Capital Region Hiking & Kung Fu

BLUF:I go in the woods, I hike, and I train Wing Chun Kung Fu. :)

INTRODUCTION AND FAQ
Hi, and thanks for checking out my Meetup! My name is Sihing Liam. I'm looking forward to training with you!

I've prepared a small description of this
meetup, what it covers and what I hope it
will do. If you have any questions, please
let me know.

WHAT THIS IS -
This is a meetup to learn and practice Wing
Chun kung fu in a safe and inclusive
environment.

WHEN IS THIS?
Generally, I'll run group classes at 12-2 in a public park somewhere. I'm also willing to do private lessons throughout the week with individuals or cohorts as requested and available.

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?
I am an advanced student, what's referred to as a Sihing or older kung fu brother.

My long term goal is to open a school and
teach Wing Chun, Tai Chi, and Qigong in
2032. I am currently working through the accreditation processes on those three things after having studied them over the last 24 years.

Knowing how to do something and being officially certified are not the same things.

In order to get to the next level of training I need practice and instruction time to round out my capabilities. Kung fu is learned through instruction but mastered via training with many different people.

WHAT ARE YOUR CREDENTIALS?
I started in 2002, in Wiesbaden Germany. It was a little place called the Dragon's Hall. They taught something very close to Leung Ting style wing chun, but I don't think they were actually connected to the EWTA. I didn't have the experience or context back then to really understand it like I do now.

2 years later, in 2004, I moved to San Antonio and trained under Sifu William Parker, of the Leung Ting lineage.

After I left San Antonio, there were no Leung Ting/IWTA trainers where I found myself. I'd also became injured many times over the years and was unable to move as well as I needed to.

Between that and deployments, I trained only intermittently over the next 20 years. Mostly, I'd find people with an interest and we'd train together until I left, they left, or life got in the way of scheduling more training.

This meetup is nothing more than an extension of what I've been doing for the last 24 years.

In 2022 I had been out of the military for 4 years. My fitness and health had gone from injuries and I was burnt out. I slipped and fell flat on my back on some ice that winter, heard a pop, and crawled into bed for 3 weeks. I later found out I had a T12 compression fracture in my spine.

Breaking my spine really brought things back into perspective to me. I'd grown bitter and complacent while been waiting to get better, to be the me I remembered.

I realized that wasn't going to happen.

I wasn't happy with who I'd become. I wanted to be happy, calm, peaceful - not bitter and agitated. So I decided to change or die trying.

The good news was, the fracture also tore out a lot of adhesions I'd had which prevented movement and rotation - but not all. I was able to move far more than I had in the last 20 years

Once I'd healed I started back into training as best I could. My wife spent a lot of hours in grinding the scars in my back, hips, legs, and feet down until I could move more effectively, and I've done a lot of rehab.

Part of that rehabilitation involved wing chun. I picked back up with the Moy Yat lineage, and then found the Chu Shong Tin style. My previous experience made absorbing the system far more comfortable and natural than doing repetitive weight exercises, and I credit a great deal of my current mobility and function to martial arts training.

I am currently practicing Leung Ting (a very energetic style), Moy Yat (much more "kung fu" style) and am enjoying learning and working through the Chu Shong Tin (CST) material under Sifu Nima King, which is more like Tai Chi in its approach.

I also started jiu jitsu in this period to help with bone hardening and more work on tearing my body loose from the old scars, although I am a rank beginner in this sport. I do find the philosophies and principles of both arts very similar, and I enjoy how they compliment each other.

So- credentials.

I am a retired United States Army Sergeant First Class (91B2O,68W3O,68W(f)3O,68F4O) with experience in trauma, rehabilitation, and orthopedic rehabilitation, as well as group and individual physical fitness, injury recovery, and sport specific rehabilitation.

I have no official lineage. I'm currently an official and accepted Sidai under Sifu Nima King, working through the CST materials.

This requires that I travel to China for instruction in order to be a certified Mindful Wing Chun instructor, and later (once a certified teacher) that I have students available to teach.

I'm not at a point where I can teach that lineage in an official capacity, but I can teach you really good wing chun.

In 5 -7 years, I should have my CST instructor credentials and will be able to grant that lineage to any who are training with me.

I have a great deal of background in working with injuries, both in myself and others, but no licensure or certification.

I'm currently working through my ISSA certification (personal trainer) as well, and intend to have that completed in the next 4 months.

WHY SHOULD I WORK WITH YOU?
*Because you want to get in shape,

*Because you understand that:
-the best medical insurance is physical fitness.

-the best mental health insurance is confidence and calm.

-the best personal injury policy is readiness.

- eyes shining with confidence can defuse any situation.

*Because you want to practice an effective martial art style.

*Because you love hiking

*Because you want to maintain physical health and fitness into old age

*Because you understand that price and value don't have to be related.

*Because you have a life, and want a schedule that works with yours.

*Because you'd prefer 1 on 1 instruction over the group classes you see everywhere you go.

*Because I avoid the primary issues I've run into in my own life with finding quality training.

The issues with wing chun specifically and martial arts schools in general are - outside of an insecure or unsafe environment, which is it's own issue - are 3 fold: technique queens, paywalls, and lack of clarity.

*TECHNIQUE QUEENS: A lot of wing chun players can't perform their technique under actual pressure. This is because they have no idea what tui ma training is, and haven't had their techniques pressure tested or trained them into their bones.

A normal class is - do 300 punches, then do a few techniques, then go back to punching but at your partner who is now holding a shield. This is general for any martial art school. Warmup, technique practice, live practice.

