The Soft Force Of Wing Chun (Like the Snap of a Whip)

By Kris Eckert, with Kenneth Chung

"Wing Chun is like a giant pool of water. The teacher leads you to the pool, but how much you drink is up to you."

Wing Chun, a traditional Chinese martial arts system which falls somewhere within the realm of "internal" and "external", finds its essence in esoteric softness. The painstaking development of this sensitive, enigmatic soft "force" allows even very small people of seemingly inferior strength to develop "penetrating" power - a power made even more effective against an opponent using more typical, hard, brute force. The "hard" or rigid energy of the opponent actually serves to augment the "passive" whip-like energy of Wing Chun.

Why does one speak of such feminine qualities as softness, passivity, and sensitivity when discussing a fighting system? The word "esoteric", as used to describe this softness, is truly befitting. The most notable aspect of pure, traditional Wing Chun - that of softness - is not well-understood by many practitioners. You must feel it to understand it.

The Essence: Soft Substantial
The essence of Wing Chun, from its inception, has been in the development of soft, yet penetrating, force. All the movements, without exception, can be performed effectively by a small woman against a larger, stronger opponent. This kind of soft, feminine force does not come from hard external training. It is acquired through repetitive, precise positioning of the body. The positions and techniques are always practiced in a calm, relaxed manner. While the process to achieve this kind of force should be emphatically soft and relaxed, the end result for anyone on the receiving end of Wing Chun can be quite destructive. Ask a Wing Chun practitioner if "dit da jow" is used in Wing Chun training, and he's likely to reply, "Yes we have dit da jow; it's for the other guy!"

The Girl Hands of Wing Chun
Wing Chun's creator, the Buddhist nun, Ng Mui, and her most notable student, Yim Wing-Chun, for whom the system was named, were both women of small stature. Ng, teaching the unique movements of her close-range style, showed Yim Wing-Chun how to overcome larger and stronger opponents. Small people need to move into close range to become effective against a taller opponent. The long arms of a tall attacker become a burden against the super-close range, centerline attacks of Wing Chun. Yim Wing-Chun taught the techniques to her husband, and through subsequent generations, the system was well-guarded and passed on to only a few, very dedicated students.

The Symbol of Wing Chun
Proclaimed by his followers as the grandmaster of modern Wing Chun, Yip Man is credited with bringing Wing Chun's subtleties to immense popularity. Through the years his well-founded teaching methodology was tested innumerable times, always with great success. Since 1949, Yip Man single-handed brought Wing Chun from relative obscurity to a world-renowned system which is practiced by millions worldwide. At 120 pounds, he was of very petite build, totally unlike the "stereotypical" martial artists currently in vogue. At 5 feet 5, frail, with small biceps, he looked, as many top Wing Chun practitioners do today, as if he couldn't tear a paper bag. Even though, publicly, he chose to never show full power in his sets of dummy demonstrations, his students remembered well his penetrating Wing Chun force. Even as an old man in poor health, his hands were very heavy, very substantial. Visualize Yip Man: for he is the symbol of Wing Chun. Yip Man passed his knowledge on to many students, but only the most dedicated were given "yup sut" (inner circle) status. Leung Sheung earned such exalted status and is well-respected for his command of the essence of the system, as well as his insistence on mastering the basics.

Doa lo yut cheung hung
One of Leung Sheung's top students, Kenneth Chung, inherited the belief in the supreme importance of building the correct foundation. "You can spend a lifetime practicing Wing Chun, but if you don't have the basics, you will come to regret it. You can be in the style for 40 years, but without the basics, you are nothing." That is what is known in Cantonese as "doa lo yut cheung hung" - meaning that you are empty (i.e. lacking substance) when you get old because you were empty from the beginning. The foundation must be strong and correct. The foundation is everything in Wing Chun.

