Wing Chun Family Tree Part 12 In 1909, Ip Man 葉問 was studying at St Stephens English School in Hong Kong. While he was there, his classmate, named Làih 黎, introduced him to Lèuhng Bīk 梁壁. Lèuhng Bīk was running a textile and clothing business in Hong Kong. Ip Man was happy to meet someone […]

Wing Chun Family Tree Part 10 Lèuhng Jan 梁贊 had two sons, Lèuhng Bīk 梁壁 and Lèuhng Chēun 梁春. As I mentioned before, Lèuhng Bīk was interested in Kung Fu and Lèuhng Chēun was interested in Medicine. Though some people say Lèuhng Jan had five children where Lèuhng Bīk was the eldest and Lèuhng Chēun […]

Wing Chun Family Tree part 8 Lèuhng Jan’s 梁贊 most famous student was Chàhn Wàh Seuhn 陳華順. Chàhn Wàh Seuhn had the most studetns, his skill was very high and he earned respect as he had many challengers and defeated all of them. Chàhn Wàh Seuhn (1849-1905) was born in Guangdong Province 廣東省, Shun De […]

Wing Chun Family Tree part 6 The opera company on the Hùhng Syùhn 紅船, Red Boat, went to Foshan 佛山, Guangdong 廣東 to perform and they were very successful and attracted a lot of people. There was a very famous Chinese doctor, named Lèuhng Jan 梁贊(1826-1901), in Foshan who also came to see the opera. […]

Wing Chun Family Tree part 4 Lèuhng Bok Chàuh梁博儔 had of course heard of his new wife’s Kung Fu and so on their wedding night he decided to test her. He was a strong man and he also knew a little Kung Fu, but of course he could not gain any advantage. The story goes […]

Wing Chun Family Tree – part 2 Between 1704 – 1735 the Shaolin Temple 少林寺 was burnt down. One of the leader of was Shaolin Temple, Ng Mui Sitai 五杖師太. Ng Mui 五杖 was her Buddhist name and it means Five Pieces of Wood. Sitai 師太 is a title given to someone who has a […]

How Does a Lady Chī Sáu 黐手with a Man – part4 Often, a stronger man will like to use more force. So if they grab your hands and pull you in to punch you, you can find it very hard to go against them. The more you resist his pulling the harder he will be […]

How Does a Lady Chī Sáu 黐手with a Man pt2 In the beginning, when a lady learns how to Chī Sáu 黐手 with a stronger man, safety is the most important. In order to have this you must have good footwork and good sensitivity. So practising the Seven Star Footwork 七星步 often is crucial, and […]

Chī Sáu 黐手 with Beginners part 2 Sometimes senior students can be hit by beginners when they are doing Chī Sáu 黐手. Beginners can often just hit without thinking how vulnerable or how incorrect their technique is. This is because they think that is the way to Chī Sáu. Seniors who are not used to […]

Grandmaster Ip Chun 葉準 Seminar Part 10 Finally Sīfú 師父 said, “I am very happy with this seminar we have had in China today. I have taught you everything I had planned. The most important thing is that you all practise and in the end you will be successful! Thank you, thank you!” Everyone gave […]

Grandmaster Ip Chun 葉準 Seminar Part 8 The next person to ask a question was Tom from Australia. He asked his Tai Sigong, “When I watched you Chī Sáu with Sigong (he is referring to me) and Siba (meaning Darryl) you looked very comfortable even when got very close to them. That is not like […]

Grandmaster Ip Chun 葉準 Seminar Part 7 The next person to ask Grandmaster Ip Chun葉準 a question was Radu. He said, “Sigong, I want to ask you about when you are defending with your Fāt Sáu 拂手, is your energy coming from your hand or your legs?” Grandmaster Ip Chun smiled and answered, “Everyone can […]

2019 Grandmaster Ip Chun Seminar Part 1 In September 2019 I took 40 students to Loucun 羅村 in Foshan 佛山 to attend a seminar with my Sīfú 師父, Ip Chun 葉準, who had just celebrated his 95th Birthday with a big dinner party in Hong Kong. Our seminar was on the 21 September which was […]

Laaht Sáu 捺手 and Jaht Sáu 窒手 What is the difference between Laaht Sáu 捺手 and Jaht Sáu 窒手? They are quite similar and both are in the second section of Siu Lim Tao 小念頭 . Laaht Sáu 捺手 comes after Bīu Zī 標指, and Jaht Sáu 窒手 comes after Jám Sáu 枕手, Tok Sáu […]

