WCATS Blog

Soicial Network

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 23:39:21 +0800

As most of you may know, I like to make a commentary at the end of the year about the outgoing year.

This year, Time Magazine chose Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg as the Person of the Year 2010, “for connecting more than half a billion people and mapping the social relations among them, for creating a new system of exchanging information and for changing how we live our lives.”

That is a fact; however, how does it change our lives? Positively or negatively? For better or for worse? I’m sure Time Magazine’s editor chose those words carefully to make it ambiguous, so that it is open to interpretations.

I did not have the opportunity to read The Accidental Billionaires: Sex, Money Betrayal and the Founding of Facebook, but saw Hollywood’s version, The Social Network.

The movie, as well as the book (apparently) portrays Zuckerberg as a man with no social skills, who created Facebook from ideas of slandering and picking up girls, and from backstabbing fellow Harvard classmates and friends. How much of that is factual or fiction we will never know; however, it is a fact that he was sued by 3 parties and had settled out of court.

As Time Magazine claims, the Man of the Year title is not an honor or award, but a recognition of the power of individuals who shape our world.

The movie shows that Zuckerberg didn’t know where he was going with Facebook, but it grew on its own. I suppose that is why author, Mezrich, titled the book The Accidental Billionaires.

So, why did it become so big?

Some years ago, I had read that social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, and Tweeter, were going to be the next big thing, and I didn’t believe it.

Selene signed up in Facebook some months ago, and I found her on it constantly--if not totally hooked. I wondered what she was doing. A couple of months ago, I signed up my online gongfu school in Facebook, hoping to attract new students; however, Facebook created a personal account additionally from the information I had entered. I began to understand Facebook.

Selene was “social networking” online, but de-socializing from the real world. She was making friends worldwide online but not building any locally. Her time on Facebook was taking her away from family, school work, hobbies, activities, and any other social contact. Because I was also signed on in Facebook, I could see what she and her friends were doing in Facebook. I found that there was really no communications between them. Each of them only talked about himself or herself. There were no questions asked about each other. It was only about I, me, myself. They posted self-portraits of themselves, always looking like someone they were not. Picturing themselves incessantly was bordering narcissism. I had to put a cap on how long Selene could spend on Facebook.

I’m sure there is a place for Facebook in our lives today, but what is it doing for most people? Are people becoming so lonely and anti-social that they need to pretend to be sociable online. Does collecting hundreds of unknown friends mean more than having one best friend? Will these friends come to your side when you’re down and out?

Facebook’s phenomenon may have been caused by our society’s trend to be heard, seen, and recognized--a need for attention. Perhaps it began with graffitis, t-shirt messages, and car bumper slogans. Facebook gave us the avenue to write on walls, make comments, post pictures and videos, and express our likes and dislikes. Although a great vent out ... at what cost?

We all know that radio, TV, and internet sites survive on advertisement money. So what’s fueling Facebook? There are no advertisement banners or popup windows. Well ... it can’t be surviving on the goodness of Zuckerberg, can it?

My guess is that some corporate companies are benefitting from the personal information that half a billion folks are happily and freely providing Facebook. How it will be used against us is a scary thing to imagine. In one article of Time Magazine, it spoke of the FBI visiting Zuckerberg. What business would FBI have with a squeaky clean boy like him? Database?

In one aspect, we’re fighting governments’ inspection and intrusion into our private lives, and in another, we’re giving information willingly and freely for everyone’s scrutiny. Does that make any sense?

What Facebook is offering is nothing new. We were already connected to friends and information with the birth of internet. Email made it convenient for us to write to friends, vendors and clients. Web browsers made it easy for us to find information. Blogging made it easy for us to record journals, express ourselves, and keep our friends posted of our activities. So, what’s new about Facebook? Well, it lumped all of it in one site.

The weirdest thing about Facebook is how people have become so willing to open their lives to the public. Well, that began before Facebook. The reality TV shows did that; however, it could only cover the lives of certain people. Facebook made it available for anyone to display their lives to anybody else.

With all this social networking, is anyone really being sociable? Selene writes me from a yard away instead of talking to me. Keaw expresses her frustrations with me online rather than talking to me face-to-face. Now, is that what social networking is about? Is that Mark Zuckerberg’s idea of social networking? Is that who we want to become?

Survey reports say that folks working for Zuckerberg say that he is the best person to work for. That’s whom computer nerds all want to work for today. That may be true; but as they say, “Birds of a feather flock together.” These employees are a bunch of keyboard-pounding guys who may only understand social life through computer screens rather than face-to-face interaction; their version of a great guy may be someone who they know only through text, pictures, and videos.

This commentary is not meant to bash Facebook or Zuckerberg, but to look at where we’re going as a society. Are we letting technology run our lives? Are we heading towards a science-fictional life where robots will rule us; or are we there already?

With the way things are going, the coming generation will never know what it’s like to make one’s own simple toy, listen to parents tell stories of their lives, enjoy a picnic with friends, being formally introduced to new friends, shake hands warmly, wait anxiously for a letter in the mailbox, miss someone whom one hadn’t seen for a long time, or yearn to hug and kissed a faraway loved one. All that is being substituted by short-term virtual fixes, technologically made or programmed by some corporation that has no interest in you personally, but its own pockets.

Can things ever be reverted back to how it was before? Definitely not. However, many of us like things the way they were. This is why some of us travel temporarily or permanently away from this new environment to somewhere and somewhat “backward,” to where how it used to be. Even these high-tech designers need to break away from their environment momentarily, to go to the backwoods of Bali or Mali. They refresh themselves to become human again, interacting with the natives; however, no sooner, they’re back in their tech farms manufacturing more machinery to enslave mankind.

There is no denying that technology is needed and that it helps mankind. However, one must strike a balance with it. With moderation use of it, we can still have the cake and eat it too.

Click the Play icon (right-pointing triangle) below the picture to remind us of the way we were.

Challenge

Wed, 1 Sep 2010 08:05:19 +0800

Around June of 2010, I was discussing with Sifu Nelson Chan and Sisook Lester Lau about the validity of the story of Yim Wing Chun overpowering the warlord who was trying to force her into marriage. New "researches" are stating that there wasn't even a person such as Yim Wing Chun or Ng Mui, and that a woman was never involved in the development of the art. However, the new researches are hearsay just as the one about Yim Wing
Chun. There are no written records to substantiate either researches.

However, based on our understand of the art itself, we've concluded that Wing Chun had to have been born by a woman or womenfolk. and that the story of Yim Wing Chun overpowering the warlord is likely true.

The other question that came up was, how long did Yim Wing Chun train for the fight?

My estimation was 6 months; whereas, Sisook Lau's was 3.

Whether the story was true or not, the question that comes to mind is how short a time can an experienced martial-arts master train a novice to become proficient enough to overpower a fighter with some
experience?

Isn't Wing Chun suppose to be the ultimate fighting art? If so, shouldn't someone with proper training not be able to overpower someone of another system, or someone in the same system with improper training, in a shorter training period?

