About

History

Wing Chun Kung fu was founded 400 years ago by a Buddhist nun, her name was Ng Mui, in the border region between Yunnan and Szechwan. It is said that she created this style while watching a snake and a crane in combat; some even say that it was a fox and a crane, but whether if this was true or a myth really doesn’t matter. The fundamentals of the story makes sense. For example, seeing two animals in combat could be interpreted as two styles in combat.

The Shaolin Temple was her home, and therefore she was highly proficient in the art of Kung fu. Her years of knowledge and also being quite intelligent, gave her new insights in the advancement of the martial systems. She passed the style on to a young woman by the name of Yim Wing Chun or (Tsun).

Now keep in mind that the art had no name prior to Wing Chun herself studying it. The art remained a secret passed down through various chosen students, such as Leung Bok Chau (the husband of Wing Chun), Leung Lan Kwai, who taught (Si-Kung) Wong Wah Bo, who taught Leung Yee Tai, who taught Dr. Leung Jan, who taught his sons Leung Bik, Leung Gee, Leung Tsun and Leung Ko. The art remained a close secret in the province of Fatshan. Chan Wah Shun was also a devout student of Leung Jan, and was the teacher of the Late Grandmaster Yip Man.

Sifu Steve McGowan

Sifu Steve McGowan began his study of American karate at the age of 9. One year later began his study of Wing Chun. He served in the Military for 7 years in the Ranger Battalion. Through the years of training, he practiced many styles of Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese arts, but his heart and roots remained Wing Chun. He has 33 years of experience and is a dedicated teacher in the art of simplicity.

Forms

Siu Nim Tau

Wing Chun consists of three forms. The first form is called the Siu Nim Tau which is the foundation form or the position form. It consists of 104 movements. Siu Nim Tau, translated in English means a little idea, the name may sound humble, but when applied in combat it’s anything but.

The form itself is divided into three parts. The first is the centre line. Since all of Wing Chun energy derives from the center, your body must be absolutely centered by standing in what Wing Chun practitioners call the Kim Yeung Mah stance, or inverted stance. Next the centerline punch or Chun can achieve maximum power and accuracy.

The second is the Kim Yeung Mah which enables you to stand firmly against your opponent’s pressure without losing balance, but the opponent’s own balance will be used against him. The stance itself takes only a short time to master, but when achieved you increase the offensive attack against your opponent with devastating speed and power.

The third one is breathing or chi. In the martial arts world, chi is most important in order to master the type of martial art that you are studying. Today we call this chi, stamina and self confidence. Without them you can neither defend nor attack. A fatigued fighter is a dead fighter. Keep that in mind. Siu Nim Tau is not just a hand form, but also a breathing form teaching you to regulate your breathing properly while attacking, or being attacked.

Chum Kiu

The Chum Kiu, or the asking hand, is the movement form of Wing Chun and consists of 115 moves. Where as Siu Nim Tau is a defensive form; Chum Kiu is an offensive form. Chum Kiu is divided into two parts.

The first part is the Kim Yeung Mah stance. Balance is essential as you learned earlier.

The second one is deflection. To achieve this, one must first learn the series of hand blocks. Two of the most important blocks in Wing Chun are called Tan sau meaning flat hand, and Bong sau or the side hand. These two alone can stop many types of attacks, setting the opponent up for a counter attack.

Biu Tze

The Bui Tze or darting fingers consists of 177 movements. It is the third and the most advanced form in Wing Chun. The old masters considered this form as the emergency form and wouldn’t teach it to any student unless it was seriously needed. It is mainly an offensive training form and consists of 2 parts:

  1. advance attacking techniques
  2. chi channeling

This will teach you to press the opponent with many types of offensive and defensive hand and feet techniques. The elbow or Park Jarn is also a vital tool in the Bui Tze arsenal. When used properly, the results are devastating. The kicks are primarily to the lower extremities such as the ankles, inner and outer kneecaps, the groin, pelvic area, the abdomen and the ribcage.

Lower kicks are the most powerful kicks and will cause serious injury to the opponent. The fingers are the hardest to develop, so rigorous finger strengthening is required by weights and striking hardened objects gradually to increase the power. The fingers mainly attack the soft tissue areas of the body such as the throat, eyes, abdominal, and groin area with devastating results. Please note these areas are the striking points or Dim Mak points, and can and will cause respiratory, or renal distress, even death.

Take extreme care in practicing these techniques.