Articles – Page 5 – Wing Chun Lexicon

Wing Chun Mind

by Hawkins Cheung

Learn to Think Like a True Fighter

As told to author, Robert Chu, in “Inside Kung-F

u” September, 1991

Many have heard of the wing chun system of martial arts. Most articles deal with the techniques, the chi sao, the forms, the politics, and the variations, but I believe this may be the first article that deals with the wing chun mind. Master Hawkins Cheung, who has taught in Los Angeles since the late 1970s, outlines the concepts of wing chun in combat. An early student of grandmaster Yip Man, Cheung has practiced wing chun for over 30 years. Hawkins was also Bruce Lee’s training partner in the early 1950s and together they explored fighting concepts. Master Cheung stands 5-feet-5 and weighs 105 pounds. He is every inch a skilled fighter and excellent teacher.

Cheung explains the wing chun mind and the “how” and “why” of wing chun. He also explains where many wing chun men are incorrect Cheung states that the principles discussed here could be used by any system of martial arts to be applied in combat, regardless of the tools delivered. He considers stylistic differences, postures, techniques, forms and drills secondary to wing chun’s application in combat. Master Cheung’s advice here is reminiscent of Sun Tzu’s Art of War. He offers practical, straight forward advice on combat, very much like his style of fighting.

Combat

Wing chun is designed as a combat system. For this reason, the system emphasizes confidence, timing, interc

epting, capturing the centerline, shocking the opponent, setting up for consecutive strikes, and trapping. But the most important weapon in wing chun is the mind. Cheung explains that the mind is the center, the “referee” that the system revolves upon. Cheung uses the term “referee” because it denotes a bystander, one who is emotionally detached. Cheung states that, “Having a calm mind will determine your success in combat” To Hawkins Cheung, the wing chun mind is the mental frame of mind you need to survive.

Confidence

Hawkins often uses an analogy of driving a car to convey his teachings. He asks, “Are you good driver?” A student nods affirmative. Are you a good driver in Europe? Are you a good driver with a manual transmission? Are you a good driver in New York?” The student looks confused, as Hawkins continues, “The difference between driving a car around the block versus driving a car on the freeway is confidence and experience. Confidence and experience go hand-in-hand. If you’re not confident, you will be a disaster in driving or fighting.” The students understand.

“Practicing with a partner develops confidence so that when you eventually face an opponent it will be like driving to the supermarket If you have fear, you will lose. Don’t fight it if you have too much to lose. If you must fight, you must destroy your opponent and not stop until he is defeated. You must have the fighting spirit and attend to the job on hand. Don’t have fear, let your fighting instinct guide you in destroying your opponent. This is the kind of confidence you need to face your opponent,” says Cheung.

“The basic drills pak sao (slapping hands), lop da (grabbing and striking) and dan chi sao (single sticking hands) give a beginning student a sense of facing an opponent. The first form, siu nim tao, advises the student to ‘not think too much,’ and gives the basic tools and how to utilize them, as in learning to drive a car, which you eventually do without having to think.” says Hawkins, “The wing chun system was designed to develop a person with no knowledge of martial art to eventually become a proficient fighter.”

“If you’re facing an opponent, you must have the confidence to walk straight in on his punch or kick! “exclaims Cheung. “There is no retreating step in wing chun; the idea is you have to ‘eat up’ your opponent’s space and step in. It’s not wing chun if you take a sidestep or retreat from an attack.”

Newton’s laws of physics states that only one body can occupy a space at a time. “You must rush in with absolute confidence. “Master Cheung states that knowing this is an important factor in mastering wing chun, “because if a practitioner can’t fulfill this requirement, he may as well study another style.”

Timing and intercepting– “Can you do it?”

Hawkins often states anyone can learn the entire wing chun system in a short time, but it difficult to master. He often asks his students, “You can learn so and so, but can you do it?” Being a close-range art, wing chun is based largely upon timing. “Hitting a person just as he is attacking requires perfect timing:’ The question is, can you do it?” He notes many other martial arts styles are fast “The boxing jab is perhaps the fastest punch, and coming in on it is dangerous. By utilizing the proper timing, you can score a blow just as the jab is retracting or about to be launched.”

Timing is the prelude to intercepting or cutting off an attacking Says Cheung, “Fighting is based on shocking attack. To shock the opponent with a blow or through surprise will slow or stop his attack” Hawkins’ explanation is reminiscent of the German blitzkrieg (lightning) attacks of World Warn, and of the recent Persian Gulf War, where the Allied forces bombed Iraq through a surprise night attack.

Sifu Cheung continues, “You have basically two methods of capturing the centerline:

the first is to have superior speed over the opponent, and the second is start entering just as the opponent attacks. The key determining factor is timing.”

Cheung states if there is no starting point, a wing chun man will not initiate his attack “if you move, I move; but I arrive first”‘ says Cheung. Sun Tzu’s Art of War states that you attack after, but arrive first.

“Having a fight is like arguing with someone. When you’re engaged in an argument, you and your adversary are emotionally charged and each side wants to speak his point of view. But in wing chun, the idea is to let my opponent speak first, and I will initiate my timing from his start.” Cheung continues, “From that point, I shock or scare my opponent and initiate my say-so.”

Like a gunslinger, Cheung states that a wing chun practitioner has to develop the fastest draw. “A wing chun player captures the centerline first, which means he has the opponent targeted. if I am pointing my gun at you, and you move, even slightly, I’ll shoot Other Systems want to shoot as soon as possible, but with wing chun, you want to be the one that draws first, then shoot if necessary. “if you can strike your opponent at his moment of entry, the results can be devastating,” claims Cheung. “Impact is virtually doubled. The question is: Can you do it?”

Capturing the centerline

Many martial artists understand the concept of the centerline, a principle emphasized in wing chun. As master Cheung define

s it, the centerline is the fastest line of entry between two opponents facing each other. The centerline concept is what differentiates wing chun from other systems of martial arts.

“In other styles, movement originates from outside toward the center. Other styles choose to use the curved line. Wing chun is different in that movement originates from the center outward. Wing chun is designed to cut the motions from other systems, and timing is the means to occupy the center first”‘ says Cheung. “It’s not wing chun if the movement doesn’t originate from the center.

“One must capture and control the centerline to occupy a superior position. To occupy the centerline in an instant is the mark of expert skill, by controlling it you have immediately developed a sense of what the opponent can or cannot do,” says Cheung. “You have, in essence, presented a question or problem for the opponent to answer.”

“Many wing chun men ignore the skill of closing the gap and distance fighting,” says Cheung. Wing chun’s famous motto explains, “Stay as he comes, follow as he retreats; rush in upon loss of contact.” To “rush in” means to overwhelm the opponent with a blast An analogy of the pressure of a river behind a dam suddenly opening its gates should help you understand this feeling of ‘rushing in.” Master Cheung continues, “Seeing a whole body charge at you has a totally different mental reaction the

n a fist coming at you. A fist is small, but an entire body is big. This mental shock can be unbalancing to my opponent”

Shocking the opponent

When you strike an opponent, you stun or shock him. The sh

ock causes a sudden overwhelming stimuli which can overload the brain and delay reaction. This shocking action allows you to setup your opponent for further consecutive strikes. Whether you choose to strike, yell, curse, spit or slap your opponent, the result is the same if you are successful. Your shocking blow will delay the reaction time of your opponent, causing an opening. if you hit him again, it canes more shock; more shock will cause more delay; more delay in reaction will cause more strikes to land. As Cheung says, “My fists are like drumsticks beating on a drum.” But he cautions, ‘Don’t let the shock reverberate back to you, as you will delay your own timing. Only through correct muscle conditioning and relaxation will you break the vibration back to yourself”

One day Hawkins said to this writer, “Attack me, Robert, anyway you like.” I complied and prepared to attack. Just as I did, I suddenly felt stunned, and I had Hawkins’ fist in my face. He smiled. ‘”Did you feel the shook? Did your mind ‘blank out?”‘ I felt first-hand his skill on entering and setting me up. Hawkins did not rain punches on me, but had he, I doubt that my 6 feet, 185 pounds would be able to stop anything after shocking my system.

