Branches of Wing Chun

History This lineage has a legend in which the nun Ng Mui saw a fight between a crane and a snake. She incorporated their fighting styles into her Shaolin Kung Fu to develop an unnamed style. She taught this to one of her students Yim Wing-chun; she taught her husband Leung Bok-chao, who named the style Wing Chun Kuen (Wing Chun boxing) in his wife's honor and who passed it to Leung Lan-kwai of the Red Boat Opera Company (although other versions of this legend state that he was a scholar and herbalist), who passed it on to Wong Wa-bo and Leung Yee-tai, both of the Red Boat Opera, and who both taught the herbalist Leung Jan. Leung Jan passed it on to his two sons Leung Chun and Leung Bik plus other students who included Chan Wah-Shun, who taught his own students including Yip Man. Lineage Ng Mui → Yim Wing-chun → Leung Bok-chao → Leung Lan-kwai → Wong Wah-bo & Leung Yee-tai → Leung Jan → Chan Wah-shun & Leung Bik → Ip Man Ip man's most notable students Leung Sheung, Lok Yiu, Chu Shong-tin, Ho Kam-ming, Lo Man-kam, Wong Shun-leung, William Cheung, Bruce Lee, Victor Kan, Ip Ching, Ip Chun, Hawkins Cheung, Moy Yat, and Leung Ting. Features Per Chu, Ritchie and Wu, Yip Man Wing Chun is known for its simplicity, directness, economy of motion, and encapsulation of the essential Wing Chun principles. ==Yuen Kay San==

History • According to this lineage, the "true founders of Wing Chun remain lost in time", with lineage originating from Red Boat Opera. Features Additional emphasis on use of knives, six-and-a-half-point pole, and throwing darts. Notable alumni Sum Nung ->Teddy Wong]-> R.Yap ==Gu Lao Village / Forty Points Wing Chun ==

History This branch was taught by Leung Jan when he retired back to his native village of Gu Lao in Heshan County, Guangdong province, and is typically referred to by the village name to distinguish it from the doctor's Foshan teachings. Leung Jan grew weary of inactivity while in retirement and chose to teach a small group of students in a new variation of Wing Chun that focuses on short drills. To learn a single form from now-elderly Leung Jan, the villagers needed to pay a significant amount of money. Tam Yeung was one of Leung Jan's students who would learn this system in entirety. Features • The Gu Lao Wing Chun is referred to as Forty Points Wing Chun. • Guo Lao Wing Chun uses 40 short drills which are a loose expression and application of Wing Chun. It functions like normal Wing Chun, only deviating in the ways it is taught in. Notable alumni Tam Yeung, Kwan Jong-yuen, Robert Chu ==Nanyang / Cao Dean==

History According to this lineage of Wing Chun, the art was conceived at Red Boat Opera, being based on the knowledge of both Jee Shim (presenting the "Always Spring" variation) and Ng Mui (presenting the "Praise Spring" variation). The Wing Chun from Cho On sifu is also called Ban Chung Wing Chun / Ban Chung Cho Ga Wing Chun. A Red Boat Opera performer identified as "Painted Face Kam" passed his Wing Chun knowledge to Cho Duk-sang, who came from a family known for Hung Ga Kuen. Duk-sang would be the first to venture outside the family martial art. The branch pioneer Cao Dean (Cho Dak-on, unrelated to Duk-sang) became a student of Cho Duk-sang after getting beaten in an altercation. Under elder Cho, Dean would eventually master Wing Chun as a young adult. who learnt initially from S.Y.Liu and later became a direct student of Cao Dean / Cho On. A video interview and demonstration of Ban Chung Cho Ga Wing Chun by Ku Choi Wah sifu covered by an international Wing Chun research team led by Vik Hothi sifu presents some intricacies of the system. The unique aspect of this style of Wing Chun is the single long Siu Lim Tao form. The fist strikes utilise the Phoenix Eye fist and the Leopard Paw fist. The general version of the single long Siu Lim Tao form can be found here. The general curriculum followed under Ku Choi Wah in the Ban Chung Cho Ga Wing Chun is: Unarmed patterns (空手套路): Thirteen Hands (Sup Sam Sao/十三手), Little Idea (Siu Lim Tao/小念頭), Sticking Hands Cavity (Mor Kiu), Smashing into Pieces (Sui Da/碎打), Flower Fist (Fa Kuen/花拳) and Wooden Dummy Set (Muk Yan Jong/木人桩) Weapons Patterns (武器套路): Six and Half Points Thirteen Spear (Luk Dim Pun Gwan Sap Sam Cheong/六点半棍十三枪) and Man Character Knives (Yan Jee Dao /人字刀) Drills /Exercises (训练演习/演练): Eight Sticking Points (Chi Bat Dim /持八点), Empty Dummy (Hong Jong//空桩) and Staff Dummy (Gwan Jong/棍桩 ). Training Tools (训练器材): Chopstick (筷子), Swallow Plaque (Yin Jee Pai /燕子牌), Rattan Rings (藤环), Iron Rings (铁环) and Pull Horse Rope (拉马绳) ==Pan Nam==