Success is no Accident
Paying meticulous attention to detail, Kenneth Chung gently encourages his students to persevere. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is forced in Chung's teaching. Remembering well the emotional and physical strain in the beginning of his own training, his guidance is firm, but sensitive. He believes that the degree of success in anything is always proportional to the expertise and dedication of the teacher, combined with the commitment and perseverance of the student. Chung says of the teacher-student relationship: "It is the responsibility of the teacher to show the truth." Though not everyone will endure the tedious physical and mental demands of Wing Chun, those who choose to stay and totally commit to his training regimen will find this truth. While some teachers are worried that they might give too much "secret" information to the wrong student, Chung's concern is that the student won't be able to absorb all that he wants to teach. He never gives up on a difficult student, but instead, sees that student as an even greater challenge to his teaching skills. The consistent success of Chung's students in major competitions, as well as in numerous spontaneous challenges with other stylists, is no accident.

Alone with Wing Chun
Like a mother bird, Chung deftly spoon-feeds his students little bites of information - infinitesimal, minute details about each movement. So specific is his knowledge that he shows how to delicately refine and isolate the movement of each muscle in every application to maximize force. He has no guarded secrets. The "secrets" of any style are not really secrets at all, but merely the "details" which compose the style. These details are what he gives so freely to those who come in earnest. What he expects in return is that his students absorb the information, and then constantly try to apply it in practice. He shows you the proper path to take, but then stresses that nobody can do Wing Chun for you. And nobody can hide his ability in Wing Chun. The proof of the dedication of your training is in the "touching of hands". There are no "dance-like" sets possibly giving false security of fighting ability. There is only real application of technique every day, every minute of every class.

Position, Position


In the very beginning, three-fourths of the training is spent on developing the fundamental position. The basic Wing Chun horse stance is of paramount importance, and will eventually, after many grueling hours, give the feeling of having "suction" against the floor. This "rootedness" is countered by an extreme lightness and spontaneity of movement. The stance is solid and heavy, but because it is done with total relaxation, the muscles are instantaneously ready to react. If a muscle is tensed, it will slow the reaction time. Starting from day one, the source of power is isolated. While many styles begin with large, flowery, less-difficult movements, and through many years of training refine them down to very small effective movements, Wing Chun moves from small to smaller. The movements are very confined - the release of energy is not acquired through rigid, exaggerated external training, but rather by training every fiber in the muscle to respond in a soft, integrated, yet explosive manner. The force is trained to be released subliminally without conscious thought. In true fighting, there is no time to think. In an attack, if you have to think about how to react, it's too late - you've probably already been hit. Your reaction must happen instantaneously, subconsciously. That kind of trained reaction bypasses the overt thought process of the brain, and occurs automatically.

Five Guidelines
To achieve this kind of reaction, the five guidelines which form the basis of Wing Chun theory must be practiced with great patience and diligence. Chung encourages constantly perfecting the understanding and application of these principles. The training might be monotonous and boring to some. A new student stands in the same stance every class for months, achieving a level of proficiency with these principles before moving on to more advanced work. It is not a pretty style. It's not fancy, it's not flashy; in fact, it looks so boring that an uninitiated observer might easily fall asleep watching a Wing Chun form. However, the importance of this early training cannot be overemphasized.

While in the Wing Chun horse stance, the student strives toward a deeper physical and mental understanding of the five basic guidelines:

1. Kim sut - Hips and knees pressing together. The knees not "pinching" in with stiffness, but rather "pressing" firmly, and softly inward and downward. All Wing Chun teachers will mention "kim sut" in the beginning, but if they don't push it, the practitioner will soon forget. It is too much effort for a lot of people, and it is painful. If they (teacher and student) are not committed, it is the first thing they will abandon. If you push it, it is extra hard work, but "kim sut" cannot be avoided if one is to become proficient. In Chung's class, when the student thinks that he is really sinking into the floor and really pressing the knees and hips together, Chung will walk by and quietly tell him to "sink" and "press" just a little bit more.

2. Lok ma - Lower the stance downward, sinking through the knees. Lok ma is where the "rootedness" is developed. It trains the legs to effectively support he body, and helps the practitioner to, later on, develop the advancing step of Wing Chun.

