Co-Authored by Richard Loewenhagen
Hung Fa Yi Wing
Chun Kuen (Red Flower Righteous Praise Spring Fist), is one of the few
Wing Chun Kuen (Praise Spring Fist) lineages known today that traces its
historical roots to the 17th Century Southern Shaolin Temple (Southern
Young Forest Temple) and its Wing Chun Tohng (Everlasting Spring Hall). It
is also one of the few lineages to trace its roots to the formation of the
Kihng Fa Wuih Gun (Beautiful Flower Association), known today as the
Chinese Artist Association, in the beginning of the 18th Century. Hung Fa
Yi was the only name used during revolutionary times from the late 17th to
the mid 19th Century. Until recently, that name was known and used only
among insiders. In the mid 19th Century a public version of the art began
to be publicly demonstrated on the Red Opera Boats. The public name given
it was Huhng Syuhn Wing Chun Kuen (Red Boat Praise Spring Fist). Ten
generations of Hung Fa Yi tradition trace back over 300 years of Chinese
history while most Wing Chun lineages trace their roots to either the
descendents of the Huhng Syuhn Hei Baan (Red Boat Opera Troupe) or family
roots, both with origins in the mid-18th Century.
Previous
treatises by these authors and others of the Ving Tsun Museum staff have
highlighted the Southern Shaolin Temple's formation and development of
Wing Chun Kuen (Everlasting Spring Fist) as a military combat training
system in the latter half of the 17th Century. Shaolin warrior monks
joined high-level military strategists and fighters in molding their
science and experience into Wing Chun Kung Fu. This article gives
long-overdue credit to one of Wing Chun's developers and the founder of
it's fielded namesake, Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun Kuen. Further research may
well reveal him to be the greatest, most significant person in the history
and realm of Wing Chun Kuen. His given name was Jeung Ngh (commonly
Romanized as Cheung Ng).
Throughout the
19th and 20th centuries, many legends and stories of Wing Chun Kuen's
roots were created based on the burning of the Southern Shaolin Temple and
the escape of the legendary Ngh Jou (Five Elders). According to Hung Fa Yi
traditions, of those who survived the Manchu massacres, two known Southern
Shaolin Temple disciples did indeed escape and were able to keep the Wing
Chun system alive. The senior, a monk, was the twenty-second generation
Shaolin Temple Grandmaster, Yat Chahn Daaih Si (Senior Master "First
Dust"). The other, his disciple, Jeung Ngh, is credited with forming the
Kihng Fa Wuih Gun as a front for activity conducted by revolutionary
societies throughout Southern China. For the next century and a half, the
combat art was referred to as Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun Kuen.
Many legends
reflect that Jeung Ngh came from a family of generations of military men
serving the Ming Dynasty until the Manchu killed his family. Seeking
refuge and fleeing persecution, Jeung Ngh fled to the Northern Shaolin
Temple (Northern Young Forest Temple) in the latter half of the 17th
Century. After spending some time in the Northern Shaolin Temple, he heard
of the gatherings at a place called the Huhng Fa Ting (Red Flower
Pavilion) with the specific purpose of restoring the Ming Dynasty to the
rule of China. Presumably to join in such efforts, he left the Northern
Shaolin Temple and traveled to the Southern Shaolin Temple where he met
the rebels and the Shaolin Monk Yat Chahn Daaih Si. It was there that he
began his studies of the art that was to become Wing Chun Kuen.
Following the
burning of the Southern Shaolin Temple, Jeung Ngh of Wuh Bak (a province
in China, meaning "North Lake") also known as Taan Sau Ngh ("Dispersing
Hand" Ngh), brought his skills to Faht Saan (a city in Southern China,
meaning "Buddha Mountain"), in Gwong Dung (a province in China, also known
as Canton) province. In order to keep his identity and the Shaolin Temple
background from the Manchu government, Jeung Ngh organized the Kihng Fa
Wuih Gun as a front to cover his revolutionary activities. He also passed
on his knowledge of traditional opera and martial arts to the Red Opera
followers.
Some forums
have suggested in recent years that Jeung Ngh's nickname, Taan Sau Ngh, is
homorphic with the Chinese word for cripple, and that perhaps he was given
the nickname because he always had a beggar's hand out for food and money.
