How can i phrase this i really want to know !

[Ronan]

Hi everyone,

I have to be swift but I thought I'd write a quick description of why I chose to learn Kung Fu from Sifu.

I'd done boxing from a pretty young age and as I got older I felt I just wanted more. Cutting the story short I settled on practising Ninjutsu (Ninpo) which I considered the most appropriate art for what I wanted, a martial art for real fighting and not for sport. I was real fortunate to have an excellent teacher who studied with Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi and Shoto Tanemura (Both renowned Grand Masters of Ninjutsu).

I wanted the most brutal, efficient and effective form of fighting and I think I found it. I trained regularly for 3 years and loved every minute of it. Unfortunately the training was helping to make me quite a cold and ruthless person. I'd see someone in an elevator or in the street and start thinking of the fastest ways I could dissable them and escape!

every technique was a "finisher" and that didn't leave much room for compasion which I now realize is paramount in progressing spiritually and as a martial artist. Coincidentally I recently read an interview with Dr. Massaki Hatsumi in which he states many times that the true essence of a martial artist is compassion. When I look back at my previous training I can see how I missed a lot of the important practices and just concentrated on the techniques.

After a while I developed some problems of my spirit and heart was having daily bouts of depression and anxiety which were crippling every part of my life, and especially my training. I'd heard Of Sifu Wong and was vaugely interested in Chi Kung so when I heard he was coming to Ireland I saw it as a last ditch effort to rid myself of my problems (although I didn't really believe anything could stop the depression and anxiety I was experiencing)

So I travelled to learn Chi Kung from Sifu and enevitably my problems were 90% solved withing the first 10 minutes. I felt happier than I had done in years and literally felt like my heart had been unshakled and was bursting with joy. I continued practising and my life continued to get better aswell as my Ninjutsu practice. I could focus for much longer, I had more energy and could see techniques much more clearly than before.

All the while I was reading Sifu's web page and though I was real interested in his articals on Chi Kung I was dubious about Shaolin Kung Fu. Untill then my only experience with Kung Fu practitioners was that they were all show and their techniques were very inefficient and unrealistic.

As Mark Said earlier, Sifu's combat application pictures didn't help convice me as they can only capture a miniscule amount of the vastness of shaolin Kung Fu. So I figured I'd practice Shaolin Chi Kung but I'd stick with Ninjutsu. So when Sifu returned to Ireland 6 months later I went again to train with him and this time, just out of curiosity, I requested a demonstration of Shaolin Kung Fu.

I told Sifu that I couldn't see from the pictures on the web page how those techniques could be realistic. Again it took only 10 minutes for all my doubts to be cleared and I've never looked back! I still practice Ninjutsu when I'm in the area and the more I practice the more apparent the similarities between the two arts become.

So to answer the question of "why Wahnam", in short, I believe Sifu to be the best teacher I have come accross and I also believe Shaolin Kung Fu, Chi Kung and Zen to be the best Arts I have come accross.

Apologies for the long reply, it could be much longer if I didn't have such a firm dislike of computer screens!

Best Wishes

Ronan

[Kevin]

Greetings to all, both inside and outside of the Wahnam Family.

Something about the start of this thread got my mind going, so I thought I'd throw my two cents in. Kin Tama's first couple posts made some similar points/ideas come to mind. So here goes-

Firstly, the sparring videos. I've watched just about every video clip available on the Wahnam web-site. Quite honestly, when they first came out, I was thrilled to be able to see Shaolin Kung Fu and Wahnam Tai Chi Chuan in action. I've enjoyed watching all of them. Now I'm the first to admit that a person can't sit in their comfortable chair at home and go on and on about how "this or that" would or wouldn't work in a real fight/self-defense situation.
But I did just want to throw out a few observations-which is all they are, observations.

Most of the videos are Wahnam students sparring/training with each other..whether it be pre-arranged or not, beginner or instructor. One could argue that the skills and techniques learned and trained within Wahnam might work against Wahnam, when your training or sparring parter (pre-arranged or not) is feeding you techniques you are totally familiar with, but get a total unfamiliar opponent in front of you on the street, giving you attacks you've never seen before-the result could be alot different. I think Bruce Lee once said something like, "If you learn a method of fighting, you might be able to fight according to that method..but that is not really fighting". And stories of what someone did on the street against 1, 2, or 10 attackers, armed with whatever, are just that, stories. Not to say they aren't true, but anyone can say they did "such and such" on the street with their school's techniques. I'm just saying that can't be used to prove anything. Accept nothing on faith alone or the reputation of past masters, right?