3. Ting yu - Back straight, pelvis rolled under slightly so that each vertebrae is stacked one on top of the other. The spine is completely aligned. The upper body should not
be leaning back nor is the head tilted forward. Maintaining the head in the right position and proper execution of ting yu is a prerequisite for dung tao.

4. Dung tao - Head up, neck relaxing into the shoulders; shoulders drifting downward by gravity with no tension. The head should be held as if being pulled upward gently
by a string to help draw the spine straight.

5. Mai jiang - Pressing the elbows inward and forward. Without using force, the elbows should maintain a fist's distance from the torso. The energy projects from the elbow forward, through a relaxed forearm and hand.

Hing mui dom se
This is done "hing mui dom se," meaning relaxed and effortless in mind and body. When the opponent pushes, the Wing Chun practitioner does not push back, but rather instantly redirects the force and attacks. The body is very relaxed, almost limp. In this relaxed state your opponent's tension is easily transmitted, you can feel his intentions, yet he cannot feel yours. The essence of the system cannot be seen as large, externally visible movements, but can only be felt when in contact. To reach a high level of proficiency, all movements must be performed correctly. Using basic techniques incorrectly, the student quickly reaches a frustrating plateau in his training. Only the student, in infinite patience and absolute trust in his teacher, who is willing to perfect the foundation movements, will advance.

Teacher, Coach, Friend
While Chung, a true teacher, coach, and friend, never interferes in the personal lives of his students, he is always ready to help in any way. He tells his students: "Don't follow behind me - come beside me as friend." Everyone who trains with him walks away, each day, a little wiser, a little stronger. His Wing Chun fighting advice that you need to "let go" (of your conscious thought) might also be sage advice in your personal and professional life as well. What holds one back in any endeavor usually causes the same ill-effect in other endeavors. For Wing Chun to reach its highest effectiveness, the student must be centered in mind and body. Chung expects his students to work hard but also to strive for a proper balance. Motivation make progress - but excessive motivation (i.e. greed) acts to inhibit progress. In Wing Chun the student must always be calm, even putting on a smile in the face of adversity.

Behind the Delicatessen
The traditional essence of Wing Chun will live on in the many dedicated students of Kenneth Chung, a man of consummate skill, intelligence, and painstaking patience. They train until late at night behind a delicatessen. Though he doesn't want his students to call him Sifu, and there's no bowing or fancy uniforms in class, there is a voluntary, unspoken, commanding respect for this Wing Chun "legend-in-the-making."


Article from "Inside Kung Fu" (February 1992). Pictures are omitted. Check out the original article for excellent pictorial demonstrations paralleling this discussion.



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Ip Man 2 Hits LA Theatres This Friday


Los Angeles gets acclaimed indie film Ip Man 2, Legend of the Grandmaster. If the film does well at the box office, Orange County is next!

Synopsis
International megastar Donnie Yen reprises his iconic role as the real-life kung fu grandmaster Ip Man in this martial arts spectacular. After escaping the Japanese occupation of his hometown of Foshan, China, Ip Man and his family have arrived in Hong Kong, which is living under the iron fist of British colonial rule. Ip wants to support his family by opening up a martial arts academy to teach his unique Wing Chun style. But a corrupt cabal of Hong Kong martial arts masters, led by Hung Chun-nam (the legendary Sammo Hung), refuses to allow Ip to teach until he proves himself- and prove himself he does, in an intense series of fights against the masters showcasing a dazzling variety of martial arts styles, culminating in a highly anticipated brawl between Ip and Hung atop a rickety table. But even after gaining the respect of the masters, Ip's troubles are far from over. Hong Kong under British rule is a world of corruption, and when a Western-style boxer named Taylor "Twister" Milos comes to town to entertain the British upper-class, and insults both Chinese martial arts and the native citizens in a horrifically violent way, Ip must step up and fight for the honor of both his kung fu and the Chinese people. Forced by honor to enter a brutal King of the Ring boxing match against Twister, it's East versus West in an amazing, knock-down drag-out fight to the finish, the likes of which have never been seen on-screen before.


See the movie's iTunes page at http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/ipman2legendofthegrandmaster


Here is a review courtesy of Andy Klein of the Los Angeles Times.  

