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The Augustine Fong method of Wing Chun Gung Fu, which has its origins in Yip Man Wing Chun. Very Respectfully wcnavstar

A point to remember for all of you is that Bruce Lee never completed the Wing Chun Stlye. In fact he never came close. Thus his knowlege of the martial arts was very limited to what he knew of Wing Chun. Thus his inclusion of many of the techniques from Western Boxing and other style such as Muay Thai, Savate, and Western Wrestling. Also a good Wing Chun sifu does not teach traps, by learning the form and doing the drills. The trapping comes as a result of the nutural motions employed in Wing Chun fighting. As well when you reach the Bui Jee level of Wing Chun you learn to Bob and Weave as well as extremely close range fighting. It is mainly to teach you emergency techniques; hence, the bobbing and weaving. Very Respectfully wcnavstar

While the many styles out there teach animal techniques. And after being told so will look like animal movements. The human body itself has a wide variety of motion;yet, our body itself is completly different from the majority of animals out there represented by Animal Kung Fu Systems. Dragon, Snake, Crane, Tiger, Leopard, Dog, Duck...the one close exception would be the other primate....the Monkey. Yet we still make a connection between these motions and the animals we feel it nost represents. Still no matter how much you try to tell yourself that you are moving and attacking as that animal would. You are still human and therefore cannot. However this does not mean that the movements are useless, every animal style I have studied or wittnessed, at first glanec seems totally off the wall compared to other styles. If you get down to the basic principles, generation of energy, and indavidual techniques. they will begin to reamble any other style of Kung Fu or martial art. These animals may have inspired their creators to develop new innovative styles. But all they have done is in a way disguise normal fighting movements with unseen delivery; hence causing confusion with their opponenets. The end result being a victory. The conclusion is that Animal Kung Fu holds as much validity as you are willing to give it. Was you realize and learn the basic principles of unarmed combat. Any style will come to you easy. Very Respectfully wcnavstar

While it is true that Wing Chun Gung Fu was said to have been developed by a female nun from Shaolin by the name of Ngu Mui. There is a book out there for anyone who is interested called "Complete Wing Chun". It is basicly an account of all the different branches of Wing Chun around the world. And each one has their own account of Wing Chuns origins. Some lineages include, Yip Man Wing Chun, Yuen Kay San Wing Chun, and Jee Shim Wing Chun, as well as many others. The most common heard story comes from Yip Man Wing Chun who is famous for being the teacher of Lee Sui Long (Bruce Lee). Which brought credit to that paticular style of Wing Chun. Back to the history as taght by the Yip Man Sect. Around 400 years ago the Chinese government was not too happy with the Shaolin Temple. While the monks had provided many services to the government of the day. They were also suspected of being the organizers of a rebellion. Thus the monks new that they would someday come under attack by the very government that they once sought to help. In response the five elders met over several years to develop a new art by combining the most simple yet effective techniques from their respective styles. At that time the shaolin arts were considered to be among the best around. Regaurdless it took nearly 20 years to turn out an effective fighter. Thus the idea for this new styles was to turn out a fighter good enough to help in the defense of the temple against Imperial soldiers. Two of the people involved were A nun Ngu Mui of the Plum Blossom style and Jee Shim from the Snake and Crane arts. Sadly the style was never fully completed and the Temple was destroyed and the survivors went into hiding as criminals of the Empire. Ngu Mui ended up in a small villiage were she met and befriended a local girl By the name of Yim Wing Chun. She was known as Ms. Beancurd (tofu) And was one of the most beautiful girls in town. Hearing of this a local ruffian tried to force Yim's hand in marriage. At which point Ngu Mui stepped in and declared that the only man fit to marry Yim would be the one to beat her in combat. She then asked for time to train the young girl. She mentored Yim in the yet unknown and unamed art of the temple, filling in the gaps with her own Plum Blossom style. Around a year later Yim and the nun returned. And to make a long story short. Yim beat the ruffian. Later, Yim returned to training with Ngu Mui. Many years later she met and married Lueng Bok Chau. During which time Yim realized that the techniques taught to her by the nun required too much use of muscle power. So with the help of her husband, an acomplished martial artist himself. He later Named the style after his wife, Beautiful Springtime... " Wing Chun " Now I do not totally endorse this account of events, I am merly trying to convey one point of view passed down through the years of Wing Chun's origins. The point being is that throughout martial art history, women have had a great impact in many ways. Wing Chun, Kali, White Crane... Some famous female martial artists to look for fo inspiration: Kathy Long, Cynthia Rothrock, Michelle Yeoh, Anita Mui, Mimi Chan, Graciella Callsias, Sophia Crawford, Cheng Pei Pei and many others. Look for the Tape Top Fighter 2: Deadly China Dolls for more inspiration. Just look any of this info up on the net. Very Respectfully wcnavstar

