Nevada Wing Chun Kung Fu Authentic Ip Ching Wing Chun As taught by his father, Grandmaster Ip Man

Articles My Father, Ip Man - by Grandmaster Ip Ching Tips to practicing Wing Chun Wooden Dummy Techniques - by Grandmaster Ip Ching Siu Lim Tao - by Grandmaster Ip Ching

Bust of Grandmaster Ip Man in the Ip Man Tong

My late father, Master Ip Man, actively promoted the art of Wing Chun after coming to Hong Kong in 1949.  In a brief period of 22 years （1950 - 1972）, the art of Wing Chun blossomed in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.  More than that, the seeds of Wing Chun were spread throughout the world, and a firm foundation was laid in the major countries of the world.  During his life, excellent disciples such as Leung Sheung, Ip Bo Ching, Chiu Wan, Bruce Lee, Lok Yiu, Chui Sheung Tin, Wong Shun Leung, and Ho Kam Ming were cultivated, and they inherited Master Ip's wish to further develop Wing Chun. Therefore, Master Ip was held in the highest esteem by his disciples and unanimously praised as the ”Master of Wing Chun” after he passed away.  （My late father was humble and prudent throughout his life, and he had never claimed himself as the Master of Wing Chun or the elder of any school.  I mentioned this point as a warning to fellow disciples of Wing Chun who had competed to be leader of the school.）  My late father could accept this title without feeling embarrassed.

My late father was born in Foshan at the end of the Ching Dynasty.  Foshan was situated in the most prosperous region of the Zheyieng Delta of Guangdong province, and it was the hub of land and sea transport.  From ancient times, it had been called one of the Major Historical Towns of China in association with Jingde, Thuxian, and Hankiou.  Industry and trade, in particular handicraft trade, prospered all along, and the residents lived a stable and prosperous life.  As a result, culture and art developed fully and as Chinese martial arts were part of China's traditional culture and art, the trend of learning martial arts was very popular.  Well-known masters of the South School, e.g. Wong Fai Hung, Cheung Hung Shing, Leung Jan, Leung Siu Ching, etc. came from Foshan.  Master Ip was born in such an age, and he was extremely fond of Chinese martial arts.  With talent and persistence as well as learning from famous teachers （Chan Wah Shun at the beginning and Leung Bik, son of Leung Jan later）, Master Ip's achievement could be envisaged.

I came to Hong Kong in 1962 and followed my father to learn martial arts.  Afterwards, I assisted him in teaching Wing Chun until he passed away in 1972.  I learned a lot from the way he taught.  As it was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Master Ip Man, I would like to put forward a few points that I learned from the master's way of teaching in the hope that all Wing Chun disciples would learn from them and study them.

The Master put great emphasis on the selection of talent.  He always said: ”No doubt it is difficult for a disciple to select a teacher, but it is even more difficult for a teacher to select a disciple”.  It was extraordinary for someone who taught martial arts for a living to have such a mentality.  This meant that he was serious in his attitude and responsible to the disciples he taught.  Throughout his life, the Master had neither hung up a signboard nor put up enrollment advertisements.  The aim for this was just to reserve ”the active right to select disciples”.  The Master adhered to this principle strictly for the past 20 years.  It was commendable for someone who taught martial arts for a living.

Wing Chun is practical, simple, and direct without any fancy elements.  The Master put great emphasis on the basic training of the new disciples.  When he taught them Siu Lim Tao, he imposed no time constraint on the learning of correct stance, coordination of the waist and the stance, as well as the use of strength.  He would teach a new topic only after the disciple could prove that he could meet his requirement.  He would never teach perfunctorily.  This was, in fact, a kind of award to those who worked hard to meet the requirement.

Another characteristic of the Master's way of teaching was teaching a disciple according to his aptitude.  He would thoroughly analyze the mentality, character, physical fitness, physique, education standard, cultural accomplishment, as well as power of absorption of the disciple first.  Then he would teach according to the different needs of the individual to make sure that every disciple would absorb and learn easily.

In the course of teaching, the Master placed a lot of importance in practicing a slow and free combat.  The aim was to nurture the disciple's love of and confidence in Wing Chun so as to guide him to study the rules of  Wing Chun and the wooden dummy.

