The History and Philosophy of Wing Chun Kung Fu.pdf

The History and Philosophy of Wing Chun

Kung Fu

Thesis for Level Ten Grading

Andrew Nerlich

student of Sifu Rick Spain, WWCKFA.

History

In the Beginning...

The deep nature of our own species, and those that preceded us in evolution, includes competition, violence, and

killing. Prehistoric men no doubt fought one another for dominance, food, mating rights, and survival. The dawn of

a structured or scientific approach to fighting no doubt occurred with the first primitive man to pick up a stick with

which to strike an enemy or prey.

Conflict and warfare form pivotal events in human history. Arguably, many ancient rituals, sports and ceremonies

are reenactments of battles in one form or another. The Olympic Games held by the ancient Greeks were regarded as

a religious festival, during which war was suspended.

The Epic of Gilgamesh, written down in about the eighteenth century B.C. in Mesopotamia, one of the earliest

centres of civilisation, shows that most weapons of war had been invented by then, the major exception being

explosives, which were to be invented by the Chinese almost 2800 years later.

Gilgamesh, a hero of Uruk in Babylonia, fought with axe, sword, bow and arrow, and spear. His contemporaries

used battering rams against enemy cities, and rode to battle in chariots.

The concept of a martial art or science of combat no doubt developed along with civilisation. Organised warfare

required trained and disciplined soldiers, and generals and instructors to command and train them.

The earliest accepted evidence of a martial art exists in two small Babylonian works of art dating back to between

2000 and 3000 B.C., each showing two men in postures of combat.

Whilst there is almost no other evidence to support the hypothesis that martial arts originated in Babylonia and

Mesopotamia, and were carried eastward to India and China, there is evidence that trade took place between the

Harappa culture of Northern India and the Mesopotamians as early as 2500 B.C. Also, there is evidence that a

particular design of bronze axe was in use over a vast area including parts of Europe and China around 1300 B.C.

There is also evidence that the performances of acrobats from India and the eastern Mediterranean regions were

enjoyed by the Chinese. The martial arts and performing arts have had a long tradition of association in the East,

mirroring the similarity between the movements of acrobats and martial artists.

While the case for the origin of martial arts in Mesopotamia is speculative, there is no doubt that they first appeared

in the East in a primitive form, and it was in India and China that their development into the intricate and

sophisticated systems of recent times took place.

Martial Arts in China

The development of martial arts in China is inextricably linked with the development of Chinese medicine, and of

the major religious and philosophical systems which underpin all aspects of life in historical China.

The martial and healing arts have always had a close relationship, of necessity when the wounds resulting from

combat required healing, and in the use of medical knowledge to develop more effective targeting and striking

techniques. Martial arts through the ages were practiced as much for health and longevity as they were for

aggression and defence, and indeed the Shaolin arts were based on movements originally developed for health

reasons.

Nearly five thousand years ago, the three legendary emperors laid the ground work for a nationalised system of

Chinese medicine for the populace. Emperor Fu Hsi first proposed such a system; Emperor Shun Nung developed a

classification of herbs for use in healing; and Huang-Ti, the Yellow Emperor, sent healers out to care for the people.

The "Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine" a book on the principles of Chinese medicine, attributed to

Huang-Ti but more likely written by others much later, is still regarded as a standard text by many contemporary

schools of acupuncture and Oriental healing.

Around this time, mention is made of a form of ritualised wrestling called Go-Ti, in which two men wore horns on

their heads and attempted to gore each other. The sport became popular, and spread throughout the land, and was

passed down through generations. Go-Ti is performed today, with less blood spilled, traditionally at festivals in

Honan and Manchuria. It is theorised also that Go-Ti was exported to Japan during the Tang Dynasty (610-907 AD),

and evolved into the modern sport of Sumo; this would be the earliest documented export of Chinese martial arts.

The originators of the great Chinese philosophies all lived around the same time. Lao Tzu, the developer of Taoism,

was born in Honan around 604 BC. Confucius was born around 550 BC, and the Buddha around 506 BC.

