News

27/04/08 Well it seems that Full Circle and Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun is really going from strength to strength! This weekend saw the advent of the much anticipated annual Seni event www.seni.tv at the Excel exhibition centre in London - the largest and best interactive Martial Arts Festival in the world.

The main area of focus for us was the Wing Chun International Chi Sau Open 2008 - probably the worlds first official Amateur Full Contact NHB Wing Chun Chi Sau competition. The event was a great success with fighters entering from various Wing Chun schools around the country. To open the show was a traditional lion dance demonstration from Kwok Cheung Sifu's team. The judges for the event were Sifus - Alan Gibson, James Sinclair and Mark Phillips. After a brief introduction and run down of the rules - the fights were on!!

Full Circle members, Sai Jun Mak and Jamie Lynch entered in the under 100kg and under 75kg weight categories, respectively. The great news is that both Sai Jun and Jamie won 1st place in their categories. Other Chu Sau Lei students who entered were - Simon Liste, Aaron Baum, Richard Pertwee and Muzakkir Moulana who all did exceptionally well, also winning 1st place in their weight categories. David Lawrence showed amazing heart and had a great fight winning a 2nd place title.

Special guest for the event was Si Gung Robert Chu who congratulated the fighters at the end of the tournament. The show attracted a great deal of attention from the crowds and will hopefully make more people aware of the awesome power and control that the Chu Sau Lei method of Wing Chun enables a practitioner to develop.

Thanks to the officials and judges for their vital contribution. Special thanks also to Si Gung Robert Chu for travelling over from Los Angeles to support the event. Most importantly, extra special thanks to Sifu Alan Orr for conceiving, organising and running the event. It was a really fun day and we are looking forward to next year already!!

28/01/08 Sai Jun and Jamie have just returned from Sifu Orr's Winter Camp in York. Areas covered were principles and concepts in the application and use of palm strikes, punching and lap sau. These basic techniques form the bread and butter of the primary attacks from the luk sau roll in chi sau. Subtle variations in timing, pressure, structure, set up, reaction, and defence of, were all explored and have now given our chi sau training and development a new emphasis for 2008. Muscle grabs and pressure point chin na were also covered - Ouch!! The latter part of Sunday was a grading session - Jamie Lynch did very well and passed his Apprentice Instructor Level 2 in Wing Chun, he also gained his Blue Belt in Chinese Boxing! Sai Jun also graded, passing his Assistant Instructor Level 2 in Wing Chun and gaining his Brown Belt in Chinese Boxing! Another superb seminar! Special thanks to Sifu Orr for organising and teaching at another superb event! Also, thanks to Si Hing Nick Forrer and Michael Shaw for encouraging us to really push our levels and for helping us to develop and improve our skills.

13/10/07 We had yet another fantastic day of training! This time, Sifu Alan Orr's Escrima teacher, Guro Mark Wiley, arrived over from Philadelphia, USA to conduct a seminar in his Integrated Escrima method. The day was split into two parts, with the morning session covering areas of the first module of the stick fighting syllabus, which included - correct understanding of range, this progressed onto various footwork drills, basic striking methods and partner drills. Guro Mark also informed us of how the stick method relates to the original sword fighting techniques and pointed out common misconceptions of stick fighting. The afternoon session covered the knife fighting syllabus - this included correct range control and disarming techniques. Interestingly, Guro Mark also stressed the importance of using correct body structure within the techniques, something we are very familiar with in the Chu Sau Lei Family of Wing Chun. The day had a good turn out with about 16 of Sifu's students in attendance, plus Full Circle students - Andy Mellon, Jamie Lynch and Jacob Gritz. Guro Mark demonstrated incredible ability, a vast wealth and depth of knowledge and understanding, as well as being a great teacher with a fantastic sense of humour. We now have some basic training drills to develop our weapons skills and will very much look forward to meeting Guro Mark next time! Special thanks to Sifu Orr and Si Hing Simon Liste for organising Guro Mark's visit.

23/08/07 More great news for Andy Mellon and Jamie Lynch! These guys have both worked very hard at developing their Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun skills - Sifu Orr was very pleased with the levels that has come out of Full Circle Wing Chun and has awarded them both with their 'Level 1 Apprentice Instructors Certificates', signed by both their Si Gung, Alan Orr and Sifu, Sai Jun Mak. This is very encouraging for our school and is an inspiration to keep training and working hard. Well Done Guys!!

