Clubs in Clonsilla/Castleknock

MHSpurs

Hi

I would appreciate some advice regarding a MA style and location.

I am looking for a club in the above areas, or close by.

I have previously done about a year of kenpo (over 10 years ago) but have forgotten most of it.

My main interest is self defense or street style. Something that will get me to a reasonable self defence stage quite quickly. Found myself in an akward situation recently and was lucky to get out of it without too much damage. Not keen on being in the same scenario again!

thanks in advance.

Michael O Leary

Hi,

Regarding your query for schools specialising in self-defence I teach Wing Tsun Kung-Fu and Escrima in the Coolmine Sports and Leisure Centre in Blanchardstown.

The basic concept behind both arts is that if a fight is unavoidable you should attack your attacker instead of defending. Because of this there are no blocks, just ways to cover yourself while attacking which you should do using any means necessary if the situation requires it. We start at the worst case scenario and work backwards.

In an unarmed situation using Wing Tsun we feel that the best way to win a fight is to make the other person unconscious and the best way to do this is to strike them quickly and powerfully in the head using fists, elbows or if you are in the right position, kicks and knees.

Faced with an armed attacker we advocate picking up an object which can be used as a weapon. In Escrima we train using sticks, staffs, knives, machetes, etc. However the concept of transition will allow you to make use of any other implement which can be used as a weapon such as a mobile phone, etc. If this is not possible then you are taught how to defend yourself unarmed. We do not guarantee 100% success and beware of anyone who does but we take a risk based approach to statistically improve your chances.

If you are interested feel free to contact me on 086-3989345, michaelwingtsun@o2.ie or check out www.wingtsun-escrima.ie. I would suggest you try us out. It may be what you are looking for and if not, no worries. There are also many other good instructors out there and it is a good idea to try a few to see what suits you best.

Best of luck,

Michael O'Leary
www.wingtsun-escrima.ie

cmb.

michale - any chance of giving a little more imfo on the ma classes available in coolmine - im guessing the sports/leisure centre is the secondary school beside the fire station

Michael O Leary

Sure! I can give you any info you want. What specifically do you want to know? As well as the Wing Tsun and Escrima that I teach there is also Karate, Taeqwondo, Judo, Ju-Jitsu, Korean swordsmanship and Wu-Shu due to start in 2006.

The centre on the Snugsborough Road Extention accross from the fire station. Classes are 7.50 euros per class with 5% of all fees going to charity. There are four classes per week, 3 WT and 1 Escrima. If you pay by the month it can work out at 5 euros per class. Classes are friendly and well structured with students working from a syllabus. The good thing about both arts is that the basics work. You could almost say that there is no advanced techniques. Advanced WT and Escrima is only the basics worked to a higher level. There is a 20%-80% rule regarding languages where using 20% of a language you will have 80% communication. I feel it is the same with WT and Escrima. You can learn how to defend yourself in a reasonably short time with the next ten or twenty years spent "polishing up".

Michael.
www.wingtsun-escrima.ie

Michael O Leary

Hi Imperial,

The class is broken up as follows.

First of all the group spends about 5 or 10 minutes doing the main form. This is called the Siu-Nim-Tau and rather than pre-arranged fighting movements it is more of an encyclopedia that contains about 90% of all the Wing Tsun movements.

I then take the raw beginners and show how the various movements for the first half of the form can be combined and used for fighting. While I am doing this the slightly more advanced students spend an extra five minutes practising their form while the more advanced students practise an excercise called Chi-Sau or Sticky Hands. I then take the slightly more advanced students throught the second half of the Siu-Nim-Tau and work the various self-defence applications with them. This all takes about 15 minutes and when the first two groups are comfortable with what they are doing I work with the advanced group doing their Chi-Sau.

After about another 15 minutes the whole class works on a semi-sparring excercise called Lat-Sau. The individual movements from the forms and Chi-Sau are practised in a moving and random situation with high repetition and this allows the student to pressure test their skills against an uncooperative partner. We go easy at first but as the students progress the uncooperation increases. This is done for about half an hour with a seperate programme for each grade of which there are 12. It can be difficult to get around everybody but we manage.

Then the group spends about 15 minutes doing pad-work. It is easy to punch into the air but you cannot tell when you do something wrong. By hitting pads you can feel whether you have done the strike correctly by the feeling of compression in your bones.

This all takes 90 minutes and the class finishes for the first and second grades. Students from the third grade upwards then practise the second form called Cham-Kiu for about 10 minutes and then we spend the next 20 minutes practising the self-defence applications from the form. After 2 hours the class finishes for the most advanced students. When I trained in Hong Kong the instructor would alway spend an extra few minutes with the most advanced student to make sure they did not lose out due to not having an advanced partner to train with. I do the same also and sometimes encourage students to come to class early or stay a little later if they are having difficulty with something and want to work it with me personally.

That is the basic format for the classes but I also like to be flexible and sometimes we do things differently. Regarding the Escrima class, the very first one will take place this Saturday so like the Wing Tsun class nearly two years ago there will be a little trial and error before I find a good format that works. Like all martial art instructors who contribute to this forum I have had some people who don't like what I do but that is ok. I have an average group of about 15 students every session and everyone is coming along nicely. Give it a try. You might like what we have to offer.

Regards,

Michael O'Leary
www.wingtsun-escrima.ie

Colm_OReilly

There's a place called Snugsborough!? That must be the cosiest place on earth.

Michael,
I've heard of the 80/20 rule before, but in relation to 20% of your time will accomplish 80% of your work, and obviously the other 80% of your time will be spent getting the remainding 20%, or the polishing, as you put it.

