My way on Snake Crane Wing Chun
In ancient china, there is a slogan on practicing kung fu for “protecting home and guarding the country” because of the political unstability over thousand years in China. Today, do we practice Kung Fu for fighting in order to protecting home and guarding countries. Of course not.
I started practicing my first martial arts, Judo, in 1974 with some other martial arts such as Hung Kuen, Tai Chi, Wing Chun, Northern styles, TaekwonDo and etc, due to the influence by Bruce Lee. Hong Kong life in that period was very simple and not too much entertainment. In 1978, I already got a lot of championships in Hong Kong Judo open competitions.
In August 1978, I was referred to my Snake Crane Wing Chun sifu, Mr. Law Chiu Wing by my secondary school property in charge to learn the Chinese bone setter. Sifu asked me a lot of my martial arts background and read the lines on my both hands. Then he asked me to learn SCWC from him as well. In September 1978, I decided to learn SCWC, and in November, I did very traditional discipleship ceremony with my sifu. I also saw the picture of my sifu grandfather Law Tiu Wen, the 3rd generation. However, at that moment, I was noted that this arts was descending from Southern Shaolin and creators are Abbot Chi Sim and Num Ng Mui. More, I realized SCWC was a closed system descending in my sifu family for few generations, not open to public, even cannot say too much about the arts with others including my parents. Because of my martial arts training before, I learn and understand the arts quickly.
I was a Civil Engineering graduate majored in Structure from 1980-1983. Then I worked as a tutor in Computer Science from 1983-1986 in my Baptist College, today it is upgraded to Hong Kong Baptist University, same college of Master Leung Ting. IN 1986-1987, I was sent by the College to studying MSc in Computer Science in UK. Till 1990, I left Baptist College to go to Hong Kong University of Science and Technology till today. During these periods, I stopped all other martial arts except Judo coaching. Since SCWC is a closed system, Judo make me enjoying championships in my youth age. In 1993, there was political struggle in HK Judo associations, I decided to give up Judo coaching life and start my long time studying on Snake Crane Wing Chun.
At the time 1993, I start to study SCWC only. Then what I found a lot of doubts in our SCWC history. The keys are listed.
1) Abbot Chi Sim :
why almost all southern arts treating him as creators
2) Southern Shaolin :
i) why its existence in the past querying a lot, just less than 200 years,
ii)southern part of China is populated, no one could locate where it was.
3) Traitor Ma Ling Yee with long bridge big stance:
Why need to create SCWC to train Shaolin monks to deal with one person
From the Kung Fu wck community, there are some history stories about the wcks, but they are different. Just based on my education background, they cannot be acceptable.
Then I started to see all I have in Snake Crane Wing Chun family. I witness the picture of 3rd generation, and his written note in 1890. Then by means of more scientific mathematic approach, to calculate the year back and knowing scwc arts was created after the fire of redboat. The fire of redboat seems the pseudonym of the fire of Southern Shaolin. It relates to the anti-qing activities at that moment.
After the fire of southern shaolin, monks escape, seems the rebellions escape. Training the monks to deal with the traitor Ma Ling Yee, mean training the southern arts rebellions SCWC arts to deal with.
Ma Ling Yee, eventually, I found is the traitors with long bridge big stance of the Tai Ping Heavenly Kingdom who bribed by Qing government.
Then the whole picture coming out and accepted by Foshan officials after their investigation.
Then today, we can totally understand why the close contact combats arts created.
My paper “Investigation on Some Forgotton Wing Chun Kuen History” was criticized a lot by those who still believe the stories around in the WCK community for decades. However, how many of them have using some minutes to read it, then make their comments and still believe their stories. However, my paper is totally accepted by Foshan officials and totally filling up the holes in wck missing history and the missing holes in a lot of Southern arts why the same creator Abbot Chi Sim.
In the arts itself, based on my structural engineering knowledges, I analyse a lot with our kuen kuits how the forms and the techniques created and used. Why it is internal arts to oppose the external long bridge big stance. Why it is close contact and how it function. How the importance of the stability in close contact combat ……. More, my sifu in my youth age, he emphasis a lot, forms and techniques cannot be changed. Otherwise, it will not be SCWC any more. That’s why SCWC is still maintained what my sifu taught me in my youth. SanSiks term is introduced by our ancestor. Today, how many people know what Siu Lim Tau mean, Chun Kiu for, and BilGee usage. As I wrote in other papers on naming the techniques not casually by our ancestors. The names they used can tell you what the forms or techniques for. If you get a wrong meaning, then you will go to other direction. More, Chinese to English translation also cause a lot of problem as well, not 100% meaning can be translated.
Seven years ago, I had submitted a paper to New Martial Hero magazine, Wing Chun Kuen changes in the last 60 years”. I mentioned that today, people like to evolve a lot of others to the WCK for few generations, and make it more modern. More, most like to use their name added becoming their own arts, and still call them wck, which is totally deviated a lot from the creation of Wing Chun. Anything added can be said is wck.
In the past, I would like to share my scwc study and to discuss openly in forum about the wck. However, today I won’t because I found we are from different background, different culture. It is really wasting time on discussion, debating, arguing. Mostly struggling will come out. Sadly! Facts are facts. Need to be proofed, not just on discussion, debating, arguing, then coming out the FACTS!!!
Wayne Yung