Ng Mui Si Tai 五枚師太 – Part 26 Wing Chun 詠春 open the letter and looked at the bottom, it was signed by her Sīfú. Ng Mui Si Tai 五枚師太 wrote, “My dearest student Wing Chun, meeting up was fate. I don’t have any other students you are the only one. I watched your family […]

Ng Mui Si Tai 五枚師太 – Part 24 The sword swished down very fast towards Wing Chun’s 詠春 head, but she was even faster! She stepped back to the side and using Dāng Téui 蹬腿, she kicked the Leader’s front knee and at the same time used Yan Jéung 印掌  to palm the elbow of the […]

Ng Mui Si Tai 五枚師太 – Part 22 Yìhm Wing Chun 嚴詠春 watched the Leader. He was taller and stronger than all the others bandits, but she knew what to do.  Her Sīfú 師父, Ng Mui Si Tai五 枚師太 had told her, “When your enemy is bigger and stronger, do should not get too close […]

Ng Mui Si Tai 五枚師太 – Part 18 After those three months of hard training, Yìhm Wing Chun 嚴詠春 was now a different person. She was strong, clear minded, determined and she knew that she had to deal with this situation. The problem was the gang leader wanted to marry her and so she had […]

Ng Mui Sitai 五枚師太 – Part 15 Yìhm Wing Chun 嚴詠春 had trained very hard and her soul had grown to a high level. Ng Mui Sitai 五枚師太 very pleased with her and knew that she was good enough to deal with those gangsters! One morning Ng Mui Sitai called Wing Chun to her and said, “You have been […]

Ng Mui Si Tai 五枚師太 – Part 13 Ng Mui Si Tai 五枚師太 observed Yìhm Wing Chun 嚴詠春 training. She had grown from a gentle, innocent, naive and weak girl into a strong, mature and alert lady. Although she was just 16 years old, these few months of training had changed her. It was now […]

Ng Mui Si Tai 五枚師太 – Part 11 The next day Yìhm Wing Chun 嚴詠春 followed her Sīfú 師父, Ng Mui Si Tai 五枚師太, to begin practising Kung Fu. Ng Mui Si Tai said, “Gūng Lihk 功力 is the most important thing and it comes from the stance. If you have good Gūng Lihk then […]

Ng Mui Si Tai 五枚師太 – Part 9 Although Yìhm Yì h嚴二 was very worried about Ng Mui Si Tai’s 五枚師太 proposal, there was no other choice, and so he let his lovely daughter Yìhm Wing Chun 嚴詠春 follow Ng Mui Si Tai to White Crane Temple.  White Crane Temple was very simple and very […]

Ng Mui Si Tai 五枚師太- Part 7 Ng Mui Si Tai 五枚師太 created all these new Kung Fu skills. She did not have a name for her new system or any students to teach and because she was a fugitive from Shaolin Temple she could not show off the skills in case somebody recognised her, […]

Ng Mui Si Tai五枚師太- Part 5 One day, Ng Mui Si Tai 五枚師太 was walking through the countryside when she came across an unusual sight. A shepherd was trying to lead a goat with a rope. In general a man is stronger than a goat, but as hard as he pulled on the rope he could […]

Ng Mui Sitai  五枚師太 – Part 3 She put all these hand techniques together and created some forms like Tsum Kìuh 尋橋 and Bīu Zī 標指. I believe that Siu Lim Tao 小念頭 was created last. Ng Mui Sitai 五枚師太 in the beginning wanted the (Wing Chun) skill to focus on fighting first, particularly using techniques […]

Ng Mui Sitai 五枚師太 – Part 1 Wing Chun comes from the Southern South Shaolin Temple 南少林寺, Fujian Province, Pu Jian Prefecture 福建省莆田 in Southern China. During the Qing Dynasty 清朝 all the monks, nuns and students of Shaolin Temple opposed the Manchurian 滿州人 Government. This was because most Chinese people, including the monks and nuns, […]

Examination by Grandmaster Ip Chun Part 4 After they had finished their demonstration, they all gathered around listen to Grandmaster Ip Chun’s 葉準 comments. He said, “The most important part of Tsum Kìuh 尋橋 is footwork, specifically Jyún Máh 轉馬. Wing Chun Kung Fu teaches us how to use less energy in order to overcome […]