Yim Wing Chun must have trained 6 to 8 hours on a daily basis, for 3 to 6 months, for the fight. She may have had more than Abbess Ng Mui to train her, as she was in the Daliang Mountain region, where matriarchal societies existed, and where a women's fighting system may already have existed. Based on 6 hours a day, she would have put in 540 hours of training in 90 days; more than modern martial artists put in a year (6-hrs/week times 52-weeks equals 312-hrs). So based on the
sophistication of the art, and the number of hours of training, it doesn't appear to be unfeasible for Yim Wing Chun or a serious novice to train daily for 3 months to overpower a marital artist with 3, 5, or even 10 years of poor training or system.

The opportunity came for me to test out this theory when someone had the time and desire to train under me for 3 months on a daily basis, and I also had the time and desire to train him.

The student was Michael Charles. His home is in Trinidad. He had graduated from Computer Science in the U.S. He has been teaching English in Xian, China, for the past 3 years. He had done some Karate training in the U.S.

I decided to take this challenge (upon myself) to my Lijiang home and school (in Yunnan Province of China), where the environment is befitting. Not only did I have the clean air, space, and tranquility, but to some of us, the birth of the Wing Chun system.

To our misfortune, I had only 2 months time to train my student. To our good fortune, I got another student who made the commitment to train daily for the 2 months. We also got one of my online students, Eddie, come to train for 2 weeks. He is a Belgian of Romanian origin. He had learned Wing Chun for 3 years in Belgium, and 2 years in Beijing. Although we don't want to use him as the opponent of the challenge, he
would be a good person to gauge and judge the progress and results of the crash-course challenge.

Michael started on August 9, 2010; Libing started on August 19; and Eddie joined us from August 30 to September 9.

For your interest, I have video-recording of the training sessions, which you can view at http://wcats.com/Misc/Videos/.

Below, are some reaction from readers, and my responses concerning the
challenge.

Rafael Avella from Spain:

"Just to give a personal opinion to the Wcats members about the "Challenge".

I am sure that everyone is quite nervous to check the result of this 2,5 months training period.

I would say that besides the final result, it is very interesting to view the training methods that Sifu is going to use to teach the new students.

This kind of information will give us the great opportunity to grow a little more and to advance with our WC development.

For me, the final result from Sifu's new students overpowering a M.A. with more than 5-10 years experience, it is not the most important matter.

I don't even think about if that is possible or not; but my main priority is to learn from how Sifu is guiding this guys to become a good martial artists in a very short period of time.

Big Hug to Sifu and my Brothers"

Bash from UK:

"I must say well said, i cant see why all the controversy, really! there must be narrow minded people if they take everything literally, as a newbie myself im paying close attention to how your students are progressing, and if im not wrong i can see that they are doing SLT at a satisfactory level, and from the way you have taught me i can appreciate
the importance of having a good understanding the fist form. I can see their movements flowing quite smooth and accurately which i guess will help them start to understand the power of soft vs hard movements, which I’m still learning my self. I wish you and your students all the best with the training, keep up the good work guys."

Gregorious Jonker from Australia:

"Just wanted to wish you goodluck and admire the students whom taken on this task. I know by my own experience that there are methods of training and teaching WC, that will excel the progress of oneself or your students.

Wish I could be there and support you. It'll be Fun."

Rogelio Rodriguez from US:

"I had been training VT for no more than 3 months, and had up to lop sao no changes, so basically all I knew how to do was pak sao, pak dar, lop sao and 1st part of SNT.

A friend invited me over to her home town, and while we were there she asked me if I'd like to visit her martial arts school that she had attended for some time and maybe train with them. Since I am a martial arts enthusiast I accepted and went over to pay a visit to the school.

There was a black belt at the school that seemed to be the higher rank and was shouting orders to the rest, in a military fashion, he was pretty cocky about it. He saw me and when I told him I had done some kung fu he said that he wanted to spar with me, so the whole class put on their sparring gear protections and got in pairs while he faced off with me.

His fighting style had a side jumping stance, like some taekwondo or karate styles, and his way of fighting included high kicks and feint punches to the air. Long story short, I had to work really hard at being respectful and not laugh out loud as I saw him fall repeatedly to the ground when his high kicks were run over by my chain punch and he fell to the ground, or when his feint punches where not reaching me as I
watched him and then turned on my chain punch blasting through
everything he had.

I sparred with everyone on that school, and no one had anything to do against my three months of VT.

When we left for home and no egos were to be hurt I couldn't stop laughing when my friend told me that a chubby 10 year old looking japanese kid was asking her what he could do to learn what I was doing."

Rafael Cruz from US:

(1) "Not so "out there," when you consider what it is that you are attempting. That is, to experiment with a method to test if an individual could be taught in a shorter period of time. While many things may not be probable- everything is possible. Indeed, what the mind can perceive the body will certainly follow, given the right method and circumstance.

I believe that you make a good point in asking the question as to defining proficiency in the scope of time- after all, who has determined that time and made it law? We do see the mixed martial arts practitioners excel in their craft in short periods of time.

So, physically- yes, at least they will be better off than they were. Mentally, I think it has to take time (but how much time?) - I suppose that will be a consideration of your venture.

Actually, I am over here biting my nails anticipating the result of your experiment. The application can be valuable to all Ving Tsun practitioners, regardless of their respective time and level. For, if a "newbie" can achieve a level of proficiency in a short period of time, how much more can an individual with a more "seasoned" mind.

I wish you well- I hope you succeed :-)

P.S. An after thought...I remember reading in the book, "There Are No Secrets," where Chen Man Ching stated that sometimes he would get a student who "got it" after a few months of dedicated training- yet, typically most people required many years. I had always been curious about that statement."

(2) "I just spent some time on the WCATS (Sifu Danny Xuan's site). Well, the man has it! Great teacher as well as martial artist. And very funny (hilarious), down to earth person. Sifu Xuan, I truly enjoy your videos-will most likely subscribe. So, the Sifu criterion is definitely there from what I can tell. Still, even if the student criterion is filled, can the neuromuscular conditioning be achieved in three months? How
about the mind and the heart? This is very exciting, I will follow this one closely. Wish you well..."