Now I know that on some of the videos, the "attacker" simulates a Western Boxer or Muay Thai fighter. But it seems that most of these people don't really know how to throw true Western Boxing punches or solid, fast Muay Thai kicks. Of course beginners can't and shouldn't have full force/speed attacks coming at them. No one could learn anything that way. It might be more educational to get on video some trained boxers, kick boxers, etc. sparring with Wahnam students and/or instructors.

Another thing which might irk some visitors to the Wahnam website is the discussion on internal force. I know that in some of the threads I've read, it's seemed that sometimes the Wahnam students/instructors say how they "could" use (very damaging) internal force if necessary, but it could end up seriously hurting their opponent. I don't have a specific thread to reference to, but I hope I'm getting my idea across. I guess sometimes it just sounds like the old, "Ya, he beat me (knocked me down, knocked me out, took me to the ground, etc.), but if I had wanted to, I could have really hurt him.

I suppose the overall theme I wanted my post to get across was the, "It might work in the world of Wahnam, but not outside of it". Even the videos of the Wahnam instructors sparring just shows the same techniques that obviously they are all very familiar with, whether fast or slow. Some might call it a "comfort zone" kind of thing. As delightful as all the Wahnam videos are to watch, it would be even more impressive to see Shaolin Kung Fu or Wahnam Tai Chi Chuan being applied against a totally uncooperative opponent who had an equal amount of training time in his/her art (Western Boxing, Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, etc.).

Again, I'm just throwing these ideas out for the discussion. I'm not a Wahnam student, but I'm also not one of those who says/thinks that Kung Fu can't be used for fighting, or that Chi/internal force isn't real. I just wanted to put all this out there and see what everyone thinks and has to say, both inside and outside of the Wahnam family. This discussion forum is a wonderful meeting point. I look forward to everyone's replies.

I hope this post finds everyone well, and that your training (in whatever it may be) is going well.

Kevin

[Antonius]

Nice to see that everyone has been keeping busy in my absence. I think we should all thank Kin Tama for starting such a productive thread. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the responses here. Excellent stuff! Maybe I should go away more often.

Since everyone is doing such a terrific job of responding to specific points, I think I'll tell a story instead. Actually, a few stories....

I spent the weekend with Sifu and my classmate, Eugene. While driving to Key West yesterday, Eugene talked about his recent experience sparring with Kai in Malaysia. In short, Kai hit Eugene with a seemingly gentle elbow strike to the upper chest.

Kai has excellent control, but even he sometimes forgets his own power. In short, the force penetrated deep into Eugene's lungs. Although no lasting damage was done, Eugene continued to suffer from internal pains for over a month. (He resolved the problem on his own using his qigong.)

When I was in Malaysia in 2003, Kai did something similar to Berndt. It looked like a light tap to the chest. Over the course of the next few days, Berndt got sicker and sicker. It became obvious that something was seriously wrong. Sifu transmitted energy. Kai treated him with acupuncture. And Simu (Sifu's wife) cooked him some medicinal herbs.

Berndt recovered nicely, but I remember him telling me that, if not for the help of Sifu, Kai, and Simu, he felt that he would have died within a year. He said this with complete honesty while looking me in the eye.

I believe it was Javier who had a similar experience after being tapped by one of Kai's kicks. Perhaps Javier, or someone who was there, might like to tell the story?

Kai has also been known to give various demonstrations of internal power. For example, he will stand with his hands raised straight in the air and invite Tae Kwon Do black belts to kick his ribs and body full power -- to no effect.

Such experiences are not limited to Kai. Sifu Wong once received a gentle tap (a cup fist, to be exact) from his senior classmate during sparring. Over the next few days, he began to feel sick despite having been completely healthy for years. Sigung Ho transmitted energy to Sifu and applied some herbal medicine, but it still took Sifu months to fully recover.

I once hit Emiko in the neck with a gentle two-finger Dragon strike while demonstrating a technique to Mike. I thought it was nothing, but Emiko felt so sick that she immediately had to go do some remedial qigong exercises. The next day, Emiko told me that she was up half the night vomiting.

I've knocked forearms (Three-Star Hitting) with many people on this forum (and many others who are not). Perhaps some of them would like to share their experiences?

