Wing Chun Basics

Well, here we are! It's about time I started talking about Wing Chun itself and concepts! Of course, the blog IS about the journey, mostly, but as mentioned before, we are doing some branching out. Since I know more about Wing Chun, we will start with it. Later, we will also discuss some concepts of "Attack Proof" and others. Basically, Wing Chun is a "close-in" fighting art that has been with us via China for about 300 years. It is a survivor A few names associated with Wing Chun are Bruce Lee, Yip Man (Lee's teacher), and perhaps you have heard of Robert Downey, Jr.? Bruce Lee is probably the most famous. Lee worked his way through 2 of the Wing Chun hand forms and at least part of the 108 Wooden Dummy form (Yip Man changed it to 116 movements). This is really where and how Lee "learned" to fight!
Generally, Wing Chun has 6 forms and hundreds of drills. These drills are extremely important. The forms are: Sil Lim Tao, which is the basic and, some say, the advanced form. Chum Kiu is the second hand form and is generally akin to Searching or Seeking the Bridge (which can be considered the forearm). It also introduces many kicks within the system. Next in line is the Muk Chong (Jong) or Wooden Dummy form. It teaches Structure and Positioning within the Wing Chun system and also doubles as a partner when a student has none. The Dummy also is widely associated with many aspects of the Chum Kiu form. An advanced form, Biu Tze (spelling varies due to association of 2 countries-Mainland China and Hong Kong) is next. I am learning Biu Tze now and having a blast learning and trying to understand it! Two weapons forms are: Luk Dim Boon Quan, which is the 6.5 point pole which was added to Wing Chun during the "Red Boat Opera" days in the 1800's AND the Bart Cham Dao, which is the double sword or knife form of Wing Chun. Some schools of Wing Chun have other or different requirements. My school has a "matrix" which is vast and basically took me 4 years (every other Sunday) to learn. At the time, I did not like it very much but now that I understand and practice it, it is a tremendous addition to the "traditional" Wing Chun skills learned. We also have another Dummy form which is called Sil Lim Tao on the Dummy. This basic description of Wing Chun is just that, basic. A student could study it all his life and still not know all of the ins and outs of the system. Next blog will begin to break some of the concepts down, both from the forms and from drills. I look forward to it!