(3) "Hmmm, I suppose if a student were trained round-the-clock
(excluding time to eat, sleep, move bowels, micturate and hygiene), he might be able to attain a significant level of skill. That is, assuming that the student is talented, reasonable and devoid of sufficient ego to learn, and the Sifu is not only knowledgeable("master" level) but also able to verbalize (teach). However, as I understand Ving Tsun, there are attributes that must be developed which require neuro-conditioning. I do not believe that the process of neuroplastic development ever needs to end- thus, a serious ten year practitioner reasonably would have developed attributes which should theoretically be more sophisticated in comparison to one who has trained hard for three months. It is very difficult to break through the level were strength yields to skill(sensitivity, relaxation, coordination, timing and balance). It takes faith to muster the courage to let go of the perceived security of physical strength thus giving in to the development of these necessary attributes. Mentally, achieving that level of faith does probably take some time. Indeed, a stronger individual or one that has previously learned a "harder " method would probably be impeded by his strength or
knowledge. So that given individual would need more time to unlearn what he had prior to the development of what is required to achieve a truly sophisticated level of Gung Fu. What Sifu Pajil describes as "stop and go," or the development of the skill to be able to tense and relax fluidly seems to me necessitates quite a bit of time as well. How much
time? I certainly do not know. The practitioner that has achieved that level of skill would most certainly destroy another who presents simply with strength and aggression... Indeed, the method of the mind as well as the method of the heart are intangible factors which would be required as well- these appear to me to take quite a bit of introspection, experience, and time. Lastly, how is the so called, "ten
year practitioner" to be chosen? The comparative result can be
manipulated based on the person chosen, I would assume."

Angelo B from US:

"I am interested in becoming a member to glance at videos and to watch any kind upcoming attractions as Sibak Lester's challenge to you. I think it is possible for a quickening of a students skills, rather than waiting years and years. Especially if a concentrated and interested effort is given by both student and teacher. knowledge made comprehensive to the student can encourage interest. I am very interested in this as I was in a school where I stagnated for 8 years and it is because of no passed knowledge and progression in those
places. I was aware early on about this but I stayed just to keep a hand in the art and did not know of any other places to turn to. This was during the mix everything together stage of martial hell and it took its toll, but I am still here and like what you have shown here. I would like to wish you luck with the challenge."

Aldo Cataldo from Italy:

"Grazie Sifu per aver risposto. Ma non si offenda se le dico che non ho capito molto da questa risposta. D'accordo, non c'è lotta ma un "test".
Ma le chiedo: " In cosa consisterà questo test? Come si testano due allievi con tempi di formazione diversa per vedere se hanno la stessa abilità?". Due che si sfidano su qualcosa sapranno pure in cosa consisterà la prova!; altrimenti come fa ad accettare una sfida. Poi, l'allievo in 2,5 mesi dovrà raggiungere il livello di competenza o il livello di conoscenza di un praticante di 10 anni di pratica?. Si suppone che un praticante di 10 anni abbia già terminato il sistema (a
meno che non te lo insegni Leun Ting....in tal caso te ne vai in pensione con i coltelli!). Allora, poiché in 2,5 mesi gli allievi vedranno tutte le tessere del puzzle, anche se non composto completamente, significa che vedranno anche rudimenti di palo, uomo di legno e coltelli? E se no, questo significa che le forme non a mani nude non sono poi così indispensabili? So già che lei ha già in mente tutto il programma che intende svolgere, per cui ha già la risposta.
Sicuramente non sa come risponderanno gli allievi per questo l'obiettivo finale rimane incerto. Comunque se ha difficoltà a rispondere, non si preoccupi. Non intendo insistere più di tanto. Era solo una mia
curiosità. Saluti e buon lavoro.
P.S. Se non l'avesse capito ...
faccio il tifo per lei!"

"Ma ... questa sfida ... contro chi deve essere fatta? Dove deve essere fatta? Con che modalità si svolgerà? Ci sarà un "ring"? Insomma, visto che veniamo continuamente informati dell'evento, ci può dare qualche informazione più concreta a riguardo?"

My response regarding to queries on the "challenge."

(1) "I want to clarify a few things regarding the "Challenge," which WCATS and Moy-Yat VingTsun Clan have been querying about.

There is no upcoming "Fight."

The Challenge is not between my student and any particular 10-year veteran VingTsun or other style martial artist. The Challenge is for me to enable my students to reach a level of 5 to 10 year level of another training program within 3 months. The Challenge came from Sifu Lester Lau, and I accepted it.

The Challenge came about when we discussed how much training time Yim Ving Tsun may have received from Abbess Ng Mui to enable her to overpower the warlord who was trying to force her into marriage. My estimation was 6 to 12 months; whereas, Sifu Lester Lau's was 3 months. It certainly wouldn't have gone past 12 months, as no one would wait so long for a fight or marriage.

It doesn't really matter if the fight between Yim Ving Tsun and the warlord was a folklore or had really occurred. The question is, how quickly can a student be trained to become proficient in Ving Tsun. I've been doing Ving Tsun for 39 years. I've gone through the ropes, and have learned from mistakes. With all the information I have, can I
condense it, and pass on the vital data to a student to bring him up to a level where he's able to overpower an average martial artist of 5 to 10 year practice?

Martial arts training program has always been for the teacher to give the student pieces of information like a jigsaw puzzle, whereby, the most faithful and enduring student is given the last piece. The pieces are taken out of a bag and given one at a time without the student ever seeing the finished picture (as in a jigsaw puzzle box). Now, what if a student is shown the picture first, and given the jigsaw pieces. Wouldn't he have a better chance of completing the puzzle in a shorter
time than one who hasn't seen the picture?

Although 3 months is too short of a time for me to train a student to become proficient enough to overpower a martial artist of 10 years, I've accepted the challenge as a challenge to myself (rather than my student against another martial artist).

I actually have only 2.5 months with my students in Lijiang. However, I will do what I can to make them as good as a 5-year VingTsun practitioner, or maybe more.

Of course, I need to test the result of my training program. I will try to find a martial artist of 5 to 10 year experience for them to spar with; someone who's not out for blood. However, it will not be an easy task, as who will want to be in his shoes. If he wins, everyone will say, "Of course, he had 7 years over the 3-month practitioner." However, if he loses, he loses BIG TIME!

I know someone in Lijiang with 20 or more years of experience in martial arts. I will approach him, and see if he is willing to participate in this test.

In the mean time, don't wait for a big fight event. I'm recording my students' progress. At the end of the training session, you can judge for yourself if they're at a level where they're able to fight practitioners of 5 to 10 years of training.

(2) "Obviously, it is an unusual task and challenge that I've taken, which is causing much controversy.

What we're trying to understand is how Yim Wing Chun was able to overpower a male martial artist. Sifu Nelson Chan, Sifu Lester Lau and I have discussed this. We believe that it was within 3 to 6 months ... PLUS ... more than Abbess Ng Mui helping her. In order for her to overpower a male martial artist in such a short time frame, she had to have been given different perspectives of martial arts.

Books and movies come from imaginations. However, some derive from reality, and some become reality (like science fictions).

For example, in the movie, Prodigal Son, Leung Jan was trained by Leung Yeetai and his brother to overpower a much more experienced martial artist in a short time. This theme is retold over and over in Chinese (and now Hollywood) movies.

We believe that a women fighting system existed before Abbess Ng Mui and Yim Wing Chun formulated the Wing Chun System. They both were in the Daliang Mountains of Sichuan and Yunnan where matriarchal society existed. The last of the matriarchal society still exists today in the Yunnan region.

