Weak overcomes strong,

Soft overcomes hard.

Everyone knows this,
No one attains it.
- Section 78, Tao Te Ching
by Sage Lao Tzu, 6th century BC
1

The Art and Science of Practical Wing Chun:

Unlocking Your Internal Energy
1. Origins of Wing Chun
Wing Chun is a traditional Chinese martial art form said to have been founded by a
Shaolin nun by the name of Ng Mei () in the 1700s. Legend has it she passed it on
to a young lady, Yim Wing Chun (), but other versions say that there were two
generations between the two of them. Whichever the case, Yim Wing Chun as legend
has it used the techniques she had learned to beat a local bully who tried to force her
to marry her. The origin and story of Wing Chun has been passed down by word of
mouth over many generations and hence the story is not necessarily accurate down to
the exact detail.
The underlying focus of this form has always been on effective self-defense based on
economy of motion. The image of a physically weaker woman conquering a physically
stronger man in unarmed combat is at the heart of the underlying principles of the
system. It is not brute force, but rather soft power and correct application of the various
techniques contained in the style that allow the Wing Chun practitioner to gain the
upper hand in a fight. In skills and techniques the word art as in martial arts takes
its true meaning. This is the same as in Sun Tzes Art of War. There is no need to study
techniques and skills if war is fought only through brute force. We can proudly say that
Practical Wing Chun is one martial art form which truly puts the philosophy of Lao
Tzu, as quoted above, into practice.

As translated by S. Addiss and S. Lombardo, 1993

1

2. The Lineage
1. Shao Lin Era

Ng Mei ()

Yim Wing Chun ()

Leung Bok Chao ()

(A Few Generations In Between)

2. Hung Suen Era*

Wong Wah Bo ()

3. Fatsan Era

Leung Yee Tei ()

Leung Jan ()

Leung Bi ()

Chan Yu Mint
()

Chan Wah Shun ()

Ng Chun So ()

Others

Ip Man ()

Others

4. Hong Kong Era**

Bruce Lee

Wong Sheung Leung

Many Others

Actual Instructor

Wan Kam Leung

Created
Practical Wing Chun
and
incorporated Qiong

* It is an era where Wong Wah Bo met Leung Yee Tei met on a red junk which went around offering opera performances. Together
they studied and spread Wing Chun.
**Grand Master Ip Man moved to Hong Kong during 1949, started this era.

3. Sifu Wan Kam Leung and Practical Wing Chun

Wan Kam Leung Sifu () was born 1945 in Bao An () county in
Guangdong province. He went to Hong Kong in 1959, and started learning Wing Chun.
He learnt from Sigung Wong Sheung Leung (), the outstanding student of grand
master Ip Man (). Sigung Wong was nicknamed King of Talking Hands ()
in Hong Kong, as he was always eager to spar with martial arts practitioners from
Wing Chun or other schools, despite having only a body weight of 55 kg and a height of
165 cm. Sigung Wong also was the Siheng teaching Bruce Lee, as grand master Ip Man
was already advanced in age when Bruce Lee registered to learn under him. Bruce Lee
kept in contact with Sigung Wong after he became famous and they were regular
sparing partners. Grand Master Wan learnt a lot by bearing witness to the sparring and
discussions of these two world-class martial artists. During 1975/1976, Grand Master
Wan went to China to learn Qigong from a few masters, which he incorporated into
Wing Chun.
Grand Master Wan made a living as a taxi driver as he promised Sigung Wong Sheung
Leung that he would not open a school while the latter was alive. After Sigung Wong
passed away in 1997, Grand Master Wan was urged to start his own studio to teach. He
has now over 10,000 students all over the world.
Over 53 years of practicing Wing Chun on a daily basis, through sparring with fellow
Wing Chun practitioners as well as with those from other martial arts, Grand Master
Wan creatively developed a modified style of Wing Chun around 1995 which he called
Practical Wing Chun (). Sigung Wong Sheung Leung put his stamp of
approval on these innovations, by presenting Grand Master Wan with the only Senior
Instructor Certificate he ever awarded, even advancing the art of Wing Chun.
Traditional Wing Chun was refined to become more logical and effective, complying
with theories of mechanics and geometry, based on detailed knowledge of human body
structure. Shanghai Club is the latest addition of schools recognised by Grand Master
Wan to promote health, fitness and self-defense skills of the participants.
4. An Overview of the Practical Wing Chun System
When starting to learn the Practical Wing Chun, the student is taught three unarmed
forms each with its own underlying concept and involving a number of individual
techniques. The first form is Siu Lim Tao (, or Small Ideas Form), which consists
of 35 basic techniques. Chum Kiu (, or Sinking Bridge Form) is the second form,
with 29 basic techniques. The third form is called Biu Jee (, or Thrusting Fingers
form), which has 34 basic techniques. These techniques can be practiced either

