Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu
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| Also known as | TWC |
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| Focus | Striking |
| Country of origin |  China |
| Creator | Yip Man?? |
| Parenthood | Wing Chun |
| Official website | www.cheungswingchun.com |
| Part of the series on Chinese martial arts |
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| List of Chinese martial arts |
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Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu (TWC) is a style of the Chinese martial art Wing Chun. It is claimed to be the authentic, more effective version of Wing Chun taught exclusively to Grand Master William Cheung by Yip Man.[citation needed] GM Cheung claims it is superior to the conventional Wing Chun system, referred to by GM William Cheung as "modified Wing Chun".
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[edit] History
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According to "Grand Master" William Cheung (Cheung Cheuk Hing), the person responsible for the divergence between traditional and modified Wing Chun was grandmaster Leung Jan who lived two generations before Yip Man. Leung Jan taught Wing Chun to his two sons and also his neighbour Chan Wah Shun. Leung feared that the bigger and stronger Chan would try to claim the Wing Chun lineage after Leung's death. Thus, Leung taught him a modified, less effective version while reserving the pure, traditional form for his sons. Chan surprisingly still defeated the two sons and assumed Grand-Mastership of the Wing Chun lineage.
Yip Man eventually became Chan's student. Yip Man learned from Chan for four years before moving to Hong Kong to study at college. There he encountered a kung fu practitioner who revealed his identity as Leung Jan's surviving son, Leung Bik. Leung Bik claimed there had been a divergence in Wing Chun teachings and he then taught Yip Man what he called the "traditional" Wing Chun system.
Yip Man would eventually open his own Wing Chun school. As Cheung insists, Yip Man decided to pass on the system to one student only.[citation needed] Yip Man taught the claimed "modified" version to his students (Which includes Bruce Lee And Ip Man's sons Ip Chun and Ip Ching) and chose to teach the "traditional" version to "Grand Master" Cheung.[citation needed]
[edit] Characteristics and principles
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[edit] Stance
The difference of "Traditional" Wing Chun to the claimed "modified" Wing Chun is its fighting stance. According to Master Cheung, a fighter from the "Traditional" Wing Chun system faces his opponent fully with his toes pointed inwards and fights square on, attacking straight forward down the opponents middle or centre line. Modified Wing Chun has sideways stance with a lead leg and a rear leg. However, both hands remain ambidextrous and equidistant from the opponent, and a position is taken up to the outside of the opponent's leading elbow referred to as the blind side to aid in controlling the opponents balance while at the same time allowing for counterattacking.
The sideways stance has two advantages: increased mobility and a protected groin. "Traditional" Wing Chun, it is claimed, emphasizes structural stability. Bridging the gap to the opponent is achieved by "shuffling" forward. The soles of the feet are in constant contact with the ground so that balance is not compromised. In contrast, "Modified" Wing Chun compromises stability for interruptibility of the footwork, and the feet are picked up and placed down ball of the foot first, allowing for change of direction at any point during the step. Also, in the "Modified" Wing Chun stance, the groin is protected by the lead leg, making it less vulnerable to a centrally-rising kick.
[edit] "Central line" theory
Traditional Wing Chun includes an additional line of reference besides the conventional Wing Chun center line, entitled the central line. In the claimed "modified" Wing Chun, the center line is an imaginary line that bisects the human body lengthwise, cutting through vital areas such as the heart, groin, solar plexus, nose and face. Protecting and attacking from the center line becomes the imperative on which Modified Wing Chun's offensive/defensive techniques are derived.
"Traditional" Wing Chun's central line is slightly different. The central line is any area in front of the torso where both hands may be crossed. It is within this area (or gate) that attacks are greeted and counter-attacks launched. The proposed advantage of the central line is that the practitioner's vital centre line is pointed away from incoming attacks whilst retaining the ambidextrous use of both hands. Footwork is of paramount importance as the "Traditional" Wing Chun fighter will stay out of line of the opponents force but keep the opponent within this functional central line area where both hands can still be used for simultaneous attack and defense. The diagonal stance also allows the rear leg to be used for additional structural support against particularly forceful attacks.
[edit] Current practitioners
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010) |
Grand Master William Cheung's base is located in Melbourne Australia and in Mt. laurel, NJ, in the US. Some of Grand Master Chuengs' most notable students have sinced move on from the organization, however five American Traditional Wing Chun Provisional Masters (levels ranking above a gold sash Sifu) exist. Keith Mazza - New Jersey, Victor Parlati- New York and Virginia Beach,Jerry Bolding - Kansas, Phillip Redmond - New Jersey, and William Beck - Pennsylvania continue to practise and teach the art form. There are Sifus who teach in locations around the world. Some practitioners of the claimed "modified" Wing Chun systems who left their system in order to study directly under Grand Master Cheung and teach this version of wing chun include Brian Lewadny, Phillip Redmond and Victor Parlotti , the latter being a top student directly under Moy Yat tutelage. As of November 25, 2007, the only closed-door students of William Cheung are Keith Mazza and Phillip Redmond and perhaps his son Andrew Chueng.[citation needed]
[edit] Controversy
It is claimed that Yip Man's considerable skill increase after training with Leung Bik validates both the existence of the Traditional Wing Chun system and its superiority to the claimed "modified" Wing Chun. However, Yip Man family Wing Chun practitioners have accused William Cheung of inventing this historical divergence in order to legitimize his own modifications as "secret" elements of Wing Chun. Since the only other possible source of corroboration of Cheung's claims would have been Yip Man himself, it will never be known whether or not Cheung's version of events is true or not. Regardless, of its origin, when analyzing the effectiveness of the traditional Wing Chun method it can be considered a powerful approach to fighting. And in Martial Arts isn't that all that truly matters? However the ontological controversy between traditional and conventional Wing Chun will thus likely continue.
[edit] Further reading
- Thomas, B. (1994) "Appendix II: Wing Chun - And Beyond" from Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit. London: Pan Macmillan, pp. 341-343
- Chu, R. (no date) "Traditional" and "Modified" [1] from ChuSauLei.Com Martial Arts (website), accessed August 17, 2005
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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