Martial arts and Healing Arts - Living and working the martial way.
 
An Interview with Steve Hodgkinson, Wing Chun/Self Protection instructor, and Tui Na therapist.

Jon Tatley interviews martial artist and hands on healer, Steve Hodgkinson, to discuss his journey so far in the martial arts world and how his experience evolved into the holistic approach he now takes in his teaching, training and healing at Health and Combat Arts. 

Jon Tatley: It's great to have the opportunity to interview you on behalf of Martial Arts Illustrated. As a Physiotherapist and Silat student myself, I'm really interested to know how you combine teaching martial arts with healing work... can you begin by telling me about your background as a martial artist?   Steve Hodgkinson: I've been involved with martial arts for pretty much my whole life. I began training in Tae Kwon Do when I was about eight and then trained in Shotokan Karate for the next few years as well as experiencing a few other arts.

Although I was always fascinated by the martial arts and particularly Bruce Lee, I was never a very tough kid and I used to have a lot of fears about physical confrontation. This was naturally picked up on by others and I spent the last few years of my secondary school life on the receiving end of bullying; although thankfully nothing too physical.

At the end of that period I decided enough was enough - I didn't feel that martial arts had the answer and I actually went the opposite way, sadly ending up a little bit off the rails. I believed at the time that I was becoming stronger but, looking back with the knowledge I have now gained, I was just projecting my insecurities and starting to lose control of myself as a human being.

It was for this reason that I decided I needed to get back into martial arts -  not to learn self defence, but rather to learn self growth. I wanted to feel more in control and start heading towards a better life. I chose Wing Chun as the art to study and began learning it from a local instructor. I felt suited to Wing Chun pretty much from the off and have now been training in the art for around 10yrs.

Wing Chun has always interested me because of its close range effectiveness and also because it was studied by the legendary Bruce Lee. How does the style you teach today, compare with that taught to Bruce?

Well Bruce Lee was the reason I chose Wing Chun as the art I wanted to study so I can understand that! Wing Chun actually has huge differences as a style, with some lineages taking very different shapes. Unfortunately there's not a great deal of footage available on Bruce's Wing Chun, but it is widely known that he was taught by Grandmaster Ip Man which is the lineage that I study and teach.

I started off studying the Wing Chun method of Master Ip Ching (who is Ip Man's son), and eventually became a closed door student of Sifu Samuel Kwok who taught me the entire system. During this time I travelled to Hong Kong, to train with Ip Ching directly - it was a great experience and one that saw me being certified as a permanent member of the Ving Tsun Athletic Association (the school that Ip Man taught at whilst in Hong Kong). I also trained with Ip Ching in Foshan (China) which is the original home of Ip Man and Wing Chun.

Around this period, and for some time afterwards, my personal training was becoming quite extreme -  looking back, I was being a bit stupid and I don't know how myself or my training partner didn't end up with far more serious injuries than we did. It was a good experience, however, as it allowed me to find holes in my game which I previously wasn't aware of and prompted me to start cross training, in a hope to find the answers. I began studying grappling and weapons based arts and it was through the latter that I was advised by a friend to contact Sifu Mark Hobbs, who he felt had the answers I was looking for. I contacted him without delay and after a meeting and training session was accepted as his student - Mark is a student of Master Lun Gai (Ip Man's most senior student) and is someone that I believe is Wing Chun's best kept secret. I began re-learning the system from scratch and later started teaching the Lun Gai method.

I would imagine that Bruce Lee's Wing Chun would be somewhere between the two but, as I said earlier, there's not a lot of footage out there to see...

What are the main differences between the Lun Gai and Ip Ching methods? 

Aesthetically, the forms are slightly different and there are some fairly 'invisible' differences in the stance, footwork and usage of body structure - these differences are huge though and completely changed my game.

So, what do you mean by the differences being 'invisible'?
 
Invisible in that they are really just deeper layers of understanding with no major shape change. At the end of the day, both methods are pure Ip Man Wing Chun, so it is essentially the same in terms of style - my current understanding is that both methods simply reflect a different stage of Ip Man's life and his reasons for practicing the art at that point.

For me, I felt that I was beginning to learn the 'art' of Wing Chun as opposed to just the techniques and the level of body feel / sensitivity expanded massively.

I noticed on your website that you're also an instructor in Self Protection under Geoff Thompson. What motivated you to train with Geoff?
 
