There is much debate about lineage in martial arts and whether a style is ‘traditional’ or not. Being able to trace the lineage of their instructor is clearly important to many a prospective student because, perhaps, they consider a traceable lineage as a guarantee of quality/authenticity. However, lineage is not an indication of the quality of instruction a student receives – that is simply down to the knowledge and attention to detail of their own instructor. The majority of Wing Chun styles in the Western hemisphere can ultimately be traced back to Grandmaster Yip Man anyway, so our roots are, in the main, the same. ‘Traditional’ is therefore often taken to be how close the style is to that which was taught by Grandmaster Yip Man, but again that does not mean that the style is necessarily better.

At Wing Chun-UK, we believe that with each new generation the art should evolve in line with greater knowledge of body mechanics and modern training methods. Even in decades past the style was constantly being developed. It has actually never been set in stone. For example, every direct (first generation) student of Grandmaster Yip Man has their own interpretation of what he taught them. The question then must follow: what is ‘traditional’ or ‘authentic’ Wing Chun and who is teaching it if the styles differ so significantly? In the end, a more important question, perhaps, is what does the individual student want from their training?

Over the years we have altered the Wing Chun-UK syllabus greatly. So, why did we change things?

Wing Chun is a self-defence martial art, and as such should be logical and practical. When we change things (after careful consideration) it is always to make our style more practical to apply physically, regardless of size, strength, gender etc. OR it is to make our syllabus clearer and easier to follow. In both cases we are looking to aid our students in achieving good self defence capabilities and to this end clarity is paramount.

So, how did we arrive at our current syllabus?

We focussed on testing each and every stage from the very First Student Programme through to the eighth Wooden Dummy section to locate and ascertain the most efficient, stable, powerful and flexible application ideas in every movement and position within the programmes.

We are fortunate in many ways that we are so different in stature – it has helped us greatly in achieving an end result where we know that our Wing Chun is effective regardless of height, weight and other physical variations.

So, how can we say this so definitely? Because we have trained many countless repetitions, had many discussions about the syllabus past and present and looked carefully at how the students engage with the syllabus, both in our own classes and through the testing of students from other Wing Chun-UK classes. Also, between us we have over 50 years of experience in several styles of Wing Chun.

The process:

1-We cut out the unnecessary and improbable from the very many variations we had seen in the past.
2-We began slowly and steadily, comparing possibilities at each stage.
3-Later, we trained with stronger and heavier pressure through every part of the syllabus to check stability and position.
4-Then, we trained the movement combinations at a faster pace to clarify correct timing.
5-Lastly, by performing techniques and combinations with both speed and power we could check for realism and plausibility from both perspectives.

This was no easy task and not all parts of the syllabus passed this stringent testing at each stage the first time around. After many repetitions, if any technique fell short we had a deeper look and repeated the process. Hours of discussion at the different stages was often very interesting as we explained our perspectives to one another. It was a very enjoyable and interesting task, but also a lot of work. We pooled our knowledge and experience gained through our years of teaching and have arrived at our own way of Wing Chun: Fluid, flexible, fast, strong, stable and ultimately, effective. Also, possibly still subject to change!

Our objective? Self-defence for everyone

Sifu Tony Hollander and Sifu Ed Pettitt

The Power of Wing Chun comes not just from your skills but also your self-belief. That, combined with a good understanding of your body structure and its dynamics. Really believing in yourself is key to knowing what you are capable of. Here, Sifu Tony Hollander, at 10 stone (63kg) manages to hold off Darren at 16 1/2 stone (104kg), at times standing on one leg.

We at Wing Chun-UK aim to instil this in all our students, guiding individuals to develop their Wing Chun skills, self-belief and a strong heart. This use of body dynamics and additionally being more aware of themselves ultimately aid in defeating the opponent with better stability and stronger techniques.

This is our way. We train the best and so become the best. Leading you to the knowledge that you are not a push over by others who try to move or control you not just in your Wing Chun but also in life.