individually or together with a training partner. Alongside the forms, the student is also
introduced to the underlying concepts of the system, such as the five centerlines,
keeping the body soft and relaxed and the importance of keeping knee and elbow joints
at a correct angle. The 3 basic forms are to Practical Wing Chun what the 26 alphabets
are to the English language, ie, the basic building blocks.
After mastering the 26 letters, one can start to combine these into words and sentences.
Similarly in Wing Chun, when the three forms have been mastered, the student is
taught the wooden dummy form (), where the techniques from the first three
forms are used on a wooden dummy, in order to perfect and develop the students
body structure, precision, timing and the ability to deliver power. Also there is an
unique system of sparring called Chi Sau (), by which Wing Chun practitioners can
practice with each other. So wooden dummy serves the purpose of fixing and perfecting
the forms learnt whilst through Chi Sau one learns and practices the combinations of
the basic movements. First through conscious effort, then through a lot of Chi Sau, the
Wing Chun practitioners become spontaneous in reacting to attacks, much like the
process of learning to drive. Chi Sau is a quite safe but still a very challenging way of
sparring where the students with a minimal risk of injury can put their skills and
techniques to test.
Finally there are two armed forms, namely the six and half point pole () and
eight cutting knives () .
In summary, the whole system consists of:

Three unarmed forms: Siu Lim Tao, Chum Kiu and Biu Jee
Wooden dummy
Six and half point pole
Eight cutting knives

5. Qigong)
Sifu Wan is known as a Practical Wing Chun master, but he is also a master in Qigong,
which is unique amongst all the other Wing Chun masters. Qigong can be divided into
3 kinds: internal (), externaland a combination of both (), each with
their unique benefits. Qigong can be practiced to supplement Practical Wing Chun, but
it can also be learnt entirely separately, in its own right. Much more could be said on the
subject of Qigong, but it would be outside the scope of this short presentation. Qigong
is a vast field of its own, and also one where further research is still needed in order to
understand it better.

6. Testimonies on Practical Wing Chun

Wing Chun Kung Fu is making its way into the mainstream. Nicolas Cage and Robert
Downey Jr. number themselves among the students. Over the years, Master Wan Kam
Leung has taught thousands, amongst them famous martial arts actors, business
owners, top managers, financial professionals, and of course specialists from other
martial art forms including from other branches of Wing Chun.
1) Sabumnim Allan Bjrk Pedersen
Danish, 4th degree black belt WTF Taekwondo
Medalist in national and international tournaments
By a coincidence, I discovered the Wan Kam Leung Practical Wing Chun Kung-Fu system. It was
completely different from any of my previous training, and I was quickly very excited about this
system presented to me. Everything was well explained, back up with theoretical physics and make
perfectly sense too me. The Wan Kam Leung Practical Wing Chun Kung-Fu system is the most
thought through martial arts system I have ever encountered, every technique is useful and can be
applied in one or several ways. Grandmaster Wan Kam Leung is a very innovative man, always
seeks to improving his combat system, and not afraid to change or remove the things that do not
work quite wellI have been a martial artist for about 25 years, and this system is one of the most
effective and useful martial arts I have ever seen.

2) Sifu Benno Wai

Dutch, Kyokushin karate () champion
I have trained in several Martial Arts systems during my younger years. I have lived and trained
Aikido in Japan, I have been several times National and European Champion in Tae Kwon-do. I
also won several Kyokushin full-contact Championships. But I have never come across a such
effective way of Self Defense system as the Practical Wing Chun system of GM Wan Kam Leung.
Even though I went through two different Wing Chun systems before it was GM Wan Kam Leung
who showed me the superiority of his evolutionary Wing Chun system.