Examination by Grandmaster Ip Chun Part 2 On the last day, I visited my Sīfú 師父, Ip Chun’s 葉準, class found the room was quite full. There was a group of students from China. Sīfú told me he had just finished teaching a course in Foshan, China and had just come back to Hong Kong. […]

Benefits of Wing Chun Pt5 Practising Wing Chun Kung Fu for a long time changes you. In particular it changes your nature making you more positive. It definitely makes us braver, more independent and more confident. It gives us the courage to face problems and not be afraid of difficulties that come our way, and […]

Benefits of Wing Chun pt3 Then we come to learn the second form Tsum Kiu 尋橋. Now we learn how to move and be grounded. We learn Jyún Máh 轉馬which teaches us how to turn forty-five degrees and how to turn on or heels. This teaches us how turning on our heels affects our weight […]

Benefits of Wing Chun Part 1 Did you know training Wing Chun for over five years changes you for the better? You become healthier, clearer and even wiser. Practising Wing Chun is not just about learning how to fight, it is more than that. Of course at the beginning, having seen and heard about all those […]

Laap Sáu 擸手and Hit During Chī Sáu 黐手 you will often find people with long, strong arms like to use Laap Sáu 擸手 to pull your arm and hit your face with the other hand. As they are so strong and have such a long reach it is quite difficult to defend. Generally however, these […]

Tall People Chī Sáu 黐手 Normally taller people will keep a longer distance when they Chī Sáu 黐手. This is   where they have an advantage. If you are taller than your opponent you can hit them and they cannot reach you since you have a longer reach. You should keep your palms closer to your opponent, […]

Holding Both Your Opponent’s Hands What is the best way to hold on to your opponent’s hands during Chī Sáu 黐手?  If you are holding only one of their hands then your grip needs to be loose and you must not hold on for too long. Only hold them long enough to make contact with them.  […]

Staying Away from the Attack I have come across people who do not like to engage when they Chī Sáu. Every time they feel that an attack might come they stay away from the situation. This means we cannot interact in our Chī Sáu. Of course many people do not like to get hit, who […]

Strong Hands When you do a lot of Chī Sáu 黐手 you can come across someone whose hands are so strong you cannot even move them. When this happens you can easily become intimidated or even scared. However, Wing Chun skill is designed to deal with strong people and in order to deal with it […]

Like to Páak Sáu 拍手 a Lot pt 1 Some people like to Páak Sáu a lot during Chī Sáu 黐手. Páak Sáu is a very powerful attacking hand, but to use it you must feel that your opponent’s hand is tense this also means that we must not be tense ourselves when we Chī […]

Rolling Fast in Chī Sáu 黐手 Another situation I have come across is people who like to roll very fast when you start to Chī Sáu 黐手 with them.  They roll their hands up and down very quickly and do not change inside or outside very much. This is because to change the inside or the outside […]

Two Hands Against One If our opponent is taller with longer arms and very strong, we should first keep a good distance, but we cannot just always stay away and never attack. Of course, if we know we are not as good as them staying away to be safe is important, but we still need […]

Safety on the Street How about the situation where someone suddenly attacks us out on the street? Realistically, if that person is very close to us and suddenly attacks us, we cannot defend it. So it is very important to keep a safe distance as soon as you are aware that someone intends to attack […]

When We Hit Them, They Hit Back In Chī Sáu 黐手 it is common to come across the situation where you hit your opponent but they still hit you back. When this happens to you, you feel that it is not fair. Yes, you are right, it is not fair because you are not really […]

 Quiet, Gentle and Still Everybody has been studying Wing Chun long enough has gained their own experience. All this experience is valuable. Sometimes we think that what we are doing is right, but  a few years later, after more mistakes made and more lessons learnt, we might change our minds and realise it is not quite […]

Hitting the Right Way Over my 40 years of training Wing Chun I have seen many people easily give up because they do not believe their Wing Chun will work during a fight. What they forget is they are still learning and that it takes time. If we do not have enough time to practice […]

My Sīfú Ip Chun 師父葉準 I have been studying and practicing with Wing Chun over 40 years, from the beginning when I did not understand Wing Chun, to confusion and finally understanding. It takes a long time but there is one very important thing that we need to get it right and to reach a high […]

Should Wing Chun Have Iron Palm? At a seminar, somebody said to me, “I have read some old books on Wing Chun.  One of the books it mentions, that in the past, people who studied Wing Chun also trained Iron Palm and Iron Fist.  Why don’t we practice this?”  This is an interesting question! So first […]

