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Wing Chun
In 1949, Yip Man, who was considered to be the grandmaster of modern Wing Chun, brought the style out of China into Hong Kong and eventually to the rest of the world.
Wing Chun is the name of a system of martial arts developed in southern China approximately 300 years ago. Its originator, the Buddhist nun Ng Mui, was a master of Shaolin Kung Fu and used this knowledge to invent a way to take advantage of the weaknesses inherent in the other Shaolin systems. This new system was well-guarded and passed on to only a few, very dedicated students. Later, the style became known as Wing Chun, after Ng Mui's first student, a woman named Yim Wing Chun.
The founder of the Wing Chun Kung Fu System, Miss Yim Wing Chun was a native of Canton [Kwangtung Province] in China. She was an intelligent and athletic young girl, upstanding and forthright. Her mother died soon after her betrothal to Leung Bok Chau, a salt merchant of Fukien. Her father, Yim Yee, was wrongfully accused of a crime and, rather than risk jail, they slipped away and finally settled down at the foot of Tai Leung Mountain near the border between Yunan and Szechuan provinces. There they earned a living by running a shop that sold bean curd.
During the reign of Emperor K'anghsi of the Ching Dynasty (1662-1722) Kung Fu became very strong in the Siu Lam [Shaolin] Monastery of Mt. Sung, in Honan Province. This aroused the fear of the Manchu government [a non-Chinese people from Manchuria in the North, who ruled China at that time], which sent troops to attack the Monastery. Although they were unsuccessful, a man named Chan Man Wai, a recently appointed civil servant seeking favor with the government, suggested a plan.
He plotted with Siu Lam monk Ma Ning Yee and others who were persuaded to betray their companions by setting fire to the monastery while soldiers attacked it from the outside. Siu Lam was burned down, and the monks and disciples scattered. Buddhist Abbess Ng Mui, Abbot Chi Shin, Abbot Pak Mei, Master Fung To Tak and Master Miu Hin escaped and went their separate ways.
Ng Mui took refuge in the White Crane Temple on Mt. Tai Leung [also known as Mt. Chai Har]. It was there she met Yim Yee and his daughter Wing Chun from whom she often bought bean curd on her way home from the market. At fifteen, with her hair bound up in the custom of those days to show she was of an age to marry, Wing Chun's beauty attracted the attention of a local bully. He tried to force Wing Chun to marry him, and his continuous threats became a source of worry to her and her father. Ng Mui learned of this and took pity on Wing Chun. She agreed to teach Wing Chun fighting techniques so she could protect herself. Wing Chun followed Ng Mui into the mountains, and began to learn Kung Fu. She trained night and day, until she mastered the techniques. Then she challenged the bully to a fight and beat him.
Ng Mui later traveled around the country, but before she left she told Wing Chun to strictly honor the Kung Fu traditions, to develop her Kung Fu after her marriage, and to help the people working to overthrow the Manchu government and restore the Ming Dynasty.
After her marriage Wing Chun taught Kung Fu to her husband Leung Bok Chau. He in turn passed these techniques on to Leung Lan Kwai. Leung Lan Kwai then passed them on to Wong Wah Bo. Wong Wah Bo was a member of an opera troupe on board a junk, known to Chinese as the Red Junk. Wong worked on the Red Junk with Leung Yee Tei. It so happened that Abbot Chi Shin, who fled from Siu Lam, had disguised himself as a cook and was then working on the Red Junk. Chi Shin taught the Six-and-a-half-point Long Pole techniques to Leung Yee Tei. Wong Wah Bo was close to Leung Yee Tei, and they shared what they knew about Kung Fu. Together they shared and improved their techniques, and thus the Six-and-a-half-point Long Pole was incorporated into Wing Chun Kung Fu. Leung Yee Tei passed his Kung Fu on to Leung Jan, a well known herbal Doctor in Fat Shan. Leung Jan grasped the innermost secrets of Wing Chun, attaining the highest level of proficiency. Many Kung Fu masters came to challenge him, but all were defeated. Leung Jan became very famous. Later he passed his Kung Fu on to Chan Wah Shan, who took me and my elder Kung Fu brothers, such as Ng Siu Lo, Ng Chung So, Chan Yu Min and Lui Yu Jai, as his students many decades ago.
