8/17/2019 Ving Tsun Gung Fu the Science of in Fighting

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VING TSUN GUNG-FU: the science of in-fighting

There are, it seems, many interpretations or “styles” of the Chinese martial art known as Ving

Tsun (Wing Chun) Gung-fu being taught throughout the world. Within these variations, like in

all martial systems, there are inherent strengths and weaknesses, good and bad points, subtleand not so subtle differences. If what a particular school or instructor teaches is to meet the

requirements of what is generally considered to be authentic Ving Tsun, a system whose

origins are said to be an amalgamation of the most effective combat theories and techniques of

several Chinese systems some two centuries ago, then it must meet certain criteria, namely it

must reflect three distinct qualities - SIMPLICITY, DIRECTNESS and EFFICIENCY.

At ‘WSL Ving Tsun Combat Science - Malaysia’ (超 塵 詠 春 拳 學 ), all aspects of our training

emphasise and refine these three qualities. Our basic philosophy is that if something requires

excessive movement, strength or effort, then it is not something we wish to waste timepractising if a more practical method exists. In the words of our late Hong Kong-based leader,

Sifu Wong Shun Leung (黃 淳 樑 )

, whose personal interpretation of the art that he learnt from the legendary grandmaster of the

system,

Ip Man (葉 問 )

, he named

Ving Tsun Kuen Hok (詠 春 拳 學 – Scientific Ving Tsun)

, "You can always replace money, but you can't replace time." Sifu Wong believed that if a

student is allowed to, or worse, made to spend time on something which is unlikely to be of any

use, the instructor is not only deceiving his/her students, but also him or herself as well.

Ving Tsun Kuen Hok is a system based upon logic and science. It requires neither great

strength nor great athletic ability. What it does require, however, is a very precise

understanding of some very basic combat principles and unless the instructor can get these

across to the students, the likelihood is that the students will never fully realise their potential,

no matter how skilful the instructor may be. In Ving Tsun, it is not just a matter of copying

movements, one has to know precisely why something is being done, when to apply it and,

most importantly, how to develop and perfect such skills.

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8/17/2019 Ving Tsun Gung Fu the Science of in Fighting

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VING TSUN GUNG-FU: the science of in-fighting

This being the case, we at ‘WSL Ving Tsun Combat Science - Malaysia’ (‘WSLVTCSM’) donot spend the majority of our training time alone in lines, punching the air, or engaged in makebelieve combat routines, but in contact with many partners, constantly testing and refining theprinciples and concepts gleaned from the three basic training patterns or forms of the VingTsun system, namely (i)Siu Nim Tau, (ii)Cham Kiu, and (iii)Biu Ji. Training on the Muk Yan Jong, or "wooden dummy" also provides a means developing goodpositioning and accurate techniques and allows for the practise of techniques in a way whichwould not be appropriate on a "live" training partner. As well as a variety of training drills andreflex exercises done with partners, we at ‘WSLVTCSM’ also place a great deal of emphasison the Chi Sau or "sticky hands" exercise to further develop instant reactions and technicalprecision and to provide us with a linking device for all of the above-mentioned concepts,forms and techniques.Chi Sau has, in recent years, become a very misunderstood part of the Ving Tsun trainingregime. There are those who say it has no application to combat and dismiss it as a uselessexercise, and there are those who do nothing but Chi Sau, but for all the wrong reasons. ChiSau is quite simply a means of developing practical reflexes and of refining them to the pointwhere conscious thought is eliminated. It is not fighting per se, but it does provide the perfectenvironment in which to acquire and develop the skills and responses necessary for fighting anopponent at the worst possible range, ie. extreme close-range, a position where many otherfighting systems do not have effective responses, and more importantly, the very range atwhich real self-protection situations actually take place!Chi Sau's main purpose is to enable the Ving Tsun fighter to develop the means by which theycan instinctively find or create gaps in the opponent's defences. The sensitivity developedthrough Chi Sau is such that whenever the path of an attack (by the Ving Tsun fighter) isblocked, he or she automatically redirects the enemy's hands and continues the attack. Shouldthe enemy not put up an effective defence, there is no need for the Chi Sau to be applied. Inother words, Ving Tsun does not fight by doing Chi Sau with the opponent, but if the Ving Tsunfighter's own techniques are trapped, jammed or blocked by the opponent, Chi Sau training hasprovided him or her with the means to overcome the problem. By its very nature, Ving Tsun isan attacking system, the belief being that the best form of defence is attack.The other great advantage of Chi Sau training over the sparring normally seen in other martialart systems is the fact that it is totally spontaneous, virtually anything can and does happen sothat the practitioners are constantly forced to react to very real attacks without the luxury ofstanding back to think about it. Instead of becoming a session of trading blows, "tit for tat" so tospeak, Chi Sau training encourages the student of Ving Tsun to treat every threat as a realone and to totally overwhelm the opponent at the first opportunity so as to render them unableto offer any kind of defence. In other words, through Chi Sau the Ving Tsun student learns todominate the situation with skill and controlled aggression, never being afraid to go forward andnever making the mistake of trying to trade blows with the enemy.Ving Tsun in fact trains in reverse order compared to many other systems of combat. The firstrange to be developed is close-range, the theory being that as most situations end up at thisrange, one must excel at fighting there. From there, Ving Tsun devotees work outwards,realising as they do that the greater the distance becomes, the more time one has at one'sdisposal and, consequently, the easier things become. After just a short time training at theIn-fighting range, the Ving Tsun student begins to realise the effectiveness of getting in closeand tends to develop a distinct preference for this range. Contrary to what the many critics ofVing Tsun may say, Ving Tsun does indeed have medium- and long-distancetechniques/strategies, and it does utilise kicking and ground-fighting, but it requires these sorarely that many people think that these skills don't exist within the system. Because of itsefficient and subtle nature, Ving Tsun trains these techniques and concepts in such a way thateven some Ving Tsun practitioners fail to appreciate their existence and potential. 

