The History Of Wing Chun

The history of Wing Chun points to a Buddhist nun by the name of Ng Mui, who used her own knowledge of Shaolin Kung Fu to take advantage of weaknesses that were found in other systems of the Shaolin arts. According to Ip Man, it was not until Ng Mui met a girl named Yim Wing Chun, after fleeing the Kanxi Emperor’s forces who had attempted to destroy Henan Shaolin Monastery, that the art got its name. A bandit had been trying to force Yim Wing Chun into marriage, and it was the art of Wing Chun that defeated him. 

Ng Mui’s way of teaching Yim Wing Chun was taught in a way so that she could learn quickly, and without having to develop strength.

The history of Wing Chun points to a Buddhist nun by the name of Ng Mui, who used her own knowledge of Shaolin Kung Fu to take advantage of weaknesses that were found in other systems of the Shaolin arts. According to Ip Man, it was not until Ng Mui met a girl named Yim Wing Chun, after fleeing the Kanxi Emperor’s forces who had attempted to destroy Henan Shaolin Monastery, that the art got its name. A bandit had been trying to force  Yim Wing Chun into marriage, and it was the art of Wing Chun that defeated him. 

The history of Wing Chun points to a Buddhist nun by the name of Ng Mui, who used her own knowledge of Shaolin Kung Fu to take advantage of weaknesses that were found in other systems of the Shaolin arts. According to Ip Man, it was not until Ng Mui met a girl named Yim Wing Chun, after fleeing the Kanxi Emperor’s forces who had attempted to destroy Henan Shaolin Monastery, that the art got its name. A bandit had been trying to forYim Wing Chun into marriage, and it was the art of Wing Chun that defeated him. 

It is with Ip Man that Wing Chun would eventually spread throughout the world. He taught in Hong Kong, most famously perhaps, Bruce Lee. In 1967 Ip Man and some of his students, established the Ving Tsun Athletic Association in Hong Kong. (Ving Tsun is another way that Wing Chun is pronounced)

The fundamental principles of Wing Chun are: 

• Always protect your centre, whether in attack or defence.
• Use the opponent's strength to turn it against them.
• Uses the principles of deflection of force for defence and the straight line for attack.
• When the bridge has been established, stay glued to the opponent's forearms  ("sticky hands" principle, CHI-SAO) because information passes more quickly through contact than through the eye.
• If  the opposing force is too great, give in and use your movement system to restructure.
• If the opponent retreats, follow him and keep the pressure; don't let them rebuild new plans.
• Do not use your punching force but the speed and mass of your body.

Wing Chun has six forms. There are three empty-hand forms, two Wing Chun weapon forms and one form for techniques on the wooden dummy. The forms deal with grabs and pushes. The footwork deals with entry techniques and co-ordination with the arms and body.

The three empty-hand forms of Wing Chun practice difference stances and techniques, which include

· Basic techniques and one stance for building structure. 

· Pivoting stances and techniques for movement. 

· Techniques and stances for outside-the-box recovery-based applications. 

The other three Wing Chun forms include 

· The Mook Yan Jong (Wooden Dummy form) 

· The Luk Dim Boon Kwan (Dragon Pole form) 

· The Baat Cham Do (Butterfly Knife form).

Some notable practitioners who have studied Wing Chun as well as Bruce Lee are Donnie Yen who played Ip Man on the big screen, and Dan Inosanto who was a close friend of Bruce Lee and went on to teach Bruce’s own art of Jeet Kune Do which contains elements of Wing Chun. Actor Robert Downey Jr has also studied Wing Chun for movies such as Sherlock and Iron Man. The actor Christian Bale also trained for famous roles as Batman with Wing Chun instructors.