12/07/07 Full Circle Wing Chun Student, Andy Mellon has just completed his Degree, which he studied for 3 years at Bournemouth University, plus 1 year industrial work placement. Andy worked very hard and despite having many external pressures he managed to battle through achieving an excellent 2:1 in Computing BSc (Hons). Well done Andy!!

11/07/07 Great news!! Jamie Lynch has finally received the results from his course in 'Tui Na Chinese Massage Foundation Level Diploma in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Anatomy and Physiology'. Jamie has worked very hard at this and has deservedly achieved great marks in all areas of this course. Jamie's exam results are as follows:- Practical exam - 95%; Anatomy & Physiology Paper - 93%; Traditional Chinese Medicine Theory Paper - 91%; and for his Case Studies - A+. These fantastic overall results mean Jamie has passed the course with 'Distinction'. Well done Jamie!! There will soon be a new page appearing on the website for Tui Na treatments - information regarding the treatment and also Jamie's contact details will be included here. 'I can say first hand that as a recipient of Tui Na treatment, the effects on localised muscle stiffness, training injuries, general well being and relaxation are outstanding, energy levels also receive a boost too. I cannot recommend this treatment highly enough - it is definitely of much greater benefit than any other type of massage treatment i have ever had.' SJ

8/07/07 Sai Jun spent a day in York as part of Sifu Orr's Summer Camp - 8 hours of intensive training! Turn out was very good with about 25 of Sifu's students in attendence. Areas covered were:- applications of Chum Kiu and Bue Jee within Chi Sau; Chinese Boxing skills including the Chu Sau Lei mindset, feinting, maintaining structure under pressure, iron shirt training; there was also a grading session towards the end of the day. Thanks to Sifu for organising a great seminar and thanks also to Si Hing Aaron Baum and Nick Forrer for their guidance and helping to test our skills under pressure.

8/05/07 Sai Jun and Jamie had the good fortune to meet Si Gung Robert Chu on Saturday 4th May for a full day of training. Si Gung was in the UK for a short stay to conduct a 3 day Wing Chun seminar in the Chu Sau Lei and Gu Lao systems and an extra day for Traditional Chinese Medicine. It was an excellent turn out with around 25 of Sifu Alan Orr's students in attendance. Si Gung introduced some very useful drills for developing and testing our body structure methods. Also, Si Gung Chu conducted a very informative and interesting question and answer session during the day. It was an inspiration to meet such an incredibly knowledgeable, intelligent, witty, hard working and humble man, and it has to be said that we are extremely proud to be part of Si Gung Robert Chu's Wing Chun Family. Many thanks also to Sifu Alan Orr for arranging Si Gung's visit and also to Simon Liste for accommodating us all in his garage and garden!!

4-7/05/07 There is another not-to-be-missed event coming up - From May 4th-7th Sifu Alan Orr's teacher, Si Gung Robert Chu is coming to the UK to conduct a 3 day seminar on Wing Chun! Areas to be covered will be Forms, Chi Sau, Fighting Applications and Si Gung Chu will also be teaching, exclusively, some of the Gu Lao System (a forty point no-forms system of Wing Chun). Plus - the last day will be a course in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), covering Basic Traumatology. Seminars will take place in London and York

30/04/07 Sai Jun and Jamie attended the Wing Chun Day Seminar in Leicester to represent Sifu Alan Orr's school of Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun. It was a very good turn out and included students from Sifu Alan Gibson, Sifu Shawn Rawcliffe and Sifu Paul Smith plus representatives from other schools. Sifu Orr's presentation was excellent - it was certainly a great opportunity to explain and demonstrate our Body Structure methods to the other schools and hopefully all the attendees have taken away something of value from the drills and concepts that were introduced. Thanks also to the other Sifu's for their presentations."

29/04/07 There is a fantastic opportunity ahead of us - Four of Britains top Wing Chun Instructors will be hosting a day of training - this will be a good opportunity to test your skills against students from other schools. The schools represented will be those of - Sifu Alan Orr (Chu Sau Lei), Sifu Shaun Rawcliffe, Sifu Alan Gibson and Sifu Paul Smith. The event will take place in Leicester on Sunday 29th April 2007 and entry will cost £30 in advance or £40 on the day; however, spaces are limited so it is recommended to book early to avoid disappointment.