Sifu Wong Shun Leung was a man who believed wholeheartedly in the importance of practicalexperience and practical training, having himself many times put his fighting skills to the test forthe sake of improving himself as well as proving Ving Tsun's effectiveness under realconditions. He preferred to refer to Ving Tsun as a martial “skill”, rather than a martial “art”,simply because a skill is something which can be tested, proven and improved upon, whereasart is purely subjective. Like a piece of music or a painting, you can't "prove" whether it's goodor bad, it's more a question of taste, but if you think that "A" can defeat "B" then it can be put tothe test, their skill levels compared. This then is the ‘WSLVTCSM’ approach to the training of Ving Tsun, being as it is drawn fromthe training philosophy of my teacher, Sifu Wong Shun Leung, the man who almostsingle-handedly put Ving Tsun on the martial arts map in Hong Kong in the 'fifties and 'sixtieswhen he engaged in countless challenge matches against practitioners of all styles, includingwestern boxing and fencing, emerging undefeated each time. The late Bruce Lee (李 小 龍 ) drewmany of his fighting concepts from what he had learnt from Sifu Wong during those early daysand applied that line of thinking to his own training, the result of course being his ownexpression of combat, Jeet Kune Do (截 拳 道 ). We at ‘WSLVTCSM’ believe that not all Ving Tsunis the same and that if one examines his or her own training by asking if it is truly SIMPLE,DIRECT and EFFICIENT, it may well be that it just doesn't measure up. Put quite simply, ifyou’re not attacking your opponent's attack, it's not Ving Tsun; if you have to think, it's alreadytoo late! That is the essence of the “Wong Shun Leung Way” of Ving Tsun Gung-fu. 

Sifu David Peterson (丁 超 塵 ) was a personal student of Sifu Wong Shun Leung from 1983 untilSifu Wong’s untimely death in 1997, regularly travelling to Hong Kong to study under hisinstruction. Having been involved in the martial arts since 1973, Sifu Peterson established the‘Melbourne Chinese Martial Arts Club’ (‘MCMAC’) in 1983, at which he was the PrincipalInstructor until the end of 2010. As often as possible during that time, the ‘MCMAC’ invited SifuWong to Australia to conduct classes and seminars while he was alive, maintaining the highestpossible standards of instruction and expertise. This tradition now continues here in Malaysiawhere Sifu Peterson established classes at the start of 2011. We at ‘WSLVTCSM’ areconstantly striving to pass on the very best Ving Tsun skills possible and take great pleasure insharing Sifu Wong’s teachings with anyone willing to put aside pride and ego in order to journey down what we believe to be a more rewarding path to combat proficiency. You justmay find that Ving Tsun the “Wong Shun Leung Way” can answer questions for which youhave been unable to find a satisfactory solution in other martial systems. We are veryconfident that we have something of value to share with you. {flike} 

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