“Sifu” is an oft-used, but also oft-misused term in Chinese martial arts. Actually, it’s two terms that sound the same but are composed of different characters, the first (1st) of which is usually reserved for religious or martial masters, the second (2nd) of which is applied to anyone skilled in any trade what-so-ever. Both can also apply to the same person, which can get confusing.

In China, a restaurant cook, mechanic, chess expert, even a taxi driver (since it was considered an uncommon skill) is referred to as sifu (2nd). Note, while the term itself does imply skill, it gives no absolute indication of the amount of skill.

Keep reading »

Traditional Chinese measures are relative and not absolute (i.e., a chuen (cun or Chinese “inch”) will be smaller on a smaller person than a larger person, where a western metric unit like centimeter will be the same for both, regardless of their individual size).

In my experience, if you learn from any non-Westernized Chinese sifu, they will give you measures in this way (if TCM is shared knowledge, then with accupoints, if not then with landmarks — i.e., one tiger’s mouth (thumb-to-index span of grip-shaped hand) straight out from the nose).

Keep reading »

Maybe not as perfect as taking the classic route of saying he met a Shaolin/Wutan Monk/Priest with white eybrows/hair/beard and learned it from him in a secret cave/grotto/mountain top/temple, probably saving himself like 30+years of aggravation along with the Sihingdai and general smart-alec community…

Or why not Yip Man sifu, while working as a detective in Guangzhou, chanced upon another branch, learned some of it, but so as not to cause problems with his Foshan classmates, only ever passed it on to William Cheung under strictest vow of not-make-publicness?

And don’t we just know there’s an HK TV show/movie spec sitting somewhere with even more options all of this?

Kung Fu Magazine Forums – View Single Post – Honest HFY Question-

A perfect solution to a big dilemma.

hakao posts:

I think Rene knows a lots about the vietnamese lineage as his lineage has the same origin.

Not a lot, or even much at all, but I have come across some info over the years. Simply, Yuen Chai-Wan’s Chinese student in Foshan (Yiu Choi who later learned from Ng Jung-So) has the same kind of Wing Chun Kuen system as pretty much everyone else (Siu Lien Tao, Chum Kiu, Biu Jee, etc.) so I’d guess anyone who learned just WCK, and the whole WCK system from Yuen Chai-Wan in Vietnam would also look pretty much the same.

Keep reading »

Quick quiz, hotshots. You’ve got someone attempting to twist-quote you on the internet:

But then again, didn’t you say:
Reasonable person + internet (access + anonymity) = @$$hole.

Yet, if you (obviously) posted under your full, real name, does the quoter’s inclusion of (+ anonymity) then highlight a complete misunderstanding on their part of math, or just poor reading comprehension? What do you say, hotshots?

Keep reading »

There seems to be some confusion about as to what the Red Turban Rebellion was, and who wore the Red Turbans. This has been a particular area of interest of mine ever since the 2nd Wing Chun Friendship Seminar in Dayton, Ohio, where I gave a short talk on the Wing Chun connection between Red Junks and Red Turban Rebellion. I also handed out printed copies of a work-in progress article on the subject, which later appeared on Kung Fu Magazine Online, and can be seen in its updated form right here on W1NG.com.

In essence, the Red Junk Opera members, including their leader, Lee Man-Mao (Li Wenmao) wore full opera costumes as they marched into Foshan (an unimaginable sight, no doubt), while the common people of Foshan who rose up to support them tied on the Red Turban as symbol of that support.

Keep reading »

Since stuff like San Sik (Free Techniques) aren’t, by their nature, as formal, there’s a higher propensity for change and addition/subtraction. If Siu Lien Tao is a codex of alphabet and grammar, San Sik are like Scrabble tiles.

(For those not familiar with San Sik, think of Siu Lien Tao, then think of the “three prayers to Buddha” section of Siu Lien Tao. That could be (and is in some lineages), a separate San Sik all it’s own. Basically, very short combinations of (typically core or otherwise foundation) movements).

Keep reading »

See here, again someone involving our Smiling Dragon, DrLeungJohn.

This is a giant sized food fight where ain’t nobody dashing through without getting their face splattered with tatters and pie.

First, just to clarify further down the thread, Gwai Ma is technically not in any of the forms in YKS/SN WCK (not in SLT, CK, BJ, HJ, etc.), it’s in an extension to the second of the 12 free hands (Side Punch is extended into Kneeling Side Punch, which is also a heckuva leg workout…)

Second, pulling my jacket tight over head and sprinting, there are only two ways to settle a discussion like this one: asking the people at the top, and/or doing a detailed move by move comparison of the choreography and power generation methods of both systems.

Keep reading »

There are a number of misrepresentations about Complete Wing Chun which have been, and still are being spread around the Wing Chun community. This series will address them as we go along (or as they pop up).

We’ll start with Savi, on KFO:

Honest HFY Question- – Page 16 – Kung Fu Magazine Forums

Now, that chapter on Hung Suen Wing Chun was originally written by John Murphy (HFY member, not a TWC member), altered and edited by the authors of CWC (non members of either family)

We (neither Robert Chu, Y. Wu, nor myself), altered or edited anything in the Hung Suen chapter. If anyone said we did, they are mistaken. I’ve had to correct this already far too many times, so I would appreciate everyone’s help in propagating the correction wherever possible.

Keep reading »

John Siracusa, writing on the proposed Microsoft/Yahoo deal, opens with this little pearl:

Knee-deep in the dead

This Yahoo/Microsoft thing presents another case of the Cynic’s Dilemma. The classic example is the leader of a wacko religious cult. Either he’s a brilliant student of the human psyche, consciously manipulating people for his own benefit, or he’s a true believer. Which scenario is more scary? Which is more evil? Which is more likely? Which would make you feel better about the world? Maybe it’s a little of both?

While often heard about in the technology sphere (Reality Distortion Field anyone?), any claim they’d make to patent cult-like activity would be drowned by martial arts’ prior art. We got tons of it.

Keep reading »