Tim_Murphy

You train people to fight using a machete??

Michael O Leary

Hi Colm,

Snugsborough Road does sound pretty cosy:-)

Regarding the 20%/80% rule what I feel is that using a small piece of the Wing Tsun system (what you learn in the first few months) you can learn how to defend yourself to a reasonably good level. Everything after that is spent trying to fill in the gaps and to perfect the art. This will result in you having more confidence if you need to defend yourself and being able to achieve it quicker with the minumum of effort.

Wing Tsun is a sopisticated martial art that works but many people just see a load of fancy techniques that look dubious. The thing about Wing Tsun however is that it has a hierarchy of tactics. Plan A, Plan B, etc. The really sopisticated stuff will only kick in if plan a, or b fails. However most people do not see plan A which is just step into your attacker and attack him with hard punches to the head. This is why students don't learn any Chi-Sau for the first 6 months at least. We concentrate on getting them punching hard first.

This is why I respect BJJ, Muay Thai and other likeminded arts. As far as I can see they do not have a lot of "techniques" but they take their core movements, combine them to deal with an infinate amount of possibilities and (here is the main thing) they work damned hard. In our organisation in the past we had a long hard look at our art and had to sacrifice a few sacred cows. In our student programmes we look statictically at what will happen in a real fight and build the programmes around it.

I hope I answered your question. It can be hard to communicate like this but I hope I gave you an idea of what we are about.

Hi Tim,

Yes, in the Escrima student programmes we teach students how to fight with machettes as well as knives, swords, sticks, palm sticks, staffs. You have bladed weapons in Muay Thai, Ju-Jitsu but the main thing about Escrima is that it specialises in weapons rather than empty hand.

However the bladed weapons are kept to a later stage so all someone will work with is the single stick initially. The main thing about working with weapons is that it removes the irrational fear that people have with weapons and instead instills a healthy respect. It is the same with snakes. If you have a real fear of them the best thing to do is to learn all about them.

Another thing is that in Escrima you also have Plan A, Plan B and so on. If you are faced with an armed attacker and you cannot run the best thing to do is to pick up something which can be used as a weapon. By training with traditional Philippino weapons you will be able to make use of any weapon at hand. Do you remember Neo at the end of the first Matrix movie. He no longer saw our world as we do but instead saw lines and angles. Escrima teaches you how to make use of these lines/angles whether you use a knife, pen, mobile phone, machette or stick.

Sorry lads for the long answers to short questions. By the way what happened to Imperial M? His question to me disappeared along with another one from him in a Judo thread.

Regards,

Michael O'Leary
www.wingtsun-escrima.ie

MHSpurs

Hi Michael

Thanks for the reply to my initial post.

sounds exactly what i'm looking for.

I am unable to start this week but would be keen to give it a go next week.

When are the classes? Are both styles totally independent or are they linked? Which one would you recommend for a beginner?

Thanks

Jonathan

Michael O Leary

Hi Jonathan,

Nice to hear from you. Feel free to come whenever you want. Next week or any time after that, the door is always open. The Wing Tsun classes are Tuesday and Thursday from 8.30-10pm for beginners and until 10.30 for the more advanced and 2-3.30 on Saturdays. The Escrima classes are from 12.30-2pm on Saturdays.

Wing Tsun and Escrima are taught totally seperate but share many common traits so learning the two together is no problem however if you only want to learn one then that is fine. If this is the case then start with the Wing Tsun and see how you get on. All that you need on the day is a t-shirt, trainers and tracksuit bottoms (and 7.50 euros :-) ) Bring a friend if you like but if not there will be other beginners due to the time of the year so you will fit in fine and enjoy yourself. Just let me know when you are coming so I can expect you.

Any other queries give me a buzz on 086-3989345 or michaelwingtsun@o2.ie.

Regards,

Michael.
www.wingtsun-escrima.ie

Dave Joyce

You train people to fight using a machete??

I'm curious, are you uncomfortable with all styles that teach weapons based arts or is it just Michael O'Leary and his club?

Michael O Leary

Colm_OReilly wrote:

Michael,
I've heard of the 80/20 rule before, but in relation to 20% of your time will accomplish 80% of your work, and obviously the other 80% of your time will be spent getting the remainding 20%, or the polishing, as you put it.

Hi Colm,

I know this thread is a bit old but the 80/20% rule came up in college this evening and I immediately thought of you.:)

In 1906 an Italian economist called Vilfredo Pareto observed that 20% of the people owned 80% of the wealth. This idea was developed into something called the "vital few" and "trival many". The value of it is that it focuses you on the 20% of things that matter which provide you with 80% of the results. Apparently you can apply the 80/20% rule to almost anything from the science of management to the physical world.

I personally feel that in the physical world such as the practise of martial arts this rule can apply also. It could link into one of Bruce Lee's maxims, "aborb what is useful" as well as highlighting the success of MMAs in competitions and as I previously stated I personally feel that 20% of Wing Tsun and Escrima can get you out of 80% of self-defence situations.

Anyway these are just some thoughts. Does anyone else have any contributions on how the 80/20% rule relates to their martial arts training?

Regards all,

Michael O'Leary
www.wingtsun-escrima.ie

Repli

Coolmine taekwondo : www.taekwon-do.ie - it used to be run by the INTA (that might put u off the club ;P)

Naos

Head up to Coolmine Leisure centre, there are notice boards displaying timetables & descriptions of a variety of Martial Arts taught there like JiuJitsu, Judo, Taekwondo, Wing Tsun.