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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