I have also broken the bottom of two bricks (without breaking the top). Many of my classmates can do the same. There is even a video of Ronan doing it in Malaysia.

Many of you reading this know from direct experience that the things I'm describing are real. And you know what? That's all that really matters.

[Zhang Wuji]

I was reading an old thread that George linked on page 4, relating to Bullshit and the Chinese arts. The questions by Kin Tama and Kevin seem so familiar because they were also asked in that thread. The questions are for us in Shaolin Wahnam, thought-provoking, which is a good thing.

The questions can be summarised in just one:

Can your kungfu work in real life?

The other questions tend to revolve around this, such as the question on whether Shaolin Kungfu as we learn it can be used against real and highly skilled Muay Thai fighters or other formidable fighters, or whether Shaolin Wahnam students really have internal force that makes them invincible or powerful in combat.

I think if proof is demanded, we would not be able to supply it via the video clips. But more importantly, we are not obliged to prove our fighting abilities to anyone. This being an internet forum, we have done the best we could to set out our training methodology and snapshots of our abilities. It is not our intention to convert anyone to the belief that we are the best. Those in Shaolin Wahnam believe this to be true and that is our perogative. Visitors who have not trained in Shaolin Wahnam and can only form conclusions from the video clips either believe us or not.

As my seniors have shared, some of them went through the "seeing / experiencing is believing" process, some by sparring with Sifu himself, others by taking part in a class. As has been said before, this is a private forum with open doors, so it is really intended for our students to share their experiences which may not resonate with that of visitors. Maybe the video clips are not impressive to an outsider, but because i have sparred with and seen our people in action, I don't view them the same as someone who sees them on their own.

There are valid points about the fact that our video clips do not show the students fighting against genuine fighters of other styles. But the point is that many students were themselves fighters of those styles. They would know if Shaolin Kungfu works or not.

If you went back and trained your chi kung patterns you learnt from the other school now that you are more advanced would you still find them lacking ?

Kin Tama, on this, I would reply "Of course!". In fact, I was quite surprised when Sifu once told me that the Taijiquan patterns I practice are more powerful than the three patterns he taught me at the intensive course. The reason is that the three patterns are the best available and the most suitable for a beginner at that level. Other patterns which may be technicaly better than those three may be less appropriate simply because they are more complicated and therefore tend to distract. But once a certain level of mastery over mind and energy is reached, one can move on to use more advanced patterns for the best possible benefits. In Shaolin Wahnam, we attain the skills first, then we choose the patterns best suited for us at the relevant stages of development.

****

On a related note, I read Antonius' post with some trepidation. Sparring with the seniors seems very hazardous Our courses with Sifu are for short intensive periods rather than regular classes over a long time. If one gets hurt on the last day of an intensive course, the effects may only show up when one is home, far away from Sifu. Would the qigong therapy be enough to cure these ill effects? In Sifu's case, Ho Shigong had to apply plaster for him over a few weeks and monitored him constantly.

[Antonius]

If one gets hurt on the last day of an intensive course, the effects may only show up when one is home, far away from Sifu. Would the qigong therapy be enough to cure these ill effects?

First of all, the effects manifest quite quickly. But yes. Self manifested qi flow (Zi Fa Dong Gong) would correct the problem. Sigung Ho taught Flowing Breeze Swaying Trees and very gentle qi flow, not vigorous self manifested qi flow. His students were all healthy, so he had no need for the vigorous version. It was Sifu Wong who revived this exercise for students who were sick.

Sifu told me a few days ago that if he had practiced self manifested qi flow back when he got hit by his siheng, he thinks that he would have recovered in a few weeks instead of a few months. It is a fantastically useful exercise.

On another note, I doubt that Berndt would have really died without treatment. The point was that he FELT like he would die. But even without help from Sifu or Kai or Simu, I think his qigong would have been enough to resolve the problem within a few weeks, or at worst, within a few months.

But what about a student from another school who doesn't even practice qigong? Now that could be a problem.

[Ray]

Dear Sifu Anthony,
I think you raise a good point. Given the fact that such occurances do happen, even accidentally, it may be an important factor to consider when sparring against purely "External" martial arts in say a tournament scenario.

Best,

Divineshadow

[Jose Antonio]

Jose what you say is very interesting could you please make a direct comparison to other styles of chi kung or schools that you have followed.

