Sheffield trip

On the 3rd of March UoN Wing Chun went on a trip to Sheffield to watch a martial arts competition. While no-one from the club was competing, we were all very excited at the opportunity to watch people fight in a competitive setting rather than in the somewhat friendlier atmosphere of our training sessions. There was also the added draw that three of the fights that night were Wing Chun v Wing Chun and had been organised by our very own David Blackley between Wing Chun practitioners from across the country.

Despite the threat of more bad weather from the “Beast from the East” 11 of us were brave enough to face the snow and fortunately we made it to Sheffield without a hitch. Once there we were very lucky to be sitting in the VIP section which meant we had prime ringside seats to watch the matches! Having gotten to the venue a little early we were able to soak up the atmosphere before the fights began.

There were 11 matches in total, including a couple of title fights which was very exciting! As well as getting to see the Wing Chun fights we were also lucky enough to see matches showcasing fighters who have trained in Muay Thai, Taekwondo, Sanda and Boxing as well as MMA in general. It was really interesting to see the mix of techniques used by the fighters, some of which we could recognise as things we use in our own training. Seeing these used effectively even under the pressure of a competition fight just goes to show that what we’re training really does work.

It was a fantastic night out and everyone had a really great time. From the conversations we were having on the way home I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s considering whether to look into competing at some point. Watch this space, maybe next time the fights will include one of our members!