Wing Chun Misconceptions

[7starmantis]

In the latest Inside Kung-Fu magazine there is an article called: 9 Wing Chun Misconceptions. It details 9 legends that supposedly new research has proven false. A few of these are:

1. The Burning of the ShaolinTemple: New research is showing that it was not the northern shaolin temple that was burned but the southern.
2. The Five Elders: New research is showing that in the oral traditions about Ng Mui, a nun and one of the five elders who escaped the burning of the NorthernShaolinTemple, is not proven. Wing Chun is actually dated back to the 1600s, but no recorded proof on who or what the Five Elders were.
3. Yim Wing Chun, her father, and her husband: The popular legend contends that one of the Five Elders, Ng Mui, taught a girl named Yim Wing Chun, kung fu so that she could defend herself against an unwanted marriage. The new research says that like the five elders, there are no written historical records of Yim Wing Chun, her husband, or her father. The problem is that if there were no Five Elders, then the nun, Ng Mui, did not exist. If the five elders were the revolutionary leaders of the time, the being so, they were on the most wanted list. If she came forward either as a woman disguised as a man or as a revolutionary merely to teach kung fu to a young girl, she would have jeopardized her life, as well as her fellow elders, along with the life of the girl.

I'm not a wing chun historian and I don't actually know all that much about it. What are your thoughts on this? I'm not sure where the "research" is from, it doesn't really say.


<edit> The research was done by the Ving Tsun Museum.</edit>

7sm

 

[MA-Caver]

I'm kicking myself for not having a better memory and what I DO remember is vague at best. A number of years ago I attended a three-day Wing-Chun seminar with Yip Sing as the honored guest. One afternoon he told the story of the founding of Wing Chun and how his family was one of the direct lineage desendants of the origins of the art. I do recall a woman (nun?) being mentioned and how it was originally kept secret because they were outlawed from defending themselves from the emperor's soldiers, that classes were taught during odd hours of the day/night in secret and one or two students at a time to avoid a crowd. Later, they were able to open schools and go from there. Yip Sing did mention Bruce Lee and practicing/training along side with him while his father/sifu Yip Man, taught.
But like I said I'm kicking myself for not having a better memory of this fascinating story. Probably because I was doing sign-language interpreting at the time and was doing my best keeping pace with the Chinese translation to english while I translated english to American Sign Language. Thus no real time to allow it all to sink in.
Ah well.
None the less I am still honored to have met the man (GM Sing) in person and to have a few moments of hands on teaching directly from him during the course of the seminar. :asian:

 

[leehoicheun]

I believe none of what I hear and only half of what i see or read. There are oposing arguements on both sides as to the "real" history of Wing Chun. Personally, I like reading them all but when teaching our family's history i teach what Sifu taught me. The problem with most Chinese history is most of it was done orally and almost none written down, especially secret society arts like Wing Chun. Don't forget what Wing Chun was created for........ wouldn't have been much of a secret if they risked documenting it all so that their enemies could learn of their actions. It's easier to take a secret to the grave then to be captured holding written documentation of your plans........ right? :asian:

I have read just about every book out there on the histories of Wing Chun and they all make sense. But I do not subscribe to any ONE of them being the so called "truth". I just keep an open mind and I'm always sure to tell my students about the varying histories.

What's most important is to preserve what Wing Chun was really created for.... COMBAT! Too many school have forgotten this and surrender themselves to over commercialism and endless games of "tag"-sau. These are the schools that give the style and it's true combat effectiveness a bad name.

 

[Wanderer]

I think the Five Elders and Yim Wing Chun were developed over time as a "mythical history" of Wing Chun and hold little basis in fact. The true lineages have been traced to the red junk opera boats where most of the system was developed.
This is where most of the combat systems and methods would probably have been developed, only the most lethal and efficient techniques practised and passed on. This would probably limit the training to, say, the three empty hand forms, the Muk Yan Jong, iron palm and weapons.
It would have been beneficial to practitioners of the day to perfect a few effective techniques in as short a time as possible to produce lethal exponenents who could go out and "Restore the Ming", as such.....

 

[sungkit]

MACaver:

I was under the impression that by the time the sons of Yip Man came to Hong Kong, Bruce Lee had already gone to the USA?