Wing Chun Kung-fu: A Complete Guide
VOLUME TWO
Fighting and Grappling
WING CHUN
KUNG-FU
Fighting & Grappling
Dr. Joseph Wayne Smith
CHARLES E. TUTTLE CO., INC.
Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan
Disclaimer
Please note that the publisher of this instructional book- is NOT RESPONSIBLE in any manner whatsoever for any injury that may result from practicing the techniques and/or following the instructions given within. Since the physical activities described herein may be too strenuous in nature for some readers to engage in safely, it is essential that a physician be consulted prior to training.
Published by the Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Co., Inc.
of Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan
with editorial offices at
Osaki Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0032
© 1992 by Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc.
All rights reserved
LCC Card No. 92-80689
ISBN 0-8048-1719-7
ISBN 978-1-4629-1693-1 (ebook)
[email protected] www.tuttlepublishing.com
First edition, 1992
Fifth printing, 1997
PRINTED IN SINGAPORE
Content
| Introduction | |
| 1. | STICKY-HAND FIGHTING (CHI SAO) |
| Introduction | |
| What is Chi Sao? | |
| Sticky-Hand Fighting Skills | |
| Sticky-Hand Fighting Techniques | |
| 2. | STICKY-LEG FIGHTING (CHI GERK) |
| Theoretical Considerations | |
| Training for Sticky-Leg Techniques | |
| Sticky-Leg Fighting Techniques | |
| 3. | GRAPPLING AND THROWING TECHNIQUES (CHIN-NA) |
| Introduction | |
| The Wing Chun Claw-Hand | |
| Locking and Throwing Techniques | |
| Wing Chun’s Grabbing and Disabling Throws | |
| Grappling and Throwing Techniques (chin-na) | |
| 4. | DAR MAK: VITAL STRIKES TO THE WEAK POINTS OF HUMAN ANATOMY |
| Introduction | |
| Acupuncture and Dar Mak | |
| Summary of Most Important Dar Mak Points | |
| Summary of Modern Medical Theory of Vital Strikes | |
| 5. | TOWARD AN ENRICHMENT OF THE WING CHUN SYSTEM |
| The Limits of Wing Chun Kuen | |
| White Crane kung-fu (Pak Hok Kuen) | |
| Unifying and Reconciling Wing Chun and White Crane kung-fu | |
| The Final Element of Sun Tzu Kuen: Muay Thai | |
| From Wing Chun to Sun Tzu Kuen: Fighting Techniques | |
| Conclusion | |
| Glossary |
Introduction
THE FIGHTING SKILLS OF WING CHUN KUNG-FU
This is the second volume in a three-volume treatise on the nature of Wing Chun kung-fu. The broad aim of these books is to present a concise, systematic, and scientific discussion of a somewhat controversial martial-art system. Chinese kung-fu, rightly or wrongly, has often been shrouded in secrecy and mysticism. There is often great vagueness about why skills are as they are, and why techniques work or do not work. Those who adopt a mystical approach to the martial arts are welcome to do so. But for those who do not accept that world view, these books may be what they are looking for. My approach to the martial arts is based upon common sense and an appreciation of biomechanical principles. However, this free thinking does not result in a freestyle approach where often incongruous techniques and approaches are thrown together in the hope of obtaining a coherent, complete, and unified combative art. What I have attempted to do here is to analyze a classical martial-arts system—Wing Chun kung-fu—using Western modes of thinking; namely, through examining it with logic, physics, and biomechanics, but without undue technicalities or the use of mathematics.
Volume one of this series gave a comprehensive analysis of the basic building blocks of the Wing Chun system, namely, the three forms—Sil Lum Tao, Chum Kil, and Bil Jee. The aim of that volume was to define terms, to outline the meaning of specific body movements, and to summarize the key principles of the Wing Chun system. That book was, to use a military metaphor, a study of martial-art ballistics, what the Wing Chun weapons are and how they work. This book is a study of martial-arts strategy, or logistics, or how to actually use the Wing Chun weapons in realistic combat situations. According to the scientific philosophy of the martial arts, the very point or reason for the existence of the martial arts is effective self-defense. Techniques must be judged by the criterion of whether they have worked or will work in a street situation for the average student, not whether the techniques are aesthetically elegant, beautiful, or graceful. There is a place for martial-arts aesthetics, but it is not in this system of Wing Chun kung-fu. Just as a scientist is concerned about whether or not a theory is predictively successful, I am concerned about whether or not a technique is combatively successful.
In volume one, an introduction to Wing Chun’s chi sao, or sticky-hands, was given. This volume attempts to explain how to fight using the sticky-hands method. Sticky-hands is in bad need of a critical deconstruction or demystification, and this book attempts to do just that. Likewise, the Wing Chun method of sticky-leg, or chi gerk, fighting has been described in some instances as a way of sticking with one’s legs to an opponent’s kick. This is practically impossible to do for the average martial artist. Rather, a realistic theory of sticky-leg fighting is outlined, in which low kicks and