Apart from great attainments in Wing Chun, the Master received advanced education in his youth.  Moreover, he continued to absorb modern scientific knowledge.  Therefore, he could always make use of present day's technological knowledge such as mechanical and mathematical theories to explain the rules of Wing Chun.  The Master could even give up unintelligible wordings such as the Five Elements, Eight Diagrams, and mutual promotion and restraint between the Five Elements that were commonly used in metaphysics.  This helped the purification of martial arts, and this was also the secret for the Master to achieve such high attainment.  The Master had never said and even detested anyone who said, ”I met a genius or hermit who taught me an extraordinary skill or a unique move in martial arts" to cheat his disciples and to promote himself.  He thought that such a person had no confidence in what he had learned, and he was extremely shallow in the rules of martial arts.  He only wished to scare people by telling this kind of specious story.  Such a person was doomed to failure by using this kind of unsubstantiated means to teach martial arts.

The secret of the Master's way of teaching was not limited to the above points.  I hope that fellow disciples will explore more meaningful points in the future.

Tips to practicing Wing Chun Wooden Dummy Techniques - by Grandmaster Ip Ching

Mook Yan Jong (Wooden Dummy Form) is the essence of the three sets of Wing Chun Kung Fu forms and is also the key to training your ability in Wing Chun Kung Fu.  There is a saying: "If you practice kung fu without training hard, you will end up with nothing."  I have seen a lot of people practice the Wooden Dummy form incorrectly.  On the surface, their strokes seem full of power.  Those who know nothing about the principles of Wing Chun Kung Fu would be very impressed, but this kind of practice is only superficial.  The fact is that some practice this kind of Wing Chun Kung Fu.  For instance, when practicing the Wooden Dummy form in the course of changing from tan sau to gon sau, some people do not take the shortest distance.  Rather, to generate power, they draw their hands back.  Then, they hit the dummy with great force.  The fact is that this kind of practice defeats the purpose.  The dummy is your opponent.  And the moment you pull your arm back, you leave an opening to be attacked.

It is not difficult to become proficient in the Wooden Dummy form.  When you practice, adjust the dummy to a suitable height.  You also need to understand the application of stroke movements for the dummy and how you switch from defense to offense.  In addition, you must be aware of the principles of practicing the Wooden Dummy form as well as the correct hand movements and footwork for every stroke.  In performing every set and stroke, you must pay attention to have the waist and footing coordinated in exerting force.

I hope that all Wing Chun practitioners will assess their movements in each stroke in practicing the Wooden Dummy form to find out whether they are in line with the principles of Wing Chun Kung Fu.

Siu Lim Tao - by Grandmaster Ip Ching

When we learn Wing Chun, we must know the objectives of the three forms first.  After knowing those objectives, we have the right direction to practice most effectively.

Since Siu Lim Tao is the first set, many people think that it is only a beginning course.  It is partially true.  I consider Siu Lim Tao the basis of Wing Chun.  All of the movements of Chum Kiu, Biu Gee, Mook Yan Jong (Wooden Dummy), even Bat Cham Do come from Siu Lim Tao.  So, Siu Lim Tao is not the beginning course, but the important FOUNDATION.

How about Chum Kiu?  To the best of my knowledge, Chum Kiu helps us to understand the techniques of Wing Chun, while Biu Gee tells us how to use the force.  All of these three Fist sets have their own objectives.  Usually, we have to practice for a long time before we can fully understand Chum Kiu and Chi Sau.  So Biu Gee will not be taught before a large amount of practice of Chi Sau.  As a result, many people think that Biu Gee won't be taught. It is not true.

When giving a lecture in Manchester in 1992, I gave the following analogy: When we learn English, we learn 26 letters first.  If we cannot handle the pronunciation of each letter, then our English will never be good.  The magnitude of the fist set Siu Lim Tao in Wing Chun is the same as that of the letters in English.  If we don't master Siu Lim Tao well, we can never do well in Chum Kiu, Biu Gee, and Mook Yan Jong (Wooden Dummy).

After learning 26 letters, we know how to form a word by grouping some of them.  After learning Siu Lim Tao, Chum Kiu, and Biu Gee, we know many methods of attack and defense.  If we could practice Chi Sau by those methods, it would be the same as making a proper sentence in English.  If we could apply those methods in free fighting smoothly, then we could write a passage.

(From the tape-record of Master Iip Ching's lecture on Siu Lim Tao)

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