Wing Chun emphasises the most efficient use of body mechanics against an attacker. The movements a Wing Chun exponent uses are not only the smallest and fastest movements that can be used in a particular situation, but they are also the most structurally sound according to the way the human body is built. A smaller and physically weaker person can take advantage of this sound structure to overcome a physically stronger attacker. How is it that physically shorter and apparently less (obviously) muscled tennis players manage to serve as fast as those who appear more physically powerful? How is it that some rugby players manage to avoid the strong tackles of players bigger and stronger than they are? The answer is often that those individuals have a better understanding or application of sound body mechanics and fine motor skills to compensate for the fact that their size or strength does not match that of their opponent. Wing Chun is the martial arts equivalent. The Wing Chun student learns to engage only the necessary muscles for a given movement and not to tense their body unnecessarily, which would slow their response.

Wing Chun movements are based on attacking, not defending. This does not mean that the Wing Chun student initiates physical confrontation, but that if they are forced into defending themselves, they will not try to stop the aggressor’s attack with blocking or covering techniques, but rather they will immediately take the initiative and use their understanding of body mechanics and angles to use the aggressor’s force against them and nullify the attack immediately. Wing Chun is about protecting your safety in the most efficient way possible and therefore does not advocate complex defensive techniques, but strong offensive counter-attacks. Self-defence is not about how beautiful your movements are or how impressively you can defend attacks, but whether you return home safely.

Wing Chun classes are not competitive. The emphasis in training is that our students help one another to learn the skills needed in a self-defence situation. If a student has a higher skill level than their training partner then they will provide information on the correct application of the technique being trained and simultaneously discover more efficient ways of training and using that technique against the unique body motions of the person they are training with. Everybody moves differently and therefore all levels of student are valuable training partners. Although there is a grading syllabus, more advanced students are encouraged to constantly revise the basic principles as the Wing Chun system is, and must be, built on a strong foundation of core ideas and ways of using the body.

The training of Wing Chun is predominantly done with a partner as opposed to technique training in the air or on pads (although this is also part of training). The most well-known Wing Chun training technique is called ‘Chi Sao’ and involves the development of tactile reflexes with a partner. In Chi Sao the training partners begin in contact and learn how to free themselves from that contact in order to defeat/escape from an aggressor. Not only does chi sao training develop fantastic tactile reflexes in a student, but it also encourages the more timid student to become accustomed to close physical contact with their peers which, in turn, improves self confidence outside the school. The sense of mutual benefit gained through partner exercises such as Chi Sao also produces a feeling of camaraderie in a Wing Chun class as opposed to a sense of competition.

The body movements Wing Chun teaches can be applied in a multitude of different situations. There are not different techniques for every conceivable scenario, a Wing Chun student simply follows the movement principles he/she has been taught, regardless of the type of attack. The ‘basic’ movements of the system can be used in many ways and the body mechanics principles trained are sound in any situation. There is no confusion as to what technique to use in a given situation, there is only one most efficient way of responding-this is Wing Chun. In this way the Wing Chun exponent’s thoughts are clear and their way of dealing with a given situation is immediate and totally efficient. Ultimately, this efficiency and clarity of thought can extend into other areas of life and help the dedicated student to feel more self-assured. Through the constant practise and refinement of efficient body movement the Wing Chun exponent learns not only how to deal with physical confrontation better, but can also feel better able to control more common verbal confrontations.

Through constant physical interaction our understanding of body language and personal space increases and our awareness of the presence of threat is heightened meaning we can remove ourselves from potential danger. All of these things are extremely valuable, and with any luck we will not have to call upon our physical skills at all.

Why train in Martial arts?

People begin their martial arts training for many different reasons ranging from a wish to learn self-defence and improve self-confidence to gaining fitness and better body co-ordination. Other physical activities can help aid a person in increasing their fitness, strength and motor skills, of course, but the fact that martial arts offer the idea of feeling safer and more comfortable in both physical and verbal confrontations make them very appealing in what can be an aggressive and hectic world. This fact perhaps helps to explain the continued popularity of the martial arts in an environment which is very different in many ways to that in which many of the arts evolved. True confidence and inner strength are two things most people would like to develop and the martial arts have the potential to provide this.

Why continue to train in martial arts?

Obviously a large number of people stop their martial arts training for one reason or another, but many become very dedicated and involved in their particular art. The reasons for this dedication vary from person to person, but there are several that are more common than the others:

Firstly, a person’s progress in the martial arts is always reliant to a large extent on other people, from their fellow students with whom they practise in class, to their training partner outside of classes, to their instructor and to those that inspire them in other ways. This produces a sense of camaraderie and bonding which is heightened by the fact that often a student is directly or subconsciously confronting or learning to deal with their own insecurities along with others.

