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is the place to find video clips, pictures and more from the Grados Wing Chun school. Watch Sifu Grados demonstrate the "one inch punch" as well as the effectiveness of Wing Chun in close quarters combat, visit the gallery to get a glimpse of Sifu's training methods, and read articles by Sifu Grados and his students.
The Primary Goal By Hillel Greif
The primary goal of any martial art should be the ability to defend oneself in a real world conflict. You would think that this is so obvious that it need not be mentioned. However, the fact remains that many techniques and styles that a person might engage in are not meant for a street confrontation and could actually endanger themselves by instilling a false sense of security. A recent article in ISK concerning defending against knives attests to the fact that many schools are training for scenarios that never take place, “giving the student a false sense of security”. In one article by a Shaolin Master in Black Belt Magazine he wrote that he does not train his students in blocking since this will not help them in a street fight. I personally trained in several styles for many months in which neither a punch or a kick was ever seen. The training relied entirely on someone grabbing the student by the arm or the collar. While the conditioning and principles that I have learned in these styles have helped me, I can honestly say that I lacked the basic confidence to apply what I had learned in the street. When confronted on the train by someone with extremely aggressive tendencies it occurred to me that this was something that I lacked and that I needed to address. Rather than suppressing this gnawing feeling I sought a school that would finally give me not only the principles of an effective martial art, but also the ability to apply those practical, sound principles if I ever was forced to.
This was one of the first issues that I told Sifu Grados that I felt I needed to address. While I know that most schools have a recipe that they keep to, I saw that Sifu Grados had addressed my individual needs as a fighter. Since Sifu Grados has made it apparent that he is always accessible to answering questions pertaining to self defense, I asked him what he believed are the most important elements in being victorious in a conflict. Sifu Grados told me that, other than technique, conditioning and the killer spirit are the most important assets a fighter must have. Working on the basics, such as stance, timing, and technique have been an invaluable asset to my training. Nevertheless, Sifu Grados has shown me that these elements will largely amount to very little unless you use them. The intensity of the sparring has enabled me to get a sense of what a fight would feel like and has caused a tremendous abatement in the “fighting anxiety” that I once experienced. My confidence has risen in direct proportion to my ability to block, strike, and move effectively. As Paul Vunak wrote, “fear is the direct response to the fact that one feels incapable of dealing effectively with aggression”. In the past six months I have noticed that Sifu Grados’ method of training me has always forced me to confront challenges that are one step ahead of my current abilities. By pushing me constantly past my comfort zone, my abilities have grown exponentially as well as kept me humble, knowing that I have a long way to go. I would suggest to anyone, both experienced and inexperienced to learn from Sifu Grados’ time tested methodologies which have been proven time and time again to be effective. I would suggest learning Wing Chun from Sifu Grados to anyone who regards learning a system that has been adapted to protect not only the tradition of an art, but the students who practice it.
Ultimately the proof of his system is found in action rather than words. I recently sparred a fellow student and was able to parry two blows and ultimately penetrate his defenses. Sifu Grados smiled and said, “Good, Good”. When I turned to face him and thank him for his encouragement, he replied, “You can’t argue with good technique.” No, Sifu Grados, you certainly can’t.
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