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Home | Forms and Drills | Luk-Dim-Boon-Kwun |
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Luk-Dim-Boon-Kwun
Introduction | History | Strength Training | Section 1 | Drills and Applications | Concepts and Theories
The first formal weapon of the Wing Chun system is called Luk-Dim-Boon-Kwun (pronounced luck-dim-boon-gwun). Meaning "Six-and-a-Half Point long pole," the Luk-Dim-Boon-Kwun is a staff approximately 8-1/2 feet in length. Poles vary in both length and weight; for example, my pole is approximately 9-feet and is quite heavier than most in order to train additional strength and stamina concepts. Others, however, are usually lighter and generally trained for precision targeting. Some practitioners feel that weapons training isn't as useful as it once was, and I can understand that view. After all, how often do you find yourself with an 8-foot pole or two 1-1/2 lb. double knives?! But weapons training, besides additional strength or coordination enhancement, still has a viable purpose in today's society for real situations. A precept of Wing Chun thought is that we will never know every situation we'll encounter. We haven't the slightest bit of control over every environment we'll find ourselves in, so if we can't control it, we don't know what will happen. We might be in a pool hall, a local pub, a five-star restaurant, or a party. Who knows? And who knows what situations can develop while we're there? That being said, we must never automatically assume that something isn't viable just because of the day and age we live. Some things are probably more "traditional" in that realistically we won't find ourselves utilizing the same types of weapons as our ancestors; the concept, however, is the true goal of learning. The long pole teaches long-range weapons use, while the double knives teach short to medium-range weapons concepts. If a practitioner has an understanding of short, medium, and long-range weapons concepts, he or she can effectively apply those concepts to any item useful as a weapon. The history of how the long pole was introduced to Wing Chun is much clearer than that of the knives. Aboard the red junk (a boat of opera performers that would travel from harbor to harbor) were Wong Wah Bo (a master of Wing Chun), Leung Yee Tai (the poler of the red junk) and Master Chi Shin, a surviving monk from the burned down Shaolin monastery. Showing a great interest in learning pole fighting techniques, Leung Yee Tai learned this skill from Chi Shin. Meeting and befriending Wong Wah Bo, Leung Yee Tai showed Wong Wah Bo the pole techniques while, in exchange, Wong Wah Bo taught Leung Yee Tai the art of Wing Chun. Altering the pole movements to fit the Wing Chun theory, as well as adapting the stances to fit the length and weight of the pole, the Luk-Dim-Boon-Kwun was born and became the first of only two formal weapons in the system. Prior to beginning the curriculum for the pole form and applications, a stable and strong foundation must first be created. Without it, you will always feel uncomfortable or unweildy handling this long, heavy weapon. First we learn the three primary stances, followed with various strength training drills. Stance Training
Once the basic stances are learned, we introduce various strength training drills. The drills are performed in all of the stances pictured above vs. just one. This allows for multiple muscle groups to be worked and creates a stronger overall result vs. keeping just one stance.
A very good solo exercise to build strength is below. Repeat this exercise continuously to create the strength necessary in the forearms, chest, shoulders and back.
Strength training is so important that a practitioner can spend anywhere from 6 months to a year or more working various drills prior to learning the form or any drills. A lot of people want to just jump right in to learning the pole, but without sufficient strength training and learning how to handle this long, heavy weapon, the form will be unweildy and your power will never be released as it should. The level of strength a practitioner gains from these drills is vital before proceeding to learning the long pole form itself. One element that the AWCA incorporates during this strength training phase is that the drills are first learned with a very heavy, custom-made pole. A practitioner will start with the normal pole for learning the correct movements, gaining the beginning level of strength and coordination, etc. After this is sufficient, however, the practitioner will then begin exclusive use of a heavier pole, which is a bit heavier than the previous pole. There are a variety of drills that a practitioner must complete prior to learning the pole form. From non-pole strength training to pole strength training, from single drills to drills with another practitioner, it can take up to a year or more of nothing but strength training for a practitioner to gain enough prowess for competently learning the pole form. Some believe that strength training before learning the pole form is backwards, that the form should be taught first so as to gain the necessary strength. But as mentioned previously, the opposite is true. It sounds like "overkill" to keep stating it, but it's very important to understand why this is so. If you train the form without first acquiring the necessary arm and leg strength to manipulate such a long and heavy weapon, the form will take on many bad habits. Instead of striking directly parallel, the pole will dip. Instead of adhering to the Wing Chun Kuen Kuit (a collection of training proverbs passed down through the generations) which states "The pole does not make more than one sound," the pole will strike two, three or more times against the opponent's pole. Therefore, having sufficient strength prior to learning the form greatly assists in ensuring that these bad habits do not appear. Also, a practitioner must have a mastery of the Biu-Tze curriculum before even beginning the long pole strength training. Why? Because "penetration of force" must first be demonstrated since the pole's primary striking point is the tip. When a practitioner has proven enough control during the various drills, and when he/she has gained sufficient strength to handle this long-range weapon, the Luk-Dim-Boon-Kwun form is learned.
