sihing
03-19-2006, 10:52 AM
Recently I made a decision to experience something different from what I had personally trained in before. That decision was to train with Sifu Gary Lam and his students in Monterey Park, California for approximately 9 days. The reasons why I made this decision are not really important, let’s just say it was something that I had to do for me.
If I were to choose only one word to describe my experiences at Sifu Lam’s training facility it would be either Awesome or Phenomenal. First and foremost, the people that I had an opportunity to train with were very very open with the information, and were more than willing to share that information with a complete stranger to their family such as I. Secondly, they were very effective in what they were doing with their Wing Chun. Sifu Lam is definitely someone with extremely high skills in Wing Chun. Not only does he have those skills, he is also an experienced and effective fighter with a great desire to share his knowledge with anyone willing to listen. His style can look “lazy” at times, but this is because he lives and breaths the system and no longer has to worry about those little details the rest of us dwell on. He is a very personable and relaxed instructor. The training at Monterey Park is very informal and non traditional, but the people that train there do so very intensely and are learning very effective Wing Chun skills. Sifu Lam is concerned with only one thing, and that is his students know the material well enough to be able to use it effectively in the shortest amount of time (I found the people training there for more than 2 years had very effective Wing Chun fighting skills). Sifu Lam’s personality is very happy go lucky, he would be laughing one minute and the next throwing someone into the mattress trying to explain the concept of “Poi Pai”. I was free to ask him any question and he answered freely, irregardless of the fact that I was a beginner in his system and a stranger to his house. If you are eager to learn and willing to put the work in, Sifu Lam can guarantee high quality Wing Chun fighting skills for you.
The other main influence for me during my stay in Monterey Park was Ernie Barrios. If it wasn’t for Ernie I would not have even known of this place, so I owe him allot. This Man has not only earned my respect as a fellow human being, but as a Martial Artist as well. He has exceptionally high skills in Wing Chun, and a few other things when you push him far enough, (I know, lol)! Not only is this Man highly capable with his hands and feet, he is able to articulate his Martial philosophy very well, so that one is capable of understanding exactly what he wants to get across to you. Once in his presents, his charisma and love for Wing Chun and Martial Arts in general transcends to you and you become engulfed in an exchange of ideas and training methods that can at times last hours upon hours. I was also able to attend one of Ernie’s “Attributes” classes, and was happy that I did so, I had so much fun and learned a ton at the same time, plus it was a great workout, my legs and shoulders were feeling it the next day, lol. Ernie was also gracious enough to set me up with some of his training buds that also trained at Sifu Lam’s school. Emil (a machine, we trained chi sao for almost 2 hours straight), Anthony (newer to Sifu Lam’s system but trains very very hard and eager to learn more), Howard (longer term student with great skills and understanding of Sifu Lam’s system), and others like Johnny & Sam (two small young guys with high quality skills), Dennis (very funny Man with years upon years of MA experience), all very gracious with their knowledge of Wing Chun and were more than willing and able to teach me many things regarding their understanding of Sifu Lam’s system. I owe them allot and I thank them now for their generosity. There were also the morning guys, Dic and Joey, both men helped me a tremendous amount and I also thank them for sharing.
On average I trained min. 4 hours each day, some days 7 hours of training was the result. So anyone training at the school is definitely getting their money’s worth, but I will say be the end of my trip my body was weak and if I was there longer a “day off” would have been required to recoup some strength back.
I had a great 9 days of training at Sifu Gary Lam’s place. I hope to go back soon to learn more and would recommend anyone that is willing to learn something worthwhile to do the same.
If anyone has any questions regarding my visit, please feel free to ask. I will not answer any questions regarding comparisons between my Wing Chun and what I learned from Sifu Lam, as my mindset was to “empty my cup” per say and present myself as a beginner to Sifu Lam. I will say that the two systems are different, but I was able to intellectually understand most everything that I was taught on a conceptual level, just that my body was not used to moving in the way they teach it to move.
Thank you Sifu Lam and Ernie for a wonderful experience. Friendships were developed and good times were had, and I only wish that it could have lasted longer.
James
P.S. There was also a fellow Canadian there, Frank, and we became roommates/friends when I decided to live on the premise. Although he was a beginner to the Martial Arts, I admire his willingness to try something different and his discipline to complete something he had started. When I arrived he was there for 2 months already, training 7 days a week, minimum 3 hours a day. When I left he has 4 more weeks to go. Keep it up Man, as this is something you will never regret doing..
