A few people notice I disappeared for about a week, with no new articles posted until last night. Yes, I actually took a vacation.

Not just any vacation, of course... a training vacation.

I've been doing WingTsun™ Kung Fu for 25 years and teach WingTsun in multiple schools throughout the midwest in America. At least twice a year I get together with my instructor, Great Grandmaster Leung Ting. This time I met him in Texas, and he flew in from Hong Kong.

Friday through Monday, a group of us WingTsun instructors trained empty-hand Kung Fu techniques for 5 hours or more per day. Tuesday we worked on the WingTsun long pole training for 5 hours.

The WingTsun long pole is 8-1/2 to 9 feet long, and is usually made of teak wood. It's quite thick at one end, tapering to a smaller end at the tip. Since you grip it at one end, the leverage of the length greatly amplifies the weight of the pole. Whipping the pole around at high speed and executing techniques with a flexible force that makes the whole pole vibrate takes some pretty good strength! Add some rather grueling stance work, including frequent drops into low stances, and it's an excellent workout.

I'll post some pictures soon!

P.S. Here's a link to my WingTsun Kung Fu website...