This leads to people who can DO the technique, but can't do it well or at all against opposing technique. They don't have the experience to recognize the opportunity to use the technique. They weren't given time to get the technique "into their bones", as the saying goes.

There is also, frequently, a lack of continuity in technique training. One technique does not lead to the next, as it should. In proper instruction, everything should build on what you've previously learned instead of being told "forget everything you know and start over with this."

My training is progressive, cumulative, and continuous.

*PAYWALLS: If you go look at most martial arts schools reviews, the number one issue in bad reviews is about the cost or the lack of refund. This is complicated - there are a lot of people who want to learn, but just can't afford to go.

It's a hindrance and a problem, but one I've solved. You never have to pay. The details are below, but you only need to show up in good spirits and I will teach you what I know. No paywall.

*LACK OF CLARITY: In my experience, most schools to some degree frown on being asked what the promotion requirements are. You get told that it's all about attendance, etc.

In others, the promotion requirements, tests, and skill requirements are clearly laid out. I've always preferred the transparency of the latter, myself. It promotes self-motivation and direction.

My students get a list of skills, and those skills are grouped into lessons. You have full clarity on what skills you can learn, in what order, and how long each lesson takes to complete. You will know exactly what it takes to learn the entire system.

WHERE DO YOU DO THIS?
It'll be in public parks and travelled areas for initial engagements and group classes. Once I get to know people, I'm willing to do the classes in more natural environments.

I love kung fu and nature. Doing one with the other is a way I focus on my mental health and keep my refreshed. This class is a way of doing those things with the added benefit of social engagement. Nothing makes us learn as quickly as other humans.

HOW DO I DO THIS?
Mostly, show up. Communicate.

Wing chun is easy, but requires a great deal of repetition to develop the hei.

I'll discuss hei more in person, but it's one of the 3 internal energies you'll be generating with regular practice.

All you need is good athletic shoes or kung fu slippers, loose pants or sweats, a water bottle, time, transportation, and patience.

AM I TOO OLD/SMALL/INFLEXIBLE/OUT OF SHAPE?
No. Wing chun starts easily and progresses with you. No kicks are above the waist. It's a boxing and trapping style of kung fu designed for women and smaller people to manage larger people.

All you need to do is show up regularly.

WHAT SHOULD I WEAR?
Hiking clothes and boots or comfortable shoes. No jewelry, short sleeves if possible.

WHAT DO I NEED?
For anyone coming, I'd recommend bringing a training partner. Almost all of this is partner based, which is why I'm doing it - there is only so much I can train on by myself with a sensitive, internal energy style.

Working with someone you know would likely be more comfortable than working with a stranger, at least in the beginning.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT? WILL I GET HURT?
This class will have absolutely no fighting.

This is a beginner level, cooperative class. No one will be hurt. Anyone disruptive or combative will be removed.

Wing Chun is a style composed of a great number of partner drills. The first 23 lessons have some partner drills and some individual skills, but after that it's almost all partner games that you will learn to play with fellow Sidai/Simui.

The curriculum, until a regular class develops, will be the same. Kung fu is all about repetition, wing chun doubly so.

WHAT'S THE COST?
That depends on what you want. MEMBERS OF THIS MEETUP CAN ALWAYS TRAIN FOR FREE.

*TRAINEE: you learn for free. You can attend my meetups and I will train you for free, everything I know, but you will recieve no lineage or sash (belt).

*STUDENT: This requires a monthly subscription, which at this time is $40. As I get more students, that price goes up - but not for the students who are already enrolled.

Your price stays locked in at the rate you start, so long as you maintain your payments.

Students are granted sashes for promotion and accorded lineage. They are allowed to perform the skill testing to confirm the practical application of each skill.

Students are given a full understanding of the material needed to progress and have the ability to choose what lessons they work on.

The subscription cost covers my admin costs and the time and materials to track your progress officially.

I will continue as such until Dec 31, 2032 or longer under the following terms:

Each month, so long as I am physically or otherwise able, I am willing to provide 16 hours of free instruction in classes and individual training. I do this in 2 hour blocks, 1 each week in a group setting and up to 4 a month for individual training.

HOWEVER- I hate that everything in our society is paywalled. So I will teach for free, provided you have the heart and the drive to learn. All you pay is time, and all you recieve is training.

The training is what's important.

HOW BIG IS THE CLASS?
Ideally, I'm looking to create a network of small groups. The 12-2pm scheduled classes are just starting pounts, designed to hold me accountable to my training time and progression. Meetup has an average engagement rate of 1% to .1% engagement, so I'm fully aware that the type of people who join this, myself included, are famously loathe to actually commit until they see success.

I also use what I call a See, Do, Teach triangle which is optimal for three people. This allows work with people who want to train together and still not be left out while someone else gets hands on instruction.

My goal with meetup is to get where I have several individual trainees and students, all getting personalized instruction. Group classes are great for established students, but they also lose that joy and challenge that can only be gained through one on one instruction.

My goal for myself in this process is to become a personal trainer who specializes in eastern internal martial arts.

WHAT WILL THE CLASS COVER?
Generally, it will be a small amount of hiking, followed by training, and then back to hiking.

The skills taught start with an introduction to myself and the style, and an overview of what it takes to learn the entire system - lessons, skills taught, hours required, etc.

From there, I go into the stances and punching techniques as the 2nd and third lessons. Further lessons cover additional skills as you progress.

I usually allow a Sidai or Simui (younger kung fu brother or sister) to work on up to 10 skills at a time. The curriculum is set and developed, and you will know exactly where you are in terms of completion at all times.

In the winter, I will snow shoe out and train. It's beautiful. I highly recommend it.

I look forward to training with you!