If I were to choose only one word to describe my experiences at Sifu Lam’s training facility it would be either Awesome or Phenomenal. First and foremost, the people that I had an opportunity to train with were very very open with the information, and were more than willing to share that information with a complete stranger to their family such as I. Secondly, they were very effective in what they were doing with their Wing Chun. Sifu Lam is definitely someone with extremely high skills in Wing Chun. Not only does he have those skills, he is also an experienced and effective fighter with a great desire to share his knowledge with anyone willing to listen. His style can look “lazy” at times, but this is because he lives and breaths the system and no longer has to worry about those little details the rest of us dwell on. He is a very personable and relaxed instructor. The training at Monterey Park is very informal and non traditional, but the people that train there do so very intensely and are learning very effective Wing Chun skills. Sifu Lam is concerned with only one thing, and that is his students know the material well enough to be able to use it effectively in the shortest amount of time (I found the people training there for more than 2 years had very effective Wing Chun fighting skills). Sifu Lam’s personality is very happy go lucky, he would be laughing one minute and the next throwing someone into the mattress trying to explain the concept of “Poi Pai”. I was free to ask him any question and he answered freely, irregardless of the fact that I was a beginner in his system and a stranger to his house. If you are eager to learn and willing to put the work in, Sifu Lam can guarantee high quality Wing Chun fighting skills for you.
The other main influence for me during my stay in Monterey Park was Ernie Barrios. If it wasn’t for Ernie I would not have even known of this place, so I owe him allot. This Man has not only earned my respect as a fellow human being, but as a Martial Artist as well. He has exceptionally high skills in Wing Chun, and a few other things when you push him far enough, (I know, lol)! Not only is this Man highly capable with his hands and feet, he is able to articulate his Martial philosophy very well, so that one is capable of understanding exactly what he wants to get across to you. Once in his presents, his charisma and love for Wing Chun and Martial Arts in general transcends to you and you become engulfed in an exchange of ideas and training methods that can at times last hours upon hours. I was also able to attend one of Ernie’s “Attributes” classes, and was happy that I did so, I had so much fun and learned a ton at the same time, plus it was a great workout, my legs and shoulders were feeling it the next day, lol. Ernie was also gracious enough to set me up with some of his training buds that also trained at Sifu Lam’s school. Emil (a machine, we trained chi sao for almost 2 hours straight), Anthony (newer to Sifu Lam’s system but trains very very hard and eager to learn more), Howard (longer term student with great skills and understanding of Sifu Lam’s system), and others like Johnny & Sam (two small young guys with high quality skills), Dennis (very funny Man with years upon years of MA experience), all very gracious with their knowledge of Wing Chun and were more than willing and able to teach me many things regarding their understanding of Sifu Lam’s system. I owe them allot and I thank them now for their generosity. There were also the morning guys, Dic and Joey, both men helped me a tremendous amount and I also thank them for sharing.
On average I trained min. 4 hours each day, some days 7 hours of training was the result. So anyone training at the school is definitely getting their money’s worth, but I will say be the end of my trip my body was weak and if I was there longer a “day off” would have been required to recoup some strength back.
I had a great 9 days of training at Sifu Gary Lam’s place. I hope to go back soon to learn more and would recommend anyone that is willing to learn something worthwhile to do the same.
If anyone has any questions regarding my visit, please feel free to ask. I will not answer any questions regarding comparisons between my Wing Chun and what I learned from Sifu Lam, as my mindset was to “empty my cup” per say and present myself as a beginner to Sifu Lam. I will say that the two systems are different, but I was able to intellectually understand most everything that I was taught on a conceptual level, just that my body was not used to moving in the way they teach it to move.
Thank you Sifu Lam and Ernie for a wonderful experience. Friendships were developed and good times were had, and I only wish that it could have lasted longer.
James
P.S. There was also a fellow Canadian there, Frank, and we became roommates/friends when I decided to live on the premise. Although he was a beginner to the Martial Arts, I admire his willingness to try something different and his discipline to complete something he had started. When I arrived he was there for 2 months already, training 7 days a week, minimum 3 hours a day. When I left he has 4 more weeks to go. Keep it up Man, as this is something you will never regret doing..