Secondly, many martial arts have a very well-structured sense of progression in the form of a grading syllabus and, very often, through the wearing of a uniform which denotes rank e.g. coloured belts. When a student’s progress is so clearly defined it becomes easier to remain motivated and to create goals.

Another significant aspect of martial arts training is that it takes effort, application and dedication to achieve an above-average standard in any martial art, and this, in a culture which sometimes seems solely dedicated to quick-fixes and superficial appearances, is actually what many people are attracted to. The gradual and simultaneous development of physical skills and self-esteem is surely a huge plus that the martial arts offer as people are (on the whole!) not superficial. Taking time to analyze and improve oneself along with like-minded people is of great value. There is absolutely nothing wrong with, for example, nice clothes and top-of-the range possessions, but how long does the feeling of satisfaction last? When does your ‘new car’ become just your ‘car’, and then your ‘old car’ which you want to replace? In martial arts training there are always new levels to aspire to, but they are not transitory like fashion or technology-they build upon each other, not replace each other. These new levels can also take various forms from the mastering of a new technique, or an increase in co-ordination, to very personal or emotional aspects such as overcoming fear or anger or ego. How inspiring it can be to know you have conquered something personal and can continue further and deeper into the realms of philosophy, psychology, physiology and you can apply it all to yourself!

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the ability of a man to elevate his life by conscious endeavour.” Henry David Thoreau

History

The term kung fu was not popular until the 20th century, thus the word would be seldom found in any ancient texts. The term was first known to have been reported by a Westerner, French Jesuit missionary Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, in the 18th century and was known little in the mainstream English language until approximately the late 1960s, when it became popular because of the Hong Kong films, especially those by Bruce Lee, and later Kung Fu – the television series Before that it was referred to primarily as “Chinese boxing”. Kung Fu, as it is written here, refers to the general term of Chinese martial arts. Shaolin Kung Fu refers to the style that was developed in the Shaolin temples.

Translation and usage

Nowadays, the most common use of the term kung fu is when referring to Chinese martial arts in general. Thus, when someone says they study kung fu, they likely mean they study one of the many styles of Chinese martial arts. (An alternative term might be “Zhongguo wushu” (literally China martial art). The original meaning of kung fu is quite different, and is hard to translate as there is no English equivalent. In short, (gongfu) means “achievement through great effort” or simply virtue. It combines (gong meaning achievement or merit, and (fu) which translates into man. In Mandarin, when two “first tone” words such as gong and fu are combined, the second word often takes a neutral tone, in this case forming gongfu. Originally, to practice kung fu did not just mean to practice Chinese martial arts. Instead, it referred to the process of one’s training – the strengthening of the body and the mind, the learning and the perfection of one’s skills – rather than to what was being trained. It refers to excellence achieved through long practice in any endeavor. You can say that a person’s kung fu is good in cooking, or that someone has kung fu in calligraphy; saying that a person possesses kung fu in an area implies skill in that area, which they have worked hard to develop. Someone with “bad kung fu” simply has not put enough time and effort into training, or seems to lack the motivation to do so. Kung fu is also a name used for the elaborate Fujian tea ceremony (Kung-fu cha).

Philosophy

There are various philosophies around the term kung fu, suggesting a deeper meaning. The following is an example of such a philosophy: For a process to truly be kung fu, the following three elements must be present:

1. Motivation
2. Self-discipline
3. Time

Motivation is the basic driving force, and without it, kung fu can never be reached. It means both interest and the will to do something; a person who is forced to do something is not truly motivated. A motivated person, on the other hand, has interest in learning: they have a goal. It is important to note a difference between the various types of motivation: A person can be motivated to do something, because if they do not they will be punished. Money can also lead to motivation, because you know that doing something will give you more money. However, the motivation kung fu comes from an interest and an inner desire to learn and develop, in which the goal is not an external gain, like avoiding punishment or earning money, but an internal one, with the only reward being knowledge, skill, strength and wisdom. This motivation can be inspired, but not controlled, by other people.

