Hey, I did want to go into Timing Drills in a little more depth. to explain there purpose, and hopefully clarify they are done the way they are. The reason why they are named timing drills is because they are to train position. As I have mentioned in the past, the body as a whole moves and stops together. If any part of the movement is out of synch, then the energy is out of synch. The basis of timing is both external and internal. In the external sense, muscle memory is developed to teach the body to be fluid and dynamic. In training to have the upper and lower body to respond as a whole, the body learns to move in a way that one causes the body to turn out of the way of an attack, two to attack the opponents weapon, and three, to counter. In Karate, emphasis is first put into blocking the attack, followed by the defendant to move within range to counter the attack, and then the defendant throws a punch, to take out the attacker. No, No NO!! This way is far to inefficient, for this creates a three movement response, and is very inefficient. Let's look at the first step, which is the block. Karate blocks are designed to be close into the body, and is expected to receive the punch or kick at a point close into the body. Timing is of the utmost importance in a block, and you have a vast margin in error in doing this, for if the attacker has faster speed, the defender will get hit. In Wing Chun, we do not block, we
intercept. The interceptions can be seen as a patriot missile being fired at a scud missile. If done correctly, the patriot will destroy the scud before its mission is complete. Given that we are doing this from a human perspective, the chances of interception are much higher. Since speed is of the essence in meeting an attack, and following the rule that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, common sense says that interception is the fastest and most efficient way of dispersing an attack. The way to develop speed in such, simply train them by using repetitious chain motions, such as in chain punching. All of the tools from Siu-Nim-Tou (Cross Tan, Gaun, Inside Tan, Wu, Supporting Palm, etc.) all follow this pattern. With some in class, they place the tool being trained in the path of the punch, but do not have the forward motion. If an interception is sent out, but drawn back as one receives the attack, then the needed emphasis of receiving the attack via the root is lost. Interception must always be forward, with the root ready to swallow the incoming energy, and disperse back into the opponent. Secondly, let's look at the second part of the Karate response, which is to move into the line of the attacker. What happens in this case is that the response is external, with Yang countering Yang. In such a case, the defender puts himself at risk in that if the opponent is larger, then the footwork attack in negated. In Wing Chun, we turn the body at a forty-five degree angle to move us out of the line of the attack, which also puts us at the advantage of having our line towards the attacker's line, which, if they moved in for a straight line attack, puts their line away from the defender, and into a position of vulnerability. Once the Wing Chun fighter controls the opponent's line from the outside, which places him or her in a superior advantage. Turning is used to attack the attack if the attack is circular in nature, to eliminate the opponent's weapon by injuring it, and then striking up the center with the counter. Some of the stronger interceptions in this situation are Tan, Laan, Fuk, and Pak. For lower attacks, one may use Kua, Gaun, and Gum. Gun is a very good interception to a low attack, because it has great fa jing power, and can cause painful disruption to the opponent's weapon. For inside or straight attacks, Jum, Pak, Cross Tan, Outside Tan Sau, Bong, and Kau are excellent in moving the attack away from you line, and exposing the attacker's ribs and other vital targets. When using Bong, be sure to follow the path of the attack, and respond immediately with a counter, to reduce exposure to your ribs and vital areas. Thirdly, let us look at the Karate counter-punch. In Karate, emphasis is place on a single punch response, with a great amount of force, in conjunction with a loud "KIA!!" The Kia serves little purpose in a martial sense, except to intimidate, and the punch, while causing paining, is rarely damaging. In having seen Japanese fighters doing these demonstrations, the defender strikes the opponent with all of his Yang force. And yet, the attacker is barely phased by such. There are cases wherein bodily harm does take place, and that is when the defender has trained in internal. In many of the Japanese arts, most will move on into internal training by the time the practitioner is in his or her mid-thirties, about the time when physical strength begins to go into decline. In Wing Chun, the counter is used to disrupt the energy of the attacker. In combining both the interception and counter attack together, this lends towards destroying the core of the attacker's ability to fight. A Wing Chun fighter will use greater speed in pressing the counter. On average, a Wing Chun fighter can throw as much as ten punches in a single second (We timed Scott, and he did an average of fifteen punches per second). By training and using Timing Drills correctly, a fight can be over in as little as
three seconds! Another point that I wish to make is that when doing the timing drills as a two person drill, is that the drills are designed to develop cohesiveness in response, as mentioned above. However, on Thursday some noticed that in some of the drills, the counter punch will not reach the opponent. This is okay from the drill's point of view, the goal of which is a precise response. Once that has been mastered, then other elements of footwork and counters are bought in to teach the proper fighting response. Footwork such as arrow stepping is used to attack from the outside, bringing the interception and counter to the opponent Also, at this point in training, combinations of various tools are learned, such as Fuk & Jyut, Tan and Pak, Jeet Ceoi, and so forth. Timing Drill as this point reflect more on fighting and are taught to become part of the main core concepts of bridging, dispersing, breaking, attacking, and sticking. The progress of such are trained first in basic fighting, entering, intermediate fighting, and advanced fighting. Generally, the transition from basic Timing Drills into a more basic fighting format is within two to three months of the beginning of formal training. On a final note, Timing Drill training should be practiced throughout all of a students training, and into the disciple levels and beyond formal training itself. For beginners, the dummy itself should be utilized, to teach correct position. As the practitioner learns to relax and be soft, placement of Jing should be developed in the movements, and eventually lead into Fa Jing itself. Timing Drills are at the core of fighting, and these skills can be easily lost. While attacks in the footwork drills are important in and of themselves, for they teach how to expand fighting skills, they are born from the precision of the early timing drills, and will become more sharp as we learn to remain at the core.
