Wing Chun Kuen Idioms

Yiu Kuet (Yao Jue, Important Rhymed Forumulae), commonly referred to as Kuen Kuit (Quan Jue, Fist Rhymed Formulae) when exclusive to the boxing elements, are sets of characters handed down from the ancestors, intended to share insight into the training and application of the Wing Chun Kuen system. Classically, they are grouped into pairs of four or five characters each (though there are some single, and some with less or more characters). While some are unique to Wing Chun Kuen, some are found in other systems, and some are found in the culture in general (descending from classics like Sun Zi's Art of War). Bong Baat Ting Lao Dik Yaat Yee Dong Jong Sum Yim Hong Kuen Yao Sum Faat (Sao Yao Sum Faat) Lien Siu Dai Da Loi Lao Hoi Sung Lut Sao Jik Jong (Fung Lut Jik Jong) Sien Faat Jai Yan Yan Si Yee Gong Yao Ying Da Ying Mo Ying Da Yieng Yao Yieng Juk Lao Mo Yieng Po Jung Yee Sao Wai Gong Yee Gong Wai Sao

Bong Baat Ting Lao

Bong Baat Ting Lao (Bang Bu Ting Liu) breaks down as follows: Bong represents 'side of flesh' and means 'shoulder, or wing'; Baat represents 'bird rising to heaven' and means 'no, or not'; Ting represents the 'person resting at a pavillion', and means, 'stop'; Lao represents 'stopping like a barred door in a water-channeled field' and means means 'to remain, stay, detain, or delay'. Together, they mean 'wing does not stop or stay'.

Dik Yaat Yee Dong

Dik Yaat Yee Dong (Di Yi Yi Dong) breaks down as follows: Dik represents 'strike with mouth above emperor' and means 'enemy'; Yaat represents 'one'; Yee represents 'many rice plants', and means, 'move, shift, or change'; Dong represents a 'heavy strength', and means 'do, act, or move'. Yee Dong means, 'shift or move' Together, they mean 'enemy moving', or 'enemy shifting'.

Jung Sum Yim Hong

Jung Sum Yim Hong (Zhong Xin Yi Kong) breaks down as follows: Jung represents 'line bisecting an enclosure' and means means 'center or middle'; Sum represents the 'heart', and by extension, 'feelings, mind, intent, middle, or center'; Jung Sum means 'balance or center

of gravity'. Yim represents a variant of 'snake' and means 'stop or already'. Hong represents 'whole in work' and means 'empty, air, space'. Together, they mean 'balance is already empty'.

Kuen Yao Sum Faat

(Sao Yao Sum Faat)
Kuen Yao Sum Faat (Quan You Xin Fa) breaks down as follows: Kuen represents 'the hand rolled up' and means 'fist, or boxing'; Yao has come to mean 'from, by, cause, or reason'; Sum represents the 'heart', and by extension, 'feelings, mind, intent, middle, or center'; Faat represents a 'bow opening a path beneath the feet', and means 'to shoot, launch, issue, distribute, become, or occur'. Together, they mean 'the fist launches from the center', 'boxing comes from intent', 'punch by shooting the center (of gravity)', etc. One variation, rather than using kuen, uses sao (shou), which represents 'the hand' and can also imply 'techniques', and gives the meaning 'techniques come from the center'.

Lien Siu Dai Da

Lien Siu Dai Sa (Lian Xiao Dai Da) breaks down as follows: Lien represents 'carts moving' and means 'connect, join, or successive'; Siu represents 'smaller embodiment of water' and means 'cancel, dispel, vanish, disappear'; Dai represents 'cloth bound by a pendant belt' and means 'belt, sash, band, to carry, or to bring'; Da represents 'nailing with hand' and means 'to hit, punch, fight, or do'. Together, they mean 'join cancelling to bring hitting' (often translated as 'simultaneous offense and defense').

Loi Lao Hoi Sung

Loi Lao Hoi Sung (Lai Liu Qu Song) breaks down as follows: Loi represents 'wheat' but has come to mean 'to come, or arrive'; Lao represents 'stopping like a barred door in a waterchanneled field' and means means 'to remain, stay, detain, or delay'; Hoi represents 'an (altered) person lacking in straight-forwardness' and means "to go, or remove"; Sung represents 'the merged stepping and stopping of movement around the dowry given to slaves' and means 'to give, to escort, to accompany or to send off.' Together, they mean 'stay with what comes, send off what goes', 'detain what arrives, escort what is removed', etc.

