Wing Chun
Wushu/Kung Fu

Wing Chun/Ving Tsun/Wing Tsun/Ving Chun (Spring Chant)

Wing Chun has been passed from teacher to student verbally rather than in writing, making it difficult to confirm (or clarify) differing accounts of the martial art’s creation.

Ng Mui Legend

  • Legend has it after escaping the destruction of the Fujian Shaolin Monastery by Qing forces around 1730, the Abbess Ng Mui fled to the Daliang Mountains on the border between Yunnan and Sichuan. Ng Mui often bought tofu at a shop owned by Yim Yee. Yim Yee had a daughter named Yim Wing Chun, whom a local warlord was trying to force into marriage. Ng Mui taught Yim Wing Chun a version of her southern-Shaolin kung fu, which allowed her to drive off the warlord. After completing her training under Ng Mui around 1790, Yim Wing Chun married Leung Bok-Chao and taught the fighting techniques which Ng Mui had passed on to her. After Yim Wing Chun died around 1840, Leung Bok-Chao passed the new style on to Leung Lan-kwai. Leung Lan-kwai taught six members of the Red Boat Opera Group around 1850, and present-day Wing Chun descends from the six opera-group members: Yik Kam, Hung Gan Biu, Leung Yee Tai, Wong Wah-bo, Dai Fa Min Kam, and Law Man Kung.

Yiu Kai Legend

  • The legend of Yiu Kai dates the creation of Wing Chun to the early 19th century and identifies Yim Wing Chun’s father as Yim Sei, a disciple at the Fujian Shaolin Temple who avoids persecution by fleeing with his daughter to Guangxi. Yim Wing Chun learned the Fujian Shaolin arts from her father and, from their raw material, created a new style after seeing a fight between a snake and a crane. She married Leung Bok-Chao, a Shaolin disciple like Yim Wing Chun’s father, and taught him her fighting style. The couple began teaching Wing Chun’s fighting style to others after moving to Guangdong Province in 1815, settling in the city of Zhaoqing.

Sensitivity Training

  • Chi Sau (Sticking Hands) is a term for the principle and drills used for the development of automatic reflexes upon contact and the idea of “sticking” to the opponent (also known as “sensitivity training”). In reality, the intention is not to “stick” to your opponent at all costs, but rather to protect your centerline while simultaneously attacking your opponent’s centerline. In Wing Chun, this is practiced by 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”. The increased sensitivity gained from this drill helps a practitioner attack and counter an opponent’s movements precisely, quickly, and with appropriate techniques.
  • Chi Sau additionally refers to methods of rolling hands drills. Luk Sau (Rolling Hands)  participants push and “roll” their forearms against each other in a single circle while trying to remain in relaxed form. The aim is to feel force, test resistance, and find defensive gaps. Other branches have a version of this practice where each arm rolls in small, separate circles. Luk Sau is most notably taught within the Pan Nam branch of Wing Chun where both the larger rolling drills as well as the smaller, separate-hand circle drills are taught.
  • Some lineages, such as Ip Man and Jiu Wan, begin Chi Sau drills with one-armed sets called Daan Chi Sau (Single Sticking Hand) which helps the novice student to get the feel of the exercise. In Daan Chi Sau each practitioner uses one hand from the same side as they face each other.
  • Chi Geuk (Sticking Legs) is the lower-body equivalent of the upper body’s Chi Sau training, aimed on developing awareness in the lower body and obtaining relaxation of the legs.

18 Hand Techniques

  • Bong Sao – Wing Hand
  • Fook Sao – Controlling Hand
  • Man Sao – Seeking Hand
  • Wu Sao – Protecting Hand
  • Tan Sao – Dispersing Hand
  • Kau Sao – Detaining Hand
  • Jam Sao – Sinking Hand
  • Gaun Sao – Cultivating Hand
  • Jut Sao – Choking Hand
  • Huen Sao – Circling Hand
  • Lap Sao – Pulling Hand
  • Pak Sao – Slapping Hand
  • Tok Sao – Lifting Hand
  • Lan Sao – Barring Hand
  • Tie Sao – Uplifting Hand
  • Jip Sao Receiving Hand
  • Gum Sao – Pressing Hand
  • Biu Sao – Darting Hand

Other Techniques/Stances

  • Yee Jee Kim Yueng Ma – Horse Stance
  • Juen Ma – Turning Stance
  • Kwan Sau – Rotating Hand
  • Gaun Sau – Splitting Hand
  • Pai Jarn – Horizontal “Hacking” Elbow Strike
  • Lin Wan Kuen – Chain Punch
  • One Inch Punch
  • Bong Gerk – Wing Leg
  • Pak Gerk – Slapping Leg
  • Lap Gerk – Pulling Leg
  • Stomp Kick

Taolu (Form)

Siu Nim Tao (Little Idea)

Chum Kiu (Seeking the Bridge)

Biu Gee (Darting Fingers)

Muk Yan Jong (Wooden Dummy Form)

Bart Cham Dao (Eight Cutting Knives)

Luk Dim Boon Kwun (Six And A Half Point Pole)

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