WHY IS WONG SHEUNG LEUNG'S VING TSUN 
SO DIFFERENT?
Many people ask me why Wong’s way of Ving Tsun is so different than other Sifus. Essentially I can only apply this question to the United Kingdom as that is where the question is asked and that is where I know the question is true. For example one very noticeable difference is the way the Wong’s system turns. In many styles of Ving Tsun in the U.K., when the practitioner turns he puts most if not all his weight on the back leg which of course moves him away from the opponent. Wong system turns on the centre of gravity giving more control of the opponent. Years ago when Anthony Kan and I were learning we were aware of this difference and wondered, even though to us Wong’s way made more sense, that perhaps we were wrong as most styles of Ving Tsun in the U.K. placed the weight on the back leg when they turned. Of course we stayed with what made most logical sense. There are also many other ways that other different Ving Tsun schools have similarities that are different from Wong’s thinking. Personally, I have viewed many, many ways of Ving Tsun over the years, but never have I found a way that is as simple, as efficient and as direct as Wong’s. Indeed, if I had I would be there!
However, to find why Wong’s way is so renowned and different to other Ving Tsun we must look at the past. One obvious pointer is the experience that Wong gained in what worked and what did not from all the real fights he had when he was young. Another is the relationship he had with Yip Man which had a bearing on the knowledge he gained. For this I would like to quote from an article by Dave Peterson and Enzo Verratti called “Ving Tsun by Definition”. I hope they don’t mind me borrowing their words.
“It has been often suggested that Yip Man taught in a fairly unsystematic way, tending to pass on skills according to the student’s size and reach. It is also said that he didn’t have much time for his slower, less intelligent or less diligent students and actually taught few people the entire system in person. This in turn led to many people learning by observing others training, rather than first-hand, and that quite a few actually learn “second-hand” or even “third-hand” version of Ving Tsun filling the gaps in their knowledge with guesswork based on what they could recall seeing others do, or even worse, making it up out of their own imagination! This, of course gave rise to the variation in technique (and the interpretation of these techniques) extant today among instructors of the same generation, not to mention those of their younger Ving Tsun brothers and sisters.
Of all of Yip Man’s students, Sifu Wong Shun Leung probably spent the longest time under his tutelage because it was Sifu Wong who did most of the teaching in Yip Man’s school, whereas most of the other senior students opened their own schools and went about doing things their own way. Wong was therefore, always close to his teacher, could confer with his teacher and, observe his teacher, thereby picking up many of the subtleties which his peers never did. Sifu Wong was also the one Yip Man student who always put everything he had learned to the test, so he soon developed what can only be described as an intimate knowledge of the Ving Tsun system. Becoming known throughout Hong Kong as “Gong Sau Wong”, or “King of Talking with the Hands”, Sifu Wong took the Ving Tsun system to a whole new level and was never defeated in dozens of real life encounters with practitioners of a myriad of martial styles.”
Certainly, when I was in Hong Kong last November 1999 for the “First World Ving Tsun Conference”, it was clear from what was said on stage that Wong Shun Leung was highly respected by his peers. Dave Peterson also gave a rousing speech as to how many Ving Tsun teachers have “lost the way” making their techniques pretty and indirect. What amazes me is how it appeared that many people including Wong’s peers agreed with Dave Peterson but I have never seen any evidence of anyone doing anything about it! This leads me nicely in to quoting a little more from the same Dave Peterson and Enzo Verratti article:-
“What is more disturbing and frustrating is that many very intelligent people blindly continue to follow such instructors, even when confronted by convincing arguments which clearly prove that what they are doing does not conform to a logical approach. Instead, they take what is basically a simple straightforward method and turn it into one that is complicated and less efficient. …………………. So many Ving Tsun practitioners invent endless sequences of defensive actions when what is clearly the obvious message of the system is that ‘attack is the best form of defence.’”
Dave Peterson’s message is one that I completely concur with. Wong once said to me if you want to develop your Ving Tsun you must keep one formula in mind. Does the idea you wish to develop make it more simple, more direct and more efficient?
