Customer Reviews

Roots and Branches of Wing Tsun

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It is with great pleasure that I was given the opportunity to proof-read the 2nd edition of Roots of WingTsun by my teacher, the author, Prof. Leung Ting. Roots of WingTsun is an *exhaustive* look at the various styles and sub-styles of Wing Tsun, Wing Chun, and Weng Chun stemming from southern China. Each sub-style is analyzed, and examples of the techniques are illustrated. There are no less than 20 different examples of Wing Tsun, Wing Chun, Weng Chun forms shown including Siu Nim Tau, Chum Kiu, Biu Tze, Wooden Dummy, and double broadswords. Each chapter contains background information on the particular sub-style, it's founder (or prominent teachers), and theories on its origin. Primarily targeted at intermediate or advanced students of the art, this book is packed with everything you ever wanted to know about the different branches of this style of southern Chinese kungfu. A great, although long, read!

This is a fairly comprehnsive book on various styles of Wing Chun,with detailed photographs provided for the forms of some of the styles,the only drawback is that the authors personal bias comes across very strongly at times and his incessant promoting of his version of Wing (T)Chun does get tiresome,a better and more comprehensive (and unbiased)book is "Complete Wing Chun,The definative guide" by Robert Chu,Rene Ritchie et all.

This book is a must-have for Wing Chun enthusiasts if only for the photo-sequences of Yip Man performing the Siu Lim Tau, Chium Kiu and Wooden dummy sequences.

The book demonstrates the huge variations in style, content and technique between the various practitioners purporting to practice Wing Chun. Even practitioners of ostensibly very close lineage and generation have markedly different interpretations. This illustrates all too clearly that there is no such thing as 'authentic' or 'traditional' Wing Chun. Even the system which Yip Man himself taught developed tremendously as the years progressed. Each practitioner has their own version of the history of Wing Chun, which serves to illustrate that all versions are suspect and given that there is no authoritative documentation to speak of, it's futile to agonise over which is the correct version.

Leung Ting has visited a number of practitioners in Mainland China and these encounters appear to demonstrate that the art promulgated in Hong Kong and tested, developed and refined in recent years has significantly surpassed its origins.

This book contains some fascinating insights into Yip Man's own history, and some rare photographs.

Unfortunately the book is poorly and idiosyncratically produced (it appears that someone was determined to employ every font and visual effect available in their desktop publishing suite!). The standard of English is variable, and sometimes the text takes a highly defensive tone, reminiscent of a surly adolescent on an internet bulletin board, rather than a highly-accomplished master. For those not familiar with the feuds prevailing in the Wing Chun world, some of the tirades will seem bewildering.

A very interesting book nonetheless; my copy was rather expensive, so perhaps better to borrow it initially unless you're an avid collector.