3) Jeff Lebod
American, Vice President Asia Pacific, Quantum Corporation
I have practiced martial arts for most of my adult life. For the last 20 years I have spent time
practicing Aikido, Jujitsu, Karate, Chinese Wushu and most recently Practical Wing Chun.

Although each martial art offers much to learn in terms of discipline, respect, self protection and
mental/physical training, I was really struck by the practicality and the scientific approach of
Practical Wing Chun. Practical Wing Chun has taken the art out of martial arts and turned it
into a scientific approach to self defense. Each and every movement is broken down to its most
efficient and effective form while still honoring the art of Wing Chun. I find the training incredibly
useful, interesting and always engaging and hope to continue my training well into the future. For
those interested in the fastest way to effective self defense, this is really the way to go.
4) Per Nordstrom
Swedish, Head Capital Markets Asia SEB Bank Hong Kong
What attracted me to start studying Wing Chun was not only the superior reputation of Sifu Wan
Kam Leung but also the fact that Wing Chun is very different to any exercise I have done over the
last 30 years. I was looking for a new experience that would help me to improve on and off the
tennis court and I am very pleased with my findings so far. Having played tennis at an
international level my mind set has typically been short term result oriented: winning tennis
matches and a number one ranking have been measures of success. Its refreshing to study a
discipline which is more long term thinking and where your skills are measured differently.
After a few weeks of private instruction with Sifu Wan Kam Leung in Hong Kong I learnt that
many of the basic fundamentals in Wing Chun, such as balance, relaxation and the generation of
power can be transferred not only to tennis but certain aspects also to professional life.
I am looking forward to many years of studying with Sifu Wan Kam Leung and his instructors in
Hong Kong and I would recommend anyone regardless of background and purpose to study
Practical Wing Chun.

7. The Main Difference between Traditional Wing Chun and Practical Wing Chun
1. The distance in starting/standing stance ( )
2. 135 degree punch vs straight arm punch
3. Hitting with knuckles at 45 degree rather than with front of the fist.
4. 5 center lines vs one - the fifth center line (the spine of the fighter should remain
vertical at all stages of the fight) being the most critical.
5. Turning stances (), turning on heel ()instead of toes. For the avoidance of
doubt, this means fixing the heel and using it as a rotation point.
Not to mention many other subtle differences

Wing Chun insiders know that the above represent rather fundamental changes; one
can write a Masters thesis on the reasons and theories behind each of them. Unlike
many others who are obsessed with tradition and authenticity of Wing Chun (how Ip
Man taught them, how Wong Shun Leung taught them etc.), Sifu Wan adopts a
different attitude, respecting tradition while not being bound by it, recognizing that this
is the only way that science progresses. After all, if we are dogmatic about how Ip-Man
taught Wing Chun, who could prove how Yim Wing Chun taught them? And Ng Mei?
There is always somebody who created something first, and this process of creation and
innovation should not stop. Even today, the forms of Practical Wing Chun are still
evolving daily, towards becoming more rational, logical and effective. The quest to
perfection will never end. Many senior Wing Chun practitioners who practised other
styles for years converted to Master Wans Practical Wing Chun system after chance
meetings with him.

8. The Uniqueness of Practical Wing Chun as compared to Sports/ Other Forms

Practical Wing Chun is a self-defense technique with significant health benefits, for
everyday life, not a sport which is fought with a set of rules in designated places (for
instance Olympic Tae Kwon Do ring, or at the extreme a MMA/UFC cage). Highlights
of this form compared to others:
z Acquire life-long self-defense skills
The basic objective of Wing Chun is to equip its practitioners (of any age2 regardless of
sex, of physical composition) self-defense capabilities. Its starting assumption is always
that the practitioner is less powerful and has lower endurance levels (due to age, gender
or physical size) than his opponent.
Therefore, it is critically important that the purpose of self-defense is served through
minimum power, minimum movements and minimum distance within the shortest
possible amount of time. In real life setting, a fight will be over in five seconds aimed at
vital parts of the perpetrator, rather than sport which is made protracted by artificial
rules for entertainment (cf. typical Thai boxing 5 x 2 minute rounds). Practical Wing
Chun truly epitomises economy of motion and strokes amongst martial art forms.
z

Work from the foundations of deflection and diversion

However, it is best to start after one is 10 years old.