As the title “Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster” (opening January 28) suggests, this new martial arts spectacle is a sequel — one whose predecessor, the 2008 “Ip Man,” went essentially unreleased in the U.S., despite huge enthusiasm from everyone in the target audience who caught it on DVD imports. (Apparently, there was a limited, token release — not including Los Angeles — a few months ago, after the American DVD had already come out.)

In some ways, this oversight is beneficial: The main complaint one could make about the new film is that it too closely repeats the story and structure of the first one (which itself followed the template of Jet Li's “Fearless” and numerous others). Thankfully, it also repeats all the same strong points.
 

Donnie Yen (“Hero,” “Blade II,” “Iron Monkey”) once again portrays the title character, a real-life martial arts master, who is best known in the West for having been Bruce Lee's teacher. In the first film, he upheld Chinese honor during the Japanese occupation before and during World War II. This time around, he's upholding Chinese honor in the face of demeaning treatment from the Brits running Hong Kong.

Following a montage of moments from the first film, we meet Ip Man in 1950, as he tries to open his own school to teach the Wing Chun style of kung fu. He quickly learns that he must satisfy the demands of a group of other masters, led by the imperious Hung Chun-nam (Sammo Hung, who is also the film's action director). This includes managing to stay atop a precariously balanced table, while taking on any challengers within the group. Eventually Hung himself — despite his age, failing health, and portliness — leaps into the fray.

What follows is a great example of the brilliant, tricky fight staging that has long been the pride of Hong Kong films. The fight doesn't resolve much, but soon Ip and Hung become allies in facing an arrogant Western boxing champ (Darren Shahlavi), who spews racist insults.

As is frequently the case in HK action films, the worst element is the over-the-top portrayal of the wicked Westerners, made even worse by horrible acting — which may be the result of bad looping (but is probably just bad acting). Outside of that, returning director Wilson Yip makes no missteps; and the film looks great, thanks to the presence of ace cinematographer Poon Hang-sang (“Peking Opera Blues,” “A Chinese Ghost Story,” “Kung Fu Hustle”).

Yen matches his contemporary Jet Li (whom he notably battled in both “Hero” and “Once Upon a Time in China II”), but it's just as big a thrill to see Sammo Hung — one of the truly great figures in Hong Kong film, both behind and in front of the camera — still flying and kicking at the age of 58. The whole thing just rocks.


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The Legend is Born - Ip Man


Don't be fooled by no Donnie Yen in this film, The Legend is Born - Ip Man is a great Wing Chun movie! The movie's star, Dennis To, is an actual Wing Chun practitioner unlike Donnie. With Sammo Hung as the action director the fight scenes are none other than amazing!

The Legend is Born - Ip Man shows why Ip Man was a legend and how he learned Wing Chun. You can tell that the objective was to make the action even better than the first Ip Man movie.


The Legend is Born Ip Man Trailer



Here is a portion of a review from twitchfilm.com:

Thanks in large part to the success of the Wilson Yip/Donnie Yen films, this prequel makes its way to the screen, helmed by prolific schlockmeister Herman Yau and with the full blessing of Ip Man's own son, Ip Chun, who also makes a memorable appearance as one of the wing chun master's mentors.

Beginning in 1905 the film charts Ip Man's (To Yu Hang) formative years as he enrolls in Master Wah Shun's (Sammo Hung) wing chun academy, along with his adopted brother Tin Chi (Fan Siu Wong). There they meet Mei Wai (first played by CJ7's Xu Jiao, then later by Rose Chan) and the three form a tumultuous love triangle that over time will see Mei Wai's love for Ip Man go largely unrequited while she is wooed by Tin Chi. After an all too brief cameo, Sammo's character dies, and the school is taken over by Brother Chung So (Yuen Biao), who is eager to preserve the purity of authentic wing chun. He despairs when Ip Man returns to Foshan from Hong Kong (where he encounters a sub-Twister moronically racist expat) displaying all-new moves acquired by an elderly but highly proficient herbalist named Leung Bik (the 86-year-old Ip Chun, who also serves as a consultant on the film).

