WING CHUN HISTORY A GENERAL OVERVIEW

The Beginning: Wu Mei (Ng Mui)

The Shaolin Buddhist nun Wu Mei (Ng Mui in the Cantonese dialect) was one of the five Shaolin martial arts heroes who survived the Manchu persecution in the 17^th century.

The daughter of a general in the Imperial Army, she was raised in the palace of the Forbidden City and received the benefit of a full scholarly education in medicine, art, military training, literature, and music. When Wu Mei developed her method, she removed the emphasis on the performance skills of strength, acrobatics, and the "flowery hands and embroidered feet" that characterized many of the martial arts styles of her time. She replaced these with innovative training.

Wu Mei created a new form of horse-step training using logs driven into the ground in a huge matrix of patterns of five, the number of mystical order and power in Chinese thought. She called the five pattern “plum blossom petals”, China's national flower, because the plum blossom has five symmetrical petals. As a highly educated scholar, she related all martial actions to natural symmetry and Chinese civilization. Wu Mei would later answer challenges in her training yard and defeated many skilled opponents who quickly lost their footing on top of the logs.

Being a woman, Wu Mei could not match the external strength of her male contemporaries with their greater muscle and bone mass. Therefore she developed ways to apply Chi Kung to fighting movements and innovated many internal sources of strength and power. Using multiple internal energy sources, Wu Mei enhanced internal power so that she not only equalled but even exceeded the strength of many of the most powerful martial arts masters. Her development of an internal martial art paralleled the creation of Chen family Tai Chi Chuan.

Wu Mei also developed unique fighting strategies: the "form from no form", and the "strategy of no strategy". Because she didn't train in prearranged fight sequences, her actions were unpredictable. "Form from no form" would appear as needed. With no strategy, her mind could be clear and still as a lake, Wu Mei believed in instantaneous counters, free to spontaneously respond to her opponents' actions.

The Next step : Wing Chun is Born

The Wing Chun system of martial arts was developed in southern China approx. 250-300 years ago. During the reign of Emperor K'anghsi of the Ching Dynasty (1662-1722), the Shaolin monastery called Siu Lam of Mt. Sung, in the Honan province, had become very powerful through Kung Fu training. The Manchurian government was afraid of an uprising and sent troops to destroy the Siu Lam. However, it was internal treachery that sealed the fate of the monastery, with traitorous monks setting it alight. Only a handful of monks managed to escape the onslaught of the Manchurian army. Ng Mui, a Buddhist Nun and Grand master of Sui Lam Kung Fu and the creator of the Wing Chun system was one of them. Ng Mui later developed a system of Kung Fu designed to overcome the Sui Lam systems of the Manchurian army.

Her ideas of a close quarter combat were totally different from the Sui Lam systems of that time. She discarded many of the old traditions, which often required years of dedicated practice at each stage, and started to develop this new system based on the principles of winning at all costs, using speed and subtlety to overcome an opponents' natural advantages. Her system, as yet unnamed had less stress on muscular strength (lik), bone conditioning, or muscular flexibility. The emphasis lay in sudden contraction and relaxation (ging) causing one to explode into action with natural weapons such as finger jabs to the eyes, elbow strikes to face and the powerful use of the knees and feet to the opponents lower body.

Ng Mui later met and befriended a young woman named Yim Wing Chun, who was just fifteen years of age. Little is known of Yim's childhood other than her mother died when she was in her teens and her father, Yim Yee, was falsely accused of a crime. They had moved to Mt. Tai Leung along the border of Yunan and Szechwan provinces, rather than risk imprisonment. Here they set up a bean curd shop. Yim was a beautiful and intelligent young woman but soon attracted the attentions of the local bully, who wanted to marry her and tried to rape her. Ng Mui took Yim Wing Chun into the mountains and taught her the techniques of the new system she had devised in a bid to protect the young woman. Under Ng Mui's direction, Wing Chun, studied Kung Fu religiously and mastered the style.