History According to this lineage, Wing Chun was a yet-unnamed martial art that was conceived by the anti-Qing-Empire Tiandihui, being combination of various Shaolin martial arts, such as Taijiquan, Ying Jow Pai, Tong Long Quan, gum gang jeung, Chin Na, and other martial arts. Lineage Yat Chum Um-jee (Yi Chen Anzhu) → Cheung Ng / Tan Sao-ng Jiu Chow Chung Ng / Tan Sao-ng → Wong Wah-bo & Leung Yee-tai → Leung Jan → Chan Wah-shun → Chan Yiu-men → Jiu Chow → Pan Nam Lai Hip-chi (Li Xiechi) Lineage A: Chung Ng / Tan Sao-ng → Wong Wah-bo & Leung Yee-tai → Leung Jan → Chan Wah-shun → Lui Yiu-chai → Lai Hip-chi Lineage B: Chung Ng / Tan Sao-ng → Dai Fa Min-kam → Lok Lan-gong & Lok's nephew → Lai Hip-chi : Lai Hip-chi → Pan Nam Features Pam Nam lineages have significant differences to the likes of the Ip Man and Yuen Kay-shan lineages. It is also uncertain if this lineage refers the style as Wing Chun or Weng Chun. The Pan Nam lineage emphasizes more realistic, chaotic, and less-refined aspects of Wing Chun and features additional self-defense techniques based on ripping, tearing, and use of fingers. Pan Nam has a set named "Five Petal Plum Flower", a classic five-part exercise set for tendon strength. It incorporates a partner practice known as Waist Pressing, a Push-Hands-like exercise where the partners try to unbalance one another. ==Pao Fa Lien==

History This lineage of Wing Chun originates from a unspecified Shaolin Temple. Following the destruction of the temple at the hands of the Qing Empire, the survivors swore to use their knowledge to destroy them. According to this lineage, the name Wing Chun is a shortened form of the revolutionary motto "Wing yun chi jee; Mo mong Hon Juk; Dai dei wu chun." A secret code that allowed the anti-Qing revolutionaries to recognize each other. Eventually, the codeword was shortened to Wing Chun (Always Spring.) Because of the secrecy of the anti-Qing rebellious activities, the exact details of Wing Chun's development were lost. At the turn of the 19th century, a monk identified as Dai Dong-fong emerged to support the anti-Qing rebellion. His martial skills earned the terror of Manchurian armies and as a result, the Qing authorities wished to apprehend Dai Dong-fong. Dai Dong-fong would eventually leave to travel to northern China. Subsequently, the Tse brothers adopted an infant by the name of Lao Dat-sang. As a young man, Lao Dat-sang was an earnest woodworker, who earned various nicknames related to his line of work - eventually earning the famous nickname Pao Fa Lien or "Wood Planer Lien". ==Hung Suen / Hung Gu Biu ==

History According to the legend of this lineage, before the destruction of the Shaolin temple the system called Wing Chun had already been developed there from generations of martial arts knowledge. To prevent Wing Chun from being misused, it was passed down to only a few disciples and was not documented. ==Jee Shim / Weng Chun==