“To shock your opponent, you can use pak da (slapping strike), lop da or any other tool. You must catch your opponent with the correct tiling. When you shock your opponent, you cause him to blank out, and in that instance he loses himself and his surroundings, and there is an opportunity to destroy him!” says Cheung. “Anytime a martial artist, regardless of style, throws a punch or kick, he is blanking out because of the focus and emotional commitment” This blanking out gives you the time to strike your opponent.

The chi sao training is a famous feature of the wing chun system, but as master Cheung describes it, “Many wing chun practitioners overemphasize the drill. They find themselves unable to use the sticking hands in combat.” Cheung continues, “Sticking hands is for contact sensitivity. At long range and no contact with your opponent, you must have eye sensitivity. The problem with most wing chun practitioners is they have trapped themselves with only relying on contact sensitivity; you must have both. Both eyes sensitivity and contact sensitivity follow each other, where one leads off, the other follows to continue.”

“Chi Sao training is for you to get information on your opponent, but if you don’t have the contact and are at a distance, you must rely on your eyes. Master Cheung describes in detail that, “Eye sensitivity takes over when you don’t have the contact with your opponent; contact sensitivity takes over when you’re jammed up and or in close. If you don’t develop this, you win never he able to use wing chun.”

He cautions: “If a motion is too fast for the eye, it can be a trap, and if it is too fast for the hand, it may be a trap. In these circumstances, you must use your eyes to zoom in, or cut your opponent’s mo

tion by rushing in and use your contact sensitivity.” Master Cheung’s advice is reminiscent of a Patriot missile sighting a Scud missile in mid-air.

“What is important to learn is to control your opponent’s bridges and set him up for the next shot. Good wing chun is like playing billiards, you must always look for the next shot. Make your opponent follow you, if you are fast, make him catch up to you. If he is faster, make him slow. If he is hard, defeat him with soft. If he is soft, defeat him with hardness. If you can master the wing chun principles of ‘stay as he comes, follow as he retreats; rush in upon loss of contact,’ you win realize the essence of wing chun.”

Lien wan kuen: Consecutive strikes

After setting up the opponent with a shocking strike you must follow up with consecutive strikes. One of the most often drilled punches wing chun is called lien wan kuen. It is quick burst of straight line punches along the centerline that continues until an opponent is downed. Translated loosely in English, lien wan kuen means “chain punches” or “consecutive striking.”

“Lien wan kuen is a major application of the wing chun principle,” says Cheung, like an expert in billiards, each one of your shots scores and sets up for the next shot You do not give your opponent a chance to breathe. You strike and set up the opponent for more strikes until he is unconscious. You act like a butcher, cutting and hacking away at your opponent. Never stop until your opponent is down. That is the wing chun attitude.”

There is a certain amount of detached cruelty at work here. This aggressiveness has helped Hawkins survive many street encounters.

Trapping: Giving frustration

Trapping is the heart of wing chun. Sun Tzu wrote that all warfare is based upon deception, and to trap an opponent is to deceive him. Says Cheung, “When I trap your hand, your leg, or your body, your mind instantly freezes and considers the options. There is a psychological breakdown, and my opponent begins to lose his sense of confidence. When I don’t allow you the time to solve your immediate problem, I frustrate you, and therefore trap your emotions. You then have two opponents against you– me and yourself.

“If your opponent is fast, you be slow. If he is slow, you be fast. You must always keep in control of a fighting situation,” warns Cheung.

“If I can trick you, I am controlling your mid if I make believe there’s no pressure in my right hand, you may believe I’m not paying attention and want to attack there. But since I’m deceiving you, I want to draw your response so I can set up the next shot,” says Cheung.

An excellent example is the recent Persian Gulf War. Iraq’s strength was on the ground, but the Allied forces concentrated initially on air assault prior to any ground fighting. The tactic was to confuse the opponent and lead Iraq into concern of air assaults. Says Cheung, “You never allow your opponent to feel comfortable, that is the essence of trapping.”

Offense and defense

“Offense is based on attack, defense is based on body structure”‘ says Cheung. Offense is only 50 percent of the art Many wing chun men only concentrate on the offensive portion because offense is the best defense.” He warns, “Mastering the defensive portion of the art requires that one develop a strong stance and correct body structure. Defense means that you have to depend upon being a half-beat slower and follow your opponent and respond from there.”

For the wing chun practitioner, defense relies upon the correct structure of the body. The wing chun body structure holds back the rushing in of an opponent, much like a dam holding back a river. Again, we come to wing chun’s motto of “Stay as he comes, follow as he retreats; rush in upon loss of contact” Your body must stay and be able to receive your opponent’s rushing in.

Cheung describes the body structure as eating up the opponent’s space and his pressure. This is the soft part of the art Cheung again refers to the importance of the mind. “When an opponent rushes in toward you, you must have the mental preparation to receive the attack. Your mind must be calm.”

A wing chun principle is that the striking hand is the blocking hand. Offense requires superior timing in one beat A defensive counter works on a one-and-a half or second beat Wing chun’s simultaneous defense and offense is in one beat According to Cheung, “The best wing chun players can combine both offense and defense simultaneously in one beat if offense and defense are separate, you’re not adhering to wing chun principles. Many wing chun men don’t realize the importance of timing which makes the concepts come alive. You have to make the opponent blank out if you don’t make the opponent blank out, you have lost the superior one-beat timing. A common reason is because you have jammed up your own timing because the shock has reverberated to you. If a wing chun practitioner can master superior timing, he can be free from the style. if you master timing, the style is secondary. You can use the opponent’s technique at that point You have to train to reach that point It takes years of hard work; you literally gamble with timing.” There is a wing chun saying of “glass head, bean-curd body, and iron bridges.” Master Cheung is a living example of this expression. “Being physically small, I can’t take a punch or a kick,” says Cheung. “Using timing and these methods of attack, I never had to draw my last card” The last card that sifu Cheung speaks of is defense. Like the ground war during Operation Desert Storm, the last card is the trump card.

“If I had a body like Mike Tyson’s, I could afford to wait and play the defensive role and wait for my opponent,” says Cheung.

Forever Springtime The wing chun fist is named after its founder, Yim Wing Chun, but to Hawkins Cheung, the words “wing chun” also means “Forever Springtime”.

“If you look at wing chun this way, the art is always fresh and new.”

Sifu Cheung often explains that wing chun practiced in America has a different emphasis than in Hong Kong. “In Asia, we practiced wing chun to defend mainly against body blows, so you’ll have to emphasize crossing the bridge, gaun sao and other techniques,” he notes. “In America, you have boxers, wrestlers and other martial arts, each with their strengths, so you have to keep aware and adapt.”

Change and adaptation are essential to survival. That is why there are so many types of martial arts. He insists that like an immigrant, you have to change your ways to adapt to your new environment “A good wing chun player is a great pretender. He can adapt and change his tactics. You must change and adapt to circumstances to survive! That is the wing chun mind.

“Wing chun is a trap, too, because many practitioners get hung up thinking wing chun is the only way to fight. Many wing chun men are in the process of still developing the tools, so they can’t begin to conceptualize how to apply them properly in combat Changing to survive is universal, not just in wing chun,” says Cheung. “The frustrating part of wing chun is learning how to enter. This skill take years to develop.”

He concluded, “A master can only be a master today. You can’t tell what the future is, as the situation may change. You can only be a master up to the present An individual has to develop, continue with his own research and grow everyday.”

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Siu Nim Tao

Siu Nim Tao

The Heart of the Wing Chun by Sifu Paul Tennet

Wing Chun’s primary training routine is Siu Nim Tao or Little idea Way. Many translations of the name have been suggested such as don’t have too many thoughts in your mind, concentrate on the small details or establish an idea in your mind.