How you are trained is how you will behave Practical Wing Chun students are taught
to start most of the time with a deflecting/diverting3 hand, followed by two attacking
moves to subdue the opponent. We are not taught to be the aggressor starting an attack.
z Focus on acceleration
Newtons 2nd law of motion says Force = m x a, with m being mass, and a being
acceleration. Given the (often low) mass, the source of our force come from acceleration,
which can be had only when one is totally relaxed and soft. Combined movements also
increase acceleration, for instance the turning or the twist of the wrist at the end of a
strike (a good example being inch punch ().
z Achieve powerful body alignment
Practical Wing Chun does not use muscle and ligament strength (through contraction).
Rather it uses ones body structure to deliver power. Imagine tee-off in golf if one uses
power of hands and arms, the ball will not fly. If one instead relaxes all muscles and
uses the whole body structure as a pivot to swing, the ball will fly much further. This is
centrifugal force at work.
z Pursue mastery of 112 techniques
Becoming relaxed and soft is what makes the training process of Practical Wing Chun a
mental one, as it is somehow counter-intuitive. The challenge is, whilst there are only 3
basic motions in golf (swing, put and chip) there are close to 112 techniques6 in Practical
Wing Chun (and even more in traditional Wing Chun). Therefore, Practical Wing Chun
is in one respect a complicated and difficult martial art to grasp in its entirety; however
this is what makes it both challenging as well as intellectually interesting.
z Acquire basic competency quickly
Despite its complexity (described immediately above), Practical Wing Chun can in a
relatively short period of time provide an individual with the basic skills needed to be
able to handle an attack upon his/her person.
z Mastery allows small to beat big:
Once the technique is mastered, a person of average build can deliver much more
power than a physically bigger and stronger person. By way of an example, imagine the
difference in power of a jumped smash between a professional badminton player such
as World champion Mr. Lin Dan () and an average heavyweight boxer. Mr. Lin can
deliver a much more powerful smash than the heavyweight boxer, even though all

Insteadofblockingwhichbasicallymeansapplyingforceagainstforce.

Actually more, as Wing Chun is symmetrical starting from left hand to right. That fact that one can do one side does
not mean that one can do it from the other one will slowly realise how imbalanced ones body is before Wing Chun.

parts and muscles of the latter in isolation are much bigger and stronger than those of
the former. Power is within our bodies; Practical Wing Chun trains you to unlock it!
z Enjoy balanced body development
Practical Wing Chun takes a holistic approach to training body building in the sense
of training particular muscle groups in isolation is not recommended for the Practical
Wing Chun practitioner. There are no difficult acrobatic movements required as in
other martial art forms (such as high kicks in Taekwondo) and sudden twisting of the
spine (such as in BJJ or Judo); hence the style can be safely practiced by any average
person from mature age.
z Prepare for entry into Qigong training
Due to its nature, the logical next step for Practical Wing Chun training is Qigong.
Blending Qigong into Wing Chun is unique to Practical Wing Chun developed by
Master Wan. For those who have the aptitude and perseverance to go through the
learning process, Practical Wing Chun can deliver life-long health benefits.

9. Summary
Practical Wing Chun can be practiced at any age, without the risk of injuries. It can also
be practiced anytime anywhere (e.g. even inside airplanes and hotel rooms), with or
without a training partner, thereby making it an ideal martial art for frequent travelers.
The Practical Wing Chun student gets equipped with non-aggressive self-defense
abilities and can also choose to incorporate Qigong into his training, which brings
physical as well as mental well-being. While self-defense techniques can be acquired
within only a few months of training, most students go on to immerse themselves in
this fascinating system - and those studies can last a lifetime. The system is taught using
a well-formulated syllabus, where each step builds upon the previous and which
provides the student with logical and clear explanations for all techniques.
Practical Wing Chun and Sifu Wan Kam Leung has received a tremendous amount of
interest over the past years and has a large and rapidly growing number of schools and
dedicated students and teachers worldwide. The fact that Wing Chun through popular
culture and through the advocacy of various famous persons has become increasingly
well known to the wider public has also paved the way for the continuing future
development and growth of the martial art form in the future.