The 2013 West Coast Training Camp was held at the AWCA gym over the weekend, and like all camps to date was our best yet.

With most member’s skill sets somewhat close, this particular camp was even more fun because instead of varied curriculums for each person, everyone was able to follow the same outline throughout the entire weekend. This allowed for everyone to have more partners and work through smaller and larger opponents.

Working through Siu-Nim-Tau and Chum-Kiu, we explored a great deal of translating drills and applications to real-world use in today’s fighting environment. Too many schools still hold to the notion of Wing Chun vs. Wing Chun or the standard, stoic, everyday drills; instead, we prefer to continuously analyze everything we do so that it remains competent for the ever-changing world.

A variety of photos will be posted within this post in a few days once I get the media edited, so check back for clips of what we encountered. From jab/cross/knee defenses to hook/uppercuts and roundhouse kick defenses, it was a great three days that everyone will take home with them.

2013 West Coast Training Camp

A scaled-down version of George St. Pierre’s Rushfit is available for the iPhone. Called Touchfit, I’ve been using it for about 1 week and it’s actually quite good. The idea of having a full program available on your iPhone means that you are no longer tethered to your computer. That’s the same concept we’ve been working at with the AWCA’s training programs, so it’s nice to see more mainstream apps paving the way.

Check out Touchfit here. I don’t know if there’s an Android version, but if there’s not, there should be. This is a great app and at only $6.99, that’s a great price for a really great training program.

GSP Touchfit for iPhone

Because of our recent move and all that goes along with it, it’s been a while since I’ve posted an update, article or video. Now that more is completed, I have more time to get back to the newsletter, posting training articles and getting more videos posted. Quite a bit needs to be done so hopefully you will begin seeing more activity. Rest assured that nothing has been forgotten or stopped.

Gym & Videos

The gym is coming along a bit slower than I anticipated due to storage still being worked out for installation. However, once that is installed and everything put away, then the floors and equipment can be finished up. In the meantime, you will begin seeing multiple installments of our Video of the Month, as well as updates and new videos for the website. I’m looking forward to getting back to filming and demonstrating what we do and how we do it.

eBooks

Throughout the move, work continued when possible on finishing up Volume 4: Biu-Tze, as well as periodic work on Volume 5: Muk-Yan-Chong. These will be made available just as soon as I can get them to you, and I have also been working on new templates and updates for Volume 1: Siu-Nim-Tau, Volume 2: Chum-Kiu and Volume 3: Chi-sau. It’s important to keep these workbooks current with today’s fighting strategies, especially exploring how Wing Chun Kuen responds to the varying fighting styles popular to the mainstream. Now that we’re in and moving forward with the new gym, our timelines are in place to make these updates and get them to you as soon as I can.

What I’m really excited about is that in addition to downloadable EXE eBook, all eBooks will also be viewable online. No matter what operating system you have, no matter where you are, as long as you have Internet connectivity, you will be able to access your eBooks. It will take a bit to make that available since my priority is first to complete the full series and then make all of the updates available. When done, though, I will make all online versions available and complete a project that’s been sorely needed for a long, long time.

AWCA Notes

Whew. What a gap our newsletter has seen! But that’s all about to change because not only are the back issues of AWCA Notes going to be made available, but I’m working diligently to get everything updated and available. Due to the current and back issues needing finalizing, it’s a tall order, for certain. Rest assured, though, that I haven’t forgotten it. AWCA Notes holds a special place for me because it gives us a chance to reach so many with free monthly training that has shown to be beneficial. That in itself is motivation enough and I will working long hours to get them all out to you.

Distance Learning Program

Finally, our Distance Learning Program. We have been reaching so many around the world and making friends along the way that it’s hard to remember what life was like “before” the DLP. It’s become a way of life for so many, but also for me. I am always making updates and working to make the program even more accessible, so look for some major announcements in the coming weeks and months about what I’ve been working on (I’d give you a hint now but don’t want to spoil it). Let’s just say that it’s been a dream come true to make it all available, and it’s finally coming about.

