Upcoming Wing Choon course, unveiling of more secrets

[Anthony S]

It is very exciting that Sifu has now posted the details of the upcoming Wing Choon course. http://shaolin.org/

Until recently I had no interest in learning any Wing Choon which I readily admit had to do with my ignorance. However, Sifu has kindly mentioned to me some things that make the thought of the course a seemingly irresistible opportunity.

Thus, why don’t we start a thread to discuss Wing Choon and how it can be relevant to our Kung Fu training and development? We are very fortunate that we have some very experienced Wing Choon practitioners in our Shaolin Wahnam School. The two that I’m aware of include Sifu Ronny Singer and Sifu Joe Commiso. I believe Ronny trained 10 years in Wing Choon before joining the Wahnam School and I think Joe also has extensive experience. To compliment Joe if I will, I think that he was one of the people that inspired Sifu to offer this course.

There are probably many aspects of Wing Choon that people can discuss. I’m not qualified to initiate or guide these discussions but I can make some contributions based upon what Sifu has told me.

Sifu has told me that the internal force training using Siu Lin Tau in Wing Choon, which is actually a secret kept by Wing Choon masters, is a fitting complement to the internal force training in Iron-Wire. The former is "soft" while the latter is "hard". Both are, of course, very powerful.

Needless to say, due to my new inspiration in training the Iron-Wire I’m definitely going to the Wing Choon course so I can learn this secretive complimentary training.

[Luo Lang]

Great post Anthony Siheng,
Sifu Ronny is indeed planning to go to the course, because as far as know it's just a dream of him to learn it directly from Sifu. This is at least what I have heard from him telling me all the time about how great this Art is

Ronny has for sure many years of training in this style. But as soon as he met Sifu he would follow him. This should mean a lot: he was even at the Shaolin temple for some month training there, yet when he met Sifu he gave everything up to train under Wahnam.

I am especially happy for him, that he will get the chance to return a little to his roots, even more because I wonder how he would describe the difference of many years of training in a different school compared to an Internsive course with Sifu...

I also wonder if the Set has much difference.

best regards,

Roland.

[Anthony S]

I would also like to ask several questions to help get this going--

Who is planning on attending this course? It would be fun to know beforehand.

Who has some experience in Wing Choon?

Who has sparred with Wing Choon practitioners? I have but I'll save my comments on this for later.

[Mark CH]

I would also like to ask several questions to help get this going--

Who is planning on attending this course? It would be fun to know beforehand.

Who has some experience in Wing Choon?

Who has sparred with Wing Choon practitioners? I have but I'll save my comments on this for later.

Anthony brother, I will be there along with my brother Gregg and another student from Ireland. Are you bringing the cigars and the music again.

[drunken boxer]

Hello brothers,

Anthony Siheng to answer your questions:
I am planning to attend the course.
I have practically no real wing choon experience - just attended a couple of classes each in two schools whilst looking for people to spar with.
I haven't sparred with Wing Choon practitioners, but I have sparred with some Chow Gar practitioners whose style was more like Wing Choon than the Wing Choon I saw, and was closer to what I dream Wing Choon should be like.

I'd like to make other points on why I am interested in Wing Choon and why I really want to attend the course.
I was also inspired by some words of Sifu and why he learned Wing Choon, what he gained from it, and why he plans to teach it (I can't remember his exact words though).
Wing Choon was the first type of kung fu I was ever interested in. Like many people my introduction to Kung Fu was via the legendary Bruce Lee, who of course was a famous Wing Choon exponent before going on to invent his own Juan Fan Gung Fu or Jeet Kune Do.
I have met some wing choon practitioners who were very powerful and combat efficient.
As far as Chinese Martial arts go in Ireland and the UK, I feel that Wing Choon practitioners are in general more combat efficient than other kung fu style practitioners, not because it is a superior art but because they practise it in a superior way to most kung fu today.

Finally, like Praying Mantis, Wing Choon is known as an effective art for small people to use against big people - this is one of the chief reasons why I practice martial arts (including boxing) and why I am interested in this style. I am small and always had to be ready to be a target for bigger bullies in school etc. Through martial arts I have come to know the enormous satisfaction that comes from seeing the big bully's face after he has thrown his first strike and suddenly realised he has went in well out of his depth. Bruce Lee and Wing Choon were a great inspiration to me in my teenage years as I went from the bully target to the bully nemesis of my school, if I say so myself.
Wing Choon will always have a special place in my heart as an inspirational example on the path to self respect and justice.