Over the last 24 years I have learnt and investigated several different versions of this little form. Each method I have been exposed to has its strengths and weaknesses so my advice would be to play with each method you have and also don’t discard anything as at some point you might find its usefulness. This article is my little thoughts on the importance of this form.

Siu Nim Tao and Fighting Techniques

Anyone with a few ounces of worldly experience can look at the form and tell you that it is not designed to train the movements or essential fighting elements of movement, timing and distance. The fact that you stand with your feet fixed and without any noticeable rotation of the hips or drive from the legs would make any would be functions extremely limited. That being said I believe and have been taught that for the start of the Wing Chun journey, training the individual movements without having to consider movement of the body is enough to work on. This allows the student to concentrate on the correct angles and positioning which is essential for short and close range movements and the almost unique tight structure that will become invaluable to students as they progress. What you are essentially doing is developing the triggers and memory for the muscles to fire (twitch reflex) and isolating the mechanics. This idea is not new to anyone who does traditional martial arts if you look at basic drills in your system.

Siu Nim Tao and Fighting Strategy

Beyond physical technique, what really come through in Siu Nim Tao are the strategies behind the system. Virtually every movement in the form has a principle or fighting strategy if you can see it. Right from the start you define the centreline which many would consider the primary Wing Chun principle. Then you occupy or control the centreline with your punch and arm.

The first section concentrates on the tan, fook and wu sau shapes, especially the elbow position as it travels the centreline. This could not look anything further away from fighting techniques but many elements of the fighting techniques have their base in this subtle exercise. For example he Tan concept is taking the inside line as you do if you are countering a punch on the inside.

The second section looks at different structures and the release of short range energy. The structures are of critical importance and this in my opinion is where most instructors and students fail. The detail involved in the direction of force, elbow position and relaxation and tension is a massive area of study in these dozen or so movements. The Wong Shun Leung family also say that this section is about recovery and when you look at the movements many of them return to centreline and drop elbows back into the correct positions.

The third section varies more between the various schools of Wing Chun but my opinion it is basic linkage and examples of movements and the motions between A and B. More importantly this section three brings greater coordination and even more concepts of application to the student’s curriculum. If you notice most of the movement return to the principles. In most wing Chun methods you always finish with the hands up and on the centreline and attacking forwards. The way I practice is with the mind set of returning high and when off the centre you always return.

Most of the form is done left side then right which is an advanced but simple concept that each arm should operate independently of the other. This pays dividends in chi sau and clinches as you have two lines of power to control.

Siu Nim Tao and the Mind

Training the mind is often overlooked by students. In my opinion Siu Nim Tao heavily emphasises the mind in all movements. The name of the form even suggests this. Either way you are learning to concentrate, mentally relax and extend your focus beyond your physical body.

When first learning the form, your legs might tremble or ache. This is natural and all part of the process or pushing through the discomfort and relaxing under pressure.

Focusing you intention or developing forward energy is another important aspect of the first part of Siu Nim Tao. Keep your mind focused on the forward Tan and Fook Sau movements and some teachers also suggest that even with your Wu Sau movement you keep the forward intention.

In Wing Chun circles the principle of “lop nim” or establishing an idea in the mind is common. Mental focus, concentration and will are fundamental to successful application of force.

Siu Nim Tao and Health

Tai Chi masters will often say that the form is the qigong (chi gung) and that all you need is the form, not other qigong. Siu Nim Tao is the same, by doing the form you are working health and martial technique in one. A few weeks ago I was going to suggest to one of my Wing Chun students that he should do some qigong as rehabilitation on an injury. A couple of minutes later I felt like slapping myself across the face when the reality hit me. I did not tell the student to do qigong for the simple reason that practicing the Wing Chun forms correctly is your qigong.

Posture, Relaxation, Breathing, Balance, Energy, Coordination and Mind / Body unity are all promoted and maintained by doing your Wing Chun forms on a regular basis. With an understanding of these elements then you can practice play you perform Siu Nim Tao and Chum Kiu.

If you look at the number of Huen Sau (circling Wrist) movements in the wing chun forms it tell you they must be important! Although they can be used to train grabbing and energy I personally feel they are there to help develop and maintain flexibility and strength. Hitting wall bags etc can tighten and damage the wrist and hand and the Huen Sau movements are a corrective measure.

Many people use Siu Nim Tao as a form of moving meditation in the same way as tai chi is often described. Also looking at the internal martial arts it is not too far removed from the ideas behind standing post “Zhang Jong”.

Source: http://www.traditionalwushu.com/Pages/SiuLimTao.aspx

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Siu Lim Tao Explained

Posted by Wooden Dummy on July 7, 2013

Unimpressive as it may look, the essence of Wing Chun is actually embedded in Siu Lim Taoform. You cannot possibly execute the other forms without a firm foundation of Siu Lim Tao, which outlines all the principles of Wing Chun. If you don’t understand Siu Lim Tao, you will never understand Wing Chun. If you rush through it while learning, you will pick up bad habits. The bad habits remain with you all through your Wing Chun life.

Siu Lim Tao contains all the basic hand movements used in Wing Chun: Taan Sau (攤手), Wu Sau (護手), Fuk Sau (伏手) and Bong Sau (膀手). Practicing Siu Lim Tao achieves a number of goals: it defines the centreline and teaches students where their hands should be relative to it, reinforces the correct elbow position, facilitates force generation in short range Wing Chun movements and teaches students how to execute Wing Chun movements correctly.

The meaning of Siu Lim Tao name can be translated as follows: Siu means little and in this case means minimal. Lim (sometimes pronounced as Nim) means thought (idea) and Tao means way. So together in this context, the whole name of Siu Lim Tao means a way to minimize your thought. The meaning is to try to empty your mind and concentrate on your practice. Therefore, Siu Lim Tao is both internal and energy training. It is also Gung Lik (功力) training. In Cantonese, Gung means work and Lik means strength. Together they mean to work on your strength orbuilding your strength. Siu Lim Tao is the basic form of the Wing Chun Kuen system. Without practicing Siu Lim Tao, your Wing Chun skills will not be good.

Siu Lim Tao has three sections, although some might dissect into four or five sections to make it easier on their students. The first section is Gung Lik training. The second section trains Fatt Ging (發勁). In Cantonese, Fatt means “release”, Ging means “power”. It means release power. The third section is technique training. When you finish these three sections of Siu Lim Tao, you already have a basic concept of Wing Chun techniques. You know how to develop your power, use your energy and to use basic techniques. Regular practice of Siu Lim Tao can also give you good health and develop your Qi (氣).

First part of Siu Lim Tao

The first part of Siu Lim Tao is a Gung Lik training or internal strength training. The first part also trains the Lat Sau Jik Chung (springy forward force). In simple terms, ‘Lat Sau Jik Chung’ is the ability to attack, with power and effectiveness, the instant that a gap appears in the defenses of the enemy, regardless of whether we are consciously aware of the gap or not. By performing it slowly we are training correct elbow positioning and energy, learning to relax and building up our Qi, which has many health benefits. The more slowly you do, the more relaxed we can be.When you are relaxed, you can the feel the energy of your opponent. When you can feel their energy, you can then use the right amount of energy back to stop them.

Second part of Siu Lim Tao

The second part of Siu Lim Tao is a Fatt Ging training. This part is training how to use proper energy when you are using power and so is much faster than the first part of training Siu Lim Tao.

The very famous Long Distance Fatt Ging (most people call it one inch punch because of Bruce Lee demonstrations), is an example of how to use power while applying the principles of Wing Chun. This is, that you do not use the energy until you really want it. So when we study Wing Chun, we should not use too much energy and never use strength against strength.

In other words, in the entire second part of Siu Lim Tao, we must relax until the last moment and only then release the power. This section teaching us correct release energy by only tensing at the end of a technique. In real battle, on all the attacks we must relax until the time we are sure we want to commit to an attack and then strength is only used at the point of contact, not before. Many of the movements in this section are trained double handed. However, we can actually use one hand and it is in fact more common than using the technique with two hands.