Legend has it that Lao Tzu worked in the imperial palace during the Chou Dynasty as custodian of the imperial

archives. Like many of his compatriots, he became disillusioned by the existing political tyranny, and at age 160

(according to legend) he left the kingdom on a wagon drawn by a black ox. When he reached Han-Ku pass, the

gatekeeper, Yin-Hsi, asked him to leave a record of his teachings. The result was a short but enormously profound

and influential document of 5,280 Chinese words called the Tao Te Ching (The Way and the Power). It taught a

philosophy of living harmoniously with the ways of nature, returning to one's essence and of acting only in

accordance with the Way.

(The philosophical basis of the teachings of Lao Tzu, and those of Confucius and the Buddha, will be discussed

more fully in a later section.)

Confucius was born to a noble family in the state of Lu in what is now Shantung. His father died when Confucius

was three, and the family fell on hard times. Though self-educated, he devoted himself to teaching and a quest to

eliminate illiteracy; however, his major purpose in education was to teach and develop a way of harmonious living

and interaction with one's fellows, through rules and standards of propriety and behaviour. At age 51, he became

Minister for Justice in Lu, but his attempts to spread his doctrines were met with indifference or distain by his

superiors, resulting in his starting a thirteen year ministry attempting to disseminate his political, social, and

philosophical beliefs. At age 68, unsuccessful, he began to write the classic documents such as the Spring and

Autumn annals, the I Ching (book of Changes) and the Analects, which were to have a huge impact on Chinese

culture.

Some historians dispute the authorship of these documents (i.e. maybe Confucius didn't write all or any of them),

but their fundamental role in Chinese culture is indisputable.

The Buddha, also called Guatama or Siddhartha, was an Indian Prince, born approximately 506 BC As a youth, he

lived a rich and pampered life in the splendour of palaces and courtyards, surrounded by the luxuries of the time,

unaware of the often desperate and miserable circumstances in which the vast majority of his subjects dwelt.

One day he ventured into the city, and was confronted with the disease, starvation, suffering and death which filled

his kingdom. The streets were filled with starving beggars and littered with the bodies of the dead or dying.

Shocked to the bone by what he saw, he spent days alone (five days beneath the Bodhi tree), attempting to come to

terms with this shattering revelation. He found himself unable to accept his experiences as reality, and from there

came he formed the basis of his teachings, that human existence is an illusion, and nothing is real. He left the palace

and travelled widely, teaching.

His teachings and doctrine proposed a disregard for self and materialism, instead emphasising subsequent lives and

the eventual deliverance from the eternal cycle of life and suffering which is human existence.

While the seeds of higher philosophies were being sown, warfare itself continued. Before 500 BC, China did not

exist as a nation. The territory now known as the People's Republic of China was made up of a large number of

minor, independent states, generally operating under feudal rule.

War was seen as an occupation of the nobility, with skirmishes being fought between local warlords, perhaps with

small armies of peasants. The lords would be driven to the battlefield in chariots, to fire arrows on the peasant

armies of their rivals. Occasionally warlords would resort to single combat before their armies to decide a particular

issue.

War was a highly ritualised activity, prohibited in certain seasons or circumstances, such as after the demise of a

particular leader. Soldiers might languish for days or weeks while oracles were consulted or a favourable omen

awaited prior to an attack.

Gradually the smaller states were assimilated by larger ones, and larger cities were formed, with populations as large

as 750,000. Trade flourished between these centres, with tools and weapons of high quality iron among the items

exchanged. Around the time of the Warring States period (490-221 BC), a low-grade steel was perfected, allowing

the rulers to equip their soldiers with weapons made in foundries and stored in arsenals.

The expansion of the bureaucracy of government at this time allowed for feasible equipping, feeding, training and

deployment of much larger armies. This changed warfare from an occupation of the ruling class to a professional

activity undertaken by professional soldiers and officers. New specialist skills, such as engineering, signals, and

mapmaking became viable occupations for these career soldiers. Sun Tzu was the most famous of these; a brilliant

tactician and strategist, whose work The Art of War, which was written around 350 BC, is said to have influenced

Mao Tse-Tung, and remains a standard text for military officers, as well as being widely read by ambitious people in

other walks of life.