I know that sifu wong opens the channels of his students in the seminar so what other people need a while to achieve he gives it to you immediately, but i am more curious as a comparison to other schools why you found it better.
One more question
If you went back and trained your chi kung patterns you learnt from the other school now that you are more advanced would you still find them lacking ?

I am very curious if you could please take the time to answer.

Dear Kin Tama,

I did some Chi Kung before from a School in Quito (did not had a specific name, it was a personal development center) at the kind of prices you mentioned before. Quite different! Just external forms, no chi flow, and I always finished with a headache.

Actually I was not refering to this experience because it was really poor. I was refering more to searching in different paths as trascendental meditation, energy healing, native american schools, aikido, and others. I do not intent to put this great paths under Shaolin, just to say that did not work for me as Shaolin Arts do.

I learned Chi Kung from Sifu Piti in the first place, a great and inspiring teacher, and from the first class I knew I found the right art for me.

Also I wanted to share that after the 5 days Tai Chi Chuan course with Sifu, I was practicing on a park near home where a Tai Chi teacher practices every day, and he simply could not believe that I just had a 5 days course! In his words, developing the techniques and skills I had take about 6 months of normal classes!

Hope this answers your questions.

Best Regards,

José Antonio

[Kin Tama]

Nice posts, I like stories too

One thing i would like to point out is not so much if i or other people are doubting the effetiveness of shaolin techniques, as this is something that has been trolled and ground out a 100% i think its not so productive, what i wanted to express more is that the way techniques were applied would not be effective.

If a one off technique was done as a super counter with unlimited bucketloads of internal force then obviously it would be effective,kind of like the power of sifu kai that antonius mentions.
Very similar to what was mentioned previously of skill vs technique.

However i believe that if students trained for this , then sparring was not needed, simply because each technique would be a finisher , and one move applications with a partner at full speed should be enough.

This is why i posted my original post, the way these techniques are performed one after another in sequence or random sequence in sparring, shows that the above is not the case , and this is why i come back to the statement of if these techniques and stances are adopted as a long term fightin solution (i.e longer than 1 move fight finisher) then the use of stances and changing directions forwards backwards and using so many blocks is counter productive and would not work.

Maybe this is a little clearer to try and convey what i meant in my discussion.


About the stories antonius mentions i dont know what to believe , i will give a statement why. In the practise of any type of martial art, internal force is developed wether the people are conscious of it or not, training boxing against a boxing bag is no different from the shaolin art of hitting the sand bag, they both open up the meridians to the fist and thus can project chi out of the fist. So a boxer can project chi its just he doesnt feel it like an internal artist does, also its not so powerful because he doesnt work to increase the amount he stores or "has" going through the dantien, he only improves on the amount he would project through his punching routines.
My point basically is , with all the punches with so much power that are thrown around in boxing matches , wouldnt we see people dropping dead left right and centre over time ?

One thing that made me post in the beggining as i said was the difference between what i saw in the videos and what was said on forums and in books Q&A I found this big difference again today when i watched a video clip golden bell 05, its a video where someone is chopping at i believe sifu's son, with a meat cleaver, the chopping looked poor and without power, but the thing is that made me go that the shirt he was wearing didnt even get cut, now plzzzzzzzzzz dont tell me its cause the shirt got infused with chi power from the golden bell and the fibres became immune
Now im not being mean but that really didnt look like golden bell i recon anyone could have took those hits if the tshirt didnt even rip.

[Antonius]

training boxing against a boxing bag is no different from the shaolin art of hitting the sand bag, they both open up the meridians to the fist and thus can project chi out of the fist.

Really? Do you honestly believe this statement? If so, then it reveals a lot about your understanding of internal force.

The above statement is not true. If it were true, then boxers would be able to break a bottom brick, injure someone with a gentle tap, and transmit energy for healing.

I don't know any boxers who can do these things. Do you?

[DarkCosmoz]

In the practise of any type of martial art, internal force is developed wether the people are conscious of it or not, training boxing against a boxing bag is no different from the shaolin art of hitting the sand bag, they both open up the meridians to the fist and thus can project chi out of the fist.

To follow up on Antonius' comment, when boxers train hitting sand bags, they end up causing more blockages in their meridians rather then opening them up. If punching sand bags did open up meridians in the body, many professional boxers today would be free from the injuries they sustain on a day to day basis. Just look at Rocky.

Kind regards,
Stephen

[Jonny Say]

Dear Kin Tama

However i believe that if students trained for this , then sparring was not needed, simply because each technique would be a finisher , and one move applications with a partner at full speed should be enough.

