sifu chow's integrating wing chun

SHAOLIN TEMPLE

YIP MAN AND BRUCE LEE
IN STICKY HANDS

WING CHUN IN CHINA
Around 350 years ago. China was conquered by the Manchurian from the Northeastern Region of Mainland China. Manchurians conquest of the Han people ended the Ming Dynasty and began the Ching Dynasty. While ninety percent of the people in China were Han, they always wanted to take control of Mainland back. Around that time Manchurian set many restrictions on the Han. The Han were prohibited from owning weapons or practicing Kung Fu (Wu Shu in mandarin ). Kung Fu had been practiced by the Han for thousands of years and was an integral part of their culture. It was impossible to stop it completely. So, Han practiced Kung Fu secretly inside their house mostly during the night time. After practicing, they would have a bowl of congee (rice soup). In order to avoid being recognized as Kung Fu practitioner they called themselves as "the men who ate the night time congee". Today this expression still being used in Hong Kong and China. Temples and Monasteries also became ideal places to practice Kung Fu. The most respectful was Shoalin Temple in Honan Province of Southern China. There was a nun named Ng Mui who practiced Kung Fu regularly. She also realized what she had been practiced eagerly was invented by men for other men. It was not for women. Kung Fu required a great deal of physical strength and reach. As a woman she had little physical advantage. She needed a system which would allow her to fight smarter not harder. She began to work on an more economical system. A system included a lower stand and economical techniques. Lastly it also has the sensitivity for better flow and timing. Before she finalized the new system. The Ching Dynasty attempted to capture the "the men who ate the night time congee". They burnt down the Shaolin Temple. Fortunately, Ng Mui was able to escape to southern Kwantung Providence. Then, she met a tofu lady named Yim Wing Chun who made tofu for living. Yim WIng Chun was also a Kung Fu lover. They shared the same commands and started to develop anew fighting system for women. They named the new system Wing Chun after Yim Wing Chun.

Class of Leung Sheung 1968

Wing Chun Lightning Hands
Master Ng Wah Sum

WING CHUN IN HONG KONG
Yim Wing Chun taught the art of Wing Chun to her husband, Leung Bok Toa. Later Leong Bok Toa taught to two opera performers, Leung Yee Tei and Wong Wah Bo. These two opera performers traveled to Fatshan City in Kwantung Providence where they would pass down the art of Wing Chun to Dr. Leung Jon. Fatshan City became a landmark of development in Wing Chun. About a hundred years ago, Yip Man was born. At age of ten, Yip Man began to study Wing Chun from Dr. Leung Jon's disciple Chan Wah Soon. Later, Yip Man also studied from Dr. Leung Jon's son Leong Bik. In 1950 Yip Man like many Chinese ran away from Communism Party and moved to Hong Kong. Where he started to teach Wing Chun and gained numerous disciples. His most senior student was Sifu Leung Sheung (Sifu Chow's Sikung). There were also Yip Po Ching, Lok Yiu, Chu Shong Tin, Wong Shun Leung, Bruce Lee, etc. One of the best students from Leung Sheung was Sifu Ng Wah Sum. Sifu Ng Wah Sum earned his respect in fighting for Wing Chun in two events. In 1968, Ng Wah Sum represented Wing Chun Pei to fight in the first Far East Kung Fu Tourament in Singapore. He won two fights but lost one. He took the second place. The second time was a beimo* in 1980. It was a hot and humid summer evening, on the roof top of a biulding in Mok Kwok, Kowloon. His opponent was a Choy Lee Fut instructor. At one point his opponent used a overhead blow. Sikung Ng Wah Sum responded to the blow by a side shifting and a Wu Sao. followed by two Chung Kuens. They knocked his opponent off his stance. A journalist captured the entire event and printed it in the next day's newspaper. The headline said: Wing Chun Lightning Hands...Sifu Ng Wah Sum of Wing Chun defeated his opponent with a lightning speed blocks and strikes.
For more information about Sifu Ng Wah Sum, please log on www.wingchunchapter.com

WING CHUN IN U.S.A.
Wing Chun is a stand-up and close-range fighting style. It's techniques and training are mainly for hand striking distance. Bruce Lee integrated Wing Chun with higher kicks and western boxing in order to fill the gap. He announced his Jeet Kuen Do in the late sixties. A system influenced everybody in martial arts world including the Wing Chun practitioners. Early nineties, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu came to United States and the rest of the world. They have proven that ground fighting is another effective fighting range. However, there is a big gap between the striking range and the ground range. Wing Chun's fighting range got caught in the middle. Sifu Chow's IWC uses Wing Chun to bridge the gaps from entry to Sticky Hand, from Sticky Hand to Sticky body on the ground. Today Sifu Chow's IWC is an all range fighting system which includes long range, close range and ground submission. In order to accomplish that. There are 10 levels of ranking in IWC. For more information on the 10 levels of training.