Wing Chun, like Ng Mui, knew only too well that in a street situation the male aggressor is already emotionally unstable and therefore the female has to respond using the skills of economy of motion using his strength to her advantage. She then returned to the village and defeated the local bully. After this event Ng Mui named the new style, Wing Chun Kuen after her protégé.
Roughly translated Wing Chun means 'Perpetual/Beautiful Springtime and Kuen is fist or fist fighting style.

Wing Chun passed on her skills to her husband and he in turn taught his brother. The system was passed on to many others to become the popular martial art it is today. Wing Chun continued to fight for the overthrow of the Manchurian Government until her death, keeping a promise to her Grand Master Mentor Ng Mui.

In the modern day Wing Chun has become widely recognized in all it’s forms due to Bruce Lee training in Wing Chun, before going on to develop his JKD philosophies and fighting methods, which mirror a lot of the principles of Wu Mei from all those years ago.

Wing Chun : The System

Balance, structure and stance

Wing Chun practitioners believe that the person with better body structure will win. A correct Wing Chun stance is like a piece of bamboo, firm but flexible, rooted but yielding. This structure is used to either deflect external forces or redirect them.

Balance is related to structure because a well-balanced body recovers quicker from stalled attacks and structure is maintained. Wing Chun trains the awareness of one's own body movement derived from muscular, tendon, and articular sources. Performing Wing Chun's forms such as Chum Kiu or the Wooden Dummy form greatly increase perception. Wing Chun favours a high, narrow stance with the elbows kept close to the body. Within the stance, arms are positioned across the vitals of the centreline. Shifting or turning within a stance is carried out on the ball of the foot . All attacks and counter-attacks are initiated from this firm, stable base. Wing Chun rarely compromises structure for more powerful attacks because this is believed to create defensive openings which may be exploited.

Structure is viewed as important, not only for reasons of defence, but also for attack. When the practitioner is effectively "rooted", or aligned so as to be braced against the ground, the force of the hit is believed to be far more devastating.

While the existence of a "central axis" concept is unified in Wing Chun, the interpretation of the centreline concept itself is not. Many variations exist, with some lineages defining anywhere from a single "centreline" to multiple lines of interaction and definition. The most commonly seen interpretation emphasizes attack and defence along an imaginary horizontal line drawn from the centre of the practitioner's chest to the centre of the enemy's chest. The human body's prime striking targets are considered to be on or near this line, including eyes, throat, solar plexus and groin.

Wing Chun techniques are generally "closed", with the limbs drawn in to protect the central area and also to maintain balance. To reach outside this area, footwork is used. A large emphasis and time investment in training Chi Sao exercise emphasises positioning to dominate this centreline.

Punches

Because of the emphasis on the centre line, the vertical fist straight punch is the most common strike in Wing Chun. However, the principle of simultaneous attack and defence (Lin Sil Die Dar) suggests that all movements in the Sil lim Tau with a forward execution flow into a strike if no effective resistance is met, without need for recomposure. Other explicit examples of punches can be found in the Chum Kiu and Bil Jee forms, although these punches may appear to be superficially different they are simply the result of the punch beginning from a different origin position while following the same fundamental idea, to punch in a straight line following the shortest distance between the fist and the opponent.

The vertical punch is the most basic and fundamental in Wing Chun and is usually thrown with the elbow down and to the side of the body in front of the waist. The punches may be thrown in quick succession in a "straight blast" or "chain punching". When executed correctly, it can be used as a disorienting finisher.

However, it is often misunderstood and criticized for encouraging weaker punches that do not utilize the whole body. But in fact, the formal name of it in Chinese is translated as "The Sun-character Rushing Punch", practitioners typically would rush forward with his full body weight "throwing" towards his opponent, with the fist as the "nail", and his full body weight as the "hammer".

Wing Chun favours the vertical punch for several reasons:

• Directness. The punch is not "loaded" by pulling the elbow behind the body. The punch travels straight towards the target from the guard position (hands are held in front of the chest).

• Protection. The elbow is kept low to cover the front midsection of the body. It is more difficult for an opponent to execute an elbow lock/break when the elbow occupies this position. This aids in generating power by use of the entire body structure rather than only the arm to strike. Also with the elbow down, it offers less opening for the body to be attacked while the forearm and punch intercept space towards the head and upper body.

