Many years ago I studied Wing Chun kung fu under Sifu Lee Moy Shan. Sifu, although a very young man at the time was one of Wing Chun master Moy Yat’s top disciples. While I considered Sifu to be a very talented martial artist, I was unable to “get” wing chun and quit all martial arts in frustration. I believe I studied there for about one year.
Many years later, I believe it was in 2005, I decided to give Wing Chun one more try. I was looking for a school where I could get affordable private lessons. I wanted private lessons because I had taken private lessons for ballroom dancing and with a really great teacher I was able to pick it up even though I had 2 left feet. I researched schools on the internet and one of the websites that I liked was the website of City Wing Tsun. I did some research and found out that the head of the style, Leung Ting, was a very controversial figure. Some people said he was great and other said he was a charlatan. So, I visited the school, and since I really liked the instructor I signed up.
I remember when I first visited the school I asked the instructor about what the differences were between Wing Tsun and Wing Chun. As I recall, he didn’t really want to talk about it. However, after over 6 years of study I obviously know now what the differences are. Some of the differences are suble, others major. This post discusses the major differences only.
The first difference is that Wing Tsun, unlike the vast majority of all Wing Chun lineages, uses a 100% back leg 0% front leg weight distribution. Other lineages mostly use 50/50 or 70/30. Stepping and turning is also quite different in WT vs WC. In WT the feet turn one at a time and the pivot is done using the middle of the foot, not the heel or the toe as the focus of the turn. The fighting stance is quite different too. WT fighters have their feet in a straight line, closing the groin. The knees “abduct” towards one another.
Also, if you compare the poon sao (rolling hands) exercise in Wing Tsun to the same exercise in Wing Chun you will notice that most WC lineages stop the motion briefly after each roll while in WT there is a constant non stop roll.
You could say that WT is digital while WC is analog. The basic lap sao movement is also very different. It is hard to explain the difference in a few words, but if you look at some videos you can see that it is performed very differently.
Another difference is forward pressure vs. forward intent. As far as I know all of the other WC lineages use “forward intent”, which means that the practitioner has in his or her mind the idea of gong forwards just as soon as there is a “gap” in the defense. In WT, however, “forward pressure” means that the practitioner is constantly exerting a subtle physical pressure on his opponent’s arms. Should there be a gap (and there will always be a gap at some time or another) the mechanical forward pressure will result in the WT practitioner’s hands going forwards and entering the opponent’s space, past his defenses.
In WT the wu sao hand is posed on the central midline (which most WC lineages incorrectly call the center line), while in most if not all WC lineages the wu sao hand is posed next to the bong sao hand, leaving half of the body undefended and allowing an easy trap.
Most WC lineages perform chamberless kicks, while WT kicks have a distinct chamber. I also see a lot more elbow strikes, knee strikes, and double punches in WT than I see in WC. When I studied under Lee Moy Shan I do not recall ever seeing a double punch, an armlock, or a throw.