We believe that the matriarchal women were involved in the training of Yim Wing Chun; not just Abbess Ng Mui. Don't ask me for proof. This is just our pathological deduction.

We believe that the matriarchal women who taught Abbess Ng Mui and Yim Wing Chun had a fighting method that was not systemized yet. It was Yim Wing Chun and her lineage who later formulated the system. Like all things in life, a practical method begins before a system is born. In the ancient days, there were no medical, business, or science courses or degrees. People conducted their practice from experience and verbal pass-down of their knowledge. Courses and schools were later formulated. Similarly, there were no forms or a system when Yim Wing
Chun was taught to fend for her life. The forms and overall picture was designed later. Thus, in a way, it is not necessary for me to teach all the forms to my students in this special program. However, since we DO have forms now to give us an overall picture of Wing Chun, it would only speed up the process of their learning. The forms are the working manuals of Wing Chun that the fore-parents of Wing Chun left us with.

Although the Dummy, 6.5 and Dummy forms are the closing pieces of the Wing Chun puzzle, it will not be necessary to teach them the form themselves; they're just training tools. The important aspect of these forms, just as with the open forms, are the messages within, and what formulates the Wing Chun concept.

Two reasons that I won't be teaching these tangible forms. First, we don't have the time to cramp all the forms. Second, it won't be fair for me to teach my newbies the whole system when I have not done so with my long-term students.

My Newbies will receive intensive training. Michael is putting in no less than 6 hours a day of training; out of which 3 hours are instructional, and the other hours towards drills. Libing is doing 3 hours per day.

Everyone is getting wrapped and hyped up over the "test," when they should be more interested in the overall progression of these students. Look at how Libing is performing SLT in 5 days, and how Michael is doing overall in just 2 weeks. One must consider how they themselves were doing in 5 or 14 days of Wing Chun schooling.

One 10-year-veteran WC or other style martial artist will obviously differ from another with same amount of training time. So, the test is really irrelevant. I've seen and met many 10-year-veteran WC practitioners who have no substance. In fact ... you and I know that there are well-known sifus out there with no substance.

What I'm trying to achieve is bring the level of my Newbies to a level whereby they can overpower a practitioner who has spent 5 to 10 years in a system that has little or no content, or perhaps match someone of 3 years training in a good system.

As I said, the challenge and test are upon myself, not my students, to see if I can condense my knowledge and formulate a training method that can speed up the learning and application process.

The variables of a test is far too wide to consider it seriously. The result of this concentrated training will only surface later when my students one day exchange hands with another martial artist or fighter at a given time of its own.

Although readers are interested and concern themselves over the final test ... I am not. I will recognize their ability at the end of the training session, and so will other sifus with keen eyes."

Rod Sands from Australia:

"I've always found that the issue is not physical rather its the mind's ability to absorb and process the (new) information. ie found that I've learnt more upon reflection than instruction. Interesting experiemt nethertheless."

Sifu Tom Chi from US:

"This is of course, absurd.

The very nature of Ving Tsun interaction is one which precludes sport due to how dangerous the applications are. Therefore we courteously desist after exposing a weakness of our opponent rather than to literally kill them (with ease). It is difficult to test under real circumstances and we use caution in how we apply it.

If a student wastes ten years of training then a talented newbie with a great coach could prevail. However, a real student with ten years training would absolutely destroy a new student no matter who the coach is.

I have seen people who believed they were Ving Tsun practitioners who used aggressive chung chi and kept punching on the centerline who succeeded against other martial artists. They clearly had very little training and a lot of natural horseshitting ability.

So, the challenge is hype from my perspective and what I would normally see from those who not been to the mountain but could see the foothills and imagined what the mountain must be like.

On the other hand it's nice to see people have enthusiasm even if delusional and self-aggrandizing at that."

My response to Sifu Tom Chi:

"Dear Sifu Tom Chi:

Although I have not met you, I have high regards for you from the videos I've seen of you on your website.

Below is the mail I had sent out to members of my website. I had sent another saying that my goal was to train my new students to enable them to overpower martial artists of 5 to 10 years experience. I did not specifically mention VingTsun practitioners of 10 years experience.
Considering that there are so many crappy Wing Chun and other martial artists out there, I don't think that it is an impossible task. I took the challenge as an experiment.

Why should martial art be so difficult to learn? It will, of course, take exceptional teacher and student to accomplish a task such as one I've taken. Abbess Ng Mui and Yim Wing Chun did it. GGM Yip Man and Bruce Lee did it. Why shouldn't I or anyone else not accomplish the same.

There are 6 to 10-year-old child musicians, with only a few years of experience, who play the piano or violin better than adults with 10 to 20 years of practice; so, why couldn't a martial artist do the same.

Although Bruce Lee had done more than 3 months training, he had
considerably less training than many Wing Chun practitioners, and had accomplished a lot more than most veteran martial artists in his youthful age and in the time he had spent learning martial arts.

I'm not preparing my students to just box their way out, but to give them a complete understanding of Wing Chun in 3 months. This is not to say that they will be able to perform as they understand, but will allow them to continue developing themselves. With a clear overall picture of Wing Chun, they will have a better chance than those who have been
practicing for years with blinders on.

Best regards,

Daniel Xuan

Begin forwarded message:

From: Danny Xuan <xuan16@csloxinfo.com>
Date: August 23, 2010
7:52:46 AM GMT+08:00 To: WCATS Subject: Challenge

Members:

I accepted a challenge from Sifu Lester Lau to enable myself to teach a student to overpower another martial artist of experience within 3 months of training. I will be in Lijiang for less than 2.5 months, so that's all the time I have.

Michael Charles is from Trinidad. He started class with me on August 9. Libing is a Chinese from Nanking and Kunming, but living in Lijiang for the last 3 years. He started on August 19.

I'm uploading the videos of my class for you to see how I'm compacting the Wing Chun program to enable them to have certain amount of efficiency within the 2.5 months of training.

If Yim Wing Chun learned to fight and overpower a man within 3 to 6 months training, it should not be impossible to do the same with my students. The training program will be based on the Mother Theory that Sifu Lester Lau had revealed in his seminar in Toronto.

Jay Pawaskar from India:

I have been reading everybody's views on you being able to teach Wing Chun to a student in 3 months to overpower another student who has practised for a longer duration.

Well... I do not think it is impossible. I think you can definitely do it, because of the following reasons:

1. I know you are a fantastic teacher, a great warehouse of Wing Chun knowledge and a great orator, these being the only things that are needed for a successful teaching practice.
2. I know that your teachings are a literal transformation of the fact that 'One's ability to generate power is directly proportional to One's ability to relax.'
3. There is no third point. Everything I understand about you is summarized in the above two points.

Wish you all the best, and looking forward to news on your succesful deployment of a compact Wing Chun fighter.

**************************

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010: FOURTY FIVE DAYS LATER

Dear WCATS Members and Moy-Yat Clan:

I'm sorry to announce that the Challenge experiment would be put on hold as of today.

