WCI Review - James DeMille - Bruce Lee's Spring Energy

Sifu James DeMille, the founder of Wing Chun Do, is the presenter of this DVD. DeMille was one of Bruce Lee's first students in the late 1950s/early 1960s when Lee was teaching a modified version of Wing Chun, and before developing Jeet Kune Do. Sifu DeMille went on to create his own style of Wing Chun Do. This DVD is all about "Spring Energy", which is a key aspect of Wing Chun Do.

The video has a runtime of around 48 minutes but feels longer as a large part of the video is purely theoretical because Sifu DeMille explains in-depth what Spring Energy is, the many types of energy and their complex terminology.

For the first 10 minutes of the video, Sifu DeMille speaks to the camera about Spring Energy and its importance. According to DeMille, Spring Energy played an important role in Bruce Lee's exceptional skill level.

There are two main types of Spring Energy. The first is Psychological Spring Energy, which can be expressed or arises from emotions such as anger. Then there is the Physical Spring Energy. The many types of Spring Energy, categories, subcategories, etc., might be mind-boggling for the viewer who will be happy when Spring Energy is finally demonstrated through various sensitivity drills.

Following the initial 10-minute theoretical introduction, Chi Sau, palm-slap and wrist-slap sparring are briefly demonstrated. While two Wing Chun Do instructors show the drills, Sifu DeMille explains some principles of his art. The stance of Wing Chun Do is demonstrated, and the importance of techniques not being over-committed is explained, as are the Immovable Elbow theory and the nine sources of Spring Energy. Sifu DeMille then describes how jolting is used in his system instead of pulling—he considers jolting to be superior.

Around 20 minutes before the end of the DVD, Sifu DeMille speaks once more about Spring Energy and explains how there is positive and negative Spring Energy. He also talks about Bruce Lee and how he used to control much bigger opponents because of his Spring Energy. No matter what size or gender, anyone can use Spring Energy.

Chi Sau, flip-flop Chi Sau, slap sparring and Poon Sau are shown in the last 12 minutes. The techniques are first played at full speed, and then in slow-motion, so the viewer can examine the moves more closely. Lastly, different fighting ranges are explained.

The video ends with Sifu DeMille thanking people for watching and explaining that it is an academic video and not a training DVD.

James DeMille - Bruce Lee's Spring Energy
Language: English
Running Time: Approx. 48 min.
Availability: EWC Instant Access   ||  ewc.deals/WCI-Reviews