Such conjecture may be quickly dismissed as it runs counter to the
preponderance of evidence present even in this century. Both historical
pointers and scientific principles lend credence to Jeung Ngh's existence
and his contributions to Wing Chun. Historical pointers begin with
numerous opera records referring to Jeung Ngh as highly respected for both
his military and operatic skills. No beggar could garner such respect from
the highly sophisticated opera societies. Today's Cantonese opera groups
still revere him as a Si Jou (term for founding ancestors in martial art
cultures) and numerous opera history books refer to him as Jéung Si
(Teacher or Master Jeung). The Faht Saan Museum in China also possesses
historical evidence of Jeung Ngh's life as both an opera performer and a
martial artist. Their historical analyses make no reference to Jeung Ngh
as either a cripple or a beggar. Corroborating research into Wing Chun
family lore done by the Ving Tsun Museum supports the evidence referring
to Jeung Ngh as both a martial arts and opera master. Indeed, Hung Fa Yi
Wing Chun practitioners have a 300-year history and have always recognized
Jeung Ngh as the first generation Grand Master of Wing Chun Kuen. Museum
records, opera records, and Hung Fa Yi traditions universally attest that
Jeung Ngh's one Taan Sau (Dispersing Hand) was peerless throughout the
martial arts world. With it alone, he could describe the science of Hung
Fa Yi Wing Chun and its complete control of time and space during combat.
The scientific proof of Jeung's Ngh existence lies in the fact that his
Hung Fa Yi descendents can duplicate that same feat today.
This control of
time and space is what makes Jeung Ngh's Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun different
from all other martial arts. It guarantees simultaneous defense and attack
with pinpoint accuracy. It is the hand-to-hand equivalent of range
detection and radar/sonar equipment in today's high tech weaponry.
Absolute precision in the positioning of body lines, coupled with equally
precise control of distance between one's own body parts, allow the
practitioner to use his hands and feet as range detectors. Similar
precision focused on strategies and tactics designed to capitalize on
structural flaws and motion occurring within six gates or zones of
defense/attack become the practitioner's radar. Jeung Ngh (and today's
Hung Fa Yi practitioners) could fully express the complexities of
simultaneous defense and attack through time and space control from the
use of a single technique - the Taan Sau dispersing hand.
In Hung Fa Yi
Wing Chun Kuen, Taan Sau is trained consistently at one single point in
space and time in all skill development methodologies, including Saan Sau
(Separate Hand) exercises, Chi Sau (Sticking Hand) drills, and
applications training. If a practitioner were to use Taan Sau at the wrong
space, he would not be in a position for simultaneous attack and defense.
If he used the Taan Sau at the wrong time, his opponent would not be
denied the opportunity for challenge. Only one Taan Sau, applied at one
specific point in space at one specific time will allow the practitioner
to defend and attack while the opponent is denied the same. How, then, is
this precision maintained in the chaos of combat? The answer lies in a
disciplined structure that most efficiently enables employment of
strategies and tactics developed from Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun's emphasis on
the physics of three dimensional space and the fourth dimension, time
itself.
Hung Fa Yi
discussions of space begin with in-depth awareness of self. The word
'begin' must be emphasized strongly here, because Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun is
a complete system for combat. Consequently, every aspect of the science of
Wing Chun relates to every other aspect. Complete understanding of each
individual part is impossible without in-depth comprehension of the
symbiotic relationship of all parts acting in concert. Purpose techniques,
structures, energetics, attributes, tactics, and strategies must all
cooperate for any meaningful employment of space and time to occur. They
affect even the description of time and space. For example, perfect
alignment of one's body for the express purpose of horseback riding
requires reference points in space that are distinctly different from
those required for hand-to-hand combat alignment.
With that said,
Hung Fa Yi examinations of space begin with analysis of one' s own body
unity for the express purpose of engaging in hand-to-hand combat.
Practitioners employ the precise structure of Wing Chun to develop innate
awareness of the distances between each of their own body parts. Before
any attempt can be made to precisely control an opponent's mass in motion
while denying the time and space required to react, one must first possess
absolute control over his own structure throughout its movement in space
and time. This is known as development of martial self-awareness. It is
what enables the Hung Fa Yi practitioner to maintain his own space while
entering the space of another. In essence, his body becomes a calibrated
instrument capable of instantly measuring distance. His structure becomes
as effective as any modern day range detection instrument enabling
pinpoint accuracy in weapons employment.
Development of
martial self-awareness occurs in three stages. The first stage involves
attainment of maximum efficiency in structural unity by aligning one's own
body parts to provide an optimum mix of balance, strength and ease of use
in relation to three-dimensional space. The second stage involves
developing an awareness of an opponent's structures and flaws in relation
to his own space. The third stage introduces the fourth dimension of time
and involves movement of one's parts within defined space.