But combat was not solely the province of the rulers and the military. The Chinese countryside was rife with gangs

of bandits and outlaws. Merchants enticed by the large profits possible from interstate trade would have employed

bodyguards to protect themselves and their wares. The small scale close combat encountered by such bodyguards

would have suited a career martial artist perfectly. The itinerant life of such bodyguards would have brought them

into contact with others in the same profession from all over the country, allowing for a constant interchange of

martial ideas and techniques.

During the Han Dynasty(206 BC - 220 AD), Pan Kuo (32-92 AD) write the Han Su I Wen Chih, or Han Book of the

Arts. this work contained chapters on governmental aspects of occupation (during war), battlefield strategy,

principles in nature, and a chapter on fighting skills, including hand, foot, and weapon techniques.

Meanwhile, the doctrines of Taoism spread and flourished, with the Taoist monks practising various types of

exercise, breathing, and meditation.

During the closing years of the Han Dynasty, Dr Hua To, a famous surgeon, made a major contribution to the

development of martial arts, introducing a series of exercises based on the movements of animals, to promote blood

circulation, freedom from sickness, and the prevention of the symptoms of old age.. In his book, Shou Pu, Hua To

described a system of exercises he called the Frolic of the Five Animals, based on movements of the tiger, deer,

bear, monkey and bird.

Bodhidharma and the Shaolin Temple

The first Shaolin Temple was built in approximately 495 A.D., in Honan Province near Mount Sung. It was built by

Emperor Hsaio Wen, for the purpose of housing Buddhist monks who were charged with the task of translating the

Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese, in accordance with the wishes of the Emperor, who sought to make

the scriptures available to the people in their native tongue, as a means of achieving Nirvana for himself.

Around 520 AD, an Indian Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma journeyed from India to China. He was the son of

an Indian King, and an excellent warrior in superb physical condition. He visited Emperor Wen, but disagreed with

him that Nirvana could be achieved by good deeds (the translations of the scriptures) performed by others in the

Emperor's name, as noble as such a project might be. Bodhidharma's method instead involved meditative practices,

seeking enlightenment through direct experience.

After leaving the emperor, Bodhidharma then went to the Shaolin temple. The head abbot, Fang Chang, at first

viewed him as a foreign meddler and upstart, and refused him entrance. Bodhidharma instead took up residence in a

nearby cave, where he reportedly sat facing a wall for nine years, "listening to the ants scream". Legend has it that

the intensity of his gaze bored a hole in the cave's wall.

The monks were soundly impressed with his religious discipline and commitment, and he was welcomed into their

ranks in the Shaolin Temple. One painting of Bodhidharma dating from the thirteenth century has one of the monks

cutting off his own hand as a symbolic gesture of sympathy for Bodhidharma's spiritual commitment during his stay

in the cave.

The monks at the temple were most interested in his teachings, but due to their sedentary lives and poor diet and

physical condition, were often unable to stay awake during his lectures. To improve their health and assist their

meditation, Bodhidharma devised three sets of exercises, emphasising correct breathing and bending and stretching

of the body. The monks, who were in constant physical danger from outlaws and robbers, but who were forbidden

by their religious code to carry weapons, modified many of the exercises to form systems of weaponless self-

defence, becoming the systems of Kung-fu and other Asian martial Arts we practise today.

Further legend has it that Bodhidharma once fell asleep while meditating, and became so enraged that he ripped off

his eyelids, casting them to the ground. From them immediately sprang tea shrubs, whose leaves were used by the

monks to keep them awake.

As with many episodes in the history of Kung Fu, there are doubts among historians regarding the truth of the stories

about Bodhidharma, and indeed, whether he actually existed. Detailed accounts of his exploits only started to appear

in the eleventh century, although there were Buddhist historians of prodigious written output around the Temple

much earlier than this, such as Hsuan-Tsang in the seventh century, who make no mention of him.

However, the story of Bodhidharma is seminal to the history of Buddhism, the Shaolin Temple, and Kung Fu.

At the height of its prosperity, around 700 BC, the temple had a complement of around 1500 monks, including 500

fighting monks, together with the land and buildings to support.