Kicking	Punching	Trapping
Take Down	Mounting	Submission

WING CHUN GOES TO MMA TRAINING...
What is the definition of a complete fighter? Someone who can defeat an opponent in all ranges of combat (distance, close range, takedowns, ground grappling), by any means. What are "sticky hands"? A close-range hand and arm training used in Wing Chun Kung Fu. What does "sticky body" mean? A natural companion to, and more penetrating method of, sticky hands, in which the entire body is involved in fighting. Who can offer this transitional type of training? Sifu ChowÕs Integrative Wing Chun (IWC).
Any practitioner of Wing Chun is familiar with single and double sticky-hands (chi-sao). These drills help the student develop sensitivity and timing through feeling an opponentÕs commitment. Sifu Chung Chow admonishes his students to be conscious of whether or not they feel commitment (or energy) on their wrist or elbow. If an opponent grabs the wrist, the student brings up the elbow into a bong sao (Wing Block). Conversely, energy applied to the elbow should cause the student to immediately drop the elbow into a tan sao (Upper Side Block). The main concept to remember is to "be like water," as Bruce Lee often told his students, and flow with the energy.
Sifu ChowÕs IWC covers all ranges of fighting, and he breaks down close-range, stand-up fighting into four sections or "phases". "Phase 1" refers to the passing of the wrist, which occurs when the student initially makes contact with an opponent (such as after a "break" in chi-sao). "Phase 2" means gaining control of, or making a cutting angle on, the opponentÕs elbow. "Phase 3" is the actual trapping of the elbow with one hand while penetrating the opponentÕs blind side for a side choke with the other. "Phase 4" is gaining control of the space behind an opponentÕs back, where s/he can no longer fight. Sifu Chow emphasizes that no one can get to Phase 4 in just one move, and admonishes his class to take many steps, as if climbing a ladder. If it is difficult to get a good choke on one side of the opponent, he demonstrates to his students how to flow with the opponentÕs energy and immediately choke the other side. This tactic can be repeated until a rear naked chokehold, and a Phase 4 position, is achieved. Keep in mind that in Phases 1 through 4, the student is sticking to the opponent the entire time.
At Phase 4, the IWC student has completed the distance and close ranges of fighting. Traditional Wing Chun only goes as far as Phase 2 in stand up fighting, and sensitivity extends to the hands and the legs Ð but what about the rest of the body? What about takedowns and ground grappling? The IWC practitioner wants to STICK to the opponentÕs body, just like with the hands in chi-sao! IsnÕt that a better way to reserve more energy to achieve your goals?
This is when we get into "sticky body" territory. After Phase 4, the IWC student initiates a takedown. Takedowns can be achieved by the traditional Kau Gerk from Phase 3, or simply placing the foot behind the opponentÕs knee in Phase 4 and stepping down. With either of these methods, the student continues to stick to the opponent. With a Kau Gerk, the studentÕs thigh becomes a leverage point to control the opponentÕs back. If stepping behind an opponentÕs knee, the studentÕs foot stays there until the opponent reaches the ground.
This is the time for control. The transition between takedown and ground grappling is all about controllingÐand not slammingÐthe opponent. You donÕt want to throw your opponent away if you have spent all of that effort breaking his/her structure! If an opponentÕs structure is broken, s/he cannot fight. This will give you time to set up your body mechanics to ensure a proper trapping position. After that, you can easily finish out the fight by either striking or tapout techniques like joint locks or choking.
For those traditional WIng Chun practitioners uninitiated with takedown and ground grappling, this probably sounds very technical and time-consuming. However, the benefits of this type of training are immeasurable. By sticking to the arms and then body of an opponent, IWC naturally bridges the gap between stand-up and ground fighting. This unique approach gives the student more options and helps him/her to become a more complete fighter.