So there you have it for now. A lot is coming but time is certainly not on my side. Nevertheless, you will start seeing some immediate updates in the coming days via our YouTube channel, plus more videos and photos for section 1 of each Forms Training and Drills & Applications section of the website. I’m very excited to get back into things so stay tuned. A lot is about to happen and I’m glad you’re along for the ride.

Progress and Updates

If you’re looking for quick and easy assistance in regards to tracking your nutrition and exercise, check out Lose It! Lose It! is a great app I found purely by accident and I’m glad I did. I was using MyFitnessPal for a while but admittedly, it wasn’t all that convenient for me. With Lose It!, well, you just have to see it to believe it.

What I find most appealing is that for one, it’s free (and who doesn’t like free?) But more than that, it’s icon-based food and exercise database makes it more enjoyable to log what you’re doing. You can log item-by-item and even meal-by-meal. Everything you do is also listed in your My Foods and My Exercises section so that if there’s something you eat or do repeatedly, you don’t have to search for it. Just access that part, click it, and there you go.

One of the great things is that it also has a bar code scanner. Rather than manually putting in all of the nutrients from your favorite foods, simply scan a bar code from the label and it adds it all for you. How great is that?

Not only do I use the iPhone app but I also use the online section when needed. I’m still getting used to actually remembering to log it, but that’s my own hang up vs. anything from the program. I’ve read statistics that prove that if you log what you do, you greatly increase your odds of success. So if you want a helping hand, check out Lose It! It’s a great app and one that I’m beginning to use more and more.

Lose It App Is A Contender

It’s been a bit over a week and we’re finally getting settled in. The move is completed, the gym buildout is underway, and we’re finally getting things put together for getting back into the game.

UPDATE: 02/21 – My office was just finished today and now that everything’s back in place, I can resume work. Our temporary location was better than I ever imagined it would be, but admittedly, when you don’t have “your stuff” it really hinders what needs to be done (plus hammers your routine). Now that the office is in place, I can sit down and finish up work with Volume 4, plus get busy with Volume 5.

The house is coming along a bit slower than I anticipated but isn’t that always the case when you move? It’s amazing how much junk we accumulate over the years. With everything in storage and living without it for 6 months, we realized how little we even missed it. So another thorough “house cleaning” is happening to donate what we don’t want to Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

Once the house is put away – which will hopefully be done in a couple of days – then I jump into the task of getting the gym set up. I have the camera equipment ready to go, too, and as you know, I’ll be documenting everything as we go along so that others wanting to do what we’re about to do but have never built their own gym will have some direction. This will be the fourth home gym I’ve built and I’m really looking forward to getting it up and running.

I’m also very much looking forward to getting going for finishing up our remaining two eBooks, plus updating the site with videos and new photos. Tons more drills are planned, plus getting caught up on our newsletter, AWCA Notes. And of course there’s our Video of the Month, too, and I have some great training videos just waiting to be filmed.

It’s been a long road to get here, but we’re finally here. In the VERY near future you’re going to see some great training resources being pumped out left and right, so hang on for the ride because it’s about to get a lot of fun!

Move Completed and Gym Buildout Underway

We’ve had a tremendously positive response from our visitors concerning DAP and how glad they were that we recommended them to secure their sites for Members-Only access. I’ve looked at every membership possibility out there and quite honestly, DAP is the only one that actually does what they say it does (and in an easy way, too!)

If you use DAP and you haven’t received their latest email concerning v4.4.3 coming out of beta, click here. There’s some VERY important updates concerning PayPal and how they handle their IPN processing that you will need to implement immediately. Without upgrading, your PayPal processing won’t happen since PayPal is making changes to that whole process. DAP 4.4.3 takes that into account and allows you to keep on going painlessly.