The Emperor T'ai Tsung of the Tang dynasty first endowed the temple with the right to train a fighting force of

monk/soldiers. In danger at one time, he asked for help from the temple and thirteen monks went to his aid.

The grateful emperor attempted to persuade the thirteen to take up positions in his court, but the monks declined,

stating that their martial arts' primary purposes were to promote the monks' health and to protect the Temple and its

surrounding society. As there was now peace, they were no longer required, but that if the need arose again they

would make themselves available.

The emperor then permitted them to increase the size of their fighting force to 500.

Over the next thousand years, the martial arts expanded and evolved, interest in them based to a large degree on the

heroic exploits of the Shaolin monks. The military and merchant classes also added to the spread and evolution of

the art. Other temples were built, and often became havens for anti-dynastic and revolutionary activity of various

sorts, as China's rule remained in the hands of competing groups and dynasties. Temples were subjected to

numerous sackings and burnings, with monks fleeing to other areas, and building or rebuilding temples, spreading

their knowledge as they went.

This state of affairs continued up to the fall of the Ming Dynasty in the seventeenth century A.D.

Wing Chun

(Note: It is almost impossible to determine a definitive history of Wing Chun Kung Fu. The circumstances leading to

the marriage of Yim Wing Chun and Leung Bok Cho have been described in several different ways by different

members of the WWCKFA, including lectures by Sifu Rick Spain, the writings of Grandmaster William Cheung and

writings purported to be those of Grandmaster Yip Man.

I discuss alternative versions of events to those set down here in Appendix A.

The enigmatic Ng Mui is used by a number of styles of Kung Fu besides Wing Chun to explain their origin, and she

may be as much a legendary as a real figure. She figured extensively in the lore and performances of the Red Junk

Opera Company, through which Wong Wa Bo, Leung Bok Cho and Jee Sin play a pivotal role in the art's

development. It is perhaps prudent to remember that, as operatic artists, they were skilled in dramatic storytelling,

and that many of the best stories have their basis in fact.

It may also be prudent to remember that the cultural basis of humanity's greatest endeavours is based on grand

myths, fables and legends - often, based on real individuals and events - rather than on the smaller details of

objective fact.

I write this assuming that the truth of history lies as much in each historian's interpretation as in the objective

events.)

The Manchus invaded China in 1644, ending the Ming dynasty, and beginning the Ching (Qing) dynasty. The

occupation force, as a minority of the population, introduced a number of repressive measures to control the

indigenous Han population. These included forbidding the Hans to carry weapons, restricting their opportunities

within the civil service, and the practice of binding the feet of women, rendering them totally dependent on their

husbands and menfolk, who were thus also restricted in their actions and ability to undertake revolutionary

activities.

The Shaolin Temple, which as a Buddhist institution was revered and regarded with religious awe by the invaders,

became both a sanctuary for Ming rebels and a centre for revolutionary planning and training. Ming soldiers and

sympathisers donned monk's robes and shaved their heads, but trained for war within the temple grounds and plotted

the overthrow of the Manchus.

The combat systems then taught in the temple were based on animal movements and required the progressive

mastery of tens and hundreds of long, intricate forms, taking fifteen to twenty years. The Shaolin grandmasters

recognised that this approach was unsuitable for the rapid development of a fighting force. They began to develop a

new system of Kung Fu based on human biomechanics rather than the movements of animals, distilling the

enormous and disparate variety of techniques, some only marginally useful, of the animal systems into an essential

core of techniques which would turn an average trainee into a skilled fighter in five years rather than twenty-five. As

the Manchus had outlawed the carrying of weapons by the populace, the butterfly swords, which were easy to

conceal in knee-length boots, were chosen as the system's only weapons.

The system was called Wing Chun, named after the Springtime (Wing Chun) training hall in the temple. Some

accounts have it that the system was named after Yim Wing Chun, but it seems she may also have been given that

name, after that of the training hall, by Ng Mui, the alternative meaning of the name being "Hope for the Future").

The Manchus heard of the revolutionary role of the Temple, and surrounded it, while a traitorous monk set fires

within. The monks fought bravely, but were heavily outnumbered. Only five escaped - Bak Mei, Fung Do Dak, Mui

Min, Jee Sin and the nun Ng Mui. The five went their separate ways.

