A young Bruce Lee and Yip Man chi-sao training (archive)

What is WT?

WT, alternatively spelled as Wing Tjun, Wing Tsun, or most frequently Wing Chun, is a Chinese martial self-defence art (i.e. a form of ‘kung fu’, or ‘wushu’). According to legend, WT traces its roots to a seventeenth century nun from the famous Shaolin Temple in Eastern China. It was invented as a ‘soft system’, which is one that uses direct counterattacking and reflexive flexibility once contact is made to overcome hard, rigid styles and giving way to superior strength in order to dissolve and flow around oppositional force.

Its most famous modern-era instructor is Great Grandmaster (GGM) Yip Man / Ip Man, renowned for his martial arts class in Hong Kong in the second half of the twentieth century, where he instructed Bruce Lee, amongst others, who famously exported what he had learnt of the style to the USA where he remodelled it as Jeet Kune Do (‘way of the intercepting fist’), adopting some of WT's basic principles.

What is unique about WT?

There are no competitions in WT: it is intended to be a ‘no-rules’ fighting art (though importantly this does not negate the importance for realistic training and sparring practice under controlled conditions).
WT theory is based on engagement without hesitation along the shortest line, using simultaneous defence and attack. WT uses chi-sao (reflex training) to overcome superior strength and size once contact is made by combining giving way with the use of accurate, explosive strikes to the vital areas
WT is a principles-based system: there is no choreography in WT. There are only three basic forms and WT employs hand and foot striking techniques without limitation at all three ranges (foot, hand and elbow/knee), and has no fixed rules about what may be applied bar movements that contravene its fundamental theoretic principles of simplicity, centre line directness and effectiveness.
Vertical punching structure utilising the natural ’power line’ and elbow force and focusing on directness.

What is the WT approach to the free-fight problem?

The WT approach to free-fighting is immediacy, directness and simplicity. Because fights are volatile and unpredictable the aim is to close them down as quickly as possible whilst minimising risk on contact. Once an opponent has advanced within striking distance, this is achieved by immediately counter-attacking along the shortest distance.

WT takes the view that since there are no rules in an actual fight, as soon as you are in an unavoidable situation and your opponent enters striking distance, your best defence is to immediately and simultaneously defend and counter-attack by engaging along the shortest line. The aim is to train a judge of distance and timing and combine them with a concept of dominating the centreline and protecting vital points on entry.

Siu Nim Tao: the first form of the WT system

Chi-Sao: the key to WT

Once contact is made, WT employs a unique close-quarters fighting practice trained via a reflex exercise called chi-sao (‘sticky or energy hands’). Chi-sao is a soft, reflex training exercise intended to cultivate two skills: (1) the ability to fight by feeling once contact is made, to give way to superior strength and ‘flow like water’ around an opponent’s obstructive force. (2) the ability to use both hands independently to simultaneously defend and attack.

The entire purpose of chi-sao training exercise is to learn to simultaneously protect one’s head and neck (vertical centre line) from strikes, whilst simultaneously counter attacking at these same points. The fundamental principle is to give way to superior strength. When combined with the explosive, accurate short range striking, advanced chi-sao makes WT an effective close-quarters system.

The four energy principles are: flowing forward along the centreline, ‘sticking’ if you are intercepted, giving way if the strength is superior, and following through when the way is clear.

Why don’t you see WT in competition? Plus pros and cons of the WT system

There are several limitations of the WT system: (1) the fact that half of the system uses strikes that cannot be used in competition means it has limited use in combat sports and also does not benefit from the natural filter this provides to lower quality/ineffective practice. (2) Given the reality that most ‘street’ fights start at close quarters, WT places great emphasis on close quarters defence and counterstriking, sometimes to the neglect of distance sparring. (3) The cultivation of fluid high-quality chisao reactions takes many years and competent instruction. (4) For advanced chi-sao striking to be effective, it has to be unconstrained and fluid and cannot be effectively applied when there are rules about permitted strikes; the force of strikes is also in proportion to the force received making it difficult to control under full speed and pressure. (5) Limited regard for groundfighting: WT places emphasis on preventing takedowns and once they happen it relies on strikes that are illegal in competition to make space and strike or stand up, though the lack of emphasis on groundfighting would be a disadvantage against a very skilled grappler on the ground (especially from certain positions). The result is that WT is of only partial use as a combat sports discipline and someone seeking that would benefit more from MMA or its constituent arts (e.g. kickboxing/Muay Thai, grappling/bjj).

The key pros of the system are its practicality, directness, simplicity of principles (counterattacking along the centre line), use of chisao reactions to overcome superior size and strength (including wrestling/grappling) and cultivation of powerful bare hand strikes to the vital points, reflecting the reality that most street fights are over quickly when gloves are not worn and all strikes are permitted.

Throat strikes: not allowed in cage-fighting — Throat strikes in WT

What is the difference between the many lineages in Wing Chun and Wing Tsun?

Wing Chun (WC) is the most popular English spelling for this style of kung-fu. The alternative spelling of Wing Tsun (WT) was established by Leung Ting (a student of Yip Man) in an attempt to differentiate his association from the variable standard of Wing Chun exported globally by Chinese expatriates emigrating to the Western hemisphere during the 20th century. Both WT and the vast majority of WC schools claim descendence from Great Grandmaster Yip Man’s mid-20th century Hong Kong instruction, but there have been an innumerable number of masters claiming direct lineage from Great Grandmaster Yip Man, despite in some cases having received relatively little instruction or tuition in the advanced techniques of the system. Leung Ting established the International WingTsun Association (IWTA) in Hong Kong, and the style was popularised in Europe by his student Keith Kernspecht, founder of the European WingTsun Organisation (EWTO). This school is derived from the WT lineage, though this is not meant to imply whether any particular WT school will be any higher “quality” than any particular WC school.

Disclaimer: This site refers principally to unarmed self-defence and takes for granted all reasonable steps have been taken to avoid a physical confrontation. This is not only because violence should be avoided where possible, but because withdrawing will usually be preferable to engaging in a no-rules fight whose outcome will likely result in injury to at least one party. This is particularly the case if weapons are involved: there is no way to reliably defend against any competent attack with a bladed weapon (refer to this for some prudent advice). This site also deals minimally with the psychological aspects of combat, which are at least as important as any knowledge of techniques in determining the outcome of any unscripted fight.