Stuart Sargent

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My martial arts experience commenced in 1973 as a 14 year old when I started 18 months of judo classes at my home town’s Youth Club. The key lessons I took from this class were in basic grappling and falling without injury. It also built up an interest in learning more about the martial arts.

In 1974 I acted on this by also joining a TaeKwonDo class. I was awarded the second dan black belt in 1979, fought in NSW and Australian championships, was a judge at Australian titles in the early 1980s and later instructed a class at the YMCA. I ceased classes in 1986.

Let’s go to some modern history!

In 2004 I began to revive my protesting 45 year old legs whilst attending a gym. This was through private kicking drills and forms. It was hard work but brought back good memories and I decided to resume formal martial arts classes.
But what style? And with whom?

I researched the issue, and the style that attracted my interest was Wing Chun. Magazine articles I had read emphasised that it was highly effective on the street, with a focus on close-in techniques.

I could only know for sure if I saw for myself. So in early 2005 I went to Canberra Wing Chun to watch a class and was happy to accept the offer of a free lesson. (To watch is good, to do is better!) I was impressed on many fronts with both the school and the Wing Chun style, and was privileged to become a student.

The most important part of a martial arts school is not the style; it is the instructor. Allan Graham impressed me greatly with his friendly manner, his professionalism and his overwhelming, but subtle, projection of force. The school and its classes also impressed me - with cooperative students, the high quality of the warm up exercises, and that there were no “dojo bashers” (the aggressive and reckless students who can cause many an injury in an uncontrolled class).

My early training at Wing Chun also whetted the appetite for more, reflecting several factors.

· The first was the manner in which an apparently “soft” style can generate such power. This is through controlling the angles of attack in a confrontation, through exploiting the opponent’s movements, and through Wing Chun’s emphasis on using always going forward.

· A second factor was that I felt extreme discomfort doing fighting exercises in close, whilst the Wing Chun students were clearly in their element. The ability to engage up close was clearly something I had to learn!

· A third factor was how the senior students were routinely able to cause me to lose balance. Balance is an essential in a martial artist, and learning the ability to retain balance whilst denying it to an opponent was a skill that I wanted.

· And the fourth factor was that the style was done in such a relaxed manner – muscles were routinely loose, and students did not expend huge amounts of energy to launch attacks.