Welcome
WHAT IS WING TSUN?
Wing Tsun, Ving Tsun or Wing Chun meaning "eternal springtime" is a Chinese martial art originating from the Shaolin Monastery in Southern China about 250 years ago. It is said that a Buddist nun name Ng Mui developed a system whereby skill and "soft technique" are employed in contrast to muscular strength to overcome an opponent.
The concept of "borrowing" and "redirecting" the force of an attack rather than "blocking" and "resisting" enables a physically much weaker person to defend him or herself, and to gain the upper hand against a much stronger opponent.
There are conflicting versions as to the origins of Wing Tsun as there is no actual proof that Ng Mui actually existed but there is absolute certainty in the effectiveness of Wing Tsun techniques.
The greatest exponent of Wing Tsun that can be traced with historical certainty was a Chinese herbalist named Leung Jan. Having mastered the Wing Tsun techniques he defeated all challengers and gained the title as "Kung Fu King of Wing Tsun". His exploits are still talked about by the older generations in China.
In the 1950's Grandmaster Yip Man (who was a student of Leung Jan's best disciple Chan Wah Shun and Leung Jan's son Leung Bik) began teaching Wing Tsun in Hong Kong accepting only Chinese students. His most famous student was Bruce Lee, who was probably the first person to expose the art to the Western World, giving it the name "Wing Chun".
Yip Man's last master student was Leung Ting. Having learned the most advanced techniques, theories and concepts from Yip Man, Leung Ting, further updated and enriched the art and adopted the spelling "Wing Tsun" to identify his own system. Due to the fact that Wing Tsun is based on scientific principles and their logical implementation in self defence Wing Tsun has gained immense popularity throughout the world.
SELF-DEFENCE CONCEPTS AND STRATEGIES
Real life self-defence is not a sport and there are no rules. Aggression often occurs spontaneously without prior warning and everything is over in a matter of seconds.
In order to defend yourself successfully you must adopt the correct strategy, use effective techniques and have a thorough understanding of what actually happens in real fights. Most martial art styles or systems claim self-defence as a benefit of their training but very few actually specialise in self-defence and fewer still adopt the correct strategy or use effective techniques.
If you imagine a gun fight in the old west where one gunman acts first and kills the other, the dead man's reputation, bravery or caliber of his gun do not matter any more. Compare this to a thug standing in front of you who then connects with your jaw with a lightning fast punch. From that moment on your reputation, martial arts style or the size of your muscles do not matter anymore. To quote Grandmaster Leung Ting, "When you get beaten up it doesn't matter if your style is traditional, modified or authentic".
Therefore because action is always quicker than reaction any martial art system or style that advocates defending before attacking fails to realise the danger and disadvantages that the practitioner is exposed to when adopting that approach in the real world.
WING TSUN employs the tactic of 'attack is the best defence' which is a battle proven strategy. When faced with threatening aggression the Wing Tsun fighter assumes the role of the attacker advancing forward and delivering a lightning fast attack on the opponent. Because Wing Tsun is based on scientific principles this movement forward occurs along a straight line (ie the shortest distance), employing the ingenious Wing Tsun footwork which offers the Wing Tsun fighter maximum protection for the lower body; and chain punches, which when applied rapidly project a three dimensional shield in the form of a wedge, protecting your upper body and thus eliminating the need to use any form of blocking. Chain punches correctly applied with the Wing Tsun footwork are a devastating weapon.
If the Wing Tsun fighter's advance forward is obstructed or some form of grappling occurs then the Wing Tsun fighter has the legendary Chi Sau (sticky hands) techniques at his disposal. Simply put Chi Sau is a unique sensitivity training method designed to program the body to correctly respond to and exploit various forms of pressure and to minimise reaction time. This response is directly triggered by the opponent's movement or intention and is a sub-conscious reflex action ie the hands act of their own accord without using the thinking process. Chi Sau therefore enables the Wing Tsun fighter to defeat a much stronger opponent by borrowing, re-directing and using the opponent's own force against himself.
Wing Tsun is a system of self-protection and not a sport. It is based on scientific principles, simplicity and logic. Wing Tsun meets all the criteria needed to successfully protect one's self against aggression in the real world.
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