Third part of Siu Lim Tao

The third section covers these basic skills: Tan Sau, Paak Sau, Gaang Sau, Huen Sau, Gwat Sau (scraping arm), Tut Sau (clearing hand) or Muht Sau (wiping hand), Bong Sau and punching. These techniques can be used for both training Chi Sau and self defense. If you can apply these skills properly, then you will be able to defend yourself in most situations. Chi Sau training helps us to better develop these techniques.

Conclusion

Siu Lim Tao is the basic form of the Wing Chun system. You should practice Siu Lim Tao more than any of the other forms. This will help you to understand the principles of Wing Chun more fully. You should try to do it is as slowly as possible and naturally. Breathe through the nose. Siu Lim Tao is not just a martial art skill, it is also internal training. It can make you healthy as well because every martial artist should be healthy.

Our Wing Chun ancestors must have realized the need for internal training and so created Siu Lim Tao later. Siu Lim Tao is for balancing the strong energy and to make us healthier. A lot of martial artists only concentrate on fighting and miss the internal training. Internal training will help us to balance our body. It needs someone with a lot of experience to realize this. Therefore, Siu Lim Tao is the most important form in the whole Wing Chun system.

Source: https://mywayofwingchun.com/2013/07/07/siu-lim-tao-explained/

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The Hidden Power of Siu Nim Tau

by Chu Shong Tin

My master Yip Man first started teaching Ving Tsun in Hong Kong at the Restaurant Worker’s Union Association. At the time I was the secretary of the association, so Master Yip and I had many opportunities to be together. Before I became interested in Ving Tsun, I often overheard Master Yip explaining his Ving Tsun theories in his classes. Gradually he sparked my interest in the art. It so happened that I had great interest in physics and mechanics; I enjoyed his theories on body structure and power development methods very much. Through my careful analysis, I was convinced that Master Yip’s art was flawless and very advanced. Finally, I decided to follow Master Yip and became his student.

Like every beginner in class, I started my journey with Siu Nim Tau , even though I had already familiarized myself with the form as an observer. It took me little effort to completely learn the basic movements. I then began to wonder about the essence of the form, besides the hand movements. I went to Master Yip and inquired about the meaning of Siu Nim Tau, especially the non-combative tone in the name. Master Yip replied: “This is about Lop Nim — to establish an idea in the mind”. I am sure most of my peers have also heard about this term. Master Yip also added that it required prolonged practice of this form to truly master the essence of lop nim.

This hidden meaning of lop nim really caught my interest. I spent much time analyzing its nature, but could still not grasp the concept. Therefore I decided to drop all my thoughts and simply practiced Siu Nim Tau whenever I could, day and night. After a long time, I began to see the connection between lop nim and the form. I suddenly felt great joy in my Ving Tsun training, which fueled my interest in the art further. I became obsessed with the art. Gradually I discovered some powerful but hidden forces within each Siu Nim Tau movement. All the movements are indeed able to deliver indestructible power, yet they look very soft and graceful. At that moment, the concept of lop nim became extremely enlightening and inspiring to me. I finally understood the reason behind it.

I summarize this hidden power as a kind of nim lik (the force of an idea; or mind/intent force, where nim is the same idea/intent as in nim tau ). In essence, Siu Nim Tau has two major points: nim lik and “structure”.

1. Nim Lik (force of idea/intent): it stabilizes all Ving Tsun movements to form a springy and dynamic combination of body structures. It makes Ving Tsun body structure able to sustain great pressure and produce rebound energy. Although there are common terms such as nim lik, qigong, noigong or supernatural abilities that are being perceived as some kind of unusual power, here I would only illustrate the concept behind nim lik (force of idea/intent). Nim lik is the power of a highly focused mind. It helps one bring forth chi flow into every part of the body. Everyone should have this kind of power. However, without training, it is very difficult to focus thoughts. Siu Nim Tau is a great tool to invoke mind focus power. If properly practiced, one can deliver this kind of power at will in every instance. The mind can stay focused even when the structure is adjusting or moving at high speed. So to achieve nim lik is the goal of Siu Nim Tau.

Let’s look at a simple example: if a healthy person falls down from a 6 – 7 feet tall platform unprepared, although he/she lands with both feet, he/she is still likely to injury him/herself. However, if the person is mentally prepared for the fall, his/her feet will automatically recoil and absorb the impact. Also, he/she can only have this reflex if his/her feet are relax. This is an unique attribute of human muscle in its relax state. The springy force on the feet that help the person land safely is a direct result of relax muscles and nim lik.

note: according to contemporary scientific findings; when human muscles are in relax state and are moving at steady speed, they can sustain greater pressure than when they are tensed up (using force). It is so amazing that our Ving Tsun ancestor Ng Mui was able to make use of this scientific method to design our Siu Nim Tau hundreds of years ago

2. Structure: Yee Gee Kim Yang Ma allows one to project all energy forward towards the target. Tei Gong (pulling up of the muscle around the anus area) helps unite body and stance. It also helps relax the leg muscles while being in the stance; thus the whole body reaches a highly alert and ready state. These are the necessary conditions to produce nim lik and must be maintained firmly. The core techniques of Siu Nim Tau — Tan / Bong / Fook — are indeed subtle uses of body mechanics. These three techniques take the shape of arcs or bows. As we extend the arc shape further, Tan / Bong / Fook become hemispheres. As we all know, an arc or spherical-shaped object can sustain strong impact. It can also transfer or deflect energy dynamically when spinning. A wheel can accelerate faster than objects of other shapes (e.g. square, triangle). Each movement in Siu Nim Tau, inspired by this efficient arc-like structure, and when combined with nim lik, becomes extremely powerful defensive and offensive techniques. In addition, practitioners must not employ brute muscle strength. Siu Nim Tau training should never be tiring. To be proficient in this foundation, all movements should be done with the mind rather than strength.

Many Ving Tsun practitioners like to impose their techniques into frozen and static postures. Many believe that Bong Sau should be done at certain height or angle, or criticize others for not complying to their artificial standards. Some may call this style traditionalist; that style reformist; and on and on. In fact, movements in Siu Nim Tau are not named as if they were static postures. For example, when rolling up Tan Sau into Bong Sau, it is the course of this rolling movement that makes up the Bong Sau technique; the function of Bong Sau exists in its circular motion. Similarly, all other techniques in Siu Nim Tau employ circular movements in various directions.

It is a popular belief that Bong Sau is a passive technique: practitioners only use Bong Sau to deflect incoming forces. This would apply to the scenario where a statically posted Bong Sau is being used to block attacks. However, this explanation lacks an understanding of Bong Sau. In my experience, Bong Sau can deliver enormous offensive power. Indeed, it is a very aggressive and penetrating technique due to its circular nature.

Finally, I suggest that all fellow Ving Tsun practitioners look carefully into each technique of Siu Nim Tau. Discover the subtle circular movements in each of them. Practice with mind focus and steady speed. Use the mind to command each technique rather than using muscle tension. I am sure you will gradually find great joy and satisfaction in your Siu Nim Tau training!

* this article is a translation by David YY Lee and Steve Chow, the original article was published in “Grandmaster Yip Man Centenary Birth”.

Source: http://www.hwca.com.au/articles/the-hidden-power-of-siu-nim-tau/

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Sil Lim Tao – The first form of Wing Chun

by Dan Knight

Sil Lim Tau or Little Idea

Sil Lim Tau is not just the beginning course, but an important foundation…. When we learn English, we learn 26 letters first. If we cannot handle the pronunciation of each letter, then our English will never be good. The magnitude of the fist form Sil Lim Tau in Wing Chun is the same as that of the letters in English.– Ip Ching

Wing Chun’s First Form

Yip Man Sil Lim Tau Sil Lim Tau, sometimes referred to as Siu Nim Tao, is the first of the hand forms of Wing Chun Kung Fu. It teaches the student the basics of the martial art. The form has been adapted and changed over the last few hundred years, but it is thought that the form was inspired by movements from both crane style kung fu and snake style kung fu. The form has evolved differently as styles of Wing Chun diverged. The snake element can be seen more in Yuen Kay San Wing Chun in Foshan, China, than it can in Ip Man’s Wing Chun which was reordered by Ip Man and his predecessors in Foshan and later in Hong Kong.

