Top 15 Wong Shun Leung Quotes

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Wong Shun-leung (黃淳樑 1935 – 1997) was considered by many to be "the most famous fighter of the Wing Chun clan in the early 1950's". Since his reputation was world-wide as a Wing Chun master and a sought after seminar speaker, Wong had been interviewed many times. Based on information gathered during his various interviews, Wong had expressed his profound knowledge of various aspects of fighting. Today's martial artists can obviously become better fighters if they can fully understand and absorb Wong's profound knowledge of fighting. Following is a small collection of his profound opinions regarding various fighting principles and combat concepts.

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Alternative Names: Wong Shun-leung

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"Boxing moves the head to dodge punches, but in Wing Chun we don't,

" If someone grabs you, you will only try to grab back if you are scared.

The situation where you need to wrestle is when both opponents want to grab.

Wing Chun doesn't like to lift the knee first and then kick .....

" The first punch causes the brain to go to one side of the skull.

..... when you punch the head the brain hits the side of the skull.

The late Sifu Wong Shun-leung, of “Hong Kong” wing chun fame, in his seminars around the world over the years, liked to make a comparison with the modern combat sport of Western boxing, which he observed had changed quite dramatically over just the last sixty or so years, from the crouching-like postures of boxers like Joe Louis in the 30s and 40s, to the flashy footwork of the likes of Muhammad Ali in the 60s and 70s, through to the more upright and flat-footed approach of recent champions such as Mike Tyson.

In boxing, the style has changed over the years from crouching to being more and more vertical. Also people used to jump around, but the modern boxer like Tyson just moves in flat footed to demolish his opponent in a scientific way. In Wing Chun a person does not bob as in boxing. When two beginners fight it doesn't matter how they fight, but against professionals it makes a difference. Even a smaller [person] is better off to keep the body vertical and step back, then to bob and weave. This is because the hand can move faster than the body. Boxing is still like a game because there are rules for how you can hit and how you can't hit. If you attack someone and they bend their head, then in Wing Chun you can still hit them with your hand even without pulling your hand back.

Boxing moves the head to dodge punches, but in Wing Chun we don't, because the head can't be faster than the hand.

I think the kicks in Wing Chun are enough. It´s much easier to use your hands than to use your feet. Your hand is able to reach your opponent long before your foot. Why take the long way to attack (circle), when there is a much more direct method of attack? If you are using your hands, then your opponent can´t see a kick coming if you have to use it. When you teach Kung Fu, you can fool a lot of people, but not yourself. You can make like a movie and do many complicated movements and kicks, but you only fool yourself as to whether that would work in a real situation of life and death.

In Wing Chun we hit the larger part of the face, usually at an angle, so the butt of the chin is avoided. In Wing Chun, the main target area is from the mouth upward...

For such a fight, you must train hard to just develop the self confidence to enter such a match . You must, by way of your self confidence, know that you can win . When Ving Tsun (Wing Chun) practitioners go to fight and are defeated then the mentality is not to think that the other person is better than himself . Instead he needs to ask himself what were his mistakes to invite the attack . This is the kind of positive thinking which any fighter must possess.

In training Biu Jee we are taught to be free . The first forms tell us about normal situations. Biu Jee is for the abnormal situations . The ideas in Biu Jee sometimes will contradict normal Ving Tsun (Wing Chun) ideas in order to allow the person to survive in a bad situation . We are told to do what is necessary to survive and so there are no limitations . Styles have different concepts and objectives . With Ving Tsun (Wing Chun) we want to attack our opponent in a very direct and savage manner . Other styles will contradict this objective by attempting non-direct tactics . If we combine them our objectives can become confused in the heat of the fight . We will be less effective .

This situation can happen to anyone. If you learn Wing Chun you can cope with it better than someone that doesn't know Wing Chun.

The situation where you need to wrestle is when both opponents want to grab. Western boxing is supposed to be hitting, but you still see situations where they want to hold on to each other. This is because one of them is scared. If you are scared then you will try to hold onto your opponent. It is very difficult for someone to lock or hold onto you if you know Wing Chun. You can stop the other guy holding or grabbing. If someone grabs you, you will only try to grab back if you are scared. But if you are not scared, then he cannot force you into a wrestling situation.