Many people take an interest in martial arts for reasons ranging from health, hobby, interest, discipline, fitness, personal development and general cultural interest, but the core essence of all of them is the pursuit of practical and adaptable application.
Sifu Benny Meng, who is the curator of the Ving Tsun Museum located in Ohio, USA, has learned under prominent students of patriarch Ip Man with son Ip Ching and the late student of the grandmaster Moy Yat. The passion for all things passed down through the Ip Man lineage has cultivated his understanding with a unique perspective of engaging the system’s potential in the combat Saan Da arena. This video offering is a detailed high-definition presentation spanning an hour’s runtime.
“The system approaches gives you the techniques, the tools, the forms, and the drills… but you will still have to understand how to bring about fighting applications,” states Sifu Meng’s preface along with a historical overview of Wing Chun’s history and family tree, as he sets the platform for the content to follow. Continuing on, the lecture addresses fundamental fighting principals and concepts that one must understand with regards to ranges of engaging a domestic or challenge match opponent.
Sifu Meng, along with a demonstration partner, addresses those ranges while wielding the Baat Cham Dao while the other individual manages the Long Pole. The two entertain both the strengths and vulnerabilities of both with regards to engagement with particular attention to, “knowing your range,” as a means of communicating to the viewer the degree of danger one is susceptible to in all fighting arenas.
Discarding the weapons, the demonstration bridges the gap to hand-to-hand combat, addressing the efficacy of being, “squared up (facing),” to maximise one’s arsenal of limb weaponry that can be employed to block, control, and strike the opponent. There is a reminder that the core fundamentals are such because of their efficacy and importance of maintaining them while learning them through Paak Sau, Laap Sau, Chi Sau and other partner training methods, to realise the expanse of applications that are at hand. The list of the system’s concepts continues on to cover gates, simultaneous blocks and attacks, and attacking the centreline summarised with a dynamic exchange with the young man in support while continuing to reinforce the covered subjects with live narration.
“In real application, make sure you employ the concepts.” The majority of this video offering covers those universal fundamentals as is practised and taught by Sifu Meng with simple, easy-to-follow guidelines. The guidelines dig into the finer opting for how they translate into application with a dynamic and entertaining demonstration by his students with high energy and dynamic performance.
The last third of this video volume wraps up with detailed chart breakdown of his training methods, theories and concepts relative to his curriculum. This is a good reinforcement for those particularly familiar with his approach to the system, as it would expand their understanding while reinforcing common universal attributes found amongst all practitioners.
Benny Meng VTM Series 13 – San Da – Wing Chun Fighting Applications Part 1
Language: English
Running Time: Approx. 1 hours 0 minutes.
Format: Digital Download (or DVD)
Availability: Everything Wing Chun + Instant Access
Review by: Dwight Hennings
Link to EWC: https://www.everythingwingchun.com/VIDEO-VTM-Ip-Man-Wing-Chun-Series-13-San-Da-p/dvd-vtm10.htm
Links to Digital Store: Preview this video on Everything Wing Chun Instant Access