Lut Sao Jik Jong

(Fung Lut Jik Jong)
Lut Sao Jik Jong (Shuai Shou Zhi Chong) breaks down as follows: Lut represents a derivative of ' use' to suggest 'disposal' and means 'to throw off, leave behind, or set free';

Sao represents 'the hand' and is extended to 'the arm'; Jik represents 'ten eyes seeing nothing hidden', and means 'straight forward'; Jong represents 'serious marching' and means 'to charge, or thrust'. Together, they mean 'the free hand charges straight forward'. A variation uses fung (feng), which represents 'moving and meeting', to give the meaning 'when set free, charge straight forward'.

Sien Faat Jai Yan

Sien Faat Jai Yan (Xian Fa Zhi Ren) breaks down as follows: Sien represents 'progress with the feet' and means 'First, before'; Faat represents a 'bow opening a path beneath the feet', and means 'to shoot, launch, issue, distribute, become, or occur'; Jai represents 'chopping a large tree with a knife' and means 'chop, overpower, control'; Yan represents 'a person'. Together, they mean 'move first to gain initiative'.
Note: This, along with its pair (Yan See Yee Gong), is said to trace back to Sun Zi's Art of War and has become a fairly common Chinese idiom in general.

Yan Si Yee Gong

Yan Si Yee Gong (Yin Shi Er Gong) breaks down as follows: Yan represents 'A person surrounded' and means 'because, reason, basis, according to'; Si represents 'sun with developed laws', and means 'time, hour'; Yee represents 'a beard' and indicates 'effect, means'; Gong represents 'work and strike' and means 'attack'. Together, they mean 'because timing effects the attack', or 'attack according to timing'.
Note: This, along with its pair (Sien Faat Jai Yan), is said to trace back to Sun Zi's Art of War and has become a fairly common Chinese idiom in general.

Yao Ying Da Ying

Yao Ying Da Ying (You Xing Da Xing) breaks down as follows: Yao represents 'right hand grabbing (altered) meat' and means 'to have, possess, exist'; Ying represents 'lines of equal height' and means 'shape or form'; Da represents 'nailing with hand' and means 'to hit, punch, fight, or do'; Ying, the second time, is a repeat of the first. Together, they mean 'have shape, hit shape'.

Mo Ying Da Yieng
Mo Ying Da Yieng (Wu Xing Da Ying) breaks down as follows: Mo represents, in its later form, 'forest destroyed by a multitude of people' and means 'not, no, without'; Ying represents 'lines of equal height' and means 'shape or form'; Da represents 'nailing with hand' and means 'to hit, punch, fight, or do'; Yieng represents 'shape like the scenic sun above the hill' and means 'shadow or impression'. Together, they can mean 'no shape, strike impression'.

Yao Ying Juk Lao

Yao Ying Juk Lao (You Ying Xu Lui) breaks down as follows: Yao represents 'right hand grabbing (altered) meat' and means 'to have, possess, exist'; Yieng represents 'shape like the scenic sun above the hill' and means 'shadow or impression'; Juk represents 'thread outward purchase' and means 'continue, renew, extend'; Lao represents 'stopping like a barred door in a water-channeled field' and means means 'to remain, stay, detain, or delay'.Together, they mean 'have impression, continue to stay'.

Mo Yieng Po Jung
Mo Yieng Po Jung (Wu Ying Po Zhong) breaks down as follows: Mo represents, in its later form, 'forest destroyed by a multitude of people' and means 'not, no, without'; Yieng represents 'shape like the scenic sun above the hill' and means 'shadow or impression'; Po represents 'stones and the hand-held hide of an animal' and means 'break or cleave'; Jung represents 'line bisecting an enclosure' and means means 'center or middle'. Together, they mean 'no impression, cleave the center'.

Yee Sao Wai Gong

Yee Sao Wai Gong (Yi Shou Wei Gong) breaks down as follows: Yi represents 'inverted stop' and means 'continue, use, according to'; Sao represents 'house of laws', and means 'defend, guard'; Wai represents 'a female monkey' and indicates 'do, serve as, act as, become, for'; Gong represents 'work and strike' and means 'attack'. Together, they mean 'use defense as offense'.
Note: This, along with its pair (Yee Gong Wai Sao) is a fairly common Chinese idiom in general, analogus to the Western 'the best defense is a good offense'.

Yee Gong Wai Sao

Yee Gong Wai Sao (Yi Gong Wei Shou) breaks down as follows: Yi represents 'inverted stop' and means 'continue, use, according to'; Gong represents 'work and strike' and means 'attack'; Wai represents 'a female monkey' and indicates 'do, serve as, act as, become, for'; Sao represents 'house of laws', and means 'defend, guard'. Together, they mean 'use offense as defense'.
Note: This, along with its pair (Yee Sao Wai Gong) is a fairly common Chinese idiom in general, analogus to the Western 'the best offense is a good defense'.