Michael Charles, the subject of the experiment, has run out of funds. He has some commitments which has come up sooner than expected. Also, he's finding the need for a break to digest all the information given to him in the past month and half.

Libing went to Kunming for a few days to spend time with his family.

As you know, I took the Challenge on myself, to see if Wing Chun could be taught in a much shorter time than usual. It is not an easy task for either the teacher or the student to continuously teach and train daily, 4 hours per day, for 3 months. Yim Wing Chun did it because she had a good reason and incentive to do it. We're in the 21st Century where we
have a lot more commitments than Yim Wing Chun would have had during her time. That doesn't mean that someone couldn't do it today; however, we have a living to do. I have expenses to maintain myself and family in Lijiang, and Michael has expenses for maintaining himself and future plans.

I've provided the videos for you to monitor the course and progress of the students. I did not plan a fight between Michael and another martial artist to prove anything or provide a circus for an audience.

Michael does not need to prove anything either. He is not under any pressure to complete the course or prepare for a fight. If he wishes to stop, it is his prerogative.

I'm satisfied and happy with the result of the experiment so far. Both Michael and Libing have done exceptionally well; with Michael training for 1.5 months, and Libing for just a month. They understand Wing Chun well, and are starting to make their bodies work accordingly.

One thing I've learned is that there is no need to create any special courses for the intensive program but to follow the regular Wing Chun curriculum. It is still the best course for long or short-term learning.

Anyway, we won't be quitting completely. Michael and Libing will still train together, and I will be there to monitor their progress wherever I can. I will still put out some videos, but not everyday. I'm going to take some time off from teaching to do some research on Wing Chun's origin in this region.

Regards,

Sifu Xuan

RESPONSE FROM VIEWERS AND FOLLOWERS OF THE CHALLENGE

"Dear Sifu,

I hope your time in Lijiang is as awesome as it possibly can be. I have heard that it is hard to find a good teacher, but harder still to find a good student. Although I have never met Michael and Libing, I'm are they are extraordinary people with extreme dedication and passion to the art.
They are hard to come by these days, thought that seems to be a common theme for people who gravitates toward WC. Please send them my regards and hopefully I will have a chance to train with them some day.

Best of everything, Champ"

"Sifu, per me l'esperimento è pienamente riuscito. Non c'è motivo di completare il tempo prefissato. Si è visto chiaramente che gli allievi in pochissimo tempo si sono mossi discretamente e ciò per la loro dedizione e per la vostra bravura. Ringrazio tutti voi per quello che ci avete trasmesso in tutto questo tempo. Godetevi un po' di vacanza.
Aldo"

"Danny: Thanks again for the intense VingTsun teaching. As an
experiment, it provided great insight into Vingtsun training. As for the student, it was an answer to their ability to how much information they can absorb. VingTsun is a life long learning and teaching science. Have more fun next time. Thank you, Lester Moy2 (10G VT) 9-22-2010"

"Dear Sifu:

Thank you very much indeed to led us the great oportunity to take a look at the Challenge Course with your two brand new Wing Chun students.

It is obvious the great improvement they had gane in a period of just 1.5 months.

Of course, we have been considering from the beginning that your new students were not in the same dangerous situation that Yim Wing Chun was involved....she had to learn how to fight for her life and freedom...that should be enough motivation for anyone to train as hard as possible.

I feel quite sad now that the challenge has arrived to an end but I must thank you very much for letting us be inside your kwoon and viewing your trainning lessons.....you know that as soon as I have the time, I will travel next to my wife for some trainning period under your guide wherever you are.

Best of Wishes Rafael"

"Hi Sifu:

I just want to say thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience of WC with us in this past month. It has been very interesting watching some of the videos that you have produced and from my experience i have know doubt that your students have now reached a very good level of understanding WC and with continuous practice will improve their kung fu dramatically. I can appreciate that this intensive experiment must of been a challenge for both you and your students and i want to
congratulate you all for taking time to do this. Well done everybody.

This has really inspired me to want to train with u again and i am contemplating bringing you over here to England to train me the same way for a few months (hopefully if i can afford it that is.) please tell me if would you would be able to come to england for about 3 months to train me for 4-6 hrs per day, and what would it cost me, i will pay for flight and accommodation.

Kind regards

Bash

***********************

OCTOBER 10: SIXTY DAYS LATER

Initially, I had decided to leave Lijiang, and return to Bangkok, where I have students waiting for me. As Michael wasn't able to pay for the course anymore, I didn't have any reason to stay here. Libing was brought in as his training partner, so I hadn't asked him for any tuition fee. Besides, he was already a friend of mine for 3 years, so was kind of out of line to ask for it. However, Libing over-compensated
the tuition fee with gifts and other givings; true to the Chinese tradition.

Later, I decided to stay and continue teaching for free, so I can complete the 2-month experiment.

On October 10, I invited a local gongfu master, Sifu Wu, to view, test, and access the abilities of Michael and Libing. Michael completed exactly 2 months training a day before. Libing was short of 10 days to make 2 months.

Sifu Wu is from Chongqing, Sichuan, and had moved and settled in Lijiang 9 years ago, when he was hired by local businessmen to teach gongfu and be employed as a bodyguard. He currently teaches gongfu to children in a primary school that has over 1000 students. He also has a school of his own in the Ancient Town of Lijiang, where he was adult and young students.

Sifu Wu has been involved in martial arts for 25 years. He has trained under several famous gongfu masters in China. Currently, he teaches mixed martial arts, geared specially for Sanda (free-style fighting competition). However, his specialty is in a rare style and branch of Southern Shaolin Gongfu which is only practiced in Sichuan now.

He was open to showing and discussing the form and style to me, and allowing me to video and show in my website at http://wcats.com/Misc/Videos/.

There are some similiarities between the Southern Shaolin Gongfu and Wing Chun, in that the moves are small, and mostly concentrated in upper-limb techniques and actions. The legs are used for grounding and kicking low.

Libing and Michael perform the 3 VingTsun open forms, and Sifu Wu was very impressed by their performance; stating that they were relaxed and able to explode their Qi when required.

Libing and Michael performed the VingTsun drills and Chisau exercises, and Sifu Wu was also impressed. He showed some of the drills and exercises from the Southern Shaolin Gongfu.

Then, I had Libing and Michael spar gently. Later, I sparred with Michael, and Sifu Wu sparred with Libing.

Sifu Wu rated Libing's performance at 2 to 2.5-year standard-training level, and Michael at 1 to 1.5-year level of standard-training.

You can view their test performances at http://wcats.com/Misc/Videos/, and judge for yourself.

With Michael gone, Libing has 10 more days of training with me (before I leave for Bangkok) to complete his 2-month Challenge course. I plan to give him special training on Chisao, legwork, and Dummy form.

If the chance arrives, I will have another gongfu sifu or martial artist assess and test his performance. If not, you can judge his overall performance from the video I will post on October 23.