History According to the legend of this lineage, Wing Chun descends from Jee Shim, an abbot of the Shaolin Temple. In 1995, Andreas Hoffman was certified as a successor of Jee Shim Wing Chun. Lineage Chi Sim → Sun Kam (Painted-Face Kam) → Fung Siu-ching : Fung Siu-ching → Dong Suen → Dong Yik → Way Yan : Fung Siu-ching → Unspecified students → Lo Chiu-wan & Lo Hong-tai → Way Yan : Fung Siu-ching → Dong Jit → Chu Chong-man → Way Yan ::Way Yan → Cheng Kwong → Andreas Hoffman (current head) Features This lineage contains techniques that deviate from contemporary Wing Chun, that was passed down by Ng Mui and/or Leung Bok-chao. The difference is pronounced enough that the Wing Chun style of this lineage is considered its own martial art, Weng Chun. This view is supported by Ip Man lineage. ==Other notable Wing Chun branches==

Law-family / Snake-Pattern Wing Chun This lineage was originates from Leung Bok-chau, husband of Yim Wing-chun. When in Guangxi, Leung Bok-chau taught his martial art to Law Man-gung, who was kung fu brother of Leung Lan-kwai. Law Man Gung would pass down the knowledge to Fok Bo-chuen, who would be one of the Wing Chun teachers of Yuen brothers. Notable alumni Tran Thuc Tien Yiu Choi / Yiu Kai History Yiu Choi first began learning Wing Chun Kuen from Yuen Chai-wan, the elder brother of Yuen Kay-san, in roughly 1920 and studied with him until Yuen moved to Vietnam in 1936, just after the death of his Sifu Fung Siu-ching. Just before he left, Yuen introduced Yiu Choi to his friend and fellow Wing Chun Kuen practitioner, Chan Wah-shun, to continue his studies. At the same time, he also learned from Chan Wah-shun's student Ng Chung-so. Technique Per Leung Ting, out of the other lineages, the Yiu Choi / Yiu Kai branch is Wing Chun Kung Fu is the closest to Yip Man branch's. Lineage Lineage A: Red Boat Opera → "Painted Face Kam" → Fok Bo-chuen & Fung Siu-ching → Yuen Chai-wan → Yiu Choi Lineage B: Red Boat Opera → Wong Wah-bo → Leung Jan → Chan Wah-shun → Yiu Choi Notable alumni: Fok Chiu Fujian Wing Chun Kuen Fujian Wing Chun is a group of associated martial arts originated from Fujian Shaolin Temple, where Jee Shim taught martial arts at the temple's Wing Chun Dien (Always Spring Hall). After destruction of the Fujian Shaolin Temple, the Fujian Wing Chun would be spread to Guangdong by Fong Sai-yuk and Hung Hei-gun. Hung Suen - Hay Ban Wing Chun This branch comes from Red Boat Opera of modern era, where style of Wing Chun perpetuated and never left the Red Boat Opera, where it would continue developing. This branch was introduced to United States by Yeung Fook. Gu Lao - Pien San Wing Chun / Side Body Wing Chun Originates from Leung Jan's Gu Lao Wing Chun. Wong Wah-saam was 23 years old when he became Leung Jan's student, but Leung Jan died quite early in Wong's training. Wong is the originator of Fung-family variation of Gu Lao Wing Chun. Focuses on moving to the side of the attacking opponent for offense and defense. This is contrary to most other styles of Wing Chun, especially of Ip Man's lineage. It utilizes 36 small drills, compared to the 40 Point System of main Gu Lao Wing Chun. ==Unique variants==

Besides main lineages, there are highly specialized variations of Wing Chun system that have spawned from these lineages. Practical Wing Chun Advocated by Wan Kam-leung, student of Wong Shun-leung. Jun Fan Gung Fu Wing Chun variation conceived by Bruce Lee in 1962, before his creation of Jeet Kune Do. It is based on Ip Man lineage of Wing Chun, as Lee was instructed Ip Man and his senior student Wong Shun-leung. Following the 1964 encounter with Wong Jack-man, Bruce Lee distanced himself from Jun Fan Gung Fu, seeing that the reason why he failed to properly defeat Wong Jack-man was because he let guidelines of his own system compromise aliveness. In response, Bruce Lee ordered the closure of all Jun Fan Gung Fu schools, and instead focused on a new combat philosophy known as Jeet Kune Do. Regardless, select early students of Bruce Lee - namely Jesse Glover, Taky Kimura, James Yimm Lee, Jerry Poteet and Ted Wong - preserved Jun Fan Gung Fu in its original form, after Lee had abandoned it. ==Notes==