Chinese kung fu fans

By the start of the 17th century there was great turmoil
brewing in the country and there was also unrest between
the 5 elders at Shaolin.
In (1644), the Manchus invaded China and ruled it with an
iron fist for nearly 300 years. The Manchus were well
aware of the skills of the Shaolin monks and their
sympathy for refugees. The 5 elders (were Taoist and
Buddhists monks) of the Shaolin temple around this
period were:
Abbot Jee Shin – Shaolin Iron Cloth – (Iron Head Qi Gong
master, Kung Fu expert, wooden dummy expert and
weapons expert) was the creator of Wing Chun Kung Fu
and the founder of Hung Gar and Praising spring boxing,.
Bai Mei – Golden Bell Iron Body – (Iron Body Qi Gong
master) was the founder of White Eyebrow Kung Fu.
Fong Sai Yuk, (famous swordsman) was the founder of
White Tiger Kung Fu.
Miu Hin, (was not an ordained monk, but was a Kung Fu
elder) was the founder of Five Shape boxing and helped in
developing Wing Chun
Ng Mui, (buddhist nun, Bil Gee master and Dim Mak
expert) helped develop the practical aspects of Wing Chun
Kung Fu, founded Dragon shape boxing and Wu Mei
boxing.
One of the 5 elders, Bai Mei, left the temple because of his
mistreatment and sought revenge. He offered his services
to the Ching and then taught them the Shaolin way of
fighting. Abbot Jee Shin realized this and conferred with
the other 3 to develop a system that the enemy was not
aware of and use it to assassinate the enemy. The monks
decided to pick the best fighting qualities from the 5
Shaolin systems being taught at the temple, eliminate all
the unnecessary moves which were for demonstrative
purposes and create an efficient killing art. This system
became known as Wing Chun.

Before the practical aspects of this new system could be
completed, Bai Mei and the Manchus invaded the Shaolin
temple and razed it to the ground. Of the 1000 or so
monks residing at the temple, only about 30 or 40
escaped. The rest were killed, jailed and tortured. The
remaining 4 elders also escaped and fled south.
Abbot Jee Shin relocated at Fujian Shaolin temple, which
was also destroyed. After this, Jee Shin escaped and
roamed the countryside spreading the word of Wing Chun
to ” kill the ching and restore the ming”. He finally joined
the Red Junk Opera troupe as a cook.
Ng Mui went south and developed Wing Chun on Tai Lang
mountain with Yim Wing Chun. Yim Wing Chun and the
infamous Red Junk Opera troupe were to later meet up
with Abbot Jee Shin and develop Wing Chun Kung Fu
further.
Miu Hin returned to civilization in Guangdong Province.
Fong Sai Yuk fled and took refuge on Wu Dang Mountain
in the Hubei Province. Originally, the Wing Chun Kung Fu
system consisted of butterfly swords, dart knives and Dim
Mak (pressure point killing). The dragon pole, and the
classical forms as we know them today were introduced
into the system during the infamous Red Junk Opera
period. The opera troupe’s famous trio were Wong Wah Bo
(dragon pole), Leung lan Kwai and Leung Yee Tai.
Leung Yee Tai’s successor was the famous herbalist Dr.
Leung Jan who had 2 sons. One of his sons, Leung Bik
passed on the traditional aspects of the Wing Chun
system to Grandmaster Yip Man. Yip Man’s first teacher
was Chan Wa Shun. Yip fled to Hong Kong after the
Communist takeover where he met Leung Bik. Yip Man
was the first person to really teach Wing Chun Kung Fu to
the Asian general public in Hong Kong. Bruce Lee in
America and William Cheung in Australia, during the 70′s,
were the first people to teach Wing Chun Kung Fu to non-
Asian people.

Beginner Level
Practitioners first learn about the centre line theory.
1) The centre is the shortest line between you and your
opponent use it for efficiency and speed
2) There are many weak points located on the centre line
so protect yours and attack his
3) Always keep your centre in line with your opponents
before an engagement, do not allow him to get onto your
blind side
4) As well as staying square on to your opponent try to
stay in fist range where your Wing Chun fists works best.
At the early stage of training the student will learn basic
footwork and the 1st form Sil Lim Toa, (Little Idea). This
form teaches all the basic hand positions essential for
effectiveness at close range. Once the student developed
a good understanding of Sil Lim Toa he can move on to
sensitivity training known as Chi Sau (Sticky hands).
Intermediate Level
Chi Sau is a very important part in the development of
Wing Chun. In close range fighting you will always come
in contact with your opponents arms, when this happens
what will you do?
1) Will you disengage to attack again?
2) Will you hold on to him and call for your friends to
assist?
3) Or will use that contact to get past his lead and
through his defence?
Chi Sau helps you to achieve the third. In Wing Chun
contact is not a problem in close range, because Chi Sau
teaches the practitioner to be very fluent at close range
when the arms are in contact. Once this has developed,
the fist fighting ability becomes second to none. Chi Sau
training also helps develop footwork skills, which are
essential when at close range. You can have good hands

but if your feet are no good your will get hit, due to bad
positioning.
Upper Intermediate Level
Chum Kui is the second form, this teaches how to coordinate
the hands and feet. Unlike the first form kicks
and steps are practised, and both hands are taught to
move at the same time. Chum Kui means hand or arm
searching, the movements in this form teach us
techniques that can be used to find the opponents lead
when there is no contact. Once his lead is found and
engaged he is in the Wing Chun mans domain.
At this stage weapon training is incorporated with
unarmed combat training, semi and full contact sparring.
It is important for the practitioner to develop in practical
ability, for now he has the essentials in hand and foot
movements. The practitioner should put them all together
when they spar.
Advanced Level
The Wooden Dummy techniques consist of 116
movements. There are many different concepts to the use
of the Dummy. My teacher, the Grandmaster Yip Chun,
has taught me that the main purpose of the Dummy is to
develop footwork at close range, monitoring your
opponents lead foot and to keep contact with the
opponents arm when moving from front position to forty
five angle side position and back again. The Dummy
relates to all the previous training but with this form you
now have something to make contact to which is
important considering a close range fighter will be in arms
range seventy five percent of the time.
Instructor Level
Bil Jee (Thrusting Fingers), also known as desperation
form. This form teaches you to do fatal damage. It
consists of elbow strikes and spear like finger strikes, to
the soft parts of our opponent; e.g. eyes, throat, nose,

temple, floating ribs and others I shall not mention at this
time. The techniques should only be used as a last resort.
After the Bil Jee has been completed an instructor will be
taught Lok Dim Boon Kwon, (Wing Chun Long Pole), and
Bart Chum Do, (Wing Chun Butterfly Knives). Once
mastered the Wing Chun system is complete.