Thursday, January 21, 2016

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

"Amazing Wing Chun training with Nick Veitch here in Taiwan today. If you are ever in Taipei and want to try a pretty creative, free thinking) but still very solid and inspiring take on Wing Chun, I highly recommend him." - Dec. 2015: PJ Pereira (second degree black belt in Shao Shin Hao Kung fu, brown belt in Shorinji Ryu Karate, and Wing Chun Instructor:). Co-founder of San Francisco ad agency Pereiraodell representing such clients as UFC and Fox Sports. (http://www.pereiraodell.com/clients)

"In 2012 I had the honor of learning Wing Chun from Nick for six months. His style and take on the art is highly analytical, intelligent and effective. His ability to convey his ideas to his students, in my experience is second to none. His students can expect to attain a high level of proficiency in a genuinely short period of time. Tailored to each individual student, i believe this style is unquestionably the most flexible art for beginners and experienced hands alike." Ben Young, Brisbane Australia, Jan. 2016


Legs-on, hands-on, forward anti-thinking approach, experimental and modest, versatile and wise in the face of unending manifestations of the human antibodies we encounter. At any one time, Nick will be experimenting with another martial art or fighting sport, to make sure his own style stands up to the changing contexts and situations we enter, incorporating from other arts that of value into his metastructure. As a writer, he emphasises communication and accessibility, as a freelancer he is remarkably time flexible to the wishes of students, you can learn as much as you can give in time, even for short stays. Beginners can go from zero to a level of confidence quickly, and no advanced martial artists will leave without food for thought. - Nicholas Coulson, Taipei, 2016

"Your Wing Chun sessions were the highlight of our trip!  Athena and I were hoping to have more sessions before we left.  In the two or three sessions, you covered the fundamental blocking and kicking techniques.  These were very beneficial--I felt I could apply what I learned immediately.  It was empowering, to say the least.  If we go back to Taipei, we will definitely contact you to get together." - Jarod Nozawa, Los Angeles, 2015

尼克的詠春拳是現代化的功夫,功夫的現代化。源自南中國的詠春拳,融合洪拳,連消代打,攻守一體,經李小龍吸收傳入西方,蔚為風尚。尼克深明拳意並能融合當代其他武技術再創新意,在臺北,倘若你想深究詠春拳原理,並想探討下一個時代的武術,這是保有以武會友精神的所在。- 蔡子岳 (Harry Tsai, Taiwan Print Reporter and Kung Fu Aficionado, Dec. 2015 - 武術愛好者)


Hi, I'm Nick Veitch in Taipei and I teach MMA-ready Wing Chun kung fu.
My background is Yip Man lineage Wing Chun, plus Tai Chi, some Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, western boxing, and formal body-movement training (rather like Ido Portal). I stress ambidextrous three-limb fighting. That means fighting with your arms and legs simultaneously, all the time. 
What I don't teach is Yip Man Wing Chun. Instead, I've invented something much better suited for MMA and the UFC. 
Why?
I realized there are two radically different types of Wing Chun Kung Fu. One for fighting on boats (Yip Man's Pearl River delta style) with the other for fighting on land (the original Wing Chun from Yunnan Province which seems to be virtually extinct). I teach the latter.
Here’s how the journey into kung fu heresy began: The final weapon taught in contemporary wing chun kung fu is the long pole, a barge pole, the same as the enormous staff wielded by Venetian gondoliers. The gondoliers in China were Tanka boat people who used to live full-time on the water by the tens of thousands in the Pearl River delta during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Tanka lived on overgrown dinghies with a partial roof and the whole family and property was all crowded aboard. So there was little open space for fighting. They adapted Wing Chun kung fu from an MMA type scenario where you have lots of space and adjusted it to work in the tiny cramped space of their boats. Hence the boat pole as the Yip Man Wing Chun weapon. Hence Yip Man Wing Chun has not been found to work in MMA or the UFC. 
Back when I was helping John Kang open a school in California, I realized the Wing Chun I was taught was not working in fight situations. Ignore all the excuses about MMA competition limitations and how wearing gloves impedes Wing Chun in MMA competition. I can chi shou just fine wearing regulation boxing gloves. ​Gloves are not the problem. The solution lies in what I've extracted from body movement training (akin to Ido Portal). I’ve spent several years rebuilding Wing Chun around new ideas and along the way realized I had created what must have been the original Yunnan version because now everything in Wing Chun finally really works the way it is supposed to, without requiring superior speed or strength or timing.  
Fee: Free! 
Paradigm: No forms. Everything is hands on from day one. You start with elementary modified boxing and quickly move to ambidextrous chi-shou hands. Later, we add legs. Then knives too if you want. Empty hand Wing Chun kung fu is knife-fighting without the knives. 
By the way, I also stress teaching you how to beat me. I can't learn from you unless you're better than me. So I share everything I know and hide nothing.  
Learning Time-frame: train 6 days a week and in three months you're competent with the fundamentals of fighting ambidextrously with all three limbs. Train three days a week, and in five months the same.  
I just teach a few friends now and again. That's what you want. A big class and you don't get individual training. Plus I work out of my home and train nearby at NTU so scheduling meetups around the clock via Facebook is easy. 
Bio: grew up in the UK, equatorial Africa, and North America. Been on the ROC for 25 years. Self-taught Mandarin speaker, professional translator, Opium War era historian (politically incorrect history of course... ha...). Am married.
Email: biffcapp@gmail.com  

Updated: February 2016

Monday, January 18, 2016