How many different versions of Yip Man wing chun are there?

[phantom]

Does anybody know how many variations of Yip Man wing chun there are? Thanks in advance.

[fa_jing]

4, 567

[kj]

Originally posted by fa_jing
4, 567

I suspect that's a low estimate. ;)
- kj

[taltos]

phantom,

I don't think there is a way to accurately estimate the number of variations in the Yip Man System. He had many, many students (some for virtual lifetimes, some for mere weeks), and several of those students have students, who have students, etc. etc.

Unfortunately, most people (I am guilty of this myself at times) tend to dwell on the differences between the Yip Man lineages. However, remember that, since they all stemmed from the same man (why else call it "Yip Man" Wing Chun), there are enough similarites to make is easy to see that it flows from the same source.

An easier question might be how many MAJOR lineages exist within the Yip Man System. And I only mean major in numerical terms, not in qualitative terms. There are several organizations that centralized and standardized training methods, forms, etc., and those would probably be easier to research. Off the top of my head, I would say there's probably a dozen or so major branches, but there are more informed people out there than me, and that's just a guess.

Rene Ritche, who is active on this forum, co-authored a book called "Complete Wing Chun," and first chapter (I believe) addresses the Yip Man Lineage and several of it's major branches. You could also check the following sites...

http://www.vtmuseum.org
http://www.wingchunkuen.com
http://www.wingchun.org
http://www.wingchun.com/yipline.html

I know I'm missing some good sites. Perhaps someone else has found a good reference?

Happy hunting!

-Levi

[tparkerkfo]

Hello,

What is your definition of variation of Yip Man wing chun? No one is a carbon copy of Yip Man, so everyone would have some variation. Many, many people stepped through Yip Man's school. Some with better instruction than others. So it is difficult to answer the question.

Are you asking for people like Bruce Lee that conciously changed the art? Or are you asking differences in major pholosophies such as weighting?

Tom
________
Weed Vaporizers (http://weedvaporizer.info/)

[Grendel]

Originally posted by phantom
Does anybody know how many variations of Yip Man wing chun there are? Thanks in advance.
Unfortunately, too many. :(

Why unfortunately? Because the variations from what Yip Man taught are more likely to be wrong than improvements.

Yip Man somehow managed to grasp the concepts and principles necessary to advanced and substantial Wing Chun and in a few instances pass them on. Most of his students never had the "stuff" or the real opportunity to learn it. Yip Man may have been more interested in other things than in conveying the art to the multitudes.

Part of the problem may have been Yip Man's diffidence toward teaching. I think his attitude was one of "if I show you, or have someone else show you, that's sufficient," and it was up to his students to develop their own insights and progress.

So, finally in answer to your question of how many variations of Yip Man Wing Chun there are: too many. :(

[wingchunner]

... one version of Yip Man Wing Chun.

[fa_jing]

Yes, and unfortunately it died with its namesake.

[wingchunner]

...and I are thinking along the same lines, Fa jing.

[yuanfen]

Its 4568 now. The last one is working out their history.

[KPM]

While I do agree with what others have said so far on this thread, I will attempt to give something of a serious response to the original question. Just remember that this is entirely my own opinion. :-) While it would be impossible to say how many "variations" there are that have developed within YMWCK, I do think there are two distinct and recognizable "flavors." This distinction has to do primarily with the biomechanics of weight distribution and how the pivot/shift is performed. On one side you have those that pivot on the center of the foot (K1 point) and shift into a 0/100 weight distribution (all of the weight on the rear leg). Ken Chung and Leung Ting's lines would be an example of this. On the other side you have those that pivot on the heel of the foot and shift into a 50/50 weight distribution. Wong Shun Leung and Ho Kam Ming's lines would be an example of this. Now there are variations within this, and none of the examples given do this 100% of the time. These weight distributions only represent what is emphasized. But these two variations in biomechanics....how one pivots, and how one distributes weight...changes the "flavor" of one's WCK, and most variations within YMWCK will fall more to one side of this distinction than the other. The question then becomes....which version is the original? Again, only my opinion, by my sense is that the "pivot on K1, weight distro 0/100" is the older version, but this is not to say that Yip Man didn't teach it both ways at some point throughout his teaching a career. Hope this helps.

Keith