• Strength and Impact. Wing Chun practitioners believe that because the elbow is behind the fist during the strike, it is thereby supported by the strength of the entire body rather than just a swinging fist, and therefore has more impact. A common analogy is a baseball bat being swung at someone's head (a round-house punch), as opposed to the butt end of the bat being thrust forward into the opponent's body (wing chun punch), which would cause far more damage than a glancing hit and is not as easy to evade. Many skilled practitioners pride themselves on being able to generate "short power" or large amount of power in a short space. A common demonstration of this is the "one inch punch", a punch that starts only an inch away from the target yet delivers an explosive amount of force.

• Alignment & Structure. Because of Wing Chun's usage of stance, the vertical punch is thus more suitable. The limb directly in front of the waist, elbow down, vertical nature of the punch allows a practitioner to absorb the rebound of the punch by directing it through the elbows and into the stance. This is a desirable trait to a Wing Chun practitioner because it promotes use of the entire body structure to generate power. Whereas, the rebound of a horizontal punch uses only the arm to strike. In this elbow-out position the hinge-structure directs force outwards along the limb producing torque in the puncher's body.

Kicks

Kicks can be explicitly found in the Chum Kiu and Mook Jong forms, a beginner is often introduced to basic kicking before learning the appropriate form. Traditionally, kicks are kept below the waist. This is characteristic of southern Chinese martial arts, in contrast to northern systems which utilise many high kicks.

Variations on a front kick are performed striking with the heel. The body may be square and the knee and foot are vertical on contact (Chum Kiu), or a pivot may be involved with the foot and knee on a plane at an angle (Mook yan Jong). A round house kick is performed striking with the foot with most of the power coming from the body pivot, this kick can also become a knee at close range. Other kicks include a stamping kick and  side kick also a sweep performed with the heel in a circular fashion.

Every kick is both an attack and defence, with legs being used to check incoming kicks or to take the initiative in striking through before a more circular kick can land. Kicks are delivered in one movement directly from the stance.

Uncommitted techniques

Wing Chun techniques are uncommitted. This means that if the technique fails to connect, the practitioner's position or balance is less affected. If the attack fails, the practitioner is able to "flow" easily into a follow-up attack. All Wing Chun techniques permit this. Any punches or kicks can be strung together to form a "chain" of attacks. According to Wing Chun theory, these attacks, in contrast to one big attack, break down the opponent gradually causing internal damage. Chained vertical punches are a common Wing Chun identifier

Trapping skills and sensitivity

The Wing Chun practitioner develops reflexes within the searching of unsecured defences through use of sensitivity. Training through Chi Sao with a training partner, one practices the trapping of hands. When an opponent is "trapped", he or she becomes immobile.

Close range

Wing Chun teaches practitioners to advance quickly and strike at close range. While the Wing Chun forward kick can be considered a long range technique, many Wing Chun practitioners practice "entry techniques"—getting past an opponent's kicks and punches to bring him within range of Wing Chun's close range repertoire. This means that theoretically, if the correct techniques are applied, a shorter person with a shorter range can defeat a larger person by getting inside his range and attacking him close to his body.

Forms and san sik

Forms are meditative, solitary exercises which develop self awareness, balance, relaxation and sensitivity. Forms also train the practitioner in the fundamental movement and the correct force generation of Wing Chun.

San Sik (translated as Separate Forms) are compact in structure. They can be loosely grouped into three broad categories: 1) focus on building body structure through basic punching, standing, turning, and stepping drills; 2) fundamental arm cycles and changes, firmly ingraining the cardinal tools for interception and adaptation; and 3) sensitivity training and combination techniques. It is from the forms and san sik that all Wing Chun techniques are derived. The most commonly seen Wing Chun generally comprises of six forms: three empty hand forms, one "wooden dummy" form, and two weapons forms.

Empty hand

"Little Idea" Sil Lim Tao

The first and most important form in Wing Chun. Sil Lim Tao is the foundation or "seed" of the art from which all succeeding forms and techniques depend. Fundamental rules of balance and body structure are developed here.  