The other two hand forms in the system are Chum Kiu (Seeking Bridge) and Biu Gee(Thrusting Fingers). Sil Lim Tao is a basic, foundation form for people starting their journey in Wing Chun. Grandmaster Ip Man described the practice of the Sil Lim Tao form in the following way:

In Sil Lim Tao [Little Idea], the ideas of daily matters, such as money, work, hate, love, etc…. decrease to as little as possible, or even none, [so that the practitioner may] concentrate only upon practicing.– Ip Man

Sil Lim Tao is the foundation of Wing Chun Kung Fu. That is why almost every Wing Chun Sifu, when teaching his students, always wants the students to practice Sil Lim Tao first. The form is divided into three sections, with a total of one hundred and eight movements. Each small section has its own aim in practice, and various meanings in application.

The Goals / Benefits of Sil Lim Tao

There are a number of key benefits to training Sil Lim Tao. The most obvious benefits are as follows:

Strengthening the legs through the stance.
Teaching the student the key techniques of Wing Chun.
Teaching the student how t turn energy on and off. A key part of building good ging.
Helping the student understand key principles like economy of motion and the centreline.

The Forms’ Structure

Samuel Kwok Sil Lim Tau The first section is for training the basic power by tensing and relaxing the arm. The strength is built up by repeating the core hand positions of Tan Sau, Fook Sau, and Wu Sau. If you wish to perform well in Wing Chun, you must use the first sections of Sil Lim Tao to train the basic power and strength. There is no short cut, once the movements of the form have been learned, they must be practiced seriously to train the power and strength. Every Wing Chun practitioner knows when practicing the first part of Sil Lim Tao, that it has to be slow. To train for the strength one has to be serious, and to be serious one must do it slowly.

The second section is the training how to use use the power / strength that has been built up in the first section. In Wing Chun Kung Fu, the strength and power are used half soft, half hard. This is easily demonstrated when throwing a punch, your arm travels at great speed but the muscles are relaxed, this is the soft part. But just before you make contact with your opponent, your muscles in your arm tense up for a split second, this is the hard part. This later develops into full delivery of the Kinetic Energy of your arm and body into the target, without compromising balance. In Chinese martial arts, good use of this on off energy is often referred to as Ging.

The third section is for training the correct position of the basic hand and arm movements, and hopefully building up muscle memory. Movements include Pak Sau, Tan Sau, Gaun Sau, Huen Sau and Bong Sau. The practitioner must concentrate on executing each movement’s correctly.

If you clear your mind when you practice it’s much better. You can concentrate on what you’re doing, nothing will bother you.

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How long it takes to become good?

It’s really down to you. As a practitioner, you must do exactly that, practice. Dedication, diligence, patience, persistence and commitment to training inside and outside of your school will make you a successful martial arts exponent. Think on and understand why you are doing what you are doing in practice and constantly focus on improvement of your application, be patient and enjoy the learning process. If you see a technique for the first time and try to perform it as fast or smoothly as the expert, you may never get it right. Always break the technique down to individual parts and learn the detail, the stages of applications and the feel for the movement, as you improve, your ability to apply the action in reality will increase, take small steps

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Biu Gee – The third form of Wing Chun

by Dan Knight

“A lot of people think Biu Gee [Darting Fingers] is for attacking people. But the real meaning behind Biu Jee is not really attacking. Biu Jee promotes and develops many emergency techniques.”– Ho Kam Ming

Wing Chun’s third hand form

Biu Gee (thrusting/darting fingers) is sometimes also referred to as Biu Tse, Biu Jee or even Bil Gee. The different ways to spell it, arise because it is hard to Romanise (put into Latin or western letters) Cantonese speech. Despite the different spellings the pronunciation in Cantonese is the same. Biu Gee is the third and final hand form of the Wing Chun Kung Fu system and was traditionally only taught to close or trusted Wing Chun students. Usually students who had been training for a longer period of time. As a result, the Biu Gee form will vary most between lineages, even within Ip Man linage, the final form is different between different instructors.

The goals / Benefits of training Biu Gee

The following could be seen as some of the key benefits of learning and practicing the Biu Gee form.

The student learns to develop power through very short distances in order to help perfect the students ging.
Biu Gee helps the student learn how to use Wing Chun to recover from a fall or from being being trapped or pinned. These are called emergency techniques.
Improve on the turning and footwork developed in Chum Kiu.

The structure of the form

The form has a number of parts which don’t break down into 3 sections quite as easily as Siu Nim Tao.

the first part of Biu Gee teaches the student how to perfect the use of ‘inch energy’, enabling the practitioner to develop power through very short distances. It also builds on the two way energy developed in Chum Kiu.

The first section also contains footwork is known as circle stepping or Huen Ma. This is essential to the Wing Chun system. Again this builds on the Chum Kiu style thrusting stepping or Biu ma. Huen Ma enables the rapid but safe change of direction enabling the practitioner to avoid an attack and swiftly counter attack.

The fist section also introduces the practitioner to a technique known as Kup Jarn, or downward elbow. Kup Jarn can be used to attack at very close distance where punching or striking with the hand is not an easy option. It can also be used to block an incoming attack when the practitioner has his/her hands trapped. This is one of the reasons Biu Gee is said to contain emergency escape techniques.

Other emergency techniques are seen in Biu Gee, for example the use of Biu Gee/Tse to escape when the elbow has been pinned.

The last part of the form contains ways to recover the centreline along with some large areas covers and strikes to different directions. The final part of the form shows the student an effective way to recover from a fall. Therefore Biu Gee completes the hand forms of the Wing Chun system by finalising the use of power and energy in techniques, building on the Chun Kiu style stepping and providing the practitioner with options to escape a bad situation such as being pinned, trapped or recovering from a fall.

Because Biu Gee builds on Chum Kiu which itself builds on Siu Nim Tao, it should only be learned after Chum Kiu has been properly understood. Once Biu Gee has been mastered the practitioner can deliver devastating power through extremely short distances with much greater accuracy.

Biu Gee video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDc_IPQvmuw

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Gu Lao Wing Chun Kuen

bei Robert Chu

When Leung Jan retired from his pharmacy in Foshan he returned to his native Gu Lao village in the Heshan (Hok San) area of Guang Dong province. There, the renowned doctor passed along a simple yet remarkably profound style of Wing Chun, the sei sup dim (forty points) system, also known as Gu Lao Wing Chun. Leung Jan was known as the “King of Wing Chun Boxing” and the Gu Lao style of Wing Chun is his final legacy.

History and Development

Legends say that during the Qing Dynasty, Yim Wing Chun and her husband, Leung Bok Chao taught the 2nd generation of Wing Chun Kuen. These second-generation students worked undercover as a Red Boat Cantonese Opera troupe by day and Anti Qing terrorists by night. They were affiliated with many Anti Qing groups including the Heaven and Earth Society. Their goal was to overthrow the Manchurian government and restore the Chinese Ming to the throne of China. Wing Chun Kuen was their art of choice. They could hide knives in their loose fitting garments and assassinate Qing officials in the narrow alleys of Southern China. As an Opera Troupe, they moved about freely at any time without suspicion.

The second-generation students of Yim Wing Chun included Wong Wah Bo, Leung Yee Tai, Dai Fa Min Kam, Gao Lo Jung, Hung Kam Biu, and Leung Lan Kwai. Many of these Opera members had training in Shaolin Fist and pole techniques, acrobatics, and knowledge of two man sets. They were master choreographers, performing every night the Opera was in a town. Yim Wing Chun’s art consisted of simple, direct, economical moves and was conceptual in content. Training consisted of some 40 or so repetitive techniques that could be practiced solo, with a partner, or on a dummy, empty handed or with knives. It is speculated at this point in the history of Wing Chun Kuen development, there were no set forms, as it was the goal of this training to be applied immediately to serve the purpose of self defense or assassination.

