Recently , a friend of mine introduced me
with Wayne Yung , Hong Kong based Wing Chun teacher. Teacher Yung is
representative of “Snake Crane” Wing Chun style . I have spent numerous
hours in conversation with teacher Yung and learned a lot about him and his
style . He is very polite and open person , willing to share his vast knowledge
in area of Wing Chun and if I may say he is a perfect example of traditional kung
fu teacher who possess all the qualities of the legendary sifus of the past .
Teacher Yung with famous Hong Kong kung fu msters and movie stars
On
the other hand , he do not live in the past and his efforts are concentrated on
the future of his style . Style its self is very interesting , at last it is
for people who seriously research wing chun history and development . First ,
it is not only a separate Wing Chun style , actually it is completely
independent lineage . Snake Crane Wing Chun traces its origin to the Red
Boat Opera Company . According to the creation story, like in so many other
cases of southern martial arts, founder of the style is South Shaolin abbot Chi
Sim. Historically , founder of the style is very well known member of the Red
Boat Opera troupe and one of the first known Wing Chun masters whose existence
can be verified , Sun Kam who is in wing chun circles better known under the
name “Dai Fa Min Kam” . Sun Kam passed the his complete style to the Law family
who kept style secret until recently . The reason why Law family kept style secret
is due to their involvement in anti Qing activities and association with rebel
organizations . Style was kept in secrecy for about 150 years when Master Law
Chiu Wing a decade ago decided to teach his family art openly in order to save
it from disappearance .
Law Chiu Wing , Wayne Yung's teacher
Technically , Snake Crane Wing Chun
style is very interesting , for all wing chun researchers it is like a window
in the past . Due to 150 years secret existence style remained the same ,
without changes . We can see first hand how original Wing Chun looked like in
the time of its creation . Style utilizes snake movements which are soft and
are used to trap the opponents attacks or defensive action , while crane aspect
is used for structure in order to withstand any incoming force of any kind of
attack .
Significance of the style is clearly shown
by the fact that Snake Crane Wing Chun style is included in cultural
heritage of Hong Kong Teacher
Yung told me that some students from Tainan came to learn his art .I think it
is a great thing that people from Taiwan show interest in this old and
interesting Wing Chun style. Hopefully , one day Snake Carne wing chun
will open a branch school in Taiwan and
enrich Taiwanese martial tradition and heritage.