RESPONSE FROM VIEWERS OF THE TEST

Certified Sifu from WSL Lineage, Rafael Riera in Barcelona:

Dear Sifu and Family:

I viewed the last Challenge videos. I see that Libing is doing very well, playing some soft sparring to the other Sifu.

Anyhow, Libbing still not using the best component WC has.."The Close-Range Fighting"...although he is new on that,.. every time he had the chance to keep himself closer to his opponent, he stood back and place himself ones again too far from the other Sifu.

By the way...Libbing got so many straight hands in the other Sifu's gates while the opponent use two movements: one to defend and one to attack, not simultaneously like in WC.

Although the other Sifu is doing great with MA form and I am sure he was not going full speed on Libbing, I can perfectly see and count how many times Libbing did break through the opponents gates, just using Tan, Lap, Fok,Pack-sao...the other Sifu was struggleling quite alot!!!...he seems not used to that direct attacks.

Also I see that Libbing still jumping around like in other Martial Arts. Well, I am sure that after some Mook Yang Chong and some more legs training, he is going to be able to perfom even better.

I really enjoyed the First Challenge test although still another video test to upload, isn't it???...

Tell, Libing that we are happy to have him as a good example of a constant person willing to learn from you.

TANGIER

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:34:12 +0800

The owner of the fitness center and I mutually agreed to terminate our joint venture at the end of October. There wasn’t enough interest from the members to learn Taiji, Qigong or Wing Chun, and I wasn’t getting personal satisfaction from teaching members who were not consistent in their attendance and interest. However, I did get quite a following of elderly ladies who felt the benefits of the Qigong exercises I taught them. They began to sleep and eat much better than before. Before I left, they begged me not to leave, and petitioned the owner to keep me on. However, it is unlikely to happen because it would not be a good business decision for him, and not a fulfilling prospect for me.

The owner was kind enough to let us stay at his apartment until the end of November, and longer with payment of rent.

I’m going to hang around here until the end of the year to see if other sweet opportunities come my way. The first one came from UK. One of my online students, Basheer, invited me and my family to meet him in Tangier (spelled Tanger locally), and teach him Wing Chun for 5 days. I thought it would be a nice break for the family to get away from Casablanca and visit another city in Morocco.

Basheer booked us at an international 4-Star hotel, the Intercontinental, which was located in a nice area not far from town-center and the beach. He took care of of all travel, accommodation and food expenses for 6 nights.

We took the train on Monday the 17th for Tangier. The ride was 5.5 hours. We arrived a couple of hours before Basheer’s family. They flew from Manchester to Gibraltar (an island belonging to UK), then ferried across to Algeciras in Spain, where they transferred to another ferry that brought them to Tanger. (See map below.)

Tanger is located in Morocco’s northern coast where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea. The city has quite a history and reputation, which you can read in Wikipedia.

Basheer had trained in few different types of martial arts previously, and got interested in Wing Chun through his father-in-law. He found my website and was fascinated with my approach, so took the opportunity to meet me because of our close proximity.

Generally, local hotels in Morocco are not quite as nice as those in Thailand unless they are 4 or 5-star international chain hotels. Intercontinental is an international chain hotel, so was very nice; however, rather expensive for what they were offering. Our triple-bed room cost 74 ponds (about US$120) per night, which in Thailand would probably have cost half as much.

I conducted the Wing Chun lessons in the mornings and evenings so we had the mid-day free to explore the city.

We never took the taxi, except for going to and fro the train-station and hotel when we arrived and departed. We strolled the city instead everyday.

The only thing we didn’t enjoy about the strolls were the beggars who harassed us. There are plenty of them; from young to old, male to female, ragged to fashionable ones. They just don’t quit. They follow you, and don’t give up until you give them something; however, once you give, others come running for more.

The first outing was to the beach. We took side lanes instead of the main street to get there. The nooks and crooks of the alleyways were very interesting.

Click the picture below to see images of the alleyways.

The beach itself was nice; not so crowded. However, not as clean as it could be. Nonetheless ... a pretty sight.

Click the picture below to see images of the beach and the activities there.

We saw an unfamiliar scene where two mounted police caught two beach-thieves and booted them on the ground before handcuffing and taking them away. It looks like “human rights” may not be part of Moroccan vocabulary.

We made several trips to the city center. It is clean and interesting. You see mosques as well as churches. You see locals as well as tourists. You see old buildings as well as new. You see trees as well as the ocean. You see traditional attire as well as modern. People are generally more laid back than Casablanca folks. The city has Rabat’s cleanliness and Casablanca’s buzz.

Click the picture below to see images of Tanger’s downtown.

We were near Mohammed V Mosque. Basheer went there to pray one afternoon. He left his shoes on the rack by the gates. When he returned, they were gone. No they didn’t walk out by themselves; they were stolen. Poor fellow had to borrow tongs from the mosque to go buy a pair of shoes for himself.

Because of Basheer’s past experience and interest in martial arts and Wing Chun, he learned from me very quickly. He also had very good questions for me, which made my teaching interesting for me as well, which made me go past the 3 hours per day agreement we had made.

We enjoyed our visit to Tangier. It stimulated all our senses. It had great sceneries for the eye, fresh ocean air for the nose, tasty foods for the tongue, bustling activities for the ear, and warm companionship for the heart.

We were sorry to leave Tangier and Basheer’s family; however, it was still nice to return to our apartment and familiar surroundings, albeit, a bit of a dump in comparison. There is a Chinese saying that goes, “You can offer me gold or silver nest, but there is nothing like my twig nest.”

Now that we’re back in Casablanca, I’m putting out feelers to see what’s available in opportunities.

To finish off, here’s the link to a video clip (38 MB) of one lesson I conducted for Basheer on the prioritization of arm sections.

Here’s a link to a full-size video clip (50 MB) of the same for pay-to-view members.

Before signing off, I’ve got more sunrise and sunset pictures of Casablanca for you. You may be bored with them, but I can’t get enough of them. Just can’t beat Mother Nature’s art.

Click the picture below to see images of the couscous sunrise.

Click the picture below to see images of the tagine sunset.

Till the next time ...

The Book of Changes

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:54:09 +0800

The Chinese classic, Yijing, or the Book of Changes is believed to have been written in the mid 4th to early 3rd century BC. The character “Yi” represents simplicity as well as changes. The character “Jing” means the scripture, teaching, or classics.

The Yijing is the core of Taoism, Chinese culture and philosophy. It states that the core of the universal laws is simple no matter how complex they may appear to be. The substance within is continuously changing; however, there is a core principle within the substance that is persistent and unchanging regardless of space and time.

One of the universal Yijing laws states that everything which happens at a particular time is imbued with the characteristics of that moment. Even a chance event is a mirror of the moment. Therefore, every event is connected by virtue of the same moment. That every situation of human events has an inherent tendency to change; that the only thing constant is change, but the changes occur within cycles that can be observed, predicted, and acted upon.