In the first
stage, the practitioner examines the depth, height, and width of his own
space in terms of 4 elements of the Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun formula: 1
centerline (focal point), 2 lines of defense (depth), 3 reference points
(height), and the 3-line concept (width). In order to define one's own
precise space and the most efficient placement of his own parts within it,
he must be able to describe that space in all dimensions. These four
elements of the Wing Chun formula allow him to do just that.
The first
element, centerline, provides a vertical reference line allowing for
centering the depth, height, and width components of the practitioner's
space.
The second
element, 2 lines of defense, tells the practitioner how far both of his
hands need to be away from his body. This is the 'depth' component of his
own space. The height element, referred to as the 3 reference points,
gives him the proper vertical positioning for aligning each of his limbs.
Lastly, the 3-line concept provides a precise description of the width of
his space on a horizontal plane. Properly understood, these four elements
allow him to quickly align his body parts for optimum simplicity,
efficiency, and directness in relation to his opponent when motion is
introduced.
In the second
stage, the opponent's structure is examined to determine one's own weapons
alignment. The same four elements of the Wing Chun formula are used to
analyze the opponent's structure. Are his hands and feet at the proper
distances from his torso? Are his elbows, hands, knees, and feet aligned
according to the 3-line concept? Are they at the correct height, or are
they too low? All of these factors are taken into account, because they
will directly affect control of space and time.
In the third
stage, time comes to play. This stage begins when the practitioner aligns
his structure with his opponent's. Time can only be referenced when there
is a second object to be interacted with in space. Optimum alignment
allows the simultaneous use of offense and defense. It also requires the
opponent to make adjustments in his own structure before employment of his
own weapons. This gives the practitioner a time advantage over his
opponent. He trains to align his structure so that his opponent is only
able to use a fraction of his body and weapons against the practitioner 's
full arsenal. While the opponent is adjusting to bring all of his weapons
into proper alignment, the Hung Fa Yi practitioner is in control of time
and is already using it to advantage.
Hung Fa Yi
practitioners train to recognize three different time frames in relation
to combat. The first is called Fauh Kiu (Floating Bridge). It represents a
temporal window in space during which one has no control of either time or
space. In short, no part of the Wing Chun formula is expressed in
alignment or structure. The second time frame examined is called Saan Kiuh
(Separate Bridge). This timeframe addresses conditions and results of
having time, but not space, or having space, but not time. Any strikes
landed during this timeframe are considered nothing more than "lucky
strikes" because the practitioner could not guarantee the outcome. The
third time frame is called the Wihng Kiuh (Everlasting Bridge) time frame.
It represents complete control of time and space, allowing simultaneous
offense and defense.
These concepts
of space and time relative to combat are foundational to the total
comprehension and employment of Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun. By knowing what
structures enable the quickest determination of 'when to act' and 'where
to act' most efficiently, the Hung Fa Yi practitioner is prepared to
control space and time. He uses the Wing Chun formula to recognize
distortions in time and space, both his own and his opponent's. He trains
to remove his own distortions while amplifying those of his opponent.
Coupled with strategies and tactics designed to capitalize on space-time
distortions, he simultaneously disables an opponent's weapons while
employing his own.
The ability to
explain these complex concepts in motion with a single technique, the Taan
Sau, gave Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun's founder, Jeung Ngh, his nickname. Today,
that ability remains alive as recently demonstrated by Master Garrett Gee
, the 8th generation inheritor of Hung Fa Yi, at a Ving Tsun Museum
seminar. Master Gee was asked if it matters whether the Taan Sau is used
to engage the opponent with one's front hand or back hand (depth
dimension). He used the Taan Sau to clearly demonstrate that front hand
employment denied the use of simultaneous offense and defense because the
back hand was out of range for striking. The time required to bring the
back hand within range following front hand engagement was time the
opponent could use for reaction. Clearly a time-space consideration was
needed.
Master Gee was
then asked if it mattered whether the Taan Sau was high (upper reference
point level - height dimension) or low (shoulder level - height
dimension). He replied that dealing with an upper gate attack requires
covering that gate. Upon contact, adjustment can be made. Making contact
low and trying to adjust is dangerous. There is insufficient leverage.
Making contact high provides sufficient leverage for adjustment with fast
motion in time and space.
The last
dimension is width. In order to allow for simultaneous attack and defense,
proper setup in accordance with the Wing Chun formula should result in
applications of the Taan Sau occurring inside the opponent's offenses.
Like his Si Jou
before him, Master Gee emphasized that there is only one most efficient
way to use Taan Sau when time and space are taken into consideration.
There is only one way to enable simultaneous attack and defense. Like his
predecessor, he can express the entire system through this single hand. He
and his own descendants represent today's scientific proof of the
unprecedented effectiveness of Jeung Ngh's Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun system of
combat training and application.
