Kung Fu (Wing Chun)
Wing Chun Kung Fu (also known as Wing Tsun and Ving Tsun) is a Chinese martial art using both striking and grappling as a form of self defence.
Origins
Wing Chun is thought to date back to the 1800s in China, although its exact origins have always been a bit of a mystery.
The following extract concerning the origins of Wing Chun has been borrowed from Wikipedia:
The common legend as told by Yip Man involves the young woman Yim Wing-chun, (Wing Chun literally means 'forever springtime' or 'praising spring',) at the time after the destruction of the Southern Shaolin Temple and its associated temples by the Qing government:
After Yim Wing-Chun rebuffed the local warlord's marriage offer, she said she'd reconsider his proposal if he could beat her in a fight. She soon crossed paths with a Buddhist nun - Ng Mui, who was one of the Shaolin Sect survivors, and asked the nun to teach her fighting. The legend goes that Ng Mui taught Yim Wing-Chun a new system of martial art that had been inspired by Ng Mui's observations of a confrontation between a Snake and a Crane; this then-still nameless style enabled Yim Wing Chun to beat the warlord in a one-on-one fight. Yim Wing-Chun thereafter married Leung Bac-Chou and taught him the style, which was later named after her.
Since the system was developed during the Shaolin and Ming resistance to the Qing Dynasty, many legends about the creator of Wing Chun were spread to confuse enemies, including the story of Yim Wing Chun. This perhaps explains why no one has been able to accurately determine the creator or creators of Wing Chun.
Cirriculum
Wing Chun practitioners learn a mixture of forms (which vary depending on the lineage of the school), hand strikes, kicks, as well as training with wooden dummies and weapons.
Weapons
A number of weapons are used by Wing Chun practitioners, but the most traditional weapons used in the art are:
- Long Pole
- Chinese Bufferfly Knives
Trivia
- Bruce Lee is by far the most famous student of Wing Chun Kung Fu. He learnt Wing Chun originally, before forming his own martial art Jeet Kune Do.
For more information please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Chun
Author: The Bear Martial Arts Team