Check out this website -
www.wingchunday.co.uk - to find out further details and book your place.

23/03/07 Sai Jun and Jamie attended the 'First Fight Professional MMA/Boxing' event in London to support our Chu Sau Lei Brother, Neil Broadbent, who fought in the main event under normal Boxing rules within 3 of 5 minute rounds. Neil sized his opponent up within the first 30 seconds and then proceeded to smash him with his Chu Sau Lei Chinese Boxing skills - Neil executed a perfect demonstration of small and large evasion (Sim) techniques, Cutting Punches, Intercepting, Chasing and Body Structure methods against his opponent. Needless to say it was a first round victory within 3 minutes by way of TKO (technical knock out) after his opponents third standing count - the guy appeared to be incredibly relieved by the referee's decision to stop the fight!! Some of the other fights were also great to watch and there were some good knockouts

12/02/07 Chu Sau Lei / Iron Wolves Fighter, Neil Broadbent is due to fight again, this time in London on 23rd March 2007 at the 'Fight First' event at Portchester Hall. The bout will be a great chance for Neil to demonstrate and test his stand up skills and Chu Sau Lei punching power, as this fight will be a boxing match! Tickets cost £25 - more information about the event can be found by following this link:

Fight First "

30/1/07 Full Circle Wing Chun student, Jamie Lynch has just completed his first four days of an eighteen day course under Maria Mercati at the Bodyharmonics Centre in Cheltenham. Jamie is studying for a Tui Na Chinese Massage Foundation Level Diploma in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Anatomy and Physiology. Well done Jamie!

Tui Na Massage is an effective holistic therapy, like acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine its basis lies upon regulating the body's meridians and flow of 'Qi', this is done through a variety of vigorous massage techniques performed to the musculo-skeletal areas, this also stimulates the Qi points to promote healing and well being.

To find out more information about this remarkable and ancient therapy, follow this link to:
Maria Mercati's website

