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Wine Chun 咏春 (pinyin: yǒng chūn) is one of the most popular Chinese Martial Arts forms, which is of self-defense utilizing both striking and grappling while specializing in close-range combat.
The common legend involves the young woman Yim Wing Chun (Wing Chun literally means forever springtime or praising spring) at the time after the destruction of the Southern Shaolin Temple and its associated temples by the Qing government. After Wing Chun rebuffs the local warlord's marriage offer, he says he'll reconsider his proposal if she can beat him in a martial art match. She asks a Buddhist nun- Ng Mui, who was one of the Shaolin Sect survivors, to teach her boxing; this still nameless style enables Yim Wing Chun to defeat the warlord.
Balance, structure and stance
Wing Chun practitioners believe that the person with better body structure will win. A correct Wing Chun stance is like a piece of bamboo, firm but flexible, rooted but yielding. This structure is used to either deflect external forces or redirect them.
Balance is related to structure because a well-balanced body recovers more quickly from stalled attacks and structure is maintained. Wing Chun trains the awareness of one's own body movement derived from muscular, tendon, and articular sources. Performing Wing Chun's forms such as the Wooden Dummy form greatly improve proprioception. Wing Chun favours a high, narrow stance with the elbows kept close to the body. Within the stance, arms are positioned across the vitals of the centerline. Shifting or turning within a stance is carried out variantly on the heels, balls, or middle of the foot depending on lineage. All attacks and counter-attacks are initiated from this firm, stable base. Wing Chun rarely compromises structure for more powerful attacks because this is believed to create defensive openings which may be exploited.
Structure is viewed as important, not only for reasons of defense, but also for attack. When the practitioner is effectively "rooted", or aligned so as to be braced against the ground, the force of the hit is believed to be far more devastating. Additionally, the practice of "settling" one's opponent to brace them more effectively against the ground aids in delivering as much force as possible to them
Centerline
The most commonly interpretation of the centerline emphasizes attack and defense along an imaginary horizontal line drawn from the center of the practitioner's chest to the center of the enemy's chest. The human body's prime striking targets are considered to be on or near this line, including eyes, nose, throat, solar plexus and groin.
Wing Chun techniques are generally "closed", with the limbs drawn in to protect the central area and also to maintain balance. In most circumstances, the hands do not move beyond the vertical circle that is described by swinging the arms in front, with the hands crossed at the wrists. To reach outside this area, footwork is used.
Punches
Because of the emphasis on the center line, the vertical fist straight punch is the most common strike in Wing Chun. Although these punches may appear to be superficially different they are simply the result of the punch beginning from a different origin position while following the same fundamental idea, to punch in a straight line following the shortest distance between the fist and the opponent.
Kicks
Traditionally, kicks are kept below the waist. This is characteristic of southern Chinese martial arts, in contrast to northern systems which utilise many high kicks. Variations on a front kick are performed striking with the heel. Every kick is both an attack and defence, with legs being used to check incoming kicks or to take the initiative in striking.
Forms
Forms are meditative, solitary exercises which develop self-awareness, balance, relaxation and sensitivity. Forms also train the practitioner in the fundamental movement and the correct force generation of Wing Chun. The most commonly seen Wing Chun generally comprises six forms: three empty hand forms, one "wooden dummy" form, and two weapons forms.
Famous movie actor and director, and martial arts instructor Bruce Lee began training in Wing Chun at the age of 13 under the Wing Chun teacher Yip Man in 1954. Lee became an iconic figure known throughout the world, particularly among the Chinese, as he portrayed Chinese nationalism in his films.
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