If you’re wondering “What the heck is DAP?” then click here. DAP is a WordPress plugin that allows you to create a secured, reliable membership section for your WordPress site (but it also handles HTML, too). AWCAOnline has been using it for close to a year now and by far it’s one of the best implementations we’ve ever introduced for our members and customers. Not only does it handle our payment processing, but it also allows me to keep our member resources secured and accessible to our world-wide members 24/7.

If you have a website and want to introduced a robust membership section, then you have to check out Digital Access Pass. You’ve known me long enough to know that I never recommend anything I don’t personally use, and I fully recommend DAP. It’s actually the reason you’re starting to see so many resources finally being made available!

DAP 4.4.3 Is Now Out Of Beta

After six months, we’re almost into the new gym and can begin setting it up. It’s been a long road but it’s just around the corner. We’re all excited to get going, too!

We still have about 2 weeks to go and once we’re in, then work really begins for installing the equipment and getting it ready for transferring class. The dummy, wall bags, hanging bags, painting, and everything that goes with it. I’m itching to get in and get going, as well as documenting the process through video and photos so that those who want to build their own gym will have a pattern to follow.

I’m also anxious to get our video equipment out of storage and set up again so that we can get back into action for videos. The newsletter is sorely behind, as is our Video of the Month installments. Our temporary location just didn’t really work out as planned for keeping the videos going in this interim time, and our sparring equipment was accidentally put in storage vs. coming with us. So, there went the remainder of the year’s newsletter installments because they were already written and focused around Lat-sau and sparring.

At least in a few weeks we can get it back and get those issues out, as well as get the 2013 newsletter issues going again.

Also once we’re in and set up, I can finally get the updated photos and videos for the web site finished up. I’ll be expanding all areas of section 1 that you see and providing some really great free training resources, so thanks for your patience while we work to get that done, too.

Lastly, once my office is installed, I can get back to work finalizing Volume 4: Biu-Tze and get that out to you. I “thought” I could make it available before Christmas but to be honest, the lighting here is just not adequate. To correct it meant a lot of work in post-edits with color corrections, and I never liked what the end product resulted as. In short, it wasn’t right to start with and I didn’t want to make something available that didn’t meet my standards.

Once the gym is in and I can get to my lighting equipment, that will solve that. We’ll re-film some of what we shot and with my office set up, it will be a quick final post-edit and then it will go out. Still a bit to do but I’ll get back to it once we get everything moved in.

Now I’m off for more packing. It really doesn’t seem that long when it was 118-degrees and I was sweating my butt off getting the pods packed with a gym and a 4-bedroom house. Six months later, now it’s 24-degrees this morning (the pool had ice on it) and we’re packing up again to get into the new digs.

Thanks to everyone for their patience during this time while we made the move. I guarantee that you’re going to see some really great training resources being pumped out this year, and a LOT of projects finished up. There are workbooks for Wing Chun training but also for fitness training, as well as how to create your own eBooks, online videos and other media. There’s so much planned and actually nearing completion that I think you’ll be quite pleased with what you see in the coming months.

For our members, we also have our annual camp coming up in a few months and you’ll be working in the new gym. I think you’ll like what you see.

Work Continues and the New Gym is Almost Ready

Over the last couple of days, I’ve been receiving very positive emails and responses to my query of what you thought about the eBooks to be moved to an online format vs. the current stand-alone version. Based on what I’ve been reading (over 250 emails so far), the consensus is the same: YES!

I’m very glad to hear that, too, because it’s something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while. With our secured member script from DigitalAccessPass (DAP), we can now accomplish that very thing and make it viewable to everyone vs. only Windows users. There’s been such a positive outpouring for eBooks to be moved online that it’s just simply the way to go.

There are a few things to work out here and there, but I’m excited to be moving them all over and making our resources available in more formats so that others can get involved, too. We’ve been producing very successful workbooks for many, many years, and it’s time to take the next step in making them even more available.

Stand-alone eBooks are definitely great, don’t get me wrong, but with technology and devices becoming what it is, the time of “stand-alone” is going away. Wi-Fi and hotspots will mean that you can access your resources anywhere at anytime, so we are no longer tethered to just one machine. Instead, “anywhere, anytime” is becoming today’s norm, and I intend on staying up to date with how media is accessed.

