Martial Arts Of The World - Webs

Yongchun/Wing Chun
Yongchun (perhaps better known outside Asia by its Cantonese name wing
chun) is a Chinese martial art that is classified as a boxing system because
of its reliance on striking techniques utilizing either hands or feet. The
name yongchun or wing chun (alternatively wing tsun, ving tsun, or
youngchuan), following oral tradition, is commonly translated as “beautiful
springtime” in honor of the first student of the art. In general, Chinese
fighting arts are classified as “external” (relying on muscular and structural
force) or “internal” (relying on an inner force called qi [chi]); wing chun is
a member of the former category. Wing chun originated in and remains
most popular in southern China (particularly in the Hong Kong area). This
martial art employs proportionately more punches than kicks and teaches
the stable stances and closer fighting distances consistent with favoring
hands over feet. Therefore, yongchun is characterized by economical movements,
infighting, and defensive practicality.
As is the case with many traditional martial arts, the origins of
yongchun come to us via oral history rather than written documentation.
Oral transmission allows for the addition of legendary material, particularly
concerning the earliest periods of the system. In addition, the secrecy
imposed on students of the art and the existence of autonomous local
cadres of yongchun practitioners, as distinct from a central organization,
render impossible the contemporary reconstruction of a lineage that would
be both definitive and scientifically documented.
Oral traditions of yongchun maintain that the system was invented by
a Buddhist nun named Wu Mei (Ng Mui) who escaped the Shaolin Temple
in Hunan (or in some versions, Fujian) province when it was razed in the
eighteenth century after an attack by the dominant Manzhou (Manchu)
forces of the Qing (Ching) dynasty (1644–1911), which officially suppressed
the martial arts, particularly among Ming (1368–1644) loyalists.
After her escape and as the result of witnessing a fight between a fox (or
snake, in some histories) and a crane, Wu Mei created a new fighting sys-
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