27/04/08	Well it seems that Full Circle and Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun is really going from strength to strength! This weekend saw the advent of the much anticipated annual Seni event www.seni.tv at the Excel exhibition centre in London - the largest and best interactive Martial Arts Festival in the world. The main area of focus for us was the Wing Chun International Chi Sau Open 2008 - probably the worlds first official Amateur Full Contact NHB Wing Chun Chi Sau competition. The event was a great success with fighters entering from various Wing Chun schools around the country. To open the show was a traditional lion dance demonstration from Kwok Cheung Sifu's team. The judges for the event were Sifus - Alan Gibson, James Sinclair and Mark Phillips. After a brief introduction and run down of the rules - the fights were on!! Full Circle members, Sai Jun Mak and Jamie Lynch entered in the under 100kg and under 75kg weight categories, respectively. The great news is that both Sai Jun and Jamie won 1st place in their categories. Other Chu Sau Lei students who entered were - Simon Liste, Aaron Baum, Richard Pertwee and Muzakkir Moulana who all did exceptionally well, also winning 1st place in their weight categories. David Lawrence showed amazing heart and had a great fight winning a 2nd place title. Special guest for the event was Si Gung Robert Chu who congratulated the fighters at the end of the tournament. The show attracted a great deal of attention from the crowds and will hopefully make more people aware of the awesome power and control that the Chu Sau Lei method of Wing Chun enables a practitioner to develop. Thanks to the officials and judges for their vital contribution. Special thanks also to Si Gung Robert Chu for travelling over from Los Angeles to support the event. Most importantly, extra special thanks to Sifu Alan Orr for conceiving, organising and running the event. It was a really fun day and we are looking forward to next year already!!
28/01/08	Sai Jun and Jamie have just returned from Sifu Orr's Winter Camp in York. Areas covered were principles and concepts in the application and use of palm strikes, punching and lap sau. These basic techniques form the bread and butter of the primary attacks from the luk sau roll in chi sau. Subtle variations in timing, pressure, structure, set up, reaction, and defence of, were all explored and have now given our chi sau training and development a new emphasis for 2008. Muscle grabs and pressure point chin na were also covered - Ouch!! The latter part of Sunday was a grading session - Jamie Lynch did very well and passed his Apprentice Instructor Level 2 in Wing Chun, he also gained his Blue Belt in Chinese Boxing! Sai Jun also graded, passing his Assistant Instructor Level 2 in Wing Chun and gaining his Brown Belt in Chinese Boxing! Another superb seminar! Special thanks to Sifu Orr for organising and teaching at another superb event! Also, thanks to Si Hing Nick Forrer and Michael Shaw for encouraging us to really push our levels and for helping us to develop and improve our skills.
13/10/07	We had yet another fantastic day of training! This time, Sifu Alan Orr's Escrima teacher, Guro Mark Wiley, arrived over from Philadelphia, USA to conduct a seminar in his Integrated Escrima method. The day was split into two parts, with the morning session covering areas of the first module of the stick fighting syllabus, which included - correct understanding of range, this progressed onto various footwork drills, basic striking methods and partner drills. Guro Mark also informed us of how the stick method relates to the original sword fighting techniques and pointed out common misconceptions of stick fighting. The afternoon session covered the knife fighting syllabus - this included correct range control and disarming techniques. Interestingly, Guro Mark also stressed the importance of using correct body structure within the techniques, something we are very familiar with in the Chu Sau Lei Family of Wing Chun. The day had a good turn out with about 16 of Sifu's students in attendance, plus Full Circle students - Andy Mellon, Jamie Lynch and Jacob Gritz. Guro Mark demonstrated incredible ability, a vast wealth and depth of knowledge and understanding, as well as being a great teacher with a fantastic sense of humour. We now have some basic training drills to develop our weapons skills and will very much look forward to meeting Guro Mark next time! Special thanks to Sifu Orr and Si Hing Simon Liste for organising Guro Mark's visit.
23/08/07	More great news for Andy Mellon and Jamie Lynch! These guys have both worked very hard at developing their Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun skills - Sifu Orr was very pleased with the levels that has come out of Full Circle Wing Chun and has awarded them both with their 'Level 1 Apprentice Instructors Certificates', signed by both their Si Gung, Alan Orr and Sifu, Sai Jun Mak. This is very encouraging for our school and is an inspiration to keep training and working hard. Well Done Guys!!
12/07/07	Full Circle Wing Chun Student, Andy Mellon has just completed his Degree, which he studied for 3 years at Bournemouth University, plus 1 year industrial work placement. Andy worked very hard and despite having many external pressures he managed to battle through achieving an excellent 2:1 in Computing BSc (Hons). Well done Andy!!
11/07/07	Great news!! Jamie Lynch has finally received the results from his course in 'Tui Na Chinese Massage Foundation Level Diploma in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Anatomy and Physiology'. Jamie has worked very hard at this and has deservedly achieved great marks in all areas of this course. Jamie's exam results are as follows:- Practical exam - 95%; Anatomy & Physiology Paper - 93%; Traditional Chinese Medicine Theory Paper - 91%; and for his Case Studies - A+. These fantastic overall results mean Jamie has passed the course with 'Distinction'. Well done Jamie!! There will soon be a new page appearing on the website for Tui Na treatments - information regarding the treatment and also Jamie's contact details will be included here. 'I can say first hand that as a recipient of Tui Na treatment, the effects on localised muscle stiffness, training injuries, general well being and relaxation are outstanding, energy levels also receive a boost too. I cannot recommend this treatment highly enough - it is definitely of much greater benefit than any other type of massage treatment i have ever had.' SJ
