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What is Wing Chun
Author: Robert Dreeben
What you are about to read may at first appear to be an arrogant claim regarding a style of kung-fu. Please allow me a quick preface: my 23-year career as a martial arts writer has afforded me the opportunity to meet, train with, write about and interview many of the most-famous and respected martial arts masters of this century.
This education and research has given me a broad understanding of every facet in the martial arts worldwide. Consequently, I can see the inherent value in any style or system from all cultures. I practice Chang style tai chi, paqua, wing chun, hsing-I, shuai chiao and kuntao silat.
So what is so special about wing chun? By now most readers should know that the term "kung-fu," by true definition, really means any skill obtained through time and hard work. Henceforth "good kung-fu" can be applied to anyone's skill, such as a craftsman or artesian, for example. In wing chun's inner circle, practitioners use the systems name to denote perfection. "That's wing chun" means whatever you are alluding to has reached perfection; it is the best way to do something and cannot be improved.
Yes, wing chun practitioners believe they have a set of movements that are perfect. They see wing chun as the pinnacle of evolution of Chinese kung-fu. This system has evolved to match the physics of the human body and how it interacts in physical conflict with another human body in an erect upright position. This Spartan belief will always be the subject of debate among other styles.
The underlying philosophy of wing chun is: do the best thing first. Not the second, third or fourth best thing first. Here's where the centerline theory comes in. If you know how to control the centerline you will have the upper hand; any fighter who faces you lacking that knowledge will be at a distinct disadvantage. What is the best, first action to perform in any given conflict is perhaps the biggest subject of this debate, because "best" is a subjective term based on an individual's opinion.
This is the wing chun criteria for first best: 1. Simplest to perform; 2. Fastest to execute (i.e., the shortest distance between two points); 3. The safest to perform (affords equal use of both hands with continual follow up strikes possible); 4. Least physical commitment in terms of exposing targets and compromising balance while at the same time controlling the opponents balance and locking up his skeletal structure.
A grappler might say the first best thing to do in a fight is a takedown to a submission hold. If grappling is your preference then throwing and locking is the best action for you. However, closing in and trying to grab a good striker is very dangerous and very committed. "Well wing chun doesn't have grappling, therefore it's not complete!" That's only half-true. Wing chun may not have grappling, but it does have many techniques to deal with a grappler. As a wing chun exponent I like grappling and have studied shuai chiao (Chinese wrestling) for years. Shuai chiao is the "wing chun" of upright grappling. I feel it has reached perfection.
Unfortunately, many wing chun students and teachers did not learn the whole system, so like Bruce Lee, they feel something is missing. And they are right. Consequently they begin to add, modify and change wing chun altogether to fill in the gaps, rather than try to learn the original constituents they missed. For wing chun to be perfect all the elements must be in place and utilized properly.
When something is perfect, don't try to change it. The tire and the wheel are two different things. The wheel (wing chun) is perfect; we don't need to re-invent it. It's about inventing a better tire (teaching methodologies) to put on the wheel.
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