Geoff came around at a time that, to me, appeared to be fate - it was like the opportunity was shouting out at me. I think I mentioned earlier that my reason for doing martial arts was for self growth...
Well, one of the things I've noticed since walking this path is that it makes you see the world differently and things suddenly jump out that you had previously been blind to - even though they were always there. I decided to make some changes in my life that I won't go into here, which forced me to do something that left me in a very dark place. I knew I had to do this thing, but it seemed so wrong to me, and everyone close to me was telling me as much. I felt that I could easily slip back to the place I was heading before and I felt lost. From out of the blue, I was given the opportunity to train with Geoff - I knew that he was big on developing people's life skills so I had to follow it up.

I quickly realised that the thing I did wasn't a mistake at all and I was actually heading in completely the right direction for my growth. All I had was a form of fear that I wasn't used to and I needed to learn how to step through it. I now use this knowledge to continually improve my life, and to aid my students in theirs. I learnt these life skills simultaneously with Geoff's physical Self Protection side and was certified by him as an instructor.

And now you're exploring another new area, studying Silat Fitrah under Guru Tua Chris Parker - how did that come about?
 
Chris seems to be the final piece in the jigsaw. As with Geoff, the opportunity came from out of the blue - Chris is someone I'd wanted to study under for many years, but he can be quite an elusive character and very hard to access... so when the opportunity came up I was not going to miss out! It took several meetings and discussions before he agreed to teach me, but since then I have been accepted into his family of closed door students.

Any reason why you refer to them as 'family'?
 
Yeah, it was deliberate. Chris only has a small group of private students which each of us are in because we work hard and want each other to be there. We are like a family in that we support each other through everything and anything, and trust each other innately. Conversely though, we push and pressurise each other - and do whatever it takes to make each other grow.

It has what Chris refers to as being a 'friendly dictatorship' where we train and play by his rules. I remember feeling quite surprised when we were sat having a drink one Sunday and Chris suddenly announced that I had been accepted by my now four big brothers, as a member of the family (laughs).

Yes, I know why you are laughing… It was the day that Chris announced that I was to be responsible for you and make myself available for you and your training needs 24/7 (laughs).  

Yeah it is! The great thing is though, that you just accepted it without question - and that shows more than anything what the family way means - it's far more than just a word.   It is!  How are you finding things?

I am enjoying the training immensely and feel it is doing so much for me. As you know, Silat Fitrah is all about natural movement and is very 'principles' based - so it fits my outlook of martial arts perfectly. Chris teaches at a level I have never before experienced and he has naturally become like a father figure to me - mentoring me on all areas of my training and life.

He demands a lot from us as students, but he gives much more in return. He is prepared to give so much of himself to bring our level up and always gives the feeling of certainty, through the uncertainty of his methods (laughs).

I see Chris as a teacher, mentor and friend to me - and with the support from the rest of the family (Eddie Quinn, Kim Lee and you, Jon), I feel absolutely blessed to be there. Really excited to see where things will go - I expect it to be tough, but fruitful.

I'm glad you're enjoying it - I'm certainly enjoying watching your growth and I'm really looking forward to seeing the level you will reach.

Thanks Jon.

What with teaching three different martial arts and now studying a new one, I can understand why you would want to combine martial arts with your healing work; how did you actually get involved in the health profession and what are your specialities?

The health side was something which just seemed to happen... I specialise in an ancient Chinese method of bodywork, called Tui Na, for which the health benefits are really too numerous to mention. With Tui Na we work holistically to balance the flow of chi (vital energy) throughout the body, mind and spirit. The theory is the same as with the more commonly known art of Acupuncture and the same pressure points are used. Tui Na, however, doesn't require the use of needles and includes various massage techniques along with joint mobility and adjustments. 

I've heard of Tui Na and know of its effectiveness and popularity in China - I wasn't aware that it was practised here in the UK though.
 
Yeah it's quite funny really. It's the oldest recorded form of healing in the world (around 4000yrs old...) which is still practiced throughout China - but in the west it's pretty much unknown.

So what attracted you to Tui Na and how did you learn it?

I was attracted to the idea of healing using my hands due to the fact that it can be done anywhere at any time. I stumbled across Tui Na by accident really as part of my journey through the martial arts. As I began to delve deeper into my study of the arts I was becoming increasingly interested in eastern culture and their way of seeing things - particularly with regards to yin/yang, chi and pressure points. I began researching these subjects further and, on hearing of Tui Na, I decided to study it. I was fortunate to be taught by Maria Mercati who is unarguably the No. 1 practitioner in the UK and is the person responsible for introducing it to our shores. 

Regarding the things that Tui Na treats - it is used to treat most conditions which, in the west, would require an osteopath, chiropractor or physiotherapist. The beauty of Tui Na though, is that you can't give a treatment without improving the client's whole wellbeing due to its holistic approach.

What kind of illnesses or injuries do you commonly treat?
 
I tend to get a lot of people with back, neck and shoulder problems - nine out of ten times the problems are caused by their occupation so I will give supplementary information and exercises which they can incorporate to help ensure that the problem doesn't return.