What if your partner is of the skill level to counter your specialisation, then you need to follow up with sequenced techniques.

The stances you use to follow up are not only used to give power to a technique, they are also agile. Indeed if you are skilled with the bow and arrow stance you can make relatively small movements while a boxer (for example) bounces around you, and keep him in front where you are guarded. They get out of breath you stay relaxed. Then in order for someone who bounces to strike with real power they must put there feet down, as you are grounded already by simple laws of physics you will be slightly faster in stances.

Also;

training boxing against a boxing bag is no different from the shaolin art of hitting the sand bag, they both open up the meridians to the fist and thus can project chi out of the fist. So a boxer can project chi its just he doesnt feel it like an internal artist does

Ive been hit pretty hard by a boxer, and have had light strikes with internal force and I know which one I would rather take (not the internal force any harder!). Obviously a highly skilled boxer has awesome power, but it is very different force from a Kung Fu master.

Previous to my training at Shaolin Wahnam I did a lot of bag work, which definately didn't open my meridians. Infact Ive only cleared some of those blockages now!!

All the best

[Kin Tama]

Antonius, hi you ask me if i believe that statement, in short yes, as a more complicated answer no in the sense that hitting the sand bag could be done purely as a chi kung excersise but for a better explanation let me tell you a story further down.

i believe that the ability to break a brick,wether top or bottom or all based purely on internal force is something that i have not seen in shaolin wahnam, in my opinion - i may be wrong as again video is not such a good medium.
The video of ronan breaking the bottom brick i believe could be demonstrated by anyone who does breaking as it is simply a matter of physics, as you saw the brick didnt break clean through but had to be snapped apart, this is because the impulse for the break to occur is directed through the material as opposed to at the top of the material so the impulse is carried through to the bottom of the brick. Also because the bottom brick is vulnerable as it is not supported in the middle whereas the top brick is supported all throughout.

This is just a theory never actually tried it, what kind of bricks are these , our bricks are very different they are about 6 inches in thickess and have too many holes in them, could you recommend a suitable medium to try this out with.What do you believe was the reason for the bottom brick breaking ? was it because the chi was directed to the bottom brick only ?


Concerning boxers and their blocking of meridians i dont understand where this logic comes from, Also you claim boxers injuries, the amount of punishment boxers take in one fight and they are still standing i dont think 90% of people who are on this forum maybe 98% could ever take without being severly injured. I think its wrong to say they get injured because of their training is lackign.
Granted muhammed ali is near on a cripple but i think that pretty much anyone who is on this forum went through what he did they wouldn be alive.

Antonious i will tell you a story to show that not everyone understands chi as a textbook definition and is taught to feel and harness it.And why i say we shouldnt knock or put down these ppl.
I once met this guy - andy i belive his name was who was interested to learn about how to use the power of the mind and chi, this guy was a huge powerlifter style bodybuilder he wasnt a pro but he was massive, while we were talking i asked him why he wanted to learn as he could lift weight i couldnt conceive and he told me that when he was in the uk he was at the gym training and a professional powerlifter also used to work out there , one day they were talking and andy comments on the guy being able to lift obscene weights we are talking of over 350lbs of bench press for repetitions.
The guy said its all in the mind, so andy was like yeah yeah so the guy goes to him you lie down under the bench and try to move my weight, andy is like theres no way. So the guy says look you move the weight i will stand over here and i will send you my power through thought. Thats what happened, andy was the epitome of an external guy who would never believe anything like that. I think he was mentally scarred from this lol.
This is what i mean by not everyone trains internal to achieve it, his hard work through weight lifting gave him the ability to direct his energy.

The subject of breaking is quite difficult to cover as i believe a lot of what can be done with chi can be faked by using tricks to weaken the medium.
For example slapping a red hot iron , if the hands are pre covered with vaseline it evaporates causing something that looks like smoke as if your hands are singeing but you dont burn.
Pieces of wood can be soaked in vingegar and left to dry.
Stones can be baked in the oven
bricks are sometimes turned around and a thin line of acid is poured down the middle weakening the internal structure.
Unfortunatelyall these are too common in martial arts , but ive found a couple of clips i think are quite impressive, and would like to believe that this is the standard of clips i would like to see on the shaolin wahnam website.

http://www.aikijujitsu.com/guinness_book_of_world_records.htm

http://www.okinawan-shorinryu.com/video_clips/ (the first clip bat break)

http://www.vanderbiltkenshikai.com/WEBPAGES/../SHIHANbstcinmd.avi

[Kin Tama]

J-say you make the same point a couple of others did about hitting the bag, blocking your meridians , i dont understand this could, could someone explain to me the concept of Why this should happen. All other people i have ever seen whether they do karate or a style of kung fu when they hit , sand bags gravel bags or makiwara (posts of wood) They dont get any blocks, the body sends chi to the hand to heal it automatically and it opens their pathways more. Some of them do chi kung some use dit da jow some use nothing, but ive never seen anyone get "blockages" from this training.