Self-discipline is closely related to motivation, but refers to the effort and patience required to actually get something done, and to get past obstacles that might appear on the way towards one’s goal. While motivation is the mental state of wanting to do something, discipline is required to put motivation into action: A person might want to do something very much, but lacks the required amount of discipline to get started. Without this, motivation will lead to nothing. It is true that a competent instructor can assist a person by providing discipline, helping that person to get past obstacles. This is good, but will not last forever, and in the end, it is always up to the person herself to put her thoughts into action.

Time is essential for finding one’s motivation and self-discipline, and to actually accomplish something by making use of them, but motivation and self-discipline are also important to make a person willing to put time into accomplishing their goal: to prioritize. In later stages, once motivation and discipline have become an integral part of a person’s life, it is important not to stop spending time on practice. This is said to be a very important aspect of kung fu: Many ancient Chinese philosophers and martial artists consider time the most valuable commodity in a person’s lives, as time cannot be replaced. By finding interest in and putting effort and time into every action, one will make the best use of time, and live a happy and productive life.

How many times in your martial arts training do you question yourself? If something does not feel right or does not immediately work for you it is tempting to ask your instructor why. However, we should all master the art of questioning ourselves before we can possibly master our martial art. Here are some examples:

A technique we are learning feels uncoordinated or weak. Why is this? Before we worry that we are doing it incorrectly or that we have misunderstood, we should first question ourselves. Have we done the technique enough times for it to feel comfortable? Many of the things we learn in our classes are new and unnatural; otherwise we would not need to be learning them. Often techniques need to be repeated many times before we feel comfortable with them, so before you get frustrated with yourself, your training partner or your instructor, ask yourself if you have repeated the technique enough times for you to feel comfortable with it. If the answer is ‘no’ then repeat it some more-this is how to learn your new skills.

You feel you have repeated a technique enough times to make it sink in, but it still feels uncomfortable. Before you blame your training partner, ask yourself if you were really concentrating on what you were doing when you did your repetitions. If you were wondering what you would have for dinner later, or thinking about how you embarrassed yourself at work that day then chances are your brain was not really taking in what you were repeating anyway. In order to learn, it is important not just to mindlessly repeat movement sequences, but to actually concentrate on what you are doing and to visualise a context in which you had to do it for real (visualisation does not mean you have to damage your training partner, it is a mental exercise!).

Do you tend to train with the same people every week? It is totally natural and understandable if you do because we always train better with certain people. However, don’t miss out on the opportunity to train with those you would not first think of because everybody has a different body structure and a different way of moving and they vary in height, weight and strength. This means that in terms of developing fine motor skills and good visual awareness, everybody has something to offer. Training with the same person week in and week out is sometimes very satisfying, but try not to ignore the benefits of training with different people. Class camaraderie may also benefit and this can affect everyone positively.

Why do you attend your martial arts class? Is it to show off your muscles and demonstrate to all the other students that you are tougher than they are? Is it to meet new people and feel part of the group? Is it so that you can tell your friends that you are learning a deadly fighting system? There is nothing particularly wrong with any of these things, but it is important to know ourselves and our motives in order to progress comfortably in our class. For example, if your wish is to be a good ‘fighter’, that is fine, but you need to appreciate that some people are naturally more timid than you, yet they can be excellent training partners for you if you give them space and time to learn. If you wish to meet new people and feel a sense of camaraderie then a martial arts class is a great place to do it, but remember that some people are there to train and forget their daily stresses, not talk about them. In short, be flexible in your approach and know your own reasons for learning. After all flexibility and self-knowledge are fundamental to WingChun.

The list could go on, but I have questioned myself as to the benefits of making it longer and have realised the point has been made!

Freedom of movement is vital to our Wing Chun. To not be restricted by imaginary lines with our arms and body allows us to follow much faster the movements of our opponent to seek and destroy them in a far more fluid way as they attempt to avoid.

This elasticity that starts so early in this Wing Chun has been logically placed in the syllabus to help students find a calmness in their training even when the exercises taught are for very real and strong self defence.