As the Japanese slowly encroach on the daily lives of our heroes, Ip Man also begins his relationship with Wing Shing (Huang Yi), daughter of Foshan's deputy mayor (Lam Suet) and the plot evenly divides its time between romance, historical pre-war drama and martial arts action. There are plenty of opportunities for the numerous supporting actors to show off their skills and Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Fan Siu Wong, Ip Chun and even Bernice Liu (as a Japanese heavy) all get their moment in the spotlight - with Ip Chun's pharmacy sparring match emerging as a personal favorite.

While Yau's film may lack the lavish production values of Wilson Yip's "official" Ip Man films, it does a fairly decent job of emulating a similar mood and aesthetic throughout. ...nobody jars or feels out of place and their genuine martial arts proficiency more than makes up for the lack of thespian showmanship. ...Herman Yau delivers a far more competent slice of fight-infused drama than was expected...



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Kung Fu

Kung fu generally translates as "skill developed through hard work" or "perfection". However, it has become defined to mean "Chinese martial arts" largely due to its introduction to the Western world by Bruce Lee.

Originating within the Shaolin temple in China in approximately the 4th century, kung fu developed as a set of exercises to help the Shaolin Buddhist monks keep themselves healthy while carrying out the rigorous meditation regime required of them.

In addition to learning to fight, kung fu also seeks to discipline and develop yourself physically, mentally and spiritually. It aims at constantly move outside of your comfort zone in order to grow and drive yourself to constantly seek more from yourself.

Often, the way kung fu masters teach seems strange, but it is very methodical. They may not answer all your questions or validate things. Instead, a kung fu student must learn and understand for themselves. Basics often seem a bit pointless (circling your wrists around, kicking your leg straight up in the air or holding strange stances). But with time and perseverance you begin to understand how integral to your development they are as these unique kung fu exercises build up strong foundations and good body mechanics.

What is so difficult about kung fu is trusting in the process of perfection. You just cant rush development in kung fu. You need to spend a lot of time on basics and foundations. They are the key to your progress in the beginning as well as later on. To the undisciplined, many of the basic developmental movements seem useless. A kung fu saying is, "in order to truly taste my cup of tea, you must empty your cup." This means that you must let go of your ego and submit to the process. It isn't until many years of training that you'll be able to see why so many of the things you do are useful.

Also, it is important to spend some of your free time practicing and reviewing, so in class time you can progress more. Sometimes masters will mention a key point only once, so if you dont get it and practice it in your free time, its gone. You need to keep practicing everyday without fail to improve. Another saying in China, "miss one days training and you will know, miss two days training and your master will know, miss three days training and everyone will know."
 
Bruce Lee's Kung Fu
As a kid growing up in Hong Kong, Bruce Lee began to study kung fu, which is pronounced "gung fu" in Chinese. There are many types of kung fu, but Lee studied the system known as Wing Chun. 

Bruce Lee studied Wing Chun from the legendary grandmaster named Yip Man, also known as "Ip Man". During this time, Lee learned the basics of how to punch, kick and defend himself.

In addition to the physical training, Lee also became interested in the philosophical aspects of martial arts. From Yip Man, Lee first learned about Eastern philosophy, such as Zen and the Tao, as well as the teachings of Buddha and Confucius. He learning that "there is no conquering, struggling, or dominating," as he wrote later. "The best example... is water. Water can penetrate the hardest granite because is is yeilding. One cannot stabe or strike at water and hurt it, because that which offers no resistance cannot be overcome." The "empy-mindedness" he learned from his Wing Chun training, Lee wrote later, "applies to all activities."

For Bruce Lee, as well as Yip Man, water, always flowing, was a central metaphor for the correct practice of kung fu. As Yip Man said, "A man should always think of the source of the water as he drinks it."

More important, he learned that studying martial arts is more than just learning how to fight. When practiced properly, martial arts can also lead to learning the art of detachment and overall calmness and peace of mind. It is more than just learning how to punch and kick; it is a way of life meant to make the dedicated student a better person.


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