It can thus be said that the Wing Chun System was passed on to us in a direct line of succession from its origin. I write this history of the Wing Chun System in respectful memory of my forerunners. I am eternally grateful to them for passing to me the skills I now possess. A man should always think of the source of the water as he drinks it; it is this shared feeling that keeps our Kung Fu brothers together.
Is this not the way to promote Kung Fu, and to project the image of our country?
There are two concepts that are essential to Wing Chun: centerline and simplicity.
The centerline is guarded meticulously with hands on center and elbows down and in. Movement is small and extremely efficient, utilizing subtle shifts of the body to deflect, evade and counterstrike all in one motion. At its most advanced level, contact with the opponent is maintained at all times to constantly check arms and legs, trap, and utilize the opponent’s movement to guide and even to increase power. Once the first blow is struck, the Wing Chun practitioner will march an opponent back with a constant barrage of swift, low kicks to disrupt the stance, and a flurry of cycle punches that serve as both offense and defense, batting everything off center and continuing in for the strike.
Because of its simplicity, Wing Chun can be used effectively by beginning practitioners; also because of its simplicity, at its most advanced, Wing Chun is a devastatingly efficient style.
Wing Chun concepts
Stance and center of gravity
The stance in Wing Chun is either a high horse with weight evenly distributed, or a T-stance with weight 85% on the back leg. There are advantages to either stance. Because of the high stance, it is very important to maintain focus on keeping the center of gravity as low as possible. At more advanced levels this is done by "rooting." It is crucial to never lean backward in this stance, even the slightest amount, to prevent being uprooted. Once balance is lost, it is difficult to regain the offensive.
When moving out of either stance, maintain a lowered center of gravity and slide over the ground with each step. Never transfer weight to the stepping leg until that leg is where you want it to be; a leg off the ground is easily swept.
Foot checks and kicks
Kicks in Wing Chun are characteristically low and swift. At advanced levels they are used as much to check advancing legs and kicks as they are to kick themselves. When checking, be sure to turn the foot out to the side to gain greater surface area for contact. Remember that a careless opponent can be taken off balance by checking advancing steps.
The legs are often overlooked in Wing Chun. This is a great mistake that limits the effectiveness of the style. Do not fall into this trap.
Rotation
Rotation, along with gate punching, is crucial to taking Wing Chun to the advanced level. Mastery of proper rotation allows for complete efficiency, in movement and power. Rotation allows for subtle shifts in body position that aid in deflecting attacks and generating power over short distances. But be careful: over-rotation leaves one in a very vulnerable position, and although one might think more rotation would generate more power, the opposite is in fact true. Also, be careful to avoid generating rotation through rotation of the torso on the hips. Rotation should begin at the feet, which in turn rotate the legs and the hips. The torso should move with the hips, like a gun turret.
Parrying
Part of being efficient is parrying instead of blocking. Linear attacks are more easily guided across the opponent’s centerline than forced outward. When facing circular technique and not able to parry, employ rotation or other body movement (usually in and to the opposite side of the attack), to position yourself inside of the point of power on the incoming technique. There is less power on a punch as you get closer to the shoulder. In this case the block you are forced to use is more an extra assurance than an actual block.
Another important point to remember when parrying is to meet and intercept the attacking arm as far out as possible. This way, when you deflect the attack off centerline, it will travel further off to the side by the time it reaches the distance of its intended target (you). Also, be wary of applying too much lateral motion to your parries. You don’t want to follow the attack off centerline; you want to force it off centerline and remain there. The best way to do that is to attack the centerline with outward motion. Because your arms come from the side of your body, and thus off centerline, the motion of moving to centerline itself is enough lateral motion. The "pop" from your parries should come largely from forward motion. This way if you glance off your parrying arm will end up in the face of your opponent, not off to the side somewhere where it does little good. Remember, strive for efficiency.