Ng Mui took refuge in the distant White Crane Temple in Yunnan. Periodically, she would journey to a nearby

village for provisions including bean curd (tofu), which she bought from a shopkeeper named Yim Yee (or Yim

Say) and his daughter, Yim Wing Chun.

Yim Yee and his daughter had fled Fatshan province before impending wrongful arrest by the Manchus, and settled

in this remote area, selling the bean curd for a living. However, their lives were not yet free from trouble. One day

Ng Mui entered the shop to find the young girl in tears.

Wing Chun was a beautiful young woman, and had attracted the unwanted attentions of a brutal gang leader, who

had sworn to take her as his wife.

Ng Mui's immediate inclination was to fight off the gangster herself, but realised that such action was likely to

attract the attention of the Manchus, from whom she was still a fugitive. Instead, Ng Mui undertook to teach the girl

combat techniques, thus allowing her to defend herself and her honour.

Wing Chun told the gangster that she would fight him in one year, and that if he could defeat her, she would be his.

The gangster, a master of Eagle Claw Kung Fu, saw this as a fait accompli and agreed, laughing.

Ng Mui took Yim Wing Chun back to the temple with her.

With only months in which to train Yim Wing Chun, Ng Mui concentrated only on the most essential, direct and

effective techniques and training methods in her instruction. The techniques would need to allow Wing Chun to

overcome the gangster, who was bigger, stronger, and more experienced than she. As the 108 dummies of the

Shaolin temple no longer existed, Ng Mui developed a single dummy on which all 108 dummy movements could be

practised. Yim Wing Chun trained day and night, and, when the gangster returned, she was ready. Soundly beaten,

the disgraced gangster left and never returned.

Shortly thereafter, a salt (or silk) merchant from Shangxi named Leung Bok Cho visited the area. Leung Bok Cho

had been a student of Kung Fu at the Honan Shaolin Temple. He stayed at an inn next to Yim Yee's shop, and

witnessed Wing Chun practising her Kung Fu beside the tofu grinders. He fell in love with this beautiful and skilful

young woman, and soon, with Yim Yee's approval, they were married.

Ng Mui eventually left the White Crane Temple, travelling far and wide. Before leaving, she made Wing Chun

promise to adhere to the Kung Fu traditions, to continue to develop her Kung Fu after her marriage, and to help

continue the struggle against the Manchus to restore the Ming dynasty.

Wing Chun and Leung Bok Cho moved back to Shangxi, but soon moved on to northern Guangdong to escape

constant fighting between bandits and soldiers. Then they moved to Siu Hing, where they would eventually

encounter members of the Red Junk Opera Company.

Meanwhile, Ng Mui's fellow grandmaster at the temple, Jee Sin, was also travelling the country. Among other

styles, he was a master of the dragon pole. He sought suitable students to train in his continuing quest to assist the

overthrow of the Manchus and the restoration of the Ming dynasty. Like Ng Mui, he was hunted by the Manchus

and, to evade detection, he disguised himself as a dishevelled beggar. It was in Guangdong that he heard of the Red

Junk Opera Company, and its prized performer, Wong Wa Bo.

The Red Junk Opera members were trained in the performing and martial arts from an early age, and Jee Sin

reasoned that, with such backgrounds, they could quickly be trained to become formidable fighters. Jee Sin went to

see a Red Junk performance, watching Wong Wa Bo very closely. He was impressed with Wong Wa Bo's

considerable skills and enormous strength, but noticed a few technical faults which he felt he could correct.

As the performers were packing up to travel on to a performance in Guangzhou, Jee Sin approached them and asked

for passage. The poler of the ship, seeing only a filthy tramp in rags, informed him that the Red Junks were not

passenger ships, and that the only way that Jee Sin would get to Guangzhou was by walking. The opera staff

continued their packing, ignoring Jee Sin, and then boarded the boat, preparing to shove off. The poler saw Jee Sin

take up a stance, one foot on the shore and one on the boat. The poler decided that the foolish beggar was overdue

for a surprise bath, and began to push with his pole as hard as he could.