Compared to other martial arts, the Luk-Dim-Boon-Kwun form is quite short in duration. Like the variety of Wing Chun/ Ving Tsun styles, though, not everyone trains the same form. Some pole forms have only seven movements, while others can have up to 50 or more (at the AWCA, our pole form has 36 movements and is taught in four sections). All, however, have an involved training curriculum for making the most of this unique weapon. For section 1, there are actually only 3 movements: Jut-kwun, Jum-kwun and Biu-kwun. The remainder of actions involve resuming stances and transitioning. The movements change angles, though, to include stepping and barring. The remaining 33 movements are in sections 2 through 4, also with multiple angles and stepping. As mentioned previously, the weapons are also learned a bit differently than the empty-hand forms. With empty-hand training, we will learn a few movements of one section of a form, and then dive into the myriad of applications, concepts and drills that deal with those movements. This is repeated for an entire section of the form until the full curriculum is achieved. Where weapons are concerned, though, we start with strength training in order to handle the weapon itself. This is followed by learning the complete form, then the drills and applications, and then applying these applications to the relevant "sticking" training. For the Luk-Dim-Boon-Kwun, this would be Chi-kwun, or "Sticking-pole" (also commonly referred to as "Pole-clinging"). Even though this is an extremely long weapon, it can be quite formidable to deal with. There is a great deal of length for an opponent to overcome, as well as maneuvering around the power that is being delivered in the tip of the pole. Likewise, however, this length is also what the practitioner must learn to utilize to his/her advantage.
Why Such a Long Pole? Over the years, some practitioners have attempted to shorten it a bit in order to make it more "useful" for today's society, but in the end, they found that they lost a great deal of what this training affords them. By understanding the use of long weapons, you will also gain a sense of medium-range weapons. And having long and medium-range weapons training, the last range is short-range, which is learned with the Bart-Cham-Dao. Does the Pole Ever Twirl Like in Other Martial Arts? The moment that the tip of the pole is taken away from the opponent, you open a hole in your own defense. If he/she is faster, they will attack you before you get your pole back to a position of defense. Why purposelly create a hole for your opponent to attack you through? How Does Pole Fighting Relate to Today's Society? We've all heard that weapons are an extension of ourselves, and that is just as true today as it was when our ancestors depended on weapons for their survival. Through the process of learning to use a weapon - and particularly one such as Wing Chun's long pole - it "reconnects" us to our predecessors. Too much of today's world wants to throw away the "old ways" in favor of newer, modern things... and in the process, they disconnect themselves from our roots and heritage. Not only is "heritage" important, but the mere fact of training with a weapon even gives you a better sense of your empty-hand fighting. It is not "needed" to be an accomplished fighter, but it does lend itself to delivering a variety of attributes that otherwise would not be attained. So yes, we might not fight in the street with a weapon such as this, but its training ensures that later generations will never forget where we come from. And additionally, weapons training adds a great deal to your empty-hand fighting skills.
The Luk-Dim-Boon-Kwun is a Wing Chun weapon that is somewhat shrouded in mystery. However, that is now a thing of the past with Volume 6: Luk-Dim-Boon-Kwun of the AWCA's eBook Training Series. This in-depth, photo and video-illustrated training workbook includes the COMPLETE Luk-Dim-Boon-Kwun curriculum, start to finish. In Volume 6, you will learn the complete form, all of the drills, all of the applications, and an in-depth step-by-step breakdown of the concepts and theories.
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 Updated: 11.22.2007 9:06AM MST Privacy Policy | Terms of Use |
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