8/07/07	Sai Jun spent a day in York as part of Sifu Orr's Summer Camp - 8 hours of intensive training! Turn out was very good with about 25 of Sifu's students in attendence. Areas covered were:- applications of Chum Kiu and Bue Jee within Chi Sau; Chinese Boxing skills including the Chu Sau Lei mindset, feinting, maintaining structure under pressure, iron shirt training; there was also a grading session towards the end of the day. Thanks to Sifu for organising a great seminar and thanks also to Si Hing Aaron Baum and Nick Forrer for their guidance and helping to test our skills under pressure.
8/05/07	Sai Jun and Jamie had the good fortune to meet Si Gung Robert Chu on Saturday 4th May for a full day of training. Si Gung was in the UK for a short stay to conduct a 3 day Wing Chun seminar in the Chu Sau Lei and Gu Lao systems and an extra day for Traditional Chinese Medicine. It was an excellent turn out with around 25 of Sifu Alan Orr's students in attendance. Si Gung introduced some very useful drills for developing and testing our body structure methods. Also, Si Gung Chu conducted a very informative and interesting question and answer session during the day. It was an inspiration to meet such an incredibly knowledgeable, intelligent, witty, hard working and humble man, and it has to be said that we are extremely proud to be part of Si Gung Robert Chu's Wing Chun Family. Many thanks also to Sifu Alan Orr for arranging Si Gung's visit and also to Simon Liste for accommodating us all in his garage and garden!!
4-7/05/07	There is another not-to-be-missed event coming up - From May 4th-7th Sifu Alan Orr's teacher, Si Gung Robert Chu is coming to the UK to conduct a 3 day seminar on Wing Chun! Areas to be covered will be Forms, Chi Sau, Fighting Applications and Si Gung Chu will also be teaching, exclusively, some of the Gu Lao System (a forty point no-forms system of Wing Chun). Plus - the last day will be a course in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), covering Basic Traumatology. Seminars will take place in London and York
30/04/07	Sai Jun and Jamie attended the Wing Chun Day Seminar in Leicester to represent Sifu Alan Orr's school of Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun. It was a very good turn out and included students from Sifu Alan Gibson, Sifu Shawn Rawcliffe and Sifu Paul Smith plus representatives from other schools. Sifu Orr's presentation was excellent - it was certainly a great opportunity to explain and demonstrate our Body Structure methods to the other schools and hopefully all the attendees have taken away something of value from the drills and concepts that were introduced. Thanks also to the other Sifu's for their presentations."
29/04/07	There is a fantastic opportunity ahead of us - Four of Britains top Wing Chun Instructors will be hosting a day of training - this will be a good opportunity to test your skills against students from other schools. The schools represented will be those of - Sifu Alan Orr (Chu Sau Lei), Sifu Shaun Rawcliffe, Sifu Alan Gibson and Sifu Paul Smith. The event will take place in Leicester on Sunday 29th April 2007 and entry will cost £30 in advance or £40 on the day; however, spaces are limited so it is recommended to book early to avoid disappointment. Check out this website - www.wingchunday.co.uk - to find out further details and book your place.
23/03/07	Sai Jun and Jamie attended the 'First Fight Professional MMA/Boxing' event in London to support our Chu Sau Lei Brother, Neil Broadbent, who fought in the main event under normal Boxing rules within 3 of 5 minute rounds. Neil sized his opponent up within the first 30 seconds and then proceeded to smash him with his Chu Sau Lei Chinese Boxing skills - Neil executed a perfect demonstration of small and large evasion (Sim) techniques, Cutting Punches, Intercepting, Chasing and Body Structure methods against his opponent. Needless to say it was a first round victory within 3 minutes by way of TKO (technical knock out) after his opponents third standing count - the guy appeared to be incredibly relieved by the referee's decision to stop the fight!! Some of the other fights were also great to watch and there were some good knockouts
12/02/07	Chu Sau Lei / Iron Wolves Fighter, Neil Broadbent is due to fight again, this time in London on 23rd March 2007 at the 'Fight First' event at Portchester Hall. The bout will be a great chance for Neil to demonstrate and test his stand up skills and Chu Sau Lei punching power, as this fight will be a boxing match! Tickets cost £25 - more information about the event can be found by following this link: Fight First "
30/1/07	Full Circle Wing Chun student, Jamie Lynch has just completed his first four days of an eighteen day course under Maria Mercati at the Bodyharmonics Centre in Cheltenham. Jamie is studying for a Tui Na Chinese Massage Foundation Level Diploma in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Anatomy and Physiology. Well done Jamie! Tui Na Massage is an effective holistic therapy, like acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine its basis lies upon regulating the body's meridians and flow of 'Qi', this is done through a variety of vigorous massage techniques performed to the musculo-skeletal areas, this also stimulates the Qi points to promote healing and well being. To find out more information about this remarkable and ancient therapy, follow this link to: Maria Mercati's website