Paul

[Anthony S]

Hey Mark, yes, I'll be happy to have cigars and music again which is half the fun of the courses, right? I just got a hold of some newly released live Doors including versions of Little Red Rooster and new versions of Gloria among others.

[Mark CH]

Wonderful Anthony, of course the course itself is always the most fun and enjoyment.

To answer your other questions.

I have no Wing Choon experience and have not sparred with Wing Choon practitioners. However I have seen some Wing Choon practitioners train but I am not of experience to know if this is the true art. I guess we will all find out the true nature and philisophy very soon.

Best wishes
Mark

[Anthony S]

I remember sparring with a Wing Choon practitioner in Los Angeles about 8 years ago. I don't want to put him down but I don't think he was very advanced. I remember that every time I blocked him he screamed "Ow!" He began to get quite upset with me and eventually quit. I really was blocking gently, not striking him, but I had been training a lot of Zhan Zhuan so my arms had good chi flow. Nonetheless, his reactions surprised me. He was fast but I kept my hands in front of me and in close contact with his. When he shot his hands forward to strike me I made minimal movement with my arms, just enough to make contact with his advancing strike in order to deflect it.

I guess the conclusion in this case was that he didn't have any internal force. I certainly don't take from this experience that he was a typical practitioner so I don't draw many conclusions from this.

[Anthony S]

This is a quote from Sifu taken from his Q and A

I had special privileges when I learned from Sifu Choe Hoong Choy. Because he treated me as an equal rather than as a disciple, he allowed me to choose whatever I liked to learn from him. Of course I chose to learn the best first. The best in Choe Family Wing Choon are Siu Lin Tau (which means “Little Beginning in Training”), Flower Set and Six-and-Half-Point Staff. “Siu Lin Tau” in Choe Family includes what in Yip Mann Wing Choon would be called “Cham Kiew” (Searching for Bridge) and “Phew Chee” (Thrusting Fingers). This was the set, I believe, the founder, Yim Wing Choon, practiced everyday to start her training. It is interesting to note that except in a few patterns, the stances in Siu Lin Tau are short, using mainly the Four-Six Stance, similar to Yip Mann Wing Choon. But all the other sets in Choe Family Wing Choon use long stances, similar to Shaolin Kungfu. The “Flower Set” I learned from Sifu Choe Hoong Choy was reputed to be from the famous Shaolin nun Ng Mui, who was Yim Wing Choon’s teacher. It was most likely that this set was the forerunner of Siu Lin Tau, usually regarded as the most typical of Wing Choon Kungfu. This “Flower Set” is different from the one I learned from Uncle Righteousness, although the patterns and principles are similar. Uncle Righteousness’ “Flower Set” was reputed to be the specialized set of Foong Sei Yoke, a famous young Shaolin master, who was a disciple of Chee Seen, the abbot of the southern Shaolin Temple at the Nine Lotus Mountain. Foong Sei Yoke also learned from Ng Mui.

[Mark CH]

Thanks brother

Great to read your last thread.

[Luo Lang]

Wow! This is some awesome information indeed!

Lucky all of those who can make it ti this course!

Best regards.

[Anthony S]

So, based upon the quote below, Sifu will be giving us the best during this course.

[Luo Lang]

Inspirational comments of Sifu Ip Chun

Maybe Sifu Ip Chun's comment here are inspirational:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6oPgV0tJrM&feature=related

For those wwho don't know Ip Chuan is Ip Man's son and succesor!

[Anthony S]

Thanks Roland. An interesting interview.

Very inspiring that he was born in 1924 and still quite spry, lucid, not aggressive and enjoying life going out for tea with his students.

[Luo Lang]

You are Welcome!
I came across this interview, after I saw the movie about Sifu Ip Man.

Sifu Ip Chun points out some very interesting things about Wing Choon. It is an excellent, combat efficient fighting system, which also promotes good health, vitality and mental freshness. I think many people forget about that, it's a complete Art.