By René Ritchie
Marital Arts Illustrated, December 1998
Excerpted from Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun Kuen: History & Foundation
Corrected April 1999

The man stood, threatening, before the young boy, holding his knives tightly. They were large blades, the kind employed to chop watermelons and the man was obviously skilled in their use. In an instant he attacked swinging the knives savagely. The boy, in grave danger, did his best to avoid the blades' sharpened edges. The stinging in his arms and wet trickle of blood told him he was not entirely successful. When his chance came, however, he struck back with lightning speed and thunderous power, using all the skills he had acquired in his short time of Wing Chun training. The man's watermelon choppers were sent flying by the skilled attack, spinning through the air and forcing the gathered onlookers, including the boy's teacher, Cheung Bo, to scatter for safety. When it was over, Cheung Bo approached the young boy, Sum Nung, congratulating him on his success.

he sup yee sik (twelve forms), sometimes referred to as the sup yee san sao (twelve separate techniques), were organized by Grandmaster Sum Nung based on the san sik of both his teachers, Cheung Bo and Yuen Kay-San.

Meridian, Side, Single Dragon, and Arrow Punches

History

Dr. Sum Nung (Cen Neng) was born in South America in 1925 but returned to China with his family as an infant. Settling in Foshan, Sum Nung took a job at Tien Hoi, a restaurant off Kuaizi (Chopstick) alley, in order to help support his family during the tough times under Japanese occupation. Sum Nung had always been interested in the martial arts and in 1938 had begun training in Wing Chun kuen under Cheung Bo.

Cheung Bo, known as Dai Ngao (Big Bull) Bo was a large and powerful man with a formidable reputation as a fighter who worked as a chef at Tien Hoi restaurant. Cheung Bo had learned the art from Nationalist Army doctor Wai Yuk-Sang who had been a student of Ngau Si of the Kuaizi Street Meat Market. Ngau had learned the art from the renowned Guangzhou marshal Fung Siu-Ching (a disciple of Red Junk Opera performer Painted Face Kam). Seeing great potential in the young boy, in 1940 Cheung Bo arranged for Sum Nung to continue his studies under his good friend Yuen Kay-San.

Yuen Kay-San was a highly skilled master who had learned Wing Chun kuen as a youth from the Foshan Imperial constable Fok Bo-Chuen (a student of Red Junk Opera performers Wong Wah-Bo and Painted Face Kam). Later, Yuen had completed his studies of advanced application and close-body fighting under Fung Siu-Ching.

Sum Nung studied under Yuen Kay-San intensely for many years and achieved a profound understanding of Wing Chun kuen's methods. In the late-1940ss he moved to the nearby provincial capitol of Guangzhou to establish his medical practice, but continued to visit his teacher until Yuen passed away from illness in 1956.

In Guangzhou, Sum Nung combined and refined some of the san sik he had learned from Cheung Bo and Yuen Kay-San to help in the early training of his students, developing in them a powerful foundation.

Triangle Palms on the Wooden Dummy: Dispersing, Supporting, & Cultivating

The Nature of the Sup Yee Sik

Compact in structure, yet containing many of the elements essential to good Wing Chun kuen development, the sup yee sik are ideal for early training. They can be loosely grouped into three broad categories. The first four focus on building body structure through basic punching, standing, turning, and stepping drills. The next four work fundamental arm cycles and changes, firmly ingraining the cardinal tools for interception and adaptation. The last four include sensitivity training and combination techniques.

Although perhaps not as detailed as the techniques of in the three classical Wing Chun Kuen boxing sets proper, these same attributes make them quite valuable as a sort of crash-course in Wing Chun kuen self-defense. For those who require simple skill, yet do not have the time or desire to delve more deeply into the art of Wing Chun, the sup yee sik can serve as great starting point.

Each point in the system helps attribute development (building relaxation, flexibility, body alignment, refined muscle use, etc.), defense (reducing possible an opponent's possible angles from the outset, intercepting bridge in motion, restricting extended bridges, etc.), offense (striking, locking, throwing, etc. with all parts of the body), and the concepts of the art (meridian line, flanking, etc.).

Training is accomplished through the solo forms, drilling with equipment (including the sandbag, rattan ring, wooden dummy, etc.), and practicing with a partner in both san sao (loose hands) and chi sao (sticking hands). Each point is trained individually and in combination, to be used in application as circumstances dictate.

Closing the center with the Inside Joining arm and countering

The Twelve Forms

The twelve forms sometimes vary slightly from branch to branch, although the essence remains the same. The list below represents the version learned and practiced by the author, organized to help their presentation in written form.

1. The jee ng choi (meridian punch) trains the fundamental yee jee kim yeung ma (trapezoid shaped groin clamping horse) and introduces the primary chung choi (thrusting punch) of the style, which pounds explosively along the jee ng sien (meridian line). Its extensions include the concussive lien wan choi (linked chain) punches and the sam sing choi (three star punches). The meridian punch teaches alignment on the meridian line, attacking the opponent's meridian line, and the domination of the mutual meridian line.
2. Pien choi (side punch), also known as pien san choi (side body punch) adds pien ma (side horse) turning to the thrusting punch and works on developing the connected power of the body. The side punch also trains the facing posture and side body or flanking methods of Wing Chun kuen. Its extensions include the kwai dei pien choi (kneeling side punch), also called gwai ma choi (kneeling horse punch).
3. Duk lung choi (single dragon punch) combines elements of the previous forms training them in a complementary manner. It alternates a side projecting