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History:

Wing chun kuen is one of the many styles of martial arts, whose origins are to be found in Southern China and, compared with other martial arts, it is relatively a newcomer. The term Wing chun is attributed to a woman called Yim Wing chun, who was the protégé of a Buddhist nun called Ng Mui. Wing chun is known a soft style, but is in fact a blend of hard and soft techniques. With reference to the hard concept, in simple terms this means meeting force with force, whereas the sort term refers to more evasive manoeuvres and techniques.

Loosely translated, Wing chun means “beautiful spring time” and kuen means “fist” or “fist fighting style”. However, many people refer to the style as being “Wing chun”. This blending of hard and soft is due to the fact that it was developed by a woman and refined mainly men. It is also said that Ng Mui once observed a battle between a snake and a crane. From her observations sprang ideas on how to create this art. Mimicking animal movements is particularly common in Chinese martial arts.

Principle:

Wing chun is centred on the Taoist principle of “take the middle road”. In essence, this says that we should not go to the extremes and that success is based on balance. If we are on the middle road we can see both the left and the right paths, but if we venture too far out to one side we may lose sight of the other. This can also be interpreted as the concept of the hard and sort principles – or yin and yang. Yin (feminine side) focuses on diverting the flow of energy; yang (masculine side) seeks to resist any opposing energy flow. Yang is primarily seen in the explosive quality of the striking moves.

“Sticky hands”:

One of the most important techniques in Wing chun is “sticky hands”. Since Wing chun is a close-quarter system, it is potentially dangerous for the practitioners themselves, who are at risk of being hit, grabbed or kicked. This realisation has led to a particular method called “double sticky hands”.

To the uninitiated, this technique is best described as a hurt boxer trying to “spoil” his opponent’s moves by clinging to his arms. The aim is to prevent an opponent striking freely, giving the Wing chun practitioner the opportunity to control, trap and break free to strike. The real skill lies in both parties wanting to achieve the same goal and this has led to exceptional techniques, in which either one or both parties can train blindfolded. A skillful practitioner can eventually predict and nullify the danger.

The main areas that “sticky hands” seeks to develop fall into the categories of sensitivity, power and general fitness. Sensitivity covers such aspects as the centre-line concept, reaction to direction change, striking when the hand is freed, going with the power and not resisting force, continuous techniques (fluidity), and balance in the vertical and horizontal planes. Power involves guiding power, aggressive and explosive power, and power control and balancing power techniques.

About the Author

Dr. Joseph Wayne Smith is a Queen Elizabeth II Fellow in Philosophy at the Flinders University of South Australia and has trained in Western boxing, wrestling, and power lifting. A coach on the Australian Coaching Council’s National Coaching Accreditation Scheme, he studied Wing Chun kung-fu under Sifu Felix Leong and has contributed articles to martial arts journals in Austraila, America, and Europe.

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This article is about the kung fu martial arts and you can find some useful information in it if you are a fan of the kung fu martial arts.

Zhiquan Qing is a notable kung fu master in Hong Kong. “Kung fu martial arts is mainly for helping others, not for fighting.” He said.

Recently, he came to Foshan, Guangdong Province to give free kung fu martial arts courses to the the disabled people. He has opened 2 Wing Chun training centers in Foshan and nearly 100 disabled people have received his free kung fu trainings in them.

“A lot of people like the kung fu martial arts and about 40% of the Hong Kong residents have learned some kung fu martial arts.” Qing said. He was born in 1955 and has the asthma from his childhood. He can only watch his little friends playing, but can not join them when he is a kid. Because of this, he decided to learn the kung fu martial arts. “At first I learned kung fu martial arts in order to fight other people and to protect myself.” he said.

Now Qing named this purpose “the superficial heroism”. He started to learn the kung fu martial arts from the age of 10. In 1973, he attended many kung fu competitions, using his Wing Chun kung fu. He won a champion in the 4th South East Asia Kung Fu Martial Arts Championship in 1976. Six years later, he won a champion in the 6th International Kung Fu Martial Arts Championship. He also got a big surprise by learning the kung fu martial arts: his asthma disappeared during the peroid of his kung fu trainings. Maybe this is a gift for his several years of hard kung fu trainings.

For a kung fu fighter, sports injuries are very common. In order to deal with these injuries, Qing started to learn Tuina (Chinese massage for curing the sports injuries) and the theories of the traditional Chinese medicine.

In 1998, Qing came to Foshan, Guangdong Province and made some good friends here. They are all the fans of the kung fu martial arts and they often do the kung fu trainings together. One time, one of this friends told him that he paid more than 5000 rmb for the phone bills, talking to Qing about the kung fu martial arts. Qing was so touched by his words and he started to come to Foshan very frequently. In 2006, he opened 2 Wing Chun Training Centers in Foshan. One is in Nanhaiguichang and the other is in Shundele.

Recommended by this friend, Qing started to give kung fu martial arts courses to the doctors and nurses in the Foshan Chinese Medicine Hospital. In this place, lots of disabled people joined these kung fu martial arts courses. They are also very interested in these courses but they do not have the good opportunities to be taught by a real kung fu master. Qing thought this as a good chance to helping others. In 2007, Qing began to give free “Baduanjin” kung fu courses to the disabled people in the Foshan Chinese Medicine Hospital. These courses are also part of the convalescent plans for these disabled people.

“Some people believe that I am stupid. I can earn 500 rmb for a hour by teaching the kung fu martial arts courses, but all the courses here are free in Foshan. I just think that what I did is helpful for the disabled people. I want them to learn more and practise more kung fu. It will be good for the recovery of these people. I am just doing the correct things I believe.” Qing said.

Date: 05/02/2009

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This martial arts manual is a comprehensive guide to the basic forms and principles of Wing Chun kung-fu. In over 300 black-and-white photographs, Wing Chun Kung-Fu: A Complete Guide leads the reader step-by-step through the beginning forms of Wing Chun kung-fu, including Chi gerk, Chi sao and Wing Chun sticky-hand and sticky-leg techniques, as well as detailed commentary on the theory behind each move. Other sections include specialized fighting and grappling techniques and ins (more…)