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When seeking to examine Wing Chun as a style it is important to make clear that, just as there are different styles and classifications within Chinese Kung Fu, there are also a number of different expressions within Wing Chun itself.  Despite being a relatively new style of Kung Fu, there are at least eight distinct lineages of Wing Chun which are different, with each having its own history of origin. Additionally, there are competing genealogies within the same branch.

The eight distinct lineages of Wing Chun which have been identified are: Ip Man, Yuen Kay-shan, Gu Lao Village, Nanyang / Cao Dean, Pan Nam, Pao Fa Lien, Hung Suen / Hung Gu Biu, Jee Shim / Weng Chun.  Other, smaller branches derive from these main eight lineages. However, even within these styles there are differences. 

For example, Ip Man is said to have spawned two versions of his style during his earlier time in Foshan, and then later in Hong Kong.  Throughout his life time Ip Man refined his style of Wing Chun and taught his students what best suited their body style.   When Ip Man started with Chan Wah Shun as his last student, Chan is also said to have moved to a very different teaching method from that he employed whilst assisting his Sifu, Leung Jan.  Leung Jan himself taught very different in his early and later years and was also instrumental in structuring Wing Chun teaching in the way we understand it today.

Leung Jan was the most outstanding student of Leung Yee Tai, one of three members of the Red Boat Opera troupe.    Leung Yee Tai, Wong Wah Bo and Dai Fa Min Kam structured Wing Chun into forms, training and weapon sets, including the introduction of the Wooden Pole form.   Leung Yee Tai’s expression of Wing Chun passed to Leung Jan, whilst Wong Wah Bo’s passed to Yuan Kai San.  These two became the most influential exponents in teaching and spreading Wing Chun Kung Fu in Southern China in the early 1900’s.  In his later years Leung retired leaving Foshan and returned back to his home village, Kulo, where we changed his approach to teaching, further developing the style and creating different variations.

Here Leung Jan taught a method of Wing Chun that was different from the stylized approach he had previously taught in Foshan.  The new style was intentionally quicker and easier for the student to pick up, comprised now of separate techniques (San Sao).  This allowed the beginner to repeat these in order to strengthen their body and very quickly become second nature to use in a fighting situation.  Leung Jan called this the 22 Essential Movement (Sansau) Set, which he taught this to his sons and a few selected close disciples.   During this period Leung Jan took what was a very long Wing Chun form and developed it into 3 separate forms, Sil Lim Tao, Chum Kiu, and Bil Jee with the intention of making the system easier to learn.

Yet there was a lot more to Leung Jan’s teaching than mere body movements.  In refining the style Leung Jan sought not only to allow the novice a quicker path to achieve the basics, but also the developing student the opportunity to grasp the deeper aspects.  As an ‘external’ martial art this further helped the developing student focus on the key element needed to quickly acquire fighting skills that could be applied.  However, at a more advanced stage the student would realize that these San Sao actually encompassed the underlying principles of Wing Chun.  Once this was realized the student would be able to apply them with ease to any situation – including fighting with hands, feet, and weapons.   

Many people today fail to realize that Wing Chun is primarily a set of fighting principles. The basic movements taught are merely a vessel to focus these principles.  Today many instructors teach like this, stipulating that the move must be done in a certain way and never moving beyond this in advanced students to focus on the principles behind the movements.  Perhaps this is because they have not themselves mastered beyond this point.  Only by doing this will the student grasp the underlying principles and begin to learn for themselves, allowing Wing Chun to become a part of themselves rather than a set of foreign movements that a student must repeat with the hope that they may one day assimilate them.  

This, I believe, was the original intention of Leung Jan, and the other great masters of Wing Chun – constantly revising their teaching methods to best train students in quickly learning fighting skills but showing a pathway to the higher levels of development through the underlying principles which ultimately lead to self-expression.   It is this self-expression of the art achieved at the higher levels of mastery that gives Wing Chun this rich tapestry of individual expressions born from the same fundamental style.

Given the complexity of the different Wing Chun lineages and subtleties of teaching methods there is not scope here to cover this.  Besides, for anyone interested in this I would recommend ‘Complete Wing Chun’ by Robert Chu, Rene Ritchie and Y. Wu.   This is a great book which offers a definite guide to Wing Chun’s history and traditions across these different lineages.    

As a student within the Ip Man lineage I explore Wing Chun on this website through that ‘lens’ – which offers its own historical account and perspective.  It is important to recognise that these differences exist, despite sharing the same fundamental principles.   If you are a student within a different lineage, I would suggest that you seek out these from literature on your own expression of the style.  Ultimately, I am not interested in the differences between the lineages, but in the underlying principles and the path to the higher levels of mastery and self-expression that is common to all.  

So, whatever lineage of Wing Chun you are from, or if you are from a different style of Chinese Kung Fu altogether, then the insights I share in the articles across the site remain relevant, and I hope provides instrumental in helping you to higher levels of learning on your path.

Copyright @ Craig Sands 2022

If you are interested in exploring the underlying principles of Wing Chun you might like my article 'Wing Chun - A Principle Based Martial Art'. Click on the link here and start reading: Link