Wong Wah Bo and Leung Yee Tai had a student named Leung Jan. Leung studied the original art and later studied the art in set forms after they were choreographed by the Opera members. Leung became known for his application of Wing Chun in “Gong Sao” (Talking Hands a real match) and became known as the King of Wing Chun, or the Gong Sao Wong (Talking Hands King). Leung Jan has become the famous subject of books written by the famous fiction author Au Soy Jee and today, movies. It is known that Leung Jan became an herbalist and opened an herb stop on Chopsticks street in Fut Shan. The shop was called Jan Sang Tang (Mr. Jan’s Hall). Leung Jan was a native of Gu Lao, not Fut Shan. Leung Jan went on to teach a few, select students like his sons Leung Bik and Leung Chun, Chan Wah Shun, Muk Yan Wah, Chu Yuk Gwai, and Fung Wah.

Upon reaching retirement, Leung Jan returned to his native Gu Lao. While there, he taught a few local students his synthesis of Wing Chun. Instead of focussing on teaching the Wing Chun forms, dummy set and weapon sets that were choreographed by the Opera members, he focused his training on the forty short routines and San Sao drills, pole techniques and double knife techniques. These became known as the Gu Lao Sae Sup Dim (40 points) Wing Chun system. The 40 points are the loose expression and application of Wing Chun Kuen. The forms Siu Lien Tao, Chum Kiu, Biu Jee and Muk Yan Jong sets, and the Yee Ji Cern Dao (Ba Jaam Dao) were created later. Training in Chi Sao and San Sao are emphasized, as well as practice of the 40 points on the wooden dummy. Since we consider them “points”, as opposed to techniques or postures, their applications can be limitless. Each point teaches numerous concepts, and it is the goal of the Gu Lao sifu to teach one how to combine the 40 points. I came to learn this system from my good friend and Sifu, Kwan Jong Yuen, who in turn learned the art from Leung Jan’s grandstudent from Gu Lao, Tam Yeung. I am told that one of Leung Jan’s students in Gu Lao taught Fung Sung, who created the Pien Shen Wing Chun system. The Pien Shen Wing Chun and Gu Lao systems are perhaps one and the same, with the only difference in how they have arranged their curriculum, and who have passed them down. I have also recently read an article from Mainland China that shows the existence of a 22 point Gu Lao Wing Chun system. Until further research indicated they are different, however, I will consider them the same system as the one I learned from Kwan Jong Yuen, owing only to stylistic difference or changes in curriculum.

The Forty Points

The 40 points include classical and metaphorical names for each of the movements. In typical Chinese Cheng Wu style, this was designed so that members of other systems would not be able to understand what the movements were unless they had studied the same system. Some of these may indicate the Shaolin origin of some of the movements. Most of these names in modern Wing Chun have been replaced using modern jargon. Although few in number and perhaps not as intricate as the classical forms of Wing Chun, the forty points serve to review the Wing Chun system to the advanced practitioner, and serve as an excellent teaching tool to beginning students. They are trained in sets of repetition, alternating left and right sides. One should not simply look at the 40 points as techniques, but look at them as tactics to teach the fighting skills of Wing Chun. When the basics are mastered, a student can then look to doing combinations and permutations of the techniques while moving left and right, with high and low stances, or done high, middle or low levels, to the front and back, and while advancing and adjusting your steps. The advanced practitioner can reach the level of being able to change and vary his movements with empty hands or the double knives of Wing Chun.

The 40 points are not inseparable or different from the other forms of Wing Chun as taught today. Leung Jan simply passed on the art of Wing Chun Kuen in its San Sao (loose hands) stage when he retired to Gu Lao. Kwan Jong Yuen tells me, that in Gu Lao, when Tam Yeung was a student, it would cost a small fortune to learn one point. This included the complete application of the point while standing, with steps, during Chi Sao and with an opponent during San Sao.

Forms & Training

Gu Lao Wing Chun’s basics are trained through the forty points outlined below:

Ji Ng Chuie (Meridian Punch)- Also known as Yat Ji Chung Chuie, (Sun Character Thrusting Punch) this is Wing Chun’s signature punch with short explosive power with the vertical fist, the fists are held relaxed until impact and force is exerted with the entire body.
Duen Kiu (Short Bridge)- The Short bridge is equivalent to the Cern Jum Sao (Sinking Bridge ) movements. In application, it teaches the concept of Por Jung, breaking the centerline. The hands are open and relaxed and cut down vertically to the opponent’s attacking bridge.
Ba Gua Long Na (Eight Directional Dragon Grab)- Uses the double grabbing hands (Lop Sao), the lead hand held upwards in a clawing motion, while simultaneously the rear hand grabs and pulls the opponent’s bridges, setting the opponent up for a kick, throw or strike.
Sae Mun (Four Gates)- refers to the four gates using the on guard stance (Bai Jong); one exercises the left and right positions of the forward stance (Ji Ng Ma) and the left and right Chum Kiu horse stance positions
Siu Fuk Fu (Small Subdue the Tiger)- Uses an alternating left and right double Gaun Sao with phoenix eye fists; similar to the Gaun Sao section of the Biu Jee set.
Dai Fuk Fu (Big Subduing Tiger)- This technique is basically the same as the above, but using triangle steps to enter at an opponent’s side gates
Pien Shen Chuie (Slant Body Punch)- This is the Ji Ng Chuie using the Wing Chun shift. In application you may strike to your opponent’s outside gate, crossing over his attempted blow.
Pien Jeung (Slant Palm)- This tactic uses palm heel with the fingers pointed to the centerline to strike the opponent. The same short explosive power is used.
Biu Jee (Darting Fingers)- Although the movement implies the fingers, the technique in application utilizes the forearm when striking the opponent at the acupoints ST9 and LI 18
Wan Wun Yiu/Tiet Ban Kiu (Emergency Bend at the Waist and Iron Bridge)- Trains the practitioner to bend forward or backwards at will and can be coupled with hand techniques. It is similar in application as the fade and slip in western boxing.
Chum Kiu (Sinking Bridges)- Uses a double sinking bridge arm position that breaks into the centerline of the opponent
Gwai Ma Chuie (Kneeling Horse Strike)- This tactic utilizes the kneeling horse and a phoenix eye fist to deliver a blow aimed at the groin. This gives an insight into Wing Chun applied at a low line level.
Pien Shen Jeung (Slant Body Palm)- Uses the side palm as a slashing palm maneuver using the front/back shifting
Gao/Dae Jeung (High and Low Palms)- The high and low double palms are actually horizontal butterfly palms with palms facing the opposite direction
Lian Wan Fai Jeung (Linked Fast Palms)- utilize are a Tan Sao/Pak Sao combination followed with a circular Saat Jeung/Chong Jeung combination
Hoc Bong (Crane Wing)- uses the arm in an upwards 90 degree or 45 degree maneuver to attack or defend
Dai Bong (Big Wing)- the Big wing is a low Bong Sao position used to defend against a low attack
Jung Bong (Middle Level Wing Hand)- is the standard middle level Bong Sao
Noi Liem Sao (Inside Cutting Hand)- This is the inner line hand utilizing the Fuk Sao in a circular fashion
Oi Liem Sao (Outside Cutting Hand)- the outer line hand position utilizes Tan Sao in an outward circular fashion
Fu Mei (Tiger’s Tail)- The tiger tail is a short backward hammer-fist strike to the opponent’s groin
Gua Long Jeung (Hanging Dragon Palm)- Combines the dragon claw and Ji Ng Chuie in combination similar to a Fuk Da or Lop Da
Fu Biu Chuie (Darting Tiger Blow)- The darting tiger blow is the equivalent to Fuk Sao combined with a phoenix eye strike
Sam Jin Chuie (Three Arrow Blows)- Is done with one hand (high, middle and low straight punches or equivalent with Lien Wan Chuie
Sam Bai Fut (Three Bows to Buddha)- utilizes the Tan, Pak Sao and Gum Sao to stop multiple blows
Dip Jeung (Butterfly Palm)- Is the equivalent to the Bao Pai Jeung attack and defense
Siu Poon Sao (Small rolling hands)- Trains the Luk Sao or rolling hands of Wing Chun
Poon Sao (Rolling Hand)- This tactic is similar to a Pak Sao/Lou Sao combination, but close to the body. It is the main transitional move in Wing Chun
Juk Da (Slanting Strike)- The slant strike is equivalent to the slant body Jut Da
Juk Kiu (Slanting Bridge)- The slant bridge is essentially Tan Da done with a shift
Dang Jeung (Hammer Palms)- The hammer palms are the equivalent to the second section of Siu Lien Tao utilizing the Gum Sao. There are 4 positions: left, right, double frontal and double rear.
Ping Lan Sao (Level Obstruction Hands)-The level bar arms is the equivalent of the Kwun Sao or Tan/Bong position
Lui Kiu (Double Palms)- Utilize a double Tan Sao position to bridge the gap on an opponent
Chong Jeung (Thrusting Palm)- is the equivalent of the forward palm strike of Wing Chun done to the opponents face or chest.
Fan Cup Chuie (Flipping Upper Cut)- Is similar to the Chou Chuie from the Chum Kiu set
Cup Da Sao (Covering Hitting Hand)- utilizes th Bong Sao immediately followed up with a Lop Sao and downward back fist (Gwa Chuie)
Cern Lung (Double Dragons)- The double straight punches
Pien Shen Dip Jeung (Slant Body Butterfly Palm)- alternating low palm strike
Charp Chuie (Piercing Strike)- is basically a Wu Sao with a fist combined with a straight punch
Bik Bong (Pressing Wing Hand)- is the Wing Chun elbow strike