Most, if not all of us, have holidayed on mountains or maybe beaches where there are large stones. Recall now as you used to run across the stones. How you pre selected your next step even, without thinking and “flowed” from one stone to the next. This is some of our first taste of trusting in our instincts. It is only when we suddenly realise what we are doing and consider the danger that a hesitation sets in and a faltering step brings us to a breath holding, muscle tensing stop as our brain tries to restore some calmness and confidence in our next move…

Indeed the sport of free running (Parkour) has used this instinct into an intricate and beautiful art form by using their own bodies momentum against solid forms to pivot, rotate and continue their way in smooth and fluid movements to pass around obstacles adapting all the time to circumstances.

Our own Wing Chun is the same by using our arms and bodies momentum. By learning to finish a movement before changing to another, and instantly replacing a finished position allows immediate continuation of movement. Our rhythm is instinctive and natural within us all. With constant training these instinctive and correct movements are made. Trust yourself, trust your exercises, and trust your self-belief.

Many other schools of wing chun and wingtsun have sadly become robot like in their attempt to fix themselves to rigid lines and illogical positions of arm and body with a total disregard for what they in their own minds honestly know to be right.

We are some of the few who believe in our instincts in regard to Wing Chun.

So, remember. We are the lucky ones. Relax with your instincts or, Hesitate and you will fall.

The reason for this small piece stems from us increasingly being approached by dissatisfied students from other clubs and Organisations.

Imagine believing you are buying the best steak then only to discover when you get home and unwrap it you have purchased only cat food (or worse).

It is so vital for any individual to try out their chosen Martial Art for a period of time to make sure it contains all the right criteria for them. With so many wing chun, wingtsun, vingtsun, etc. schools around. All, describing themselves in different ways from being quickest way to learn wing chun or simply by saying they are the biggest and so therefore the best organisation.

What can possibly be so good about having something quick to learn? (May be two years) what substance can this wing chun system possibly have. Either the instructors have forgotten most what they had learnt or more probably and realistically they never had it in the first place. What also is necessarily so good about being the biggest organisation? Big can only be that they have hundreds of schools with, hundreds of students in each club. But, look into each club and you will see most likely only the same students each week not the hundreds or so members that are professed to belong. Biggest is now the club with lots of students but for some reason not many attending.

I see a good and successful school is the one that has a strong and happy group of students. Students, who all regularly attend the classes and really want to progress and grade through a properly constructed syllabus that is challenging for both the mind and the body one, where students know they can become nonpareil in their “art”. What honestly makes a good Wing Chun school is when the system is being learnt at any level whether first grade, twelfth or technician levels it is demanding, intriguing, and rewarding enough to make students proud to belong. Not wish they were gone.

Please, please if you are interested in Wing Chun then visit different organisations. Don’t necessarily choose the one that may be the closest or most convenient. Talk and “listen” to the instructors to see if they have a passion for what they do. Try also to meet their students. Train for a period of time and make sure you have the possibility to leave at any time if disillusioned, dissatisfied or maybe in case your circumstances change. Don’t be tied in!

It saddens me a lot that we at Wing Chun UK in England have been approached by so many people who have been sitting down to years and years of supply of “cat food” gagging at every single mouthful just because of the fact they have bought it. If these poor souls could just be courageous and mentally strong enough to throw it all away they could then free themselves of this horrible and humiliating burden and be able to go and find themselves the beautiful steak they had wanted in the first place.

Sifu Tony Hollander, Wing Chun Head Instructor, Sevenoaks and King’s Hill

Wing Chun, is without doubt a very personal experience. Never can it be seen as a team activity although without your training peers and partners it is impossible to learn. Wing Chun can almost be a very selfish thing, something just for you. How can people who do not have this desire to learn this particular thing that you have selected comprehend a serious Wing Chun’ers passion?

In ones journey learning Wing Chun we have our companion training partners to practise specific sequences but must also learn to ignore to some degree the ifs and maybes, rights and wrongs that spring to mind along the way and immerse one’s self in the correctness of technique. It is so easy to fall away from worthwhile sequence drilling by faltering every other second to examine each participant’s movement. Of course this can be to some degree very difficult as to virtually every partner you turn the feeling is so very different to the previous. So, it makes it very important to often have a regular training companion. Not, to measure yourself and compete with but to repeat and constantly repeat until you yourself know that it is you who is in fact making some way towards correctness. The very reason for sequence drills is to imbibe your self with technique after technique. Each and every one an attack followed by a defence. Each technique giving the correct response for the right attack, for the right distance, for the right speed, angle, and height etc.

