Our Martial Arts
Skill & Knowledge
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| Click to see just some of the skills you could gain by joining the UKKFF and training with us. |
FREE Trial Period
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| Apply now & get up to 4 weeks FREE training at any school. |
Our Locations
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| We have clubs across Surrey & South-West London, and we're growing. Find your local school |
Shaolin Origins
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| The entrance of the famous Shaolin Monastery in Henan province, China. Said to be the origin of Wing Chun (aka Yong Chun, Wing Tsun, Ving Tsun) through the buddhist abbess named Ng Mui, one of the so-called Five Elders. |
Kung-Fu History
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| A bust of the Wing Chun Grandmaster Yip Man (Ip Man) 1893-1972. Although greatly developed, the system of Chinese Kung-Fu we currently teach has many roots within his extremely popular & influential lineage. |
Escrima History
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| Photo of Escrima Grandmaster Angel Cabales 1917-1991. One of the founders of modern-day Escrima and the first to teach his Serrada approach via a set syllabus & ranking system. Although greatly developed, the Escrima Concepts System we teach has roots within his well-organised & effective method. |
Bruce Lee
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| The sculpture of martial artist & martial arts actor Bruce Lee 1940-1973 on the Avenue Of Stars in Hong Kong. Like us, he continued to study, question & develop his arts throughout his life. Most especially the combination of Wing Chun (Gong-Fu) & Escrima (Eskrima). |
Simple, but not easy
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| What we consider traditional, our ancestors thought of as modern & cutting-edge. The past is history. We honour it, study it and learn from it. We don't attempt to recreate it. Everything changes. To those who cling to the past, remember that the heresy of today becomes the doctrine of tomorrow. |
The essence of all combat is to prevail over an opponent whilst preventing them from prevailing over you. Very simple in principle, endlessly difficult in practice, mainly because your opponent has the same aim as you.
Throughout history, humanity as a species has found it necessary to explore ever-more efficient ways to accomplish this goal, using tools & methods ranging from the very simple to state-of-the-art. Over the generations, these methods have gradually become formalised into styles & complete systems of proven fighting techniques, which are collectively known as the Martial Arts.
We look ahead, not behind
Some martial arts still continue to be refined, improved & developed by their practitioners, whilst others are now just concerned with maintaining tradition and recreating the past as accurately as possible.
Each approach has a valid place, however the focus of the UKKFF is planted firmly within the first category; although we have a vast knowledge of the history & tradition of our arts, we are only concerned with their effectiveness in real fighting, against real opponents, in real situations. We are looking to the future, not living in the past.
Designed for todays' reality
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| We are not the military - our martial arts systems help normal, law-abiding people, police & security personnel equip themselves in case the sad reality of violence invades upon their life. If you want peace, prepare for war (Sun Tzu). What preparations have YOU made? |
As societies develop, interpersonal violence becomes less & less accepted and eventually illegal, as is the case now. Today real combat with extreme & deadly force is the sole province of the military, whose job it is to enforce the political will of government on an international scale. In civilian life only the police & security services are legally entitled to use force, and then only in sufficient degree to protect the public, preserve the peace & uphold the law. The average person in the street is only permitted to use reasonable force in self-defence, the defence of another, or the defence of property.
In the UK, this situation means that should violence occur, members of the public, security personnel, and the police are unlikely to be faced with a firearm, and very likely to be faced with larger, stronger unarmed assailant(s), or worse, a knife or makeshift weapon of some kind (stick, glass, bottle, cosh, shiv etc.)
For these extremely practical reasons, our chosen blend of martial arts are designed to reflect the reality of violence for the above groups of people. In general we are not concerned with tournaments or fightsport, but we put a lot of physical & mental effort into our training. Many competitors have found the reality of our disciplines, plus our 'train hard - fight easy' ethos to be extremely useful additions to their own personal game.
A clear understanding of martial arts
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| Just like the famous Yin/Yang concept, the essence of the unarmed is always found in the armed, and vice-versa. This means that until you've studied both sides of the coin, as it were, you will never truly complete your knowledge of any individual martial art. |
Unarmed and armed combat both share a common core of concepts & principles. Looking past the more obvious superficial differences we discover a fuzzy duality - each approach contains, complements & enhances the other to some degree - instead of a classical duality of opposites.
Correct weapons training is especially good at revealing flaws, problems & illusions in any unarmed style, whilst putting the weapons down often allows subtleties & nuances to become more apparent, which were previously covered up by speed, power and the greater threats posed by weapons.
Thus, we teach & train two primary martial disciplines. One is mainly unarmed (Kung-Fu), and the other mainly armed (Escrima). These are supported by two supplementary disciplines (Grappling and Historical Weapons) which allow our members to gain a deeper awareness of specific areas within unarmed and armed combat.
An introduction to each of the martial arts we offer is shown below.