Tui Na is also excellent for general health maintenance and I give this style of treatment to my family regularly.

Something else which is becoming increasingly more common is to have my students and other martial artists asking me to treat their injuries.

So is that how you began to combine martial arts with your healing work?
 
Yeah it is, and it's a mystery to me now as to why I ever saw martial arts and healing as being separate - they just seem to be work hand-in-hand for me now. 

I can understand that being a healer could be advantageous for most martial artists, particularly in my case for self treatment, as the older I get, the more injuries I seem to be having. Do you think being a healer has helped your development as a martial artist? 
 
Definitely... I've actually heard of many great martial arts masters talking about how learning to heal is an integral part of becoming a better martial artist - I suppose it's the yin to the yang.

It's the same pressure points that are applied in Tui Na which are used in fighting / dim mak etc...  For me personally, I've also found that having a good knowledge of the muscular / skeletal system can really enhance your techniques, your ability to flow and your ability to receive and issue pressure.
 
As you have just said, there are many famous martial arts masters who have extolled the benefits of learning to heal - do you think combining healing work with your training has affected your life?
 
My personal path has been all about growth and about making myself a better person. Walking this path has naturally led me to want to do the same for my students and loved ones.

I think with most things we wish to pursue, health should be the first step so it's great to be able to assist with that and see, not only the obvious benefits which come from someone's health improving, but also from knowing that they are in a great place to develop themselves however they choose from that point on.

I guess you'd recommend learning some form of alternative therapy, as a great way to improve a person's development as a martial artist?
 
Well as we've discussed the benefits are huge in many life areas from the practice, and not just the martial arts. I think each individual will find things which benefit them that are different to the ones that I have mentioned... I'm sure that as a highly skilled physiotherapist and martial artist yourself, Jon, you will have been thinking of additional benefits during our talk which you have personally found?

Yeah I can... I've got no doubt at all that learning to heal helped my development as a martial artist. Tell me about your current schedule. How do you fit it all in?

I get asked that a lot (laughs). Well, first of all, I'll say what my daily schedule consists of… For my personal development I top and tail each day with either formwork, impact, cardio, strength or meditation... On top of this, I have on average 4hrs per week training privately with my instructors. The latter includes a lot of additional time working on my mental game with them and also requires a lot of travelling time.

Teaching / healing wise I have three public Wing Chun classes per week and two public classes for Children on our Kung Fu Kidz programme. I also do an average of two private sessions a day where I either give martial arts tuition or Tui Na treatments.

I do take my teaching and healing work very seriously and offer a professional service - because of this I do many other things, such as producing free articles and training tips for my newsletter subscribers and I also work with my students [when asked] on their personal journey - helping them past and through the obstacles which inevitably arise.

So quite busy then... Anything else?

Well, yeah actually... I also work over 30hrs a week doing a conventional day job (laughs).

I would like to stress here though, that I am far from being a workaholic and my reason for mentioning that is because this is the main message that I put across to my students - you can have it all!

Away from my training, teaching, healing and conventional employ, I also have a very active social life and am a father of two... for this side of my life I guarantee a couple of hours each day of uninterrupted time plus at least one full day of the weekend.

I'm getting tired just listening to it all!

Well there's 24hrs in a day - we all get the same allotted time whoever we are - the only difference is what we do with it and the beauty is that what we do with our time is our choice... there's no excuses for it. This can be a bit hard to hear for some and, if it is then, good. These uncomfortable truths are what we should seek out and pursue because that's where the real growth is.

The key is to tiptoe towards the things you want until, eventually, you can tackle the big change - whatever that may be. This is easier with guidance from others that have been there and are walking this path themselves. This is the reason I am always available to help my students whenever they need it.

It sounds like you take a very holistic approach and it must be a great thing to be a part of. What are your plans for the future?

I intend to develop my martial arts and healing skills to as high a level as I can and to research and develop my teaching / communication skills to ensure that my students are receiving a first class learning experience. Long term, I would like my writing to hit a bigger audience and I would also be interested in teaching on a bigger scale.

I will be hosting a few seminars with other instructors and will be developing the life skills side. I will be running courses on the self protection skills in which all the essential soft skills will be taught - and I will also be running a few short courses on basic Tui Na with a view to giving the general public skills which will enable them to help maintain the health of their family and friends.

One thing I am very keen to develop is the children's classes I run - as I see these as being the perfect way to instil these skills at a young age, giving the children the best possible start to their exciting lives - where they can go on to live their dreams.

Thanks Steve, I've really enjoyed this interview and I've learned a lot. I look forward to training with you again soon.

Thanks Jon, it's been a pleasure.

 

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