So, it comes to the real battle. We do our Wing Chun the way we do it. It does not concern us whether our attacker does this or that he hopefully receives the response that has been trained for, for so many months and for some many years and given without mercy. This should be a genuine shock to him not just physically but mentally.

Most will fortunately never have to use what they have strived so long to become perfect in but the satisfaction in taking the journey and in the end to be as really good as you can be is immeasurable.

When you look around the class at your companions see and admire these strange and individual beings that are here all for exactly the same reason as you.

Sifu Tony Hollander, Wing Chun Head Instructor, Sevenoaks and King’s Hill

Since 1929 there have been many advancements in the understanding of stress responses within pan-mammalian species which leads to the question – Is the “Fight or Flight” paradigm still relevant and usable today for understanding the human stress response?

Recent research with nonhuman primates has clearly established the first phase of reaction to a threat is not to fight at all but to avoid confrontation, and in fact has revealed there are 4 stages to the stress/fear response. These responses are actually a sequence of reactions that have been genetically embedded to guarantee survival in extreme situations and in particular against aggression and attack. This new order of reactions was noticed by Jeffery A. Gray who established the order as Freeze, Flee/Flight, Fight or Fright (Tonic Immobility).

The “freeze response” corresponds to what clinicians typically refer to as hyper-vigilance (being on guard, watchful or hyper-alert). This initial freeze response is the “stop, look and listen” response associated with fear. The survival advantage of this response is obvious, ethological research has demonstrated that prey that remain “frozen” during a threat are more likely to avoid detection because the visual cortex and the retina of mammalian carnivores primarily detect moving objects rather than colour. If you’ve ever been woken from sleep by a loud noise, you will most likely find yourself frozen listening intently rather than instantly jumping out of bed to confront the possible intruder.

After this initial freeze response, the next in the sequence is an attempt to flee, and once this has been exhausted (either by fleeing or leaving the chance to flee too long) there is an attempt to fight, in that order, although this attempt to fight is most likely through reflex than conscious action if this chain has not been broken. Thus, “flight then fight” is the proper order of responses rather than “fight or flight.” This reversal of order may have greater clinical implications and applications than the simple reversal itself.

To illustrate, consider a military combat situation. When a soldier encounters an initial sign of threat, the socially appropriate response, i.e., the response demanded by his military training and reinforced by other members of his unit, is usually the “stop, watch, and listen” heightened-alertness response. This behaviour is consistent with the biological predisposition toward the first part of the sequence: the freeze response. As the reality of a conflict grows imminent the biological and situational demands are no longer in concert. The evolved hardwired instinctual response to flee is in conflict with his/her military training. This hidden conflict is bound to further increase the intensity of this already stressful experience.

As an interesting side note, the chemical cocktail of adrenaline can be immensely powerful on cognition and motor reflexes. NYPD statistics from 1994-2000 showed that the hit rate percentage of an officer shooting a target under pressure at zero – two yards was 38%! So even a trained individual that would have no problem hitting a target 100% of the time on the firing range at 6 yards will miss 62% of the time. At three to seven yards they missed 83% and all because of the increase of adrenaline.

The next step in the sequence of fear-circuitry responses after freezing then attempting to flee is the possibility of fighting and or fright (tonic immobility). Tonic immobility was referred to as “playing dead” in the early ethological literature and has been referred to as peritraumatic “panic-like” symptoms in the post traumatic stress disorder literature. Tonic immobility may enhance survival when a predator temporarily loosens its grip on captured prey under the assumption that it is indeed dead, providing the prey with an opportunity for escape. It is also a response that may be adaptive in humans when there is no possibility of escaping or winning a fight. Clinical relevance of tonic immobility as a survival response may be illustrated best in relation to the behaviour of some victims of violence or sexual assault who exhibit extreme passivity during the assault. Here again, an understanding of the hard-wired nature of the response might help ameliorate one dimension of the painful memories that plague some victims who wonder why they did not put up more of a fight.

In reality, human conflict is far more complex than a simple 2 word phrase coined over 80 years ago. The understanding of hormonal responses is key to finding solutions of how we can break these patterns, in order to maximise our potential under pressure and allow the opportunity to protect ourselves and loved ones.