Try as he might, he could not move the boat. He summoned the others, who also thrust poles into the river bed, but

the boat remained unmoved. Finally, in desperation, the poler summoned Wong Wa Bo, the best poler of all, still

sleeping after an unusually long performance the previous evening. Even he was unable to make a difference.

The disguised Jee Sin began to laugh, and with his foot, began to rock the boat, threatening to flood it. Wong Wa Bo

realised that the man in rags before him was no beggar, but a man of exceptional power and skill. He respectfully

invited Jee Sin aboard and begged to be taught the master's skills. Jee Sin taught the Red Junk Opera members his

Kung Fu, which they called Weng Chun Kuen ("Everlasting Spring Boxing") to disguise its Shaolin origins. Wong

Wa Bo became his prized student, one of very few to learn Jee Sin's six-and-a-half-strike pole technique.

Meanwhile, Leung Bok Cho sought a worthy student to whom to pass on the Wing Chun system. He had heard

about his nephew Wong Wa Bo's reputation as a performer and martial artist, and went to a Red Junk performance

to see for himself. Leung Bok Cho and Wong Wa Bo got together after the show, and it was agreed that, if Leung

could beat Wong in a friendly match, the Wing Chun butterfly swords against staff, that Wong would become

Leung's student and be taught the art of Wing Chun.

The match was fought on the stage of the Red Junk, Wong with a twelve foot Dragon Pole against Leung's pair of

eighteen inch butterfly swords. Wong figured he had the advantage, and invited Leung to attack first. Wong found it

very difficult to defend against the swift, tight techniques of the swords, and was forced to the edge of the stage. In

desperation, Wong used the most deadly techniques of the pole, blocking Leung's double slash at his head with an

upward bon kwun, then jabbing low at Leung's leg. Despite the almost simultaneous block and attack, Wong's strike

missed, and he felt the cold steel of Leung's butterfly blade against his wrist. He had no choice but to drop his pole

and concede defeat, begging Leung to teach him the superior techniques of Wing Chun.

Leung knew from the fight he had chosen well. Wong mastered the art of Wing Chun, and integrated its principles

into the technique of the six-and-a-half strike Dragon Pole, thus making that weapon part of the Wing Chun system.

Next in the lineage was Leung Lan Kwai, a herbalist by profession, who introduced the Iron Palm training into the

system. Leung Lan Kwai passed his knowledge to Leung Lee Tai, who then passed it on to Leung Jan, a famous

herbal doctor in Fatshan. Leung Jan was famous for his Iron Palm technique.

Leung Jan had chosen his sons, Leung Bak and Leung Chuen, as his successors. However, a neighbouring money

changer, Chan Wa Soon, was greatly interested in Leung Jan's Kung Fu and began to spy on Leung Jan and his sons

while they were practising. Leung Jan became aware of this very early in the piece, and intentionally modified the

techniques he taught to his sons to reduce their effectiveness whenever Chan was watching.

Eventually, Leung Jan became impressed with Chan's keen interest, accepting him as a disciple. However, he

continued to teach only the modified version of Wing Chun to Chan, because he feared that Chan would dispute the

grandmaster titleship of Wing Chun with his sons after his (Leung Jan's) death.

This fear manifested itself after the deaths of Leung Jan and Leung Cheun, with Chan, a much larger and more

powerful man, driving the surviving son, Leung Bak, from Fatshan. Leung Bak went to Hong Kong.

Chan began to teach the modified version of Wing Chun to selected students. Despite his reputation an popularity as

a Kung Fu exponent, he only accepted eleven students. Then Yip Man, twelve years old at the time, came to Chan

with three hundred pieces of silver, seeking acceptance as a disciple. Chan assumed the boy had stolen the coins

from his parents, and marched him home to confront them. There he discovered that Yip Man had indeed saved the

money on his own. Impressed with Yip Man's commitment, Chan accepted him as his final disciple.

After four years of study with Chan Wa Soon, Yip Man became a skilled fighter with a considerable reputation.

After Chan's death, Yip Man moved to Hong Kong. Through some martial arts colleagues, he was introduced to an

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