Wing Tsun's history is rich and contains some well-known events such as Yim Wing Tsun fighting an unwanted suiter, or the battle between the snake and the crane. As well as some lesser-known events such as the breaking of Dr Leung Jans chair, which caused him to seek out the guilty party and teach him. These legends and more have been passed down from teacher to student and we at Valour Martial Arts are proud to continue this tradition.

Wing Tsun is not a sport, it is a Martial Art system designed to deal maximum effect with minimal energy used. There are no rules, just what works and what doesn’t. Its fast, direct attacks on the weak areas of the body make it extremely effective in real life situations.

It also negates the need to be bigger or stronger than your opponent as no-one has muscles protecting their eyes, nose, throat, ribs, groin, knees or ankles.

Wing Tsun uses attacks as a defence with one of its signature principles of “attack and defend at the same time”. This uses the opponent’s force of attack against them, but also stops the opponent from getting into a rhythm of combinations or attacks, or just stops them altogether.

“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth” - Mike Tyson

Like all Kung Fu, Wing Tsun is renowned for its speed. This is not just a trained skill, but also comes from the principles of “shortest line”, and “strike from where the hands lay”, to name only two. There are many more that contribute to short, direct movements.

Combine this with its signature principle of attacking and defending at the same time, makes an extremely fast style that uses very little energy for the force it can deliver.

There’s a reason why people can move more weight one way than another. We are designed to move certain ways more naturally, so we have bigger, stronger muscles in those areas to let us do that. For example, we can pick up more weight than we can press over our heads.

Wing Tsun simply utilises this fact and uses movements that optimise the biggest muscle groups available. Combine this with using key areas of the bodies skeletal structure to allow the energy to flow and increase as the strike is thrown, allows the Wing Tsun fighter to hit far harder than it seems possible with such short, sharp strikes.

Bruce Lee’s famous demonstration of the One Inch Punch is a classic example.

Wing Tsun fighters are sometimes called “Ghost Fighters”. They move constantly and never stop once the fight begins. Wing Tsun uses legs more than their arms, using stance, footwork and kicks first.

Kicks are the human beings longest weapons, and even short peoples legs are longer than large people’s arms. Why use a knife when you have a sword? And why step towards an attack if it isn’t going to reach you?

“If you stay, it is sure you will be hit. If you move, it is only a possibility” - Old Wing Tsun Saying

Wing Tsun is also recognisable by its yielding to greater force principle. Wing Tsun does not fight force with force.

Imagine two Samurai warriors. One attacks with a downward, diagonal slice to the neck. The second warrior defends with the same attack and the sword clash. We now see a classic picture of the two samurai locked in a battle of strength, endurance & will. In this case, the stronger, bigger, more powerful samurai will be able to force their opponent back and gain advantage…

Now imagine the same scene, only this time, and the second warrior steps aside and deflects the attack, to counter from a different angle. The first warrior is now at a disadvantage – the force intended to cut his opponent in half has been redirected towards the ground and he is now vulnerable to a quick finish to the duel.

The Wing Tsun fighter does not block attacks, they deflect/divert them away.

The average street fight lasts 7 seconds with 15 strikes thrown (not necessarily landing) between the two combatants.

There are no rules on the street, no referee to step in when someone goes down or is injured, no medics on hand, and no timer to buzz and end the fight. Wing Tsun’s goal is not to score points, wear the opponent down, or tap the opponent out.

The Wing Tsun practitioner defends themselves by attacking. They attack with a barrage of direct strikes at a multitude of targets, which are vulnerable on all human beings such as the eyes, nose, throat, ribs, groin, knees and ankles. The average Wing Tsun practitioner aims to end the fight in 1-3 seconds, by delivering 3-5 strikes per second.

“There is no such thing as one hit, just the first hit” - Sifu Bill Cooper

A real fight is not what you see in films. Its messy, unpredictable and usually comes from an emotional state rather than a logical calculating one. You simply won’t see or be able to keep up with everything that could be going on, especially if you're not experienced in highly stressful situations. Plus, your opponent isn’t going to be using attacks that you know and expect, like in a boxing ring. They will be using whatever their emotional mind chooses to use in that moment of high emotion, so that could be literally anything.

While the Wing Tsun practitioner does watch for any tells or signs as to what the opponent is doing, the hand is quicker than the eye. So why just rely on the eye?

The Wing Tsun system specialises, but is not limited to, close quarters combat. Where practical, the practitioner looks to close the gap between themselves and the opponent and “keep stick” to them as much as possible. This allows them the literally feel what is going on and uses the body’s natural, lightning quick reflexes to respond faster.

This is where the training method of Chisau or “sticky hands” is used to increase the fighters skin sensitivity and develop responses that are more reflexes than conscious actions.

If attacks are questions, and defences are answers, then Wing Tsun’s answers come not from the techniques, but from the principles.

The principles guide the practitioner to a group of potential answers, the practitioner then uses the one that best suits them at the time. The techniques vary greatly, but the principles remain as the foundation of how and why Wing Tsun works.

There is no one answer to anything. What one Wing Tsun practitioner would do in any given situation, is not necessarily what another would do – in fact, it is likely that it would not be. Some fighters prefer to get close for elbows and knees. Others would use kicks more. Others use more takedowns to finish the opponent on the floor. All are using Wing Tsun, all work; it just depends on the fighter, the opponent and the situation.

Some examples of Principles are:

• Strike from where the hands lay

• Don’t fight force with force

• Attack and defend at the same time

• Use the shortest line of attack

• If the way is free, move forward