Training includes the complete application of each point while standing, with steps, during chi sao (sticking hands) and with an opponent during san sao (separate hands). Also taught in the curriculum are Chi Sao, application of the Gu Lao 40 points on a wooden dummy, practicing the Gu Lao points with knives (called “Yee Ji Cern Dao”) and pole exercises collectively known as the Luk Dim Boon Gwun.

Concepts & Principles

As with all Wing Chun systems, the Gu Lao 40 point system requires that the practitioner utilize the principle of “Lai Lou Hui Sung, Lut Sao Jik Chung”.

Gu Lao Wing Chun practitioners utilize the entire body, are principle oriented martial arts as opposed to the technique oriented systems. Timing and positioning are most important, and we utilize simple, direct economical movements in self-defense. A practitioner of the Gu Lao art is expected to learn the classical point, modify the technique according to circumstances, and combine a point with another point, while utilizing footwork and foot maneuvers (Gerk Faat).

It is interesting to note that the Yuen Kay Shan Wing Chun curriculum begins with many techniques similar to those in the Gu Lao curriculum. There is also a trend of modern Wing Chun (Wing Chun Do, Jeet Kuen Do, and other arts) variations to take many of the loose or separate techniques of Wing Chun Kuen.

The Gu Lao Wing Chun Kuen is a glimpse of the teachings of Wing Chun Kuen in a San Sao format. It is an ideal system to learn quick, simple, direct, economical movements for combat purposes.

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Northern Internal Pao Fa Lien Wing Chun

My style of Wing Chun is an internal system which came from the north. During the revolutions against the Manchurians, a monk, nicknamed Dai Dong Fung (Great East Wind), while trying to escape arrest, came to the south. In the area of Qingyuan, Guangdong, he was made a guest by bothers named Tse Gok-Leung & Tse Gok-Jeung. Of the two brothers, one was a literary mandarin while the other was a military mandarin. Even though they were working for the Manchurians, but since they were of the Han tribe, and seeing how their kinsmen were being mistreated, they had a hope that one day the Manchurians would be over thrown by the Hans. After a period of time, when the monk observed that these two brothers were decent people and not corrupted mandarins, and that they also treated him with honor and respect, he taught them Wing Chun. He also disclosed that all disciples of Wing Chun are revolutionists. Since this had been discovered by the Manchurian Court, so in order to hide identity, they broke down the two characters “Wing Chun” into a secret three lined poem. That is: “Wing Yin Chi Ji” (Always speak with determination), “Mo Mong Hong Juk” (Don’t forget the Han Nation), “Dai Day Wu Chun” (Spring will be back again).

The Tse Brothers adopted a son named Lao Dat-Sang and taught him Wing Chun from age 9. Later on Lao Dat-Sang moved to Foshan and worked as a treasurer at an establishment. He never openly taught martial arts, but little by little, his skills became known, and many people sought to be his disciples. He was very straight in choosing students, so he did not have too many disciples. When he was over 70 years of age, there was a young man named Chu Chong entered as his disciple because of Karma. He learned all the essences of Wing Chun from the meticulous instruction of Lao Dat-Sang. Later, Chu Chong along with his wife and kids moved to Sam Shui Po in Hong Kong where they opened an osteopathy clinic. Now it is many decades later, and Chu Chong is 101 years old. He still has great mobility and walks as if he is flying. However his son, Chu Wing-Ji, has taken over his medical practice. His kung-fu “brother”, Kok Gai, who still lives in Foshan, was the last disciple of Lao Dat-Sang. He’s over 80 years old and ceased to practice martial art for many years now.

Sigung Chu Chong spent many years in Hong Kong. Although he followed the way of Wing Chun, which is “only to pass down but don’t teach the art”, still he accepted many disciples. One of them is my deceased teacher Mok Pui-On. He first learned Weng (Always) Chun from Chu Chong-Man, a style passed down from Fung Siu-Ching. But later on he learned Wing (Praise) Chun from Sigung Chu Chong. From 1977 to 1978 I learned Wing Chun separately from Ho Kam-Ming and Yip Chun, which is the Wing Chun style passed down from Yip Man. [Hong Kong has Pao Fa Lin Wing Chun, Yip Man Wing Chun, Pin San (Side Body) Wing Chun, Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun; also known as Guangzhou Wing Chun, and Singapore and Malaysia also have the opera style of Wing Chun.] In 1979, I was fortunate enough to learn from my deceased teacher Mok Pui-On the Pao Fa Lin style of Wing Chun. In these 16 years, I also got a lot of tutors and instructions from my martial art “uncle” Chu Wing-Jee. Started in December of 1994, I began teaching openly for the first time my style at the Hong Kong Ching Wu athletic association. But since 1989, there were several occasions when foreigners had come from England and South Africa for the sole reason of studying the art.

Pao Fa Lien was so called because it was just the nickname of Lao Dat-Sun. When he was young he had a job to do Pao Fa (planing wood). These are plants which they boiled down the shavings to get the sap. This was used as a hair tonic in those days. The character Dat, when written in script form, looks a bit like the character Lien (Translator’s note: this is a feminine name). Therefore, the people at the time always mockingly called him “Little Lien”. After my deceased teacher had obtained permission from Sigung Chu Chong, he added this to the name of our style to distinguish it from other Wing Chun styles.

By Leo Man, Hong Kong Chin Woo Annual. Roughly translated from Chinese.

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Shaolin [Pan Nam] Wing Chun

The true origins of Wing Chun are not very clear. It is said Yip Man altered the Wing Chun he originally learnt before passing it on to the world. What did it look like before? The author gives us a possible answer.

1989 was the year I returned to Mauritius (an island west of the Indian Ocean) to visit my parents and relatives. I was prepared for a relaxing and lazy holiday lounging on the golden beach of this tropical island paradise and unexpectedly all of this went out of the window. One afternoon when I visited my father’s shop, I noticed an advert in the Chinese newspaper that a certain person was recruiting students for a Wing Chun class. This came as a total surprise that Wing Chun had even infiltrated this remote part of the world. When my father read out the name of the instructor (Leung Tong Sing), I immediately realized that I had met him previously. A few years ago, as a Wu Shu instructor who recently came from China, not knowing then that he also knew the Wing Chun also. The only thing I knew about him was through my father-in-law who is a committee member of a Cantonese speaking organization which sponsored Mr. Leung from Fatshan, China, to teach Chinese Wu Shu on the island. Mr. Leung, a Wu Shu champion in the Fatshan area of the Guangzhou province of China, came highly recommended by the Chinese Wu Shu organization. A coincidence of passing interest, Port Louis, the capital of the island is twinned with Fatshan in China, the home of Wing Chun. When I first met him several years before, he was teaching Wu Shu which incorporated the monkey, drunkard and other styles. These were the jumping and flowery stuff which I was not very keen on.