"sinking bridge" Chum Kiu

The second form Chum Kiu focuses on coordinated movement of body mass and entry techniques to "bridge the gap" between practitioner and opponent and move in to disrupt their structure and balance. Close-range attacks using the elbows and knees are also developed here. It also teaches methods of recovering position and centreline when in a compromised position where Siu Nim Tao structure has been lost. bodyweight in striking is a central theme. 

"Flying Fingers" Biu Jee

The third form, Biu Jee, is composed of extreme short-range and extreme long-range techniques, low kicks and sweeps, and "emergency techniques" to counter-attack when structure and centreline have been seriously compromised, such as when the practitioner is seriously injured. As well as pivoting and stepping, developed in Chum Kiu, a third degree of freedom involving more upper body and stretching is developed for more power. Such movements include very close range elbow strikes and finger thrusts to the throat. this form has deadly "killing" and maiming techniques that should never be used if you can help it.  

"wooden dummy" Mook Yan Jong

The Mook Yan Jong form is performed against a "wooden dummy", a thick wooden post with three arms and a leg mounted on a slightly springy frame representing a stationary human opponent. Although representative of a human opponent, the dummy is not a physical representation of a human, but an energetic one. Wooden dummy practice aims to refine a practitioner's understanding of angles, positions, and footwork, and to develop full body power. It is here that the open hand forms are pieced together and understood as a whole. 

Weapons

Once correct force generation in the open-handed forms is achieved, the student is ready to progress to Weapons. With the open hand forms delivering force to the end of the finger tips, the idea is to be able to extend that force further to the end of a weapon as an extension of the body, using the same principles. Also, these weapons forms can also be used as an exercise to strengthen the forearms and wrists even further.

"Eight Chopping/Slashing Knives" Baat Jaam Do

A form involving a pair of large "butterfly knives", slightly smaller than short swords (Doa). Historically the knives were also referred to as Dit Ming Do "Life-Taking Knives".

"Six and A Half Point Pole" Luk Dim Boon Kwun

"Long pole" a tapered wooden pole ranging anywhere from 8 to 13 feet in length, "Six and A Half Point Pole", their 7 principles of Luk Dim Boon Kwun (Tai-uprooting, lan-to expand, dim-shock, kit-deflect, got-cut down, wan-circle, lau-flowing) are used throughout the unarmed combat as well. The name six and a half point pole comes from these 7 principles, with the last principle:Lau, or Flowing counting as half a point. 

Chi sao

Chi Sao or "sticking hands". Term for the principle, and drills used for the development of automatic reflexes upon contact and the idea of "sticking" to the opponent. In Wing Chun this is practiced through two practitioners maintaining contact with each other's forearms while executing techniques, thereby training each other to sense changes in body mechanics, pressure, momentum and "feel". This increased sensitivity gained from this drill helps a practitioner attack and counter an opponent's movements precisely, quickly and with the appropriate technique. Chi Sao additionally refers to methods of rolling hands drills (Luk Sao). Luk Sao participants push and "roll" their forearms against each other in a single circle while trying to remain relaxed. The aim is to feel forces, test resistances and find defensive gaps. Chi Sao drills begin with one-armed sets called Dan Chi Sao which help the novice student to get the feel of the exercise, each practitioner uses one hand from the same side as they face each other. Chi Sao is a sensitivity drill to obtain specific responses, though it can be practiced or expressed in a combat form.

Chi gerk

"Sticking-legs," is the lower-body equivalent of the upper body's Chi-sao training. Chi-gerk is first experienced by way of various strength and conditioning drills, and a great deal of strength and conditioning is experienced prior to continuing. Because the legs are stronger, they are usually harder to relax during drills. Also, because students are busy concentrating on upper body movements, many will usually not place the emphasis required in the lower body.

Mook Wan

"Wooden Ring", is another, somewhat rare training-tool in Wing chun. An approximately 10 inch to 14 inch ring made of bamboo or rattan the Mook-Wan is used for training the wrists and forearms, and to instruct the student in "flow" from technique to technique.