Wing Chun is most effective from a close range scenerio. While Karate all depends on your style and Lineage. I study Shorin Ryu Karate onder Ryu Kyu Kobudo Hozon Shinko Kai. The way they generate energy is very unique and allows for both close range and long range hand strikes. Which style has the most effective hand strikes, does not depend on the style, but rather the peron using the style is the deciding factor in any fight. With the exception of finger strikes, both styles utilize similar hand strikes. Wing Chun uses a vertical punch which gives you better "Bone Joint Power" because the two boes in the forearm are straight and not crossed as they would be in a typical karate horizontal punch.

Piont blank, If you do nothing but fight you might as well not even take martial arts. You are better off participating in street fights; because, a street fighter and even martial artists who do not practice kata are very raw and there technique cannot stand up against anyone whom does an equal amount of kata and full contact training. Many of these arts have been around for many years in some cases, hundreds. Hence, the kata are not wasted time and useless. To assume that becuase we consider ourselves to be of a more advanced mind that our theories and concepts on fighting make the old mehtods of training useless, is just plain stupid. The older methods of fighting were develpoped by people who at any given time would have to fight to the death for land, possession, or even uprising agaist their own government. They were not fighting for ego, a wallet, and most of them carried some type of weapon. Therefore, since we do not face these same circumstances. We are quick to discount there methods as either no longer needed or even ineffective. By doing this, we are responsible for the degrading of the martial arts world into a big joke. A race to develop the most effective form of fighting to learn within the least amount of time. The majority of the people who undertake the study of the martial arts are not natural fighters. Kata is a tool to guide not only inexperienced students, but seasoned veterens as well. Anyone who has studied Wing Chun will know the importance of kata for effective training. Many people choose not to do kata because it is the search for perfection in your technique. While you can never truly attain perfection. The path toward that goal is not easy and does not come quickly. Most Americans are looking for the easy path to fighting knowlegde. In this aspect, they are not true martial artists. They seek only to fight, either for ego or simply for self-defense. Now this is not the wrong way to go about training. But, the true study and heart of the martial arts lies within the kata. They are a look back into the past. Kata is an example of what your capabilities can be. And as quoted by others on this subject, it provides muscle memory training; thus creating a more perfect natural reaction to whatever situation comes your way. Therefore, in my opinion, anyone who does not practice kata, is wasting there time studying a "Martial Art" and should concentrate more on just being known as a Fighter, nothing more.

The Wing Chun stance is used to allow for maximum mobility and gives the practitioner the ability to sink into the ground for stability. Although it does look at frist glance to be unreliable as a fighting stance. Through proper training with a Wing Chun Sifu, one will come to understand the small things dealing with sinking, softness, stillness and efficient energy release. The reason the body is facing forward to the opponent is to allow eaqual use of the arms. When the body is faced sideways one hand is always closer than the other. This trains the pratitioner to train one side as the strong side and the other as a front. Such is the case with american boxing. Most of them are stronger on one side and weaker on the other. Normally the right side is stronger. While the Wing Chun stance presents a bigger target for your opponent to strike, it promotes the eqaul use and effectivness of both hands. Because of the apparent weakness in the Wing Chun body position, Wing Chun practitioners train to be experts at blocking and trapping. They also train at closing the distance with an opponent which is where Wing Chun is most effective and deadly. I hope that this helps to clarify any confusion or doubt. Remember that many of the styles you will see on the path to martial knowledge. Have been in existance for hundreds of years. They all hold something of value, a lesson to be learned. There is no right or wrong way, it is up to you to find out what works for you best. Wing Chun is not for everyone, same as boxing, karate, tae kwon do ect... Very Respectfully wcnavstar