Wing Chun
From Martial Arts, MMA, Karate, Kungfu Information Source
Wing Chun is a Chinese martial art that is said to have originated 300 years ago in Yunnan Province, China. Wing Chun literally means "Forever Spring," after its founder, a woman by the name of Yim Wing Chun, and emphasizes short-range combat and includes an array of Chinese weapons.
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[edit] History
According to one story, Wing Chun's roots can be traced back to the Henan Shaolin Temple, where monks generally practiced Kung Fu for health purposes. However, the monastery was destroyed by the Qing government and resident monks went separate ways to different parts of China in order to avoid persecution. One of these monks, a nun named Ng Mui went to the White Crane Monastery on Mt. Tai Leung and found her first student, a girl by the name of Yim Wing Chun. She passed the Shaolin Kung Fu tradition to Wing Chun in order that the girl might protect herself from a local bully who was terrorizing her family. In the following years, Wing Chun developed her own style of Kung Fu together with her husband, and after some years of training they passed their art on to students who would eventually call it Wing Chun Kung Fu.
[edit] Training
A significant aspect of Wing Chun training is the use of a wooden dummy with three prongs sticking out towards the student. The student will hit the dummy to increase over time the *effectiveness and power-delivery* of his/her punches and kicks, and will hit the prongs to simulate blocking an attacker's punches and thereby increase the effectiveness of his/her blocks. It will also improve the student's footwork and understanding of attacking at the proper set of angles.
- Effectiveness and power delivery does not have much to do with muscular force or speed, but rather using a good full body structure to support the arm, and an arm and fist which are both totally relaxed until the point of impact at which point only a slight squeeze of the fist (fingers into the palm) is given (note it is nothing more than that, and certainly not a 'clenched fist' which distorts the knuckle positions and disrupts chi flow).
[edit] Techniques
The most obvious trait of Wing Chun is that the tradition favors the "vertical punch," so called because the fist is held so that the knuckles are in a vertical line with the index finger on top and the small finger on the bottom. The Chinese name for this is 日字冲锤, or "sun-character rushing hammer". The sun character '日' denotes the vertical orientation of the fist. Many claim that the vertical punch is more powerful than a standard corkscrew punch. As a southern style, Wing Chun definitely prefers hand strikes, including palm-strikes, knife-hands, and ridge-hands. All kicks are kept below the waist (that is, to the legs and groin of the attacker.) Students are taught to land round-kicks with the shin, which is considered to be a more powerful method than landing with the foot.
Perhaps the most "mysterious" skill taught in Wing Chun is chi sao, or "sticky hands," which refers to both the skill and the drills practiced to learn it. This skill consists of maintaining contact with the opponent, once initial contact has been made (by blocking the enemy's punch, landing a punch, or if the opponent has blocked one's own punch.) It mostly involves maintaining contact between one's forearm and one of the opponent's forearms. This technique enables a fighter to literally "feel" what the enemy is about to do and thus pre-empt his attack and stay one step ahead in the fight. Chi sao training is also used in Hung Gar and other styles of Kung Fu. Another name for it is luk sao.
[edit] Philosophy
Wing Chun is a highly aggressive style utilizing combinations of punches and kicks aimed at the foe's "centerline," an imaginary line of sensitive targets which includes the nose, throat, abdomen and groin. Tenets of this art include practicality, efficiency, relaxation and economy of movement. Students are encouraged to sense the energy behind their movements. This core philosophy becomes a useful guide for practitioners when modifying or refining the art.
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