The first point you make is the point that sparks off my wanting to discuss about wahnam, its that i dont believe that chaining together these techniques and stances you have enough maneuverability to "outclass" so to speak other styles.

[Jonny Say]

, i dont understand this could, could someone explain to me the concept of Why this should happen. All other people i have ever seen whether they do karate or a style of kung fu when they hit , sand bags gravel bags or makiwara (posts of wood) They dont get any blocks, the body sends chi to the hand to heal it automatically and it opens their pathways more. Some of them do chi kung some use dit da jow some use nothing, but ive never seen anyone get "blockages" from this training.

For me it was the over tension that really injured and blocked my arm, to the point I had to stop training and couldn't lift weights. Also my heart was closing making me feel more depressed and unsatisfied.

If someone uses dit da jow then this promotes chi flow, as does chi kung. But if there is no remedial exercise and there is habitual tension over along time then blockages will form, not necessarilly obvious ones (such as in my case the closing of my heart was more subtle).

I have friends and aquaintences who train externally some have injured themselves, some became more agressive and some had seemingly no symptons untill I met them again after training Shaolin Wahnam (and becoming more aware of energy). In this last group the blockages were more subtle, and would easily be missed.

The first point you make is the point that sparks off my wanting to discuss about wahnam, its that i dont believe that chaining together these techniques and stances you have enough maneuverability to "outclass" so to speak other styles.

On this point: my own experience is that as I have improved in Shaolin Wahnam I have felt that I could match myself in my previous training at the same level and this has continued. This coupled with observing my seniors, many of whom you have been told reached very high levels in other arts, and observing their approaches along with observing the skill level of Sigung, give me more than enough evidence to feel our techniques work.

A great example is our Sitai Gung Ho Fat Nam (Sigung's Sifu) was a professional Siamese Boxing master before training Shaolin. He was fighting reguarly for his life yet he left that art to train Shaolin. Siamese boxing was far more brutal and deadly than its related arts today. Would he have left these Arts if he thought Shaolin was ineffective. Of course this may be but a story to you, and you may well not believe it.

It seems that you feel you could not use Shaoiln techniques and that the videos do not convince you of Shaolin's effectiveness. This is fair enough as you are entitled to your opinion, but I don't agree that it validates the fact that Shaolin Techniques are ineffective and have been over the thousands of years they were developed. You may say that modern styles are more effective than the past opponents to Shaolin, but Id rather face a boxer than 10 armed assailents burning my house down!

Out of interest how do you spar against other arts using your style (which I believe you said was internal), do you use stances and what type of techniques do you feel are effective.

Best wishes

[Kin Tama]

Hey j-say thanks for the reply, i dont believe modern styles are more effective i just believe that they have the advantage in that they train and compete in a method that constantly separates what works for them and what doesnt.
Having said that ive never trained in a modern style, apart from studying boxing fight strategy, as well as the sanda (san shou) but even then i didnt really use modern techniques.

About how i spar, its quite weird for some people to see if they arent used to this style, i use traditional stances and traditional fist movements, kicks, but no traditional blocks, i shift out of the way, if you look at it one way it looks like kickboxing without any kickboxing moves or stances , if you look at it another way it looks like traditional chinese or japanese martial arts, without the blocks. I will check the arm in an abbreviated method of a traditional block but wouldnt spend effort pay attention or emphasis on that block.
My stance work is again different in the sense that i dont shift a stance with every move i might stay in a cat stance and just shift to the left,or even forwards whilst still in cat stance, depending on if i am still waiting to counter, i wouldnt go from cat to bow because im moving forwards, or i might end up in bow and arrow and move to the side in that stance, i wouldnt necessarily move back.
I can also spar in the way wing chun guys spar if youve ever seen it, that 100 miles an hour arm blocking method, but i dont find this effective.