Gate theory
In gate theory, the body is divided into gates, or sections, that added together cover the body from head to toe and shoulder to shoulder. This is the area that must be protected from attack. In addition, another dimension is added with the outer gate, so that every section of the front of the body has an inner and outer gate associated with it. This is to distinguish whether it is the outer or inner hand that will defend against an attack to each gate. Certain attacks are better defended against with the outer gate than the inner, and vice versa. Dividing the body in this way, the practitioner can classify each technique according to the gate that it defends against.
Trapping
The concept of trapping is very important in Wing Chun, the idea being to take the opponents limbs out of action. There are two main ways this can be done. The most common form of trapping is to get one of the opponent’s arms under the other and to press in or down, thus allowing you to occupy both of the attacker’s hands with one of yours. The benefits of this are obvious. A simple form of this type of trapping is crossing the opponent up by parrying one arm toward the center and pressing inward. This opens up the side of the opponent as well as putting one arm in the way of the other.
Another type of trapping, less commonly utilized but no less important, is pinning the opponent’s elbow to their body. A good cycle puncher will keep one arm pinned to an opponent’s body by checking it on the return stroke after each punch, and all this while marching the opponent backwards.
Gate punches
Gate punching is the ultimate in efficiency, as a gate punch effectively parries or blocks an incoming attack on its way to its target. To effectively execute an outer gate punch, one must utilize the method of parrying described above. In this way, a parry can be continued on into a strike without a change in motion. Slap parries require a change in direction to continue on towards an opponent, and therefore cannot be used for gate punching. In this gate punch, it is the motion of bringing the arm from slightly off center onto center that facilitates the parry. The forearm effectively bats anything off of centerline, and then carries the hand in for the strike.
The inside gate punch is much more difficult to execute, and involves forcing the opponent’s arm of centerline in the direction against all of the opponent’s strength. This leaves your arm inside of his, and effectively amounts to a block. As always, the parry is preferable to the block, so keep this in mind.
Cycle punches
As stated above, cycle punching is more than just hitting an opponent with rolling blows. Cycle punching actually involves every other major concept in Wing Chun, including parrying, gate punching, rotation and often trapping. Therefore the motion of the arms in cycle punching is critical! To begin, the punch must not, as is often though, begin on centerline at your own chest. It is the motion of going to centerline that affords the parrying motion, and allows the continuation on into a gate punch. Rotation must also be added to cycle punches to provide power. However, this rotation should be minimal. Also, a punch is not finished after it reaches or does not reach its target. It is not useless until it re-chambers for another strike. A returning punch can be used to drop down and parry any incoming strikes to the lower gates, and can also serve to keep an opponent’s arm pinned to their side by dropping down in its cycle and hitting the elbow of the checked arm.
Another important concept to cycle punching is the concept of circularity. Whatever the circle may be, whether it is in downward motion to bat attacks downward, or vice versa, at least a slight circle should be kept in all motion at all time. Linearity requires stopping and re-starting of motion, something that takes far to long when we are striving for efficiency.
The majority of martial arts have many forms or basic exercises. In contrast, Wing Chun has only three forms:
There are also two traditional Wing Chun weapon forms: bot tsam doe (the "eight chopping knives") and luk dim boon gwan (the "staff").
Whereas most martial artists seek to defend against or avoid their opponent, the Wing Chun practitioners "welcome" their opponents. A saying in Wing Chun goes "da sao djek see sil sao" ("to attack is to defend"). Instead of brute strength or force, Wing Chun emphasizes sensitivity, flowing and direct, effecient movements. Another Wing Chun expression is "yop" ("to penetrate"/"to enter"). The image is of a seed penetrating the earth, striving directly toward the sun. Nothing will stop it! "Yop!" is somewhat like the call to action to "keep your eyes on the prize!" of America's civil rights movement. This is the Wing Chun practitioner's direct response to "fa kuen, tzao toi" ("fancy hands, flashy feet" or literally "flower hands, embroidery feet").