Long live the way of Wong Shun Leung!
SO DIFFERENT?Many people ask me why Wong’s way of Ving Tsun is so different than other Sifus. Essentially I can only apply this question to the United Kingdom as that is where the question is asked and that is where I know the question is true. For example one very noticeable difference is the way the Wong’s system turns. In many styles of Ving Tsun in the U.K., when the practitioner turns he puts most if not all his weight on the back leg which of course moves him away from the opponent. Wong system turns on the centre of gravity giving more control of the opponent. Years ago when Anthony Kan and I were learning we were aware of this difference and wondered, even though to us Wong’s way made more sense, that perhaps we were wrong as most styles of Ving Tsun in the U.K. placed the weight on the back leg when they turned. Of course we stayed with what made most logical sense. There are also many other ways that other different Ving Tsun schools have similarities that are different from Wong’s thinking. Personally, I have viewed many, many ways of Ving Tsun over the years, but never have I found a way that is as simple, as efficient and as direct as Wong’s. Indeed, if I had I would be there!
However, to find why Wong’s way is so renowned and different to other Ving Tsun we must look at the past. One obvious pointer is the experience that Wong gained in what worked and what did not from all the real fights he had when he was young. Another is the relationship he had with Yip Man which had a bearing on the knowledge he gained. For this I would like to quote from an article by Dave Peterson and Enzo Verratti called “Ving Tsun by Definition”. I hope they don’t mind me borrowing their words.
“It has been often suggested that Yip Man taught in a fairly unsystematic way, tending to pass on skills according to the student’s size and reach. It is also said that he didn’t have much time for his slower, less intelligent or less diligent students and actually taught few people the entire system in person. This in turn led to many people learning by observing others training, rather than first-hand, and that quite a few actually learn “second-hand” or even “third-hand” version of Ving Tsun filling the gaps in their knowledge with guesswork based on what they could recall seeing others do, or even worse, making it up out of their own imagination! This, of course gave rise to the variation in technique (and the interpretation of these techniques) extant today among instructors of the same generation, not to mention those of their younger Ving Tsun brothers and sisters.
Of all of Yip Man’s students, Sifu Wong Shun Leung probably spent the longest time under his tutelage because it was Sifu Wong who did most of the teaching in Yip Man’s school, whereas most of the other senior students opened their own schools and went about doing things their own way. Wong was therefore, always close to his teacher, could confer with his teacher and, observe his teacher, thereby picking up many of the subtleties which his peers never did. Sifu Wong was also the one Yip Man student who always put everything he had learned to the test, so he soon developed what can only be described as an intimate knowledge of the Ving Tsun system. Becoming known throughout Hong Kong as “Gong Sau Wong”, or “King of Talking with the Hands”, Sifu Wong took the Ving Tsun system to a whole new level and was never defeated in dozens of real life encounters with practitioners of a myriad of martial styles.”
Certainly, when I was in Hong Kong last November 1999 for the “First World Ving Tsun Conference”, it was clear from what was said on stage that Wong Shun Leung was highly respected by his peers. Dave Peterson also gave a rousing speech as to how many Ving Tsun teachers have “lost the way” making their techniques pretty and indirect. What amazes me is how it appeared that many people including Wong’s peers agreed with Dave Peterson but I have never seen any evidence of anyone doing anything about it! This leads me nicely in to quoting a little more from the same Dave Peterson and Enzo Verratti article:-
“What is more disturbing and frustrating is that many very intelligent people blindly continue to follow such instructors, even when confronted by convincing arguments which clearly prove that what they are doing does not conform to a logical approach. Instead, they take what is basically a simple straightforward method and turn it into one that is complicated and less efficient. …………………. So many Ving Tsun practitioners invent endless sequences of defensive actions when what is clearly the obvious message of the system is that ‘attack is the best form of defence.’”
Dave Peterson’s message is one that I completely concur with. Wong once said to me if you want to develop your Ving Tsun you must keep one formula in mind. Does the idea you wish to develop make it more simple, more direct and more efficient?
Long live the way of Wong Shun Leung!
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