So, that being said, I will be finishing up Volume 4: Biu-Tze and still making it available in stand-alone EXE format since it’s already built that way and almost ready to go. Following this, the first eBook out of the gate in online format will be Volume 5: Muk-Yan-Chong. Following this, I will move Volumes 1-4 to online format and then discontinue the EXE file format.

Over time, you will also see non-video versions available in Kindle format, too, because quite frankly I want to produce them in that format. I love Kindle, my students love Kindle, and we’ll be making them available (eventually) in as many formats as possible. It might mean acquiring a Mac in order to make them available in iPad format or other Mac-compatible formats, but if it’s feasible, then that’s what will happen.

Thanks to everyone for their valued feedback. I appreciate the kind responses and knowing that so many are getting great results!

eBooks To Be Moved To An Online Format

The AWCA wants to wish everyone a blessed and very Merry Christmas. This is one of my favorite times of the year (the other being Easter) in which we celebrate the birth of our Lord. Despite all the shopping and marketing, the real reason for Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas at our house is filled with family, music and the knowing that God gave His only Son for us.

One of my favorite songs that explains this special day is by Downhere.

http://youtu.be/ulY2KPmpMwk

Merry Christmas to all of our students, friends, and visitors from all over the world. We’re blessed to know you and glad you are a part of our family.

Merry Christmas

After much discussion and testing, I would like feedback on possibly moving all ETS eBooks to an online format beginning in 2013. This will include our entire eBook Training Series, plus all future eBooks being worked on. The downloadable eBooks will still be available while we test the functionality and gain input from our members and many customers around the world.

There are a few things to note here and I would like your feedback.

First, the eBooks in their current format definitely serve a purpose, but admittedly they are difficult for some to download and install because of the security features. The majority of folks have no problems with the download and install, but if even one has an issue, then that’s one too many in my book. I want a seamless process 100% of the time.

The security features have always been a necessary evil in order to protect our work, but with the advent of our secured member section, we have more options available to us.

Second, our computers are Windows-based and our Mac friends could never take advantage of our training products. With an online version, that is now a thing of the past because it will not matter what operating system you have. Everyone will be able to access the workbooks because they will be accessible from any Internet-connected machine.

Third, each page would be printable for offline viewing via a separate PDF file. This way, you still have a full printable eBook at your disposal as well as a complete online version. To me, that’s the best of both worlds.

Fourth, updates are immediate and you would no longer have to download and install the new updates. Simply sign in and access the book for the latest edition. Pretty simple.

Lastly, a big problem with training is that if you are away and want to access your workbook, you have to have the computer it was installed on (because the program locks to the machine code it was originally opened on to prevent copying). While all well and good, this means that if you have downtime at work and simply want to browse through a workbook, you can’t unless you have your personal computer with you.

That would be a thing of the past, too, because again, all workbooks would be directly accessible from any Internet-connected machine. Simply login with your username and password, and voila. That’s it. You’re in.

I have already begun moving Volume 1: Siu-Nim-Tau to an online format and I have to say that it is very promising already. All links work, the format is very clean, and even with a host of photos and videos laden on a page, the delivery time is quite acceptable.

Work will continue and I will offer a preview of that in the coming weeks, but please let me know your thoughts as to the pros/cons of moving the eBooks to an online format vs. a stand-alone eBook. At the very least, I will be offering the online version to all AWCA members as an additional resource to their training. If our eBook customers would prefer to have an online version vs. the stand-alone EXE eBook, though, I am more than open to that consideration.

My personal thought? I believe moving everything to an online format is the way to go. Your investment is protected, our work is protected, access is secured, and updates to all books and videos are immediate with no down time by downloading a new version. It’s right then, right there. You would have a printable version of each section, too, which is much easier than the current printing.

Give it some thought and let me know what you think.

eBooks To Be Made Available In Online Format