Well, at long last, I'm getting around to the review I promised quite some time back of Rene Ritchie's Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun Kuen. Here we go..
Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun Kuen, by Rene Ritchie. Copyright 1997, published by Multi-Media Books. ISBN 1-892515-03-2
Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun Kuen is a look at this little known branch of Wing Chun gung fu. The book can be seen as an expansion of another book, Complete Wing Chun, written by Robert Chu, Rene Ritchie, and Y. Wu, that covers several systems of Wing Chun, some known, some very rare.
The books first part, titled 'Origin', looks into the legends and history of Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun, including passages on figures prominent in the backgrounds of many Wing Chun systems, like Ng Mui, Yim Wing Chun, the Red Junk Opera, and others. While many of the stories match those of other Wing Chun systems, there are differences unique to the history of Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun that the reviewer leaves for the reader to discover.
The second part of the book deals with the fundamentals of the Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun system. A key fundamental principle of the system is the meridian line, which many will be familiar with as the center line in other martial arts systems. The concepts behind the meridian line seem to be the same as the center line, just termed differently.
The next topic covered under fundamentals is Yuen Kay-San's '12 Methods' (sup yee faat). These area group of concepts and ideas that are central to the system, such as jeet (to intecept or cut off), chum (to sink down), and tong (to press). Tactical advice and training principles are also covered briefly, as well as the body structure a Yuen Kay-San practitioner should have.
The next part covers forms of Yuen Kay-San. An opening form is shown and explained, which seems to be done before all the forms in general. Yuen Kay-San shows a distinct difference from 'Yip Man' Wing Chun with it's '12 Forms'; 12 sets of short exercises that each teach a specific technique or concept.
The siu lien tao (little first training) form is then shown. It would be foolish to try to describe the form in a review, but it's enough to say that it is quite different from the sil(siu) lum tao form most people have seen from the more popular Yip Man branch of Wing Chun. There are several moves that clearly show the snake influence on the system, with short, flowing serpentine movements of the hands.
The 12 Forms and siu lien tao form contain names most people associate with other kung/gung fu systems to describe techniques, like 'White Crane Seizes the Fox', 'Single Dragon Punch', and 'Three Prayers to Buddha'. Finally, a closing form is taught. Like the opening form, it is done at the end of all Yuen Kay-San routines.
The final part of the book deals with training in general, covering solo, partner, and advanced training. The chapter on advanced training lists and briefly describes other Yuen Kay-San forms: Chum kiu (sinking bridges), Biu jee (darting fingers), mook yan jong (wooden dummy), Sun hei gwai yuen (kidney breathing invigoration), luk dim boon gwun (six and a half point pole), and yee jee seung do (double knives).
The book closes with an afterword by two of Ritchie's training partners, a Wing Chun family tree, and a glossary.
I enjoyed this book very much, finding the differences between Yuen Kay-San and other systems of Wing Chun to be fascinating. The author writes very clearly in terms any martial artist, or even non-martial artist, can understand. The pictures, though all black & white, clearly demonstrate the techniques discussed in the text, often from different angles and with picture of technique applications.
The only thing that could really be improved would be the layout of the text and pictures, as some text descriptions would bleed over to following pages, with pictures of different techniques. This is probably a method used by many publishers to save money, though, and if you read the text, it isn't hard to follow.
The book is a must-read for any Wing Chun practitioner as well as martial arts bibliophiles like myself. I only wish the other forms were covered as well, and hope that Mr. Ritchie authors more books on this system to share it with the rest of us.
Cthulhu
Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun Kuen, by Rene Ritchie. Copyright 1997, published by Multi-Media Books. ISBN 1-892515-03-2
Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun Kuen is a look at this little known branch of Wing Chun gung fu. The book can be seen as an expansion of another book, Complete Wing Chun, written by Robert Chu, Rene Ritchie, and Y. Wu, that covers several systems of Wing Chun, some known, some very rare.
The books first part, titled 'Origin', looks into the legends and history of Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun, including passages on figures prominent in the backgrounds of many Wing Chun systems, like Ng Mui, Yim Wing Chun, the Red Junk Opera, and others. While many of the stories match those of other Wing Chun systems, there are differences unique to the history of Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun that the reviewer leaves for the reader to discover.
The second part of the book deals with the fundamentals of the Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun system. A key fundamental principle of the system is the meridian line, which many will be familiar with as the center line in other martial arts systems. The concepts behind the meridian line seem to be the same as the center line, just termed differently.
The next topic covered under fundamentals is Yuen Kay-San's '12 Methods' (sup yee faat). These area group of concepts and ideas that are central to the system, such as jeet (to intecept or cut off), chum (to sink down), and tong (to press). Tactical advice and training principles are also covered briefly, as well as the body structure a Yuen Kay-San practitioner should have.
The next part covers forms of Yuen Kay-San. An opening form is shown and explained, which seems to be done before all the forms in general. Yuen Kay-San shows a distinct difference from 'Yip Man' Wing Chun with it's '12 Forms'; 12 sets of short exercises that each teach a specific technique or concept.
The siu lien tao (little first training) form is then shown. It would be foolish to try to describe the form in a review, but it's enough to say that it is quite different from the sil(siu) lum tao form most people have seen from the more popular Yip Man branch of Wing Chun. There are several moves that clearly show the snake influence on the system, with short, flowing serpentine movements of the hands.
The 12 Forms and siu lien tao form contain names most people associate with other kung/gung fu systems to describe techniques, like 'White Crane Seizes the Fox', 'Single Dragon Punch', and 'Three Prayers to Buddha'. Finally, a closing form is taught. Like the opening form, it is done at the end of all Yuen Kay-San routines.
The final part of the book deals with training in general, covering solo, partner, and advanced training. The chapter on advanced training lists and briefly describes other Yuen Kay-San forms: Chum kiu (sinking bridges), Biu jee (darting fingers), mook yan jong (wooden dummy), Sun hei gwai yuen (kidney breathing invigoration), luk dim boon gwun (six and a half point pole), and yee jee seung do (double knives).
The book closes with an afterword by two of Ritchie's training partners, a Wing Chun family tree, and a glossary.
I enjoyed this book very much, finding the differences between Yuen Kay-San and other systems of Wing Chun to be fascinating. The author writes very clearly in terms any martial artist, or even non-martial artist, can understand. The pictures, though all black & white, clearly demonstrate the techniques discussed in the text, often from different angles and with picture of technique applications.
The only thing that could really be improved would be the layout of the text and pictures, as some text descriptions would bleed over to following pages, with pictures of different techniques. This is probably a method used by many publishers to save money, though, and if you read the text, it isn't hard to follow.
The book is a must-read for any Wing Chun practitioner as well as martial arts bibliophiles like myself. I only wish the other forms were covered as well, and hope that Mr. Ritchie authors more books on this system to share it with the rest of us.
Cthulhu
