Out of all the Chinese kung fu styles wing chun has been the most popularized, principally thanks to the face it was the style that was immortalized by the legendary Bruce Lee. It was designed for simpleness, economy of moment and for all body shapes, types with no discrimination. Legend has it that it is a composite of many traditional self-defense skills that derived their styles from the key animal forms. The brazenly elaborate showy more-exaggerated movements made way for direct precision striking and economy of movement -to make your strike. Effectively wing jaw was intended to kill.
That is why out of the entire system there are essentially three open hand forms- 2 weapon forms and obviously the wooden dummy sequence. With a special mention to the chisau sticking hands coaching (a private favourite of mind)
There are lots of variances of how these forms are spelled and said, so I'm going to go by what I was taught.
1st form is the Sl lim tau or little concept form. This is the basic foundation of the system. The beauty and design of the wing coaching system is that it awfully basic and not at all visually spectacular as a demonstration like you see in the kung fu movies "
However as a student each move learned opens up another door of probabilities as the system slowly finds its strategies. The simple principle such as the centre line theory vs the central line idea. The right stance & posture, the distribution of weight and also having the correct energy in your legs and arms. And most of all timing.
That is why the Sil Lim tau form is often called the soft or internal version of wing concentration of the form instead of brute strength -which is one of not the core philosophies of the the wing Inside this form all the offensive & defensive principles are taught. From the positioning of the hands for where ideas like fut sao, garn sao are introduced. This is a part of the armory which will remain with you through your wing following form is Pal Kill- or bridging the opening form. This is the subsequent form which incorporates larger movements and introduces coordination into the system, Here's where another ideas is further explored. The idea of 2 hand independent co-ordination. Where both hands are used independent of each other in their movement. Sounds confusing-? Well it can be. Think along the line of a concurrent defensive & attacking strike and you start to learn how effective Wing buddy kill and that's also one of the keys to the wing ideas are planted in the original stages and then grown and incorporated into the system as you progress. In essence they are all systems brought from one single concept or idea (therefore the name title idea form-Sil Lim Tau Form).
Within this form all of the offensive & defensive elements are taught. From the positioning of the hands for where concepts such as fut sao, garn sao are introduced. This is a component of the armoury that remain with you throughout your wing chun journey.
The basis of this form was to supply lethal strikes to opponents. For advanced students making an attempt to master this form can be taken much further. It could be a system all itself.
Legend has it it was infrequently taught in older times, however in our westernized culture where we need it all and now--it has made its way to the mainstream, m Much to the chagrin of the old Chinese teachers.
There is a lot to assimilate about the wing hardly a quick overview, however it's a great journey that can take a whole life to master. For me the key attraction and what I am getting out of this system are the coaching methods. They're fun and so easy to learn. However the largest revelation to come out of Wing discovered , was that there where varied styles of wing modified. The tale behind how this came about is as intriguing and as old as China itself and its ramifications massive --especially as it relates your Wing Chun training.
There's a lot to learn about the wing chun system and this is barely a brief overview, however it is a great journey that may take a lifetime to defeat. For me the primary attraction and what I get out of this system are the training techniques. They are fun and easy to learn. However the most important revelation to come out of Wing chun, I found was that there where varying styles of wing chun training techniques-traditional and altered. The story behind how this came about is as fascinating and as old as China itself and its implications big --especially as it relates your Wing Chun training.
That is why out of the entire system there are essentially three open hand forms- 2 weapon forms and obviously the wooden dummy sequence. With a special mention to the chisau sticking hands coaching (a private favourite of mind)
There are lots of variances of how these forms are spelled and said, so I'm going to go by what I was taught.
1st form is the Sl lim tau or little concept form. This is the basic foundation of the system. The beauty and design of the wing coaching system is that it awfully basic and not at all visually spectacular as a demonstration like you see in the kung fu movies "
However as a student each move learned opens up another door of probabilities as the system slowly finds its strategies. The simple principle such as the centre line theory vs the central line idea. The right stance & posture, the distribution of weight and also having the correct energy in your legs and arms. And most of all timing.
That is why the Sil Lim tau form is often called the soft or internal version of wing concentration of the form instead of brute strength -which is one of not the core philosophies of the the wing Inside this form all the offensive & defensive principles are taught. From the positioning of the hands for where ideas like fut sao, garn sao are introduced. This is a part of the armory which will remain with you through your wing following form is Pal Kill- or bridging the opening form. This is the subsequent form which incorporates larger movements and introduces coordination into the system, Here's where another ideas is further explored. The idea of 2 hand independent co-ordination. Where both hands are used independent of each other in their movement. Sounds confusing-? Well it can be. Think along the line of a concurrent defensive & attacking strike and you start to learn how effective Wing buddy kill and that's also one of the keys to the wing ideas are planted in the original stages and then grown and incorporated into the system as you progress. In essence they are all systems brought from one single concept or idea (therefore the name title idea form-Sil Lim Tau Form).
Within this form all of the offensive & defensive elements are taught. From the positioning of the hands for where concepts such as fut sao, garn sao are introduced. This is a component of the armoury that remain with you throughout your wing chun journey.
The basis of this form was to supply lethal strikes to opponents. For advanced students making an attempt to master this form can be taken much further. It could be a system all itself.
Legend has it it was infrequently taught in older times, however in our westernized culture where we need it all and now--it has made its way to the mainstream, m Much to the chagrin of the old Chinese teachers.
There is a lot to assimilate about the wing hardly a quick overview, however it's a great journey that can take a whole life to master. For me the key attraction and what I am getting out of this system are the coaching methods. They're fun and so easy to learn. However the largest revelation to come out of Wing discovered , was that there where varied styles of wing modified. The tale behind how this came about is as intriguing and as old as China itself and its ramifications massive --especially as it relates your Wing Chun training.
There's a lot to learn about the wing chun system and this is barely a brief overview, however it is a great journey that may take a lifetime to defeat. For me the primary attraction and what I get out of this system are the training techniques. They are fun and easy to learn. However the most important revelation to come out of Wing chun, I found was that there where varying styles of wing chun training techniques-traditional and altered. The story behind how this came about is as fascinating and as old as China itself and its implications big --especially as it relates your Wing Chun training.
About the Author:
George kane first started Wing chun training in the early 90's and instantly saw this kind of fighting as the final fighting systems for newbies and seasoned martial artists. You can read up about his wing chun kung fu exploits at his favored blog