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About Ving Tsun
1. Foreword
2. Figure of 2 Stance
   (Goat Pinching)
3. 4 Direction Leveled
   Large Stance
4. Contemplating
   Martial Arts
5. Application of
   "Drawing Elbow"
6. "Draw Elbow" When
   Sticking Arms?
7. Fok Sao
8. Slow Siu Lim Tao
9. Centre Line
10. Centre of Gravity
     and Centre Line
11. Single Weight
12. Forces Originate
     from the Ground
13. Whole Bodily Force
14. Lax and Tense
Foreword
About three weeks before this year's Spring Festival, my elder SiHing Wu Chen Nam called me on the phone and said, "Au-Yeung, I'm not young, and while I'm physically and mentally still able, I would like to let you know how Sifu taught me the martial arts of Ving Tsun. I say this because I realize that a lot of Sifu's disciples, in their Ving Tsun discussions and teachings, have neglected a number of training methods in power, moves and the spirit, on which Sifu had placed great importance. It would be regrettable and a great loss if these aspects in the heritage of Sifu's were unable to continue once we the early stage disciples pass away." I said to brother Nam, "Would it not do if you tell or teach it to other SiHing or sidai?" Brother Nam replied, "I noticed that their attitudes tend to suggest that, having learnt from Sifu, they have already obtained the ultimate combat techniques and are already top of the world, and as a result they disregard everything else as fabrication. But I think you are relatively open-minded and are ready to accommodate other people's ideas. So I intend to tell you about Sifu's teaching methods of the early periods. Do think about it." I promised brother Nam to consider the issue seriously before making any arrangements.
Incidentally, not long before brother Nam's phone call, I was about to sort out a number of Ving Tsun questions given to me at various times by my own disciples, and to write a few words in reply. If possible these words would be published on the web for others to comment. Now that brother Nam has imparted to me his wishes, if I could connect them with my original plan, no doubt there could be a profound meaning and responsibility. The meaning can have various aspects:
  1. A thorough description of Sifu's teaching methods in the early periods would give a reflection of Sifu's understanding of combat techniques at those times.
  2. Since I am one of Sifu's later stage disciples, by way of my answers to the technical questions from my own students, one could make a judgment whether there has since been progress, reversal or stagnation when it comes to the development of Wong Shun Leung Ving Tsun as it is known nowadays.
  3. Hopefully then we can all appreciate an objective point of view that, like every applied technical discipline, the advancement of martial arts has experienced quantum leaps against a backdrop of gradual changes. The higher it goes, the more it requires in terms of spiritual and intellectual qualities. Like visual arts, it shows techniques and methods in application, and at the same time a style of unique taste and spirit.
  4. When one has encountered and understood the basic materials, what is then left to do is to look into yourself and ask what in the end is that which you desire, and how you wish to get it. Not everyone has to follow exactly the same route or do exactly the same things.
  5. "If a task is to be done well, the tools must first be sharpened." If we can better employ present day knowledge of science and technology in interpreting techniques, training methods and theories in martial arts, we will find it easier to comprehend earlier generations' experiences that have been gifted to us as valuable, practical evidences. This will facilitate development of more effective training methods and theories, and optimize the reasonable costs (effort, time, energy, etc) in every training event. Isn't it an approach that better matches the values of today's urban life?
The first topic in the main text is a discussion of the Figure of Two (Goat Pinching) Stance. I use the evolution of Ving Tsun discussed there as an introduction of what is to follow. As far as I know, the shape and posture in the Figure of Two Stance is not unique to Ving Tsun. Japanese martial arts Karate has a set form called "San Tsin (三戰)" which makes use of a stance similar to the Figure of Two. In Fujian in China's southeast, a well known martial arts by the name of He (or Crane) Quan also uses a similar stance. I only say they are similar because it is not certain to me whether, apart from their likeness in appearance, their requirements and applications are the same as those of Ving Tsun's. There have been recent studies of historic records of martial arts which are able to determine that the Ving Tsun martial arts prevalent in Guangdong originated from Fujian's He Quan system. It propagated westward to Guangdong's Foshan over time, incorporating along the way regional cultures and local people's cultural needs. The result of the continuous development is today's Ving Tsun martial arts system. On the other hand, there have been records to recognize, by virtue of the fact that the Japanese Karate system had between 1985 and 1991 organized four visits to Fujian's Yongchun (永春) town to pay homage to the martial arts' origin, that Fujian's He Quan was an influential factor in the establishment of Karate. These are indications that He Quan, Karate and Ving Tsun have come from the same origin and share the same vein. Therefore similarities found in stances should be expected. However, in regard to the hearsay that Ving Tsun originated from He Quan, which itself has several versions, the intertwining facts and falsehoods on top of numerous claims and counterclaims have meant that satisfactory resolution any time soon is unlikely.
In recent time, my style is classified under the Yip Man Ving Tsun system. As to Ving Tsun's history, the grandmaster's direct disciples such as my Sifu recognize that the authentic, verbally transmitted version as passed down to them can be traced back to the era of great grandmaster Liangzan (梁贊) (or Leung Chan in Cantonese). The period spanned from Qing Dynasty's early Daoguang (道光) years through to Xianfeng (咸豐) and Tongzhi (同治) until middle to late Guangxu (光緒) years. (Great grandmaster Liangzan 1826-1901) In that period, Ving Tsun was already a large family. It was made up of a number of styles from the same or different origins, going by the names of XYZ Yongchun (詠春 or 永春) (or Ving Tsun in Cantonese), one of the more prominent ones being Liangzan's. Starting from grandmaster Yip Man's Ving Tsun, there have been no fewer than eight to ten branches that have since developed across the geographic regions from Guangzhou and Foshan to Southeast Asia. Although they have founded their own styles in the name of Ving Tsun, their theories, techniques and training methods can differ greatly.
I belong to the third generation of Yip Man Ving Tsun. My sifu Wong Shun Leung was a direct disciple of grandmaster Yip Man, one of the early pillars in the second generation. It is clear to me that the martial arts of Ving Tsun my sifu taught me was the fruit of grandmaster Yip Man's knowledge and my sifu's own training and combat experience. Put more directly, my sifu's martial arts achievement was not made in a day, but was made through constant annealing and refining over time. Its maturity has presented a unique style that stands out from the rest. In my eyes, development of this kind is nothing unnatural. It is not difficult to find a variety of different personal characteristics in many elders of my sifu's generation as well as fellow brothers of my own generations. This precisely shows a phenomenon that is the result of repetition of some regular techniques at the start, followed by inculcation of individual appreciation, habits and reflexes that give rise to specific characteristics. It is also an art representative of an individual.
Therefore, it is also through this natural pattern of growth that I have developed my inner qualities in martial arts. Moreover, I can therefore anticipate differences in ideas whenever discussion touches on personal interpretation of martial arts, be they between different styles or among Wong Shun Leung disciples. Hopefully they will bring to bear a similar attitude as mine to look at the differences. Since the day I set up my school, I have always reminded my students and disciples by saying, "My style stresses that martial arts is a highly practical set of applied skills. If you claim whatever works, you must show it in deeds. This is the core of the spirit. It is no small achievement if you are able to demonstrate techniques and powers that are consistent with what you say you can do. But what is more important, is to be able to apply the techniques broadly, and enable an ordinary person to follow the methods, train and learn them successfully. Only in this way will your techniques and powers be worthy of researching, keeping and spreading. It is also the best way to distinguish the trueness in a technique from deception and malice."
Finally, I send my sincerest appreciation to my disciples who gave me the questions and let me reexamine what I have learnt so that I can achieve better clarity in certain aspects of my pursuit of martial arts. I am grateful to my disciple, Tat, for his interest and attention in this series of articles, and his valuable comments after reading the drafts. If one day these articles are published in the English language, his help will be instrumental. As to my Sifu's teaching methods and his understanding of Ving Tsun, these discussions will appear in the next series, entitled for the time being "The Progressive Development of Wong Shun Leung Ving Tsun Martial Arts".
Author: Cliff Au-Yeung Kim Man
Date: Feb 17, 2008

References:
  1. 台灣武林雜誌書（壹）鶴法，
  2. 佛山武術文化 Editor-in-chief: 馬梓能，
  3. COMPLETE WING CHUN（詠春拳全集 –詠春拳歷史與傳統紀實）
    Authors: Robert Chu, Rene Ritchie and Y. Wu

Last Revised: May 12, 2008