thoughts from gav & jof

I’m pleased to let you know that we have begun designing tee shirts that are suitable for those who are interested in Wing Chun Kung Fu. A small niche maybe but I’m sure we’ll get some buyers once the designs are spread around the interwebs.

We had originally considering using CafePress to host our designs but in the end Jof found a decent UK site that lets you theme your own mini store.

You can create an account and manage your details over at StreetShirts.co.uk

Our product range can be viewed here: http://www.streetshirts.co.uk/gavjof

Most of the designs will feature chinese characters relating to certain aspects of the Wing Chun Kung Fu system. For example several of the designs currently available show the chinese characters for the open hand forms. These being Siu Lim Tao (小念頭), Chum Kiu (尋橋), and Biu Jee (鏢指).

Below are a few of the above designs shown in red.

Without a map and a trail to follow we figured we'd still pack a compass as it would help us when captioning any really good photos; i.e. which direction you're facing.

This was our first good walk in a long while. We wanted to break in the new gear but at the same time wanted something that would get us out and about for a couple of hours. Gav and me figured we would drive somewhere nice so we could have a good walk rather than going somewhere nearly like Saltwell Park or Herrington Country Park. Don’t get me wrong both of these are great parks but I’d rather get away from people walking dogs, throwing frisbee, etc. There will be plenty of exciting places closer to home too but for time being we were thinking of the places we were often taken as young nippers. Places like Hamsterley Forest and Carricks Picnic Area always come to mind when I think back to family days out so these were the choices we came up with.

Carricks Picnic Area is 21.9 miles (41 minutes) while Hamsterley is 33.4 miles (58 minutes) away from Washington, according to Google Maps. However, we were able to get more information from the Forestry Commission website and this was the deciding factor behind us choosing Hamsterley as the destination for our first walk. Read more

A while ago someone shared this link with me and said it contained tee shirts for geeks:
http://www.lastexittonowhere.com

There is something special about this one though. It’s not simply tee shirts for geeks; it’s tees for movies fans, but done in a very clever way. You will look great out wearing the Nostromo shirt, but I bet that not many people will clock onto the fact that it is a shirt based off Alien. The site, references each film and shows the year it was released: e.g. Alien, (1979) together with a little quote for fans.

“The other members of the crew, Kane, Lambert, Parker, Brett, Ash and Captain Dallas, are dead. Cargo and ship destroyed. I should reach the frontier in about six weeks. With a little luck, the network will pick me up.”

I got one as a christmas present and have since orders another one for myself and a gift for another friend. Check out these awesome sci-fi designs below.

HAL 9000 – 2001: A Space Odyssey

OCP – Robocop

Nostromo – Alien

A good number of my clients come to me with very little knowledge about computers, and computer applications. They can do basic task in Microsoft Word and thus can use the WYSIWYG Editor in the website to update their content.

Problems arise when they wish to put a photo in the page. They both lack the technical knowledge to manipulate their images and, more over, they lack any software for performing such actions. So you get an idea, most only have Microsoft Paint which is included as standard in Windows.

The solution

Paint.NET

Read more

Wing Chun videos are very common online. Put the phrase wing chun videos into Google and you’ll find a whole host of results from the main sites like youtube, etc.
Look for Wing Chun Instructional videos however and you’ll notice these are few and far between. Sure there are plenty of show off videos where the instructor displays his apptitude by beating the living out of students would not who look out of place down your local night club.

Of course, the few instructional DVDs that are available are often expensive or are aimed at the intermediate student. The instructor expects a knowledge in the Wing Chun system or simply does not explain why things are done the way they are.

Now after 35 years of teaching Wing Chun Kung Fu on a full-time basis, Sifu John Agar (5th degree xxx A.M.A England) has developed his own series of wing chun videos aimed at the absolute beginner. Intended to give the complete beginner an insight into the highly efficient art, these videos approach the art as if the viewer was attending their first class. Sifu Agar introduces the wing chun system and goes through the basics. Sections cover: building up the stance, stance turning, stepping and sliding, punching mechanics and kicking techniques. The series of 3 instruction videos steadily progress adding more techniques within the wing chun system, allowing the viewer to appreciate the simplicity of the martial art and how it can be put together. Each video includes a section of Wing Chuns first form – the Siu Lim Tao. A bonus video that concentrates entirely on the Siu Lim Tao is also available and is included when the complete volume is purchased.

Overall the content within the videos is very good and would make for an excellent accompanyment for anyone starting out in the Wing Chun style. If you train in another martial art and are simple looking to gain more knowledge on the Wing Chun system you will also benefit from these videos. Advanced students may want to wait for some of the more specialised videos which concentrate on individual drills and partner applications but all will appreciate the Siu Lim Tao video and it’s practial applications.

To find our more about our wing chun videos visit:-
Martial Arts Instructional Videos