There has been many changes in my life this year, and it continues to do so. After living in Thailand for fifteen years, I found myself in Morocco. After forty-six years of martial arts training, I found myself teaching it professionally. After ten years of single lifestyle , I found myself a companion. After 12 years of parenthood, I am renewing my status as a father.

In the chain of events, another major change occurred.

My student/employer in Rabat was assigned to attend a 9-month military course in Washington. He had told me of the possibility sometime ago, but we both didn’t know that it would happen so soon. He left early September. My work terminated, and will resume when he returns.

Within a week of unemployment, I landed another sweet contract in Morocco. My guardian angel, Hassan, who got me the first contract, happened to be in Morocco at the time, told me to meet him in Casablanca. He introduced me to one of Morocco’s wealthiest businessman, who owns miles of beach properties and businesses in Casablanca and other cities. One of his businesses is Morocco’s largest fitness center, Miami Plage (Beach), located right on the beaches of Casablanca. Within an hour of our meeting, the deal was done.

We packed our stuff in Rabat, and trucked to Casablanca. I was amazed at how much we had accumulated in the 5 months we lived in Morocco. We came with 2 large and 2 small suitcases, but ended up packing the truck with 30 bags of various sizes.

At Casablanca, my employer first put us in a hotel 300 meters from the fitness center, on Blvd De La Corniche.

Boulevard De La Corniche is Casablanca’s famous beach strip where private beaches are located. Beachcombers pay 50 dirhams (about $7) to access the beaches here.

Click the picture above to see images of Boulevard De La Corniche.

Miami Plage occupies about 40,000+ square feet of beach property. The fitness center covers about 25,000+ sq.ft space. It has one huge Olympic size swimming pool, plus a dozen small ones. It has weight-training, cardiovascular-training, aerobic, yoga, taiji, basketball, tennis, dance, esthetics, and sauna rooms. It also has restaurants and lounges for the members. The membership fee for a year is $5000. Apart from collecting income for the fitness facility, Miami Plage charges entry fee for non-members to access its beach. I’m informed that it collects $150,000 a day during prime seasons.

Click the picture above to see images of Miami Plage.

After 5 nights stay in the hotel, we moved into the apartment my employer provided us. Although it isn’t like the palace we had in Rabat, it is nice, big, and comfortable.

We have settled in our apartment quite nicely since; however, we’re not investing much into it because we’re not sure how long we will stay here. Besides, we’ve already accumulated too much in the 7 months we’ve been here, and would be problematic when we leave.

Click the picture below to see images of our apartment.

Although our apartment is quite bare, we’re enjoying it to the fullest. We watch TV in the living-room, eat in the kitchen, and hang out in our open terrace. I particularly like seeing and photographing sunrise from our bedrooms, and sunset from the terrace.

Click the picture below to see images of sunrise from our apartment.

Click the picture below to see images of sunset from our apartment.

Our apartment building is located a stone-throw away from the ocean. We can see it from our windows and terrace. The shores are used by shipping companies for docking their ships and containers. Because of our close proximity to the ocean, the air often gets misty and foggy.

Click the picture below to see images of a misty dawn.

I also like watching morning activities in the streets from our windows or terrace. They are always interesting for non-locals like us. The scenes are different from what we normally see in the West or Asia.

Click the picture below to see images of street activities in our area in the mornings.

We have mixed feelings about living in Casablanca. We like the excitement of a big city, but don’t like the pollution and traffic jam. We like experiencing the new culture and language, but have some difficulties understanding them. I enjoy the ambiance of working in a fitness center, but don’t enjoy teaching people who are not interested in Chinese martial arts and health programs, but are there just to fill time.

For Moroccan food, we enjoy Tagine the most amongst all. Tagine is the name of a type of Moroccan clay pot, and also the name of a cooking style that involves baking spiced-up meat and vegetables in this clay pot.

As for Moroccan people ... we like them. They are quite the opposite of Thais. They are thunderous and vociferous in their speeches. They want to appear and roar like tigers but are actually pussycats within. (Whereas, Thais are very polite exteriorly, but can be venomous and deadly.) A Moroccan argument always end up with smiles and laughters. They wave their hands and curse when another driver cuts in front of them; but when the two cars stop side by side at the traffic lights, the drivers go into a friendly conversation.

In general, they are extra polite with foreigners. People greet and welcome us in the streets. Often, they greet us in Japanese or Chinese. We teach them how to do it in Thai.

School children run to us to practice their English. They’re very friendly.

All the Moroccans we encounter help us learn their language. They don’t speak classical pure Arabic, but a dialect. The vocabulary is very expressive. For example, “cold” is “brrredrrrre.”

My biggest beef about Casablanca is the road traffic. It is absolutely disorderly. We’ve seen automobile accidents almost every day in the month we’ve been here; I was even involved in 2 minor ones. The accidents are dealt with quite strangely. The two parties argue for 30 minutes or so, and drive away amicably in the end. In the two that I was in, the manager of my work-place came out of the car with a big smile, shook the hands of the drivers of the other cars (Benz one day, and Volvo in the other), talked for awhile, and walked away patting each other’s shoulders. They didn’t seem to mind the dents in their cars--which you see on many cars.

Police monitor speeding and red-light runs, but don’t do anything else. On one occasion, my driver was stopped for running the red light. It was resolved with 20 dirhams (less than $3).

People here drive any old way. A 3-lane road would easily become 5 or 6. At intersections, cars turn from all lanes instead of the most inside lane as in other countries; very dangerous, but commonly done, and apparently permissible. The drivers are very impatient. They’re always honking to rush the cars ahead of them. They never stay their lanes, and wiggle in and out of every lane and in between.

I’m chauffeured to and fro work, but don’t have the driver for weekends, so take taxis.

There are two types of taxis. There is the Petit (red) Taxi, which allows only 3 passengers in a car; however, the car is allowed to pick up other passengers when it is not full. That is to say, if there is only one passenger in the taxi, the driver will pick up 2 more passengers who are bound roughly in the same direction. The new passengers just pay for their share of the ride.

The other type of taxis are old white Mercedes; they just run straight routes. They just drive from one end of a main road to the other end. They can take as many passengers as they can pack. Each passenger pays 3 dirhams (less than 50 cents), and 4 in the evenings. They operate like a bus or a minivan in Thailand.

Buses are 4 dirhams each. Because we do not know the routes, we haven’t taken any. Besides, we’re living right in the center of the town, so have all the facilities nearby, and don’t need to go anywhere.

Last weekend we went to the Hassan II Mosque, which is the world’s second largest mosque. We went there the wrong time, when locals go in to pray, and tourists are not allowed. However, we were dressed in Moroccan attire, and were invited to go in for prayer; the guard told us that the women went upstairs, and the men prayed downstairs. We felt wrong to deceive the guards, so told the guard that we were not Muslims. He asked us to return in the morning for the tour. However, he let us photograph the mosque’s interior from where we stood at the gates.