Upon hearing of the advert, I immediately arranged a meeting with Mr. Leung to find out what he knew about Wing Chun. When I met him, I was totally surprised to see that the Wing Chun he practiced was not the same as the one I knew and was more surprised to learn that he had heard of Yip Man’s style of Wing Chun but he had never seen it. So mutual curiosity took the better of us and that was the beginning of lengthy and interesting conversations and training sessions. I had to kiss good-bye to the long hours I planned to lounge on the golden beach; given the chance, my wife might have had a few words to say about that.

Mr Leung’s Wing Chun teacher was Pang Lam [Pan Nam], an old master, still living in Fatshan, the legendary home of Wing Chun. This style of Wing Chun has had a separate development from that of Yip Man’s. In fact Pang Lam’s Wing Chun carried on its development in Fatshan and never left the area and it has retained many old characteristics which are similar to Shaolin Kung Fu confirming once again the Shaolin ancestry of the style. This style of Wing Chun is also known as “Shaolin Wing Chun” for its obvious ancestral connections. Yip Man, uprooted from Fatshan, continued his development in Hong Kong from where it spread to the rest of the world with a large contribution to the populanty of the style from the film star Bruce Lee, himself a former student of Yip Man.

Both Yip Man and Pang Lam shared the same lineage up to Chan Wah Shun’s generation. Yip Man, as a young man, first studied under Chan Wah Shun, then under Ng Chung So, a senior student of Chan, after the latter’s death. He later completed his studies with Leung Bik, the son of Leung Jan. Pang Lam also had three teachers but took a somewhat different root. His first teacher was Chui Chau who was a student of Chan Yu Min, the son of Chan Wah Shun. His second teacher was Lai Yip Chi another student of Chan Wah Shun and classmate to both Ng Chung So (the second teacher of Yip Man) and Yip Man himself. His third teacher was Dai Fa Min Kam, a very old man by then, who belonged to a generation previous to Leung Jan’s and was classmate to Wong Wah Bo and Leung Yee Tei. If all this sounds complicated, just imagine that you have to trace back your ancestors for the previous two centuries without much written records; it won’t be easy.

The question is therefore, why trace back the history of Wing Chun? There is a Chinese saying which goes, “Always remember the source of where you drink the water from”. Indeed you may know when you might want to drink from it again. Tracing back is not just a sentimental or academic exercise, we can still learn from the past, not only to understand the present but also to build for the future. Indeed we have a unique opportunity to look as to how Wing Chun could have looked like in the past from what Pang Lam has preserved. The style is different and sometimes off putting to those who have trained for many years in Yip Man’s method. I personally have been practicing Yip Man’s Wing Chun for about fifteen years and Pan Lam’s Wing Chun for four years; I can appreciate how the two complement each other. One is fast and dynamic, the other is slow, well focused and subtle. It might not be a good idea for a beginner to learn both, this will only create confusion. To the advanced students of Yip Man’s style, if they put aside their ego’s and vested interest and look deeper into Pang Lam’s style they will gain a deeper understanding and go into the heart of the Wing Chun system. To learn something which is opposite to our beliefs is very difficult and the only way to progress is to keep an open mind as this little story illustrates:

In olden China a well renowned scholar went to a master asking to the educated in spiritual matters. The master poured tea into the scholar’s cup and kept pouring even though the cup was overflowing. The scholar was taken aback and told the master that the cup was overflowing. The master replied, “Your mind is like this cup, full and overflowing with vour own ideas and if I teach you now, that’s what will happen (pointing to the overflowing tea). So if you want to study with me, then empty your cup (mind) so that it can receive what is being poured”.

The lesson here is to keep an open mind, don’t be judgemental until you have learnt enough to enable you to assess what you have or have not gained. Discovering Pang Lam’s Wing Chun for me was like finding a long lost love which mades me feel whole again. I feel I have merged the past with the present and can confidently look to the future because of my better understanding which filled many gaps and cleared the many unanswered questions I had about the system.

How do the two systems differ? This will be the first question that a Wing Chun practitioner is likely to ask and I can probably answer this question better by looking at the similarities first. If someone looks at Pang Lam’s forms, they obviously look different to Yip Man’s. But when you look deeper, the similarities with Yip Man’s forms are self-evident; thc ovements, techniques and emphasis may, differ visually but the principles and concepts are similar. It’s like two pilgrims setting off on different roads to reach the same destination. The basic techniques like Tan Sau, Bong Sau, Jum Sau. Kan Sau etc. are the same. Pang Lam’s Wing Chun like that of Yip Man’s have three hands forms: Sui Nim Tao, Chum Ku and Bui Chee. There is also the wooden dummy, the pole and butterfly knives techniques.

The movements in Pang Lam’s forms are more rounded, flowing, subtle, more internally focused and less ’snappy’ than those of Yip Man’s. The forms are performed at a relatively slow pace, more like Taiji but marginally quicker and stronger and this is probably why Pang Lam’s forms seem to be longer. Pang Lam’s emphasis is more on the physiological and Qi development in contrast to Yip Man’s emphasis on speed and simplicity of movements. Pang Lam has also retained the “artistic” aspects more than Yip Man who emphasized on the practicality of the movements for fighting. If we may venture into the realm of speculation, it may be possible that to better fit his character. Yip Man has removed certain movements which he felt superfluous. Maybe Pang Lam’s style is closer to the originator of the system? Who knows?

On the technical level, here are sonic examples how Shaolin Wing Chun differs to that of Yip Man’s. In Siu Nim Tao, the Horse Stance, instead of being ‘pigeon toe’ the feet are parallel like in Shaolin Kung Fu. The Bong Sau, the angle between the forearm and the upper arm is closed and the elbow is ninety degrees to the centreline which makes it resemble an elbow strike. The fists are kept to the sides ~’itli the knuckles in a vertical line. The Gum Sau is performed to the front as well as to the sides. In Chum Kiu. the moving stances are wide and deep and the manner in which the stepping is done is completely different to Yip Man’s sliding stance. In Bui Chee, the pressing down elbow movement (Kup Jam) is performed by bending the torso forward. The upward chop to the side (Man Sau) is replaced by finger jabs to the sides. The wooden dummy form includes grabbing techniques, finger and claw strikes to the nerve points. The wooden dummy arms are not fixed to the main body but can slide in and out for arm pulling/pushing techniques. The six and I half point pole techniques are performed with the arms fullv stretched with short snappy movements reminiscent of the one inch punch; whereas Yip Man’s pole techniques usually comprise of larger circles. The butterfly knife techniques comprise of slashing in four directions against multiple opponents, simultaneous slashing in two different directions, left and right, front and back, are very common. Whereas Yip Man’s techniques are usually in one direction at a time. These are by no means the only visual differences but only a few examples.

As far as auxiliary exercises are concerned, more emphasis is placed on grabbing techniques, stance stability, rooting training, waist and leg strengthening. The Chi Sau resembles more the pushing hands of Taiji Quan and the grabbing techniques (if Chin-Na than Yip Man’s dvnamic Poon Sau. In addition to arm and leg sensitivity training, Pang Lam has additional drills to develop body sensitivity, to deal with an opponent’s force when there is body to body contact.

For me, the simplicity and dynamism of Yip Man’s Wing Chun mixed with the strong, subtle and artistic aspects of Pang Lam’s Wing Chun are complementary to each other, like the left hand helping the right. Which method is better you may ask? My answer is, it does not matter whether your left hand is stronger or right hand is stronger, its making them work together which is more important.