Kung-Fu
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| Our unique, strategy based Federation Wing Tsun System applies weapons concepts to ALL the natural tools of the human body to create powerful, efficient, dynamic movement. Our structured training programme uses a unique five-elements approach: Strategy - Theory - Technical - Practical - Physical. |
Kung-Fu is taught in general classes at all our schools and also in private lessons & regular seminars.
The term "Kung-Fu" is commonly used in the western world to describe all martial arts of Chinese origin, no matter how they may have been subsequently developed. Within this vast category there are many different systems, family styles, sub-styles & methods. Although containing some weapons, most variants of kung-fu are primarily unarmed, focusing upon using the natural tools of the human body (hands, feet, elbows, knees etc) to solve the problems of attack & defence set by an opponent.
Kung-Fu is the main unarmed combat discipline of the UKKFF. We teach the Federation Wing Tsun System developed by Sifu Lee Paul Heron, which remains the simplest, yet most comprehensive & effective approach to the art of Wing Chun Kung-Fu we've ever seen.
Our unique, strategy-based approach applies correct weapons principles to unarmed combat right from the start. Everything starts with strategic choice, and you'll begin with the strategy of Evasion - can you avoid the tool (punch, kick etc) and avoid the person using it? Once that skill is mastered and you can safely remove yourself from danger, we proceed to more complex strategies such as Engagement and Attack. Everything in combat is your personal choice, and should you choose to stand & fight, for whatever reason, our training programmes systematically explore the possibilities, pros & cons of all available options. Unlike more traditional methods, Federation Wing Tsun is taught conceptually using five specially-developed martial elements namely the Strategic, the Theoretical, the Technical, the Practical and the Physical elements.
Discover more - go to the Kung-Fu Main Hub
Escrima
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| The Escrima Concepts System uses all kinds of blunt & edged weapons, starting with sticks. The structured training programme employs five concepts: Balance - Speed (Timing & Distance) - Power - Focus - Transition. |
Escrima is taught in general classes at many of our schools and also in private lessons & regular seminars.
"Escrima", "Kali" and "Arnis" are three terms which are commonly used to describe those martial arts of Filipino origin which place their emphasis upon the use of hand weapons, most notably sticks, daggers & machetes. These three generic terms encompass many different systems, lineages, styles & approaches to armed combat, and also contain empty-hand components too. However, all variants tend to begin with single & double sticks before combining them with knives & other edged weapons.
Escrima is the main armed combat discipline of the UKKFF. We teach the unique Escrima Concepts System developed by Master Steve Tappin, which we believe to be THE most effective & complete personal self-defence system currently available.
Escrima Concepts begins with a single-stick & a "live" hand, and progresses to encompass double-sticks, stick & knife, double-knives, palm-sticks & machetes, and empty-hand applications. Plus it has been greatly enriched through the addition of classical weapons knowledge (e.g staff, sword, shield, buckler) and modern armament (e.g. tonfa, kubotan). Unlike more traditional approaches, Escrima Concepts is taught conceptually via a structured syllabus, and the five generic concepts of Balance, Speed (Timing & Distance), Power, Focus and Transition.
Grappling
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| The study of grappling gives us extensive knowledge of close-range and ground-based possibilities if the need arises, or if we choose to control instead of strike. |
Grappling is the supplementary unarmed discipline of the UKKFF. We explore this interesting area of close-range & ground-based combat under the guidance of Robert 'Bobby' Sundel, a professional MMA fighter from Malmo, Sweden who is highly skilled in many grappling arts.
The term grappling is commonly applied to all martial arts whose emphasis is on the control, restraint & incapacitation of an opponent via throws, take-downs, locks & holds, and again the term covers many popular disciplines such as Judo, BJJ (Brazilian Ju-Jitsu), Submission Wrestling and Shooto. Although some grappling arts do contain a striking element, it is not usually the primary focus of the discipline.
The UKKFF is mainly concerned with the striking arts, however no serious martial artist can ignore the possibilities offered by the study of grappling, not least because of the balance, control & body awareness which the discipline can provide.
Grappling is taught via small-group workshops throughout the year or via private tuition to current members to supplement their primary arts.
Historical & traditional weapons
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| Training with historical weaponry never fails to bring a new-found respect for the knowledge, ability & effort of our ancestors. |
Historical weapons is the supplementary armed discipline of the UKKFF. We explore this fascinating area of combat via the knowledge of the European Historical Combat Guild.
Considering the influence of film & television, it is tempting to think that only foreign countries possessed exotic combat skills. However British & European history is replete with wars & battles, and indeed the British Empire once spanned the globe. The indigenous armed & unarmed fighting skills of our nation have influenced the martial arts of many other countries, as we in turn have been influenced by theirs. Such is the nature of constant development. There is much to be learned by studying the traditional weaponry of our own culture; swords, shields, spears, polearms, bows & arrows, and the rich diversity of personal armament from the medieval period.
Historical weapons are taught via small-group workshops throughout the year or via private tuition to current members to supplement their primary arts.