Hassan II Mosque is structurally designed beautifully.

Click the picture below to see images of Hassan II Mosque exterior and interior.

It has graceful and curving hallways. The mosaic on the walls are colorful and creatively patterned. The marble pillars are elegant and exquisite. It has large open grounds for people to walk around and probably pray outdoors on special occasions.

Hassan II Mosque is located along the seaside where Moroccans bring their family for strolling, picnicking, and watching the sunset.

Click the picture below to see images of Hassan II Mosque seaside.

The sunset viewed from Hassan II Mosque is spectacular.

Click the picture below to see images of Hassan II Mosque sunset.

That wraps up the tour of Hassan II Mosque and this blog.

Casablanca and Marrakesh

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 04:31:53 +0800

A martial arts student of mine, Jan Schmidt, from Bangkok came to visit us on June 3. We went to meet him in Casablanca, where he was arriving from Berlin, via Madrid.

Jan was arriving at 13:45. We took the morning train so we could spend some time in Casablanca.

I looked forward to the visit just because I knew the name of the city from one of my all-time favorite movies by the same name, and also from a very a romantic song. I didn’t know much about the city, but having held the name in my heart for so long, made me feel like I was visiting a long lost friend.

The ride was exactly 1 hour to Casablanca Port. From the train station, we walked 40 minutes to the famous Hassan II Mosque, the largest mosque in Africa, and the third largest in the world. (See details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_II_Mosque.) It was quite spectacular. Unfortunately, we arrived too early in the morning; the doors were closed for indoor touring.

Click the picture below to view images of the Hassan II Mosque.

When we finished our tour, we went to the tourist information booth, and asked the guide to point us towards the city center. He showed us a map, and told us to look for a set of twin towers as our landmark. We asked for a map, but he said it was his last, so couldn’t part with it. We asked how long it would take to walk to the center. He said 30 minutes.

The walk turned out to be more than an hour. The twin towers, which I had imagined as skyscrapers like those in Kuala Lumpur and New York, turned out to be just average 25-floor office buildings found plentiful in Canadian and American cities. These were the tallest buildings in Casablanca.

I had expected too much of Casablanca. The lovely movie (albeit, there was an unimpressive Rick’s Cafe near the train station), the romantic song, and first impression of Morocco through Rabat made the visit a let-down. It was congested with automobiles and people. There wasn’t much greenery around. The streets and buildings looked unkempt. Although we were told that shopping would be fun, we didn’t find the shops and fashion interesting.

I suppose one couldn’t judge a city fairly on a half day’s visit; however, the first impression is usually long lasting.

Click the picture below to view images of Casablanca.

We had arranged to meet Jan at the Ain Seeba train station at 14:35, however, he wasn’t there. We ended up meeting him at the Rabat station at 17:00 instead.

Jan is a veterinarian. He works for an organization that helps and funds non-profit veterinarian groups worldwide. He is based in Bangkok, and travels to countries to monitor groups that the organization funds.

He began learning Wing Chun gongfu from me in May or June of 2008, attending 4-6 hours every available Saturday or Sunday, accumulating approximately 170 hours so far. He has developed a strong bodily structure; however needs to work on the coordination and softness of his limbs.

On June 6, Jan’s friend, Paul, from Germany, arrived to join him in learning Wing Chun from me.

Paul has learned Wing Chun for four and a half years from a school in his town. He came to me to further his studies.

I taught them every morning and evening, turning them inside and out, from top to bottom, and from side to side. They came with little, and left with loads of valuable info.

Click the picture below to view images of Jan (photographed by Paul, with the exception of the one below).

Click the picture below to view images of Paul (photographed by Jan).

The day before Jan’s and Paul’s departure, we all went to the beach for a short outing.

Later, Jan and Paul treated us to a fine lunch at the seashore. We had to laugh at our waiter who gave bad ratings to every dished we asked about. Jan would ask, “How’s this anchovies dish?” The waiter would cringe his face, and shake his head. He did that to almost every question. We just had to choose on our own gut feelings. The food turned out to be great.

Click the PLAY button to view a video clip of our beach outing.

Jan and Paul left in the morning of June 11.

*********************

On June 15, another Bangkok student of mine came to visit me from UK. Barney had started learning Wing Chun from me in May of 2008, however, after 7 months of studies, he left to live in Northern Thailand. Then, he returned to Bangkok after I left for Morocco. He trained with my other students, and came to Morocco for some private lessons.

Barney is a big fellow. He stands 185 cm (over 6 ft) tall, and weighs 100 kg. He has learned how to use his size and weight to his advantage; however, he needs to learn to manage his strength and balance his Yang force with Yin.

We decided to take a trip out of town. We got a ride to Casablanca, where we caught a train bound for Marrakesh.

From the time we arrived in Marrakesh till the time we left, we were hit on by vendors, beggars, and storekeepers ... non-stop. It was quite tiring and irritating; but then, we were in a famous market-place in a typical touristic city.

We sat in an outdoor restaurant for lunch. Some young kids performed acrobatics; then they demanded payment. Dancers in the streets did the same. You almost need to walk around with your eyes closed lest someone demands money from you for looking at them.

Barney went to an orange juice stand, and decided to go to the next one because the queue was long and slow. The vendor got upset and yelled at him for walking out on him.

We got a large room with air-conditioning in a hotel, right in the market square; however, the air-con didn’t work well. We roasted in the room.

We toured the market-place, which was a maze of shops. We bought Moroccan shoes, which turned out to be 25% more than Rabat’s price.

Vendors grabbed our wrists to pull us in their shops. After knowing their peculiarities, I had to do some grappling techniques to free myself, to which they responded, “Bruce Lee? Jackie Chan?”

Every time I raised the camera to my eye, my subject would either want money or throw their hands in anger. So, I used my belly-button for eye instead.

Nonetheless, it was an interesting tour.

Click the picture below to see Jamaa el Fna through my bellybutton.

In the evening, we went to our hotel terrace for coffee and juice. The night view of the market was quite spectacular.

Click the picture below to see images of Jaama el Fna at night.

In the morning, when we took breakfast at the same terrace, the scenery changed completely. It was unimaginably serene even though there was quite a traffic of pedestrians and vehicles.

Click the picture below to see images of Jamaa el Fna in early morning.

Because it was so hot in the hotel and Marrakesh, we decided to check out and go to Esaourira, a beach town 170 km west of Marrakesh. We walked to the bus station. On the way, I photographed Marrakesh people and streets. They’re definitely more fast paced than Rabat folks.

Click the picture below to view images of Marrakesh folks in the streets.

When we got to the bus station, we just missed the morning bus. The next one was departing 7 hours away. It was too long to wait or hang around in Marrakesh; so, we decided to return to Rabat.

Click the picture below to see images of Morocco’s landscape between Marrakesh and Rabat.

Upon arrival to Rabat, Barney said, “Back to civilization again.” Indeed! Marrakesh is a nice place to visit; however, Rabat is the place to live.