The main objective of Wing Tsun (or WT as it is commonly abbreviated) is to be a realistic system of self-defense. WT does not focus on fighting “techniques”, instead relying on
fighting and
energy principles to be followed at all times. The central idea is that, under pressure, it is impossible to visually recognize the precise direction and speed of an attack and make a conscious decision on an effective way in which to react, all within the very brief amount of time you have before your opponent's attack lands. Rather, one must (counter) attack immediately in a very direct and protected manner and rely on reflexes to determine how to react if the opponent's attack continues to pose a problem.
Chi sao, or “sticking hands” trains students to respond reflexively to the speed, force, and direction of an attack, based on tactile information - which the human brain processes much faster than visual information.
The main difference between Wing Tsun and other Wing Chun styles is the WT teaching method. The style's creator Leung Ting developed the system to be easier to learn and teach compared to more traditional styles of Wing Chun. This idea was later expanded upon by Keith Kernspecht in Germany by introducing many of the WT specific forms (like the leg forms). In comparison to other styles WT has a much more modern, school-like curriculum of teaching.
Principles
The eight principles of Wing Tsun form a system of aggressive self-defense that allows one to adapt immediately to the size, strength and fighting style of an attacker. There are many ways to express the principles, since they are essentially very simple. However, it takes years of performing the forms and practicing chi sao with a knowledgeable instructor to train the body to follow the principles reflexively and to understand their applications in specific situations.
As well as describing the progression of a self-defense response, the strength principles also describe the progression a WingTsun student must follow over years of training: first, form training and a great deal of punching to learn to be relaxed in a fight and to (counter intuitively) punch
without tension; second, countless hours of chi sao training to be able to yield to — and exploit — the attacker's strength; finally, strength training specific to WT to increase punching and striking power.
Fighting Principles
- Go forward (問路尋橋手先行) Advance immediately in order to establish contact with the limbs (allowing for Chi Sao reflexes to take over) or — even better — to strike first. This counter intuitive reaction will often surprise the attacker, and moves the fight into a close distance in which tactile reflexes will dominate over visual reactions, where the Wing Tsun practitioner is likely to have an advantage.
- Stick to the opponent (手黐手,無訂(地方)走) If you are unable to strike and disable your opponent, but instead make contact with some part of his body (other than his face, throat, etc.), stick to it. Often this will be an opponent's arm; if you maintain constant contact with his arms, how can he launch an attack at you without your knowing? This applies for the time only when the opponent is blocking your shortest way of attack. Once there is opportunity, you give up sticking, and go in with your attack (flow).
- Yield to a greater force (用巧勁，避拙力-即借力） Since one cannot expect to be stronger than every potential attacker, one must train in such a way as to be able to win even against a stronger opponent. Chi Sao teaches the reflexes necessary to react to an opponent's attacks. When an attack is simply stronger than yours, your trained reflexes will tell your body to move out of the way of the attack and find another angle for attack.
- Follow through (迫步追形) As an extension of the first principle, if an opponent retreats, a WingTsun practitioner's immediate response is to continue moving forward, not allowing the opponent to recover and have an opportunity to reconsider his strategy of attack. Many styles that rely on visual cues prefer to step back and wait and time their attacks, as commonly seen in sport and tournament fighting.
Energy Principles
- Give up your own Force One needs to be relaxed in order to move dynamically and to react to the actions of an opponent. When you are tense, your "own force" acts as a parking brake—you must disengage it first before you can move quickly.
- Get rid of your opponent's Force This is similar to the third fighting principle. When an attacker wants to use strength to overpower a fighter, the response is not to try to overcome strength with strength but to nullify this force by moving your attacker's force away from you or to move yourself away from it.
- Use Your Attacker's Force against him Take advantage of the force your opponent gives you. If an opponent pulls you toward him, use that energy as part of your attack. Or if an opponent pushes the left side of your body, you can act as a revolving door and use that force in an attack with your right arm.
- Add Your Own Force In addition to borrowing power from your attacker, you can add your own force in an attack when your hand is free.
Lat Sao (甩手)
The Lat Sao program is something particular to the European branch of the Leung Ting style of teaching WingTsun; the other Wing Chun branches, including the Hong Kong branch of Leung Ting's organization, generally progress in a more traditional manner from the forms to Chi Sao training to sparring. Lat Sao roughly translates as "rolling hands" or "tumbling hands" training.
Lat Sao is a sensitivity drill to obtain specific chi sao reflexive responses. Although it may look combative, it should not be mistaken for
sparring or fighting. Lat Sao is a game, in which one partner plays the part of an attacker, and the other a defender. The attacker and defender generally switch roles frequently, or after a set number of attacks. If one is not paying attention, or if the teacher has not explained the drill properly, the training can accelerate and become competitive; if this happens, the students are missing the point of the exercise altogether. Lat Sao is not about hitting your opponent, but about feeding him attacks that he trains to counter. As your partner becomes better, the attacks can be gradually made more difficult to counter by making them faster or more precise. However, once the attack is consistently getting through, it should be slowed down again, so that the defender can identify his mistake, or "hole" in the defense.
Lat Sao can be both beneficial and detrimental when not practiced with awareness of its benefits and its pitfalls. The benefits are generally a more technical and more precise style, because the student spends time testing his limits and finding his mistakes. A secondary benefit is a student's greater confidence and less shock when first confronted with free-sparring programs. The pitfalls are over-reliance on patterns learned in drills and mechanical execution by rote, rather than feeling the opponent's pressure and reacting to it. It is beneficial to confront the students with unexpected solutions to problems posed in Lat Sao, as an exercise and to demonstrate that each Lat Sao drill is just one of very many possible solutions to a given problem. A good exercise is also asking a student to solve Lat Sao problems using newly learned techniques in each program; even if the things they come up with do not work, the habit of investigating the problem from different angles and not taking Lat Sao as something set in stone will help them avoid the pitfalls.
German Lat Sao is being described in the afore mentioned. The German Style Lat Sao in the 1990s and early 2000s was used widely in Europe and America. In German Lat Sao the opponents tend to go through a longer, more complex sequence building it up over time. In Chinese Lat Sao the focus is more on realistic powerful attack, so the sequence generally ends within two-three strikes.
In more advanced Lat Sao the two opponents square off and both try to gain the upper hand, allowing their Chi Sao reactions to take over.
Chi Sao
Chi Sao (黐手) or "sticking hands" is the set of drills used for the development of automatic fighting reflexes. It directly grows out of the main principles of WingTsun. In Chi Sao, both must maintain forward pressure, both must stick to prevent opponent's pressure from coming through and striking, both must yield when opponent attacks with a force that upsets the balance between the two, and both must follow when a way forward opens. The flow of attack and counter attack in Chi Sao alternates, and can be very quick indeed. However, Chi Sao is a partner training exercise, not a sparring or fighting drill, and should not be confused for such. The purpose of Chi Sao is to train the reflexes that let your body know what your opponent is doing, and react to it automatically.
Forms
The basic forms of WingTsun are covered in the student grades, with further refinements of application and technique in later forms. The goal of WingTsun is to be a "redundant" form, in that the teaching will build upon movement and reactions previously learned to allow greater understanding of the material faster. Each building block may not be completely understood when it is taught (although it should be understood in the limited capacity that a level explains it), however the earlier training will act as a foundation for training in later levels.
Siu Nim Tao (小念頭)
Siu Nim Tao is the first open-hand form, or
taolu, of
Wing Chun kung fu. The form may also be called Sil Lim Tao or Sil Lum Tao.Siu Nim Tao is a traditional form from Wing Chun Kung Fu and its history is similar to that of Wing Chun. The form originated in the Shaolin temple approximately 250 years ago. Little is known prior to this, however, many martial arts employ a neutral position when first teaching students the basic elements of a particular style.All the basic hand movements used in Wing Chun are contained in Siu Nim Tao. There is minimal leg movement in the form; the feet only move to set up the stance in the initial movements.
Siu Nim Tao practice:
- defines the centreline and teaches students where their hands should be relative to it
- teaches students how to execute Wing Chun strikes correctly
- reinforces the correct elbow position
- instills correct breathing patterns
- facilitates force generation in short range Wing Chun strikes
Great emphasis is put on relaxation while performing Siu Nim Tao. This facilitates efficiency of movement and hand speed. Some teachers, notably
Chu Shong Tin, place enormous emphasis on relaxation during Siu Nim Tao practice.
Other aspects
Siu Nim Tao can be used as a form of moving and breathing
meditation. In addition, it increases student concentration and focus. The form is also used extensively to develop forward energy in Wing Chun practitioners.
Demonstrations of the form
Although many of the movements are similar, Siu Nim Tao varies significantly between
schools and branches
Chum Kiu (尋橋)
Chum Kiu is the second of three open-hand forms of
Wing Chun Kung Fu.It builds upon many of the basic principles and techniques learned in the first Wing Chun open-hand form,
Siu Lim Tao[1]. The form may also be called Chum Kil
.Chum Kiu is a traditional open-hand form. It dates back to the Shaolin temple and the development of Wing Chun over two hundred years ago.
Technical aspects
Chum Kiu practice develops advanced stances and footwork
[2], develops techniques designed to control an opponent
[3] and includes some simultaneous attack and defence techniques
[4]. It is a far more dynamic form than Siu Nim Tao, and places significant emphasis on techniques slightly outside the centreline
.
Biu Tze (標指)
Biu Tze (lit. "dart fingers") is characterized by the use of open hand techniques (as opposed to closed fist punches), and for this reason gains its name. The form teaches how to cut through the opponent's defenses if his Chum Kiu reactions are precise enough that the attacker cannot find a mistake in his defense to take advantage of. It also teaches how to regain and create a new centerline once it has been lost, and because of this is sometimes referred to as a set of "emergency techniques". Bui Tze adds full-torso movements to the arm and leg techniques of the Siu Nim Tao and Chum Kiu forms, though (as with the other forms) some Biu Tze movements are learned in the student WT grades - building on its "redundant" teaching system.
Wooden Dummy (木人樁)
Mook Yan Chong literally means
"wood person post", as such it is used to take the place of an imaginary partner to practice on. However, it is not a literal representation of a person - but a representation of a person's force and energy.
In the wooden dummy form, the fighter attacks and counters in multiple planes and directions. Where Chum Kiu attacked and defended linearly, and Biu Tze cut through the opponent's defenses from different angles, Wooden Dummy focuses on attacking from multiple angles simultaneously, while moving around the opponent. For example, a wooden dummy attack could involve a simultaneous kick to the knee, pull with one arm, and punch with the other. This is extremely difficult to counter, as the defenses must also be simultaneous to all three attacks. Despite that, the wooden dummy training is still useful long before the student can actually apply its principles, as it helps focus and clean up the lower level techniques.
Long Pole (長棍), or Luk Dim Boon Kwun Fa(六點半棍法)
Bat Cham Dao(八斬刀), or Butterfly Knives (雙刀)
