About Yip Man

(Source unknown)

Importance of the Stance

When National Kung Fu is mentioned, the emphasis is laid on horse stance. It is said that "Horse Stance go before Kung Fu itself'. So it looks that horse stance is the number one exercise of Kung Fu. What on earth is horse stance? What forms do the horse stance take? As the author understands, there are complete balanced grand horse, central horse, turning horse, twisted horse, kneeling horse and goat restraining horse stance.

Among all the above mentioned horse stance, the complete balanced grand horse is the most difficult and hardest one, next is kneeling horse and central horse. Goat restraining horse stance is the last.

To perform the complete balanced grand horse is a very hard work which makes the exerciser to suffer a lot, but a lot of people consider it the basic and essential practice. Horse stance makes your legs strong. If you perform horse stand very well, your stand just as heavy as a mountain when you fight against others and stay at an advantageous position. Guided by this erroneous concept, people don't value the Kung Fu without horse stance or without the complete balanced grand horse. They will be considered as unstable stance etc. Any horse stance without lower down the waist is considered with no strength.

This author asked this question for Wing Chun patriarch Yip Man's opinion. Yip frankly stated his idea. He had been asked to compare the Complete Balanced Grand Horse Stance with the Goat Restraining Horse Stance. The unstated was that the Complete Balanced Grand Horse must be very stable and heavy while the Goat Restraining Horse must be with less strength. Master Yip cared little about that. On the contrary, he had new idea which was very scientific.

Yip did not negate that a horse stance must have strength; however, the strength did not have to come from that Complete Balanced Grand Horse. It could come from other stance. He did not appreciate those low gravity centre stance being used in fighting like the Complete Balanced Grand horse. The reason was simple. He made an analysis of the mechanics of the horse stance. He said that the Complete Balanced Grand Horse was heavy and stable, but the trade-off was you got clumsy and slow in your steps.

In a fighting, the excellence comes from flexibility and fluency of the art and the move of your body and steps. Low gravity centre stance will reduce the flexibility and distract your mind and force. The force of your legs will be against the force of your arms. You would be at a disadvantageous position. The Wing Chun Goat Restraining Horse Stance set higher and your feet are well mastered. You are very flexible in advancing and retreating and will not be easily perceived by the opponent.

Springtime Song and Forever Springtime

Many people think that there is no difference between Wing Chun (Singing Spring in Chinese) and Yong Chun ( Spring Forever in Chinese) and think they both come from the same family. In fact, they are different. In Hong Kong, the patriarch of Wing Chun is Master Yip Man, while that of Yong Chun is Master Songming Zhu. Regarding the forms of them, there are Little Idea form, Searching for the Bridge form, Poking & Thrusting Fingers form, Wood Man form, Six & Half Point Pole form in Wing Chun; while in Yong Chun, there are Wood Man form, One to Eight Fighting form, Chain Punching form and Six & Half Pole form.

The reason why people are confused with these two different schools is that there are similarities in them: Both use edge-in hands, wrist force. So-called edge-in hands is that the hands are used like a sickle cutter cutting in towards the inner side with bottom force and very few moving cycles, very high density is achieved. They loop very fast and no breaks.

The Source of Yip Man's Wing Chun

Master Yip Man did not avoid talking about the source of Wing Chun. As the sole descendent of Wing Chun in Hong Kong, he told me about his history. He originated in Fuo Shang, was very weak in health. When he was 11 years old, his parents took him to the number one disciple Hua Shun Chen of very famous Master Zan to learn Wing Chun art. Yip enjoyed the memory he had when he talked with this author. I recorded that conversation as the followings:

Me: "Hua Shun Chen had a nickname as Money Seeking Hua, hadn't he?"

Yip laughed "My coach's characteristics would not be seen enough by that nickname Money Seeking. Beside that, he had another not so nice nickname - Ox essential. He was the number one disciple of Master Zan."

Me: "Did that mean that Money Seeking Hua had very bad temper and often fought against others?" I asked again "How many disciples did Money Seeking Hua accepted? And what was your number in that order?"

Yip stoked his chin and thought a while "Since Uncle Hua set up his house, he accepted only 16 disciples including me. When I started to learn from him, I was only 11 years old, the last disciple of his."

I smiled "The relationship between a master and his disciples is like that between a father and his sons. So you were the youngest son then. Traditionally, Chinese love their youngest son most just as the saying expresses:”The youngest links to the heart.” Did you get most of Uncle Hua!s love?"

Yip was extremely happy when he recalled that "Sure. Uncle Hua was almost seventy years old when I started to learn from him. His health was declining, but he still taught me hand by hand tirelessly. Sometimes, he told other disciples to teach me in detail so that I made great progresses rapidly."

Another question occurred to me "Master Yip, how come in his whole life Uncle Hua only taught so few disciples? What was the reason?"

Yip immediately answered my question "This is a good question. I am glad to answer it. In the past, masters were very strict in accepting their disciples. They must find out details about their would-be-disciples' behaviour and conducts. That was called "Only teach the selected." The next thing was their paying abilities." He-paused for a while, "Average people really could not afford the payment. For example, when I first visited Hua Shen Chen's house, just the gift itself cost me 20 ounces of silver. Monthly payment was around 8 ounces silver."

One hit worth thousand, gift was 20 ounces I asked again "How much would that 20 ounces of silver be worth in today's Hong Kong dollars?"

After a thought, Master Yip said "At that time, 20 ounces of silver could economically get you a wife. We ounce silver could buy you 50 kg rice. " Yip Man continued "So the older generations who could learn Kung Fu arts, mostly belonged to wealthy families or who abandoned average lives, but cultured themselves in the temples or mountains. Quite unlike people learn Kung Fu so casually or commonly as in modem day lives." I asked "After Money Seeking Hua passed away, Master Yip left Fuo Shang and came to Hong Kong to study at St. Stephen. Had you ever continued studying Wing Chun Art?" Yip cheered "Of course, furthermore, I had met super hands in Hong Kong so that I could learn even further in depth in Wing Chun."

I was excited "Please tell me who that super hands was."

Master Yip said "That was son Bi Liang of Master Zan. There was quite a story about how I got met with my teacher Bi Liang."

Continued...