Ancestor Instruction 詠春祖訓 IX Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction IX says, “Carry on our ancestors’ path. Strictly follow their instruction 繼先緖  謹持祖訓.” “Carry on our ancestors’ path” means we need to think about everything we practice in Wing Chun.  We need to memorise the Ancestor Instructions and be able to recite them off by heart, because they are […]

Ancestor Instruction 詠春祖訓 VIII pt1 Ancestor instruction VIII, “Protect the weak and small. Use your Kung Fu skill in a good way with integrity 扶弱小  以武輔仁.” This is very true, and is the right way to do things. If we have a good fighting skill we need to use it properly, just like a policeman […]

Ancestor Instruction 詠春祖訓 VII Pt 1 Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction VII is, “Be gentle when handling any events and situations 常處世態度温文.”  Ancestor Instruction VI said, “Nourish you Qi, confrontations and fighting are forbidden 學養氣 戒濫鬥爭.”  This is very good rule, as we have talked about before, because avoiding confrontation and fighting is a good thing.  However, it is even better […]

Ancestor Instruction  詠春祖訓 VI  pt1 Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction VI, “Nourish your Qi.  Confrontation and fighting are forbidden 學養氣 戒濫鬥爭.”  The cultural Chinese attitude is to be a gentleman or a gentle person, that is to say someone who is educated and is nice to others.  This is the main Confucius thought which has been taught […]

Ancestor instruction V 詠春祖訓  pt1 Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction V says,  “Practise skill regularly, keep your skill with you at all times 勤練習技不離身.” Any skill we learn from our teacher must practise otherwise  how can we learn? Bruce Lee would practise 500 punches and 500 kicks every day, as well as other techniques and training. This […]

Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction IV 詠春祖訓 – pt1 The fourth Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction says, “Control your passion (including sex). Protect your Jing and Shen (energy) 節色慾保守精神”. Chinese medicine always suggests controlling one’s passion, which also includes not having sex regularly particular when you are well.  This is in order to save your energy because all these things […]

Ancestor Instructions III 詠春祖訓 – pt1 The third Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction is “Love your Kung Fu brothers and sisters, unite and enjoy being a group 愛同學團結樂羣.” Love your Kung Fu brothers and sisters, this means you should be very close, then your training will be more enjoyable and you will develop quicker. Whatever we are learning […]

Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction II 詠春祖訓 Pt 1 The second ancestor instruction is “Understand loyalty and courtesy. Love your country and respect your parents 明禮義愛國尊親.” If you watch the Ip Man葉問movies or the Wong Fei Hung 黄飛鴻 movies we see that the master is always very gentle, polite and courteous. When we have a high […]

Wing Chun Ancestor Instructions I  詠春祖訓 1 Meng Zi 孟子 said, “No compass, no ruler you cannot make a circle and a square  無規矩不能成方圓”. To build a house, to make a table or a chair, we need the proper equipment in order to get all our measurements right.  Our Wing Chun ancestors gave us nine […]

Double Bóng Sáu 雙膀手pt 6 When we are in Double Bóng Sáu 雙膀手, we can also change from soft to strong Dāi Bóng Sáu 底膀手, which is like the movement in Tsum Kìuh (Chahm Kìuh) 尋橋. When we feel that the opponent’s hands are soft, but we still have some strength in our forearms, we […]

Double Bóng  Sáu 雙膀手 Pt4 When we are in the Double Bóng  Sáu 雙膀手 position most of the time the opponent will attack first because they know that our position is bad and that our defence will be weak.  In the Period of the Three Kingdoms三國時代 a large strong army came to attack a city. […]

Double Bóng Sáu 雙膀手 – Pt2 Since both hands fingers are face each other we cannot redirect the opponent’s energy to both sides, so the Soft Low Bóng Sáu has a square on position, face to face with the opponent and no Jyun Mah 轉馬. They are a bit like the Dai Bóng Sáu 底膀手 […]

Continuous Wùh Sāu   護手 When we are defending we can also continuously use  Wùh Sāu  護手. When our opponent attacks us we stretch our our Wùh Sāu and this become Coeng Wùh Sāu長護手-Long Wùh Sāu. The close Wùh Sāu is replaced be the withdrawing front hand and so the Wùh Sāu swop over. Every time […]

Gaan Sau 挌手 After we have learnt how to use Kwan Sau 綑手 we then need to know how to use Gaan Sau 挌手.  When practicing the wooden dummy we use these two techniques in every section. Gaan Sau and Kwan Sau  I like bothers. Kwan Sau comes from the Inside to defend our centre and Gaan Sau comes […]

Step Back 3 Times If during Chi Sau黐手 our partner is using a lot of force that we cannot control, the correct thing to do is step back. However, there is a limit to stepping back. We should not step back more than three times, otherwise the opponent will be able to predict our movements […]

Punching Fast When studying Wing Chun there are many people who like to punch very fast, because Wing Chun is a fast skill. However, if we punch very fast, it does not actually mean that we can reach our opponents quickly. Bruce Lee said, “Boards don’t hit back!”  This is quite true. Wooden boards and concrete […]

Can’t Step Back Many people have said to me they have been told that Wing Chun does not step backwards. I have never heard that. My Sifu, Ip Chun 師父葉準, has never said that, and when he does Chi Sau 黐手 he always steps backwards more than forwards. So many people have said it to me though, but I cannot imagine when in a fight we cannot step backwards.  Imagine a […]

Holding on to a Seniors Hand A lot of people when they are doing Chi Sau黐手with someone who is more senior than them, like to grab and hold onto the seniors hand. This is a bad habit and all bad habits die hard. We must not get into bad habit when doing Chi Sau when […]

Toes Out, Heels In We can easily just focus on our hands during Chi Sau, really we should focus more on our legs and this is the key to good Chi Sau. If we watch people doing Chi Sau, but instead of watching their hands you watch their legs, we can see who is good […]

Bad Posture During Chi Sau黐手 there are some students who do not keep a good posture, most of them hunch their back because they are trying to keep their elbows in it and it is an easy mistake to arch the back.  This is wrong and we should not allow our elbow position to affect keeping our back straight. If the back is not straight then we […]

Step Back If our opponent makes us tense what should we do? The answer is we should use a foot work to step back and keep a distance so that they cannot get close to us. During double hand Chi Sau,  a lot of students do not know what to do when they are attacked  and their opponents Taan Sau攤手 or […]

Make your opponent Tense. I have come across many people who try and pull their hands out when they have been grabbed. This is also a very bad Chi Sau黐手 technique as the more you try to pull your hand out the more tension you will create in the body and the more tense you […]

Holding the Hands In Chi Sau黐手 there are some bad hand techniques that will not lead us to a high level of skill. Some people feel afraid when they Chi Sau with seniors and this makes then tense and use a lot of strength and grab hold of the senior’s hand. This is a very […]

Teui Ma 退馬 – pt 2 As we looked at last time, Teui Ma退馬 is the way of stepping backwards. When we step back we must never step back in a straight line, we must step back at an angle so your opponent cannot catch you. We can step back, to the left or the right, we […]

7 Star Footwork 七星步法 When training Tsum Kiu (Chahm Kiuh)尋橋, we should concentrate on footwork as this is the main purpose of Tsum Kiu. In the form we are introduced to Jyun Ma轉馬, Waahng Ma橫馬and Jeun Ma進馬. However in Wing Chun training there are 7 different kinds of footwork which I gave names to in […]

Dai Bong低膀 and Taan Sau 攤手 In Tsum Kiu in the sequence where do Dai Bon we also do Taan Sau. Do you know why we need to do it like this?  No matter whether it is a normal Bong Sau膀手 or a Dai Bong Sau, it can be vulnerable to someone using Tok Sau托手. […]

Dai Bong低膀 When we are practising Tsum Kiu尋橋, whilst doing Jeun Ma進馬 we also use Dai Bong and Taan Sau攤手. This is the section after we do Dang Geuk蹬脚 and we start to walk using the Jeun Ma. The Dai Bong is unusual as it is strong whereas generally Bong Sau is soft, in particular the […]

Dang Geuk 蹬脚 The second kick in Tsum Kiu尋橋 is Dang Geuk,  this means straight bouncing out kick.  It is like Jung Kuen衝拳, Wing Chun’s punch. This kick comes before Jeun Ma轉馬  and after we turn the body we lift the leg then kick out. That kicking out movement we call Dang蹬 in Chinese. When we use Dang Geuk the standing leg is […]

Feet Together In Tsum Kiu the sequence of Jeun Ma進馬, Taan Sau攤手, Dai Bong 低膀手 ends with both feet together after the 3 steps. Many people ask what this is for. The answer is actually it has no meaning it just makes the form tidy and neat. We should never put our feet together if we have to […]