Violent crime is on the increase, and we are well aware of this. We watch the news and see a guy assaulting a woman for her cell phone of all things. This particular assault was an unprovoked, blitz attack. In hindsight we see what could have been done differently. But what are we doing to keep ourselves and our children safe now?

These types of attacks on women have been in the news recently. It's time for you to reflect on your daily activities and question yourself; could this happen to me? Could I be a victim of this type of crime? Are there any instances where I inadvertently expose myself to this type of situation? Most importantly, do I know what to do if I get attacked?

Each of us will probably answer yes to at least one of these questions. The big question to ask yourself is; what can I do to limit the exposure of myself, and my loved ones to this type of victimization?

• Be aware of your surroundings
• Be aware of suspicious looking people. If it walks like a duck...(better safe than sorry)
• Text and then put your phone away rather than walking and texting, or engaging in a conversation with your phone out in the open around suspicious people
• Give them whatever valuables they want
• Nothing is worth your safety and life
• Teach your children about the real dangers of the world
• Enroll yourself and/or your children in self defense (this action shows acceptance of the dangers and a willingness to learn how to avoid or deal with the dangers)

We live in a society where violence is becoming more commonplace, yet many of us still have an attitude that it will never happen to us. Unfortunately, we never think about it until it's too late.

An ounce of prevention is the equivalent to buying insurance IN CASE your house burns down. Failure to prepare is in fact preparation to FAIL!

Siu Lum Canada is Winnipeg's Shaolin school. We teach the Siu Lum style of kung fu. Our training revolves around real life situations and real life solutions. There is no question that we will not answer.

Watch our video and get a glimpse of what we do at SiuLumCanada.

Follow us on Twitter at @SiuLumCanada

Find us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Siu-Lum-Canada/371969609504305

Email us at siulumkungfu@gmail.com

Bully Proof??

I am writing this in response to a recent article I read in the Winnipeg Free Press. It seems that there is no end to martial arts schools “selling” themselves as a one-stop shop for the ultimate self defense or promoting themselves as the best (when compared to all of the other martial arts systems out there).

I caution parents and teens. This is a buyer beware market. Much like the unregulated nutritional supplement industry, there is no authoritative body monitoring claims these martial arts systems make. One must utilize common sense, and try to see through the hype.

There are a number of martial arts systems that are popular due solely to their “popularity”. Television, the Olympics and mixed martial arts competitions have driven up the perceived effectiveness of certain martial arts. A consumer must realize that these venues all have one thing in common...Rules.

Now I will go on record in saying that some martial arts training is, in fact, better than no martial arts training at all. The article presents a scenario of an attempted child abduction and then alludes to bully proofing your child. Not that the two wouldn't be interrelated, however a 5 year old using leverage to “escape” the grip of an adult male can be a little far-fetched.

As far as abduction proofing your child, the emphasis should be on prevention. If you are going to teach your child to do anything, it should be to attack a vital area: for example the eyes, throat, or a good solid kick to the shin. Then escape. Don’t forget scream, scream and scream some more.

Now let’s deal with the Bully Proofing portion of the article...

The article makes statements like “but the bulk of the program is learning to restrain a bully who is usually within a few years of the child's age.” This is wishful thinking. Regardless of how much age and maturity the child victim is giving up to his or her bully, there is also the factor of weight. This can put the victim at a disadvantage in trying to utilize techniques like tackling your opponent to the ground and having enough weight to keep the bully there. Once on the ground, the technique is to cling to your attacker until they get tired...or bored, I guess. Without any real consequences, all this will do is prepare your bully for your take-down attempts in future altercations.

I agree with some parts of the article. Tell your attacker that you are tired of being bullied. I would add to this that you inform your attacker that you intend to get adults involved: a teacher, for example. The next step is to tell an adult; nothing to change here. The final step, which I totally disagree with, is to tackle your attacker to the ground. This can lead to a myriad of negative consequences, such as you are now the attacker to any teacher or adult who sees the altercation from this point forward. It also creates an aggressive atmosphere for retribution. Your bully will want revenge.

There are more, but the main point missed here is that in today’s bully scenarios there are fewer and fewer instances where a bully does not have a group of friends around as back up. If you tackle your bully to the ground, you are now open to kicks and punches from attackers you were unaware of. There have been children beaten to death from multiple attackers, and this is not an acceptable technique given those potential consequences.

Remember a bully needs an audience, and a lot of times they are his friends or fellow bullies. So do not anticipate that your altercation will be one on one, even if everyone who is there says so. It’s a trap.

Now, I believe that the first step is for the parents to talk with the child and develop a plan. Address the issue with the involvement of the principal, wherein the bully is told that any harm done to your child will be seen as directly related to him. This prevents him from “assigning” one of his friends to “take care” of the victim.

If you believe that self defense training is required, then I believe the best forms for these types of situations are the ones that allow you to defend yourself from a standing position, deal with multiple attackers, use small joint manipulation and leverage, combined with your opponent(s) aggression.

Most martial arts have aspects of these elements within their systems without requiring you to hug your opponent or take them to the ground where you are open to other attackers. Most Kung Fu styles are proficient in joint locks and multiple attacker scenarios. Aikido and Hapkido utilize joint locks, leverage and momentum to their advantage.

In short, don’t buy into what you see on TV. Do your research, and find something that you can approve of. Make sure the techniques will not result in your child or yourself being charged with assault.

Remember if I punch you, and you kick me, you will be charged with aggravated assault. It’s not worth going to court when you are just defending yourself. There are other more effective techniques that allow you to control your attacker(s) with less likely legal consequences.

Some things to think about:

http://www.timesonline.com/news/local_news/ellwood-city-second-grader-attacked-bullied-on-bus/article_84fb97d9-a303-5c4f-8d43-a7641f08bbc2.html

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/teen-allegedly-bullied-television-interview-bullying-140353690.html

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/20/justice/new-york-bullying-attack-blind/index.html

Siu Lum Canada is Winnipeg's Shaolin school. We teach the Siu Lum style of kung fu. Our training revolves around real life situations and real life solutions. There is no question that we will not answer.

Watch our video and get a glimpse of what we do at SiuLumCanada.

Follow us on Twitter at @SiuLumCanada

Find us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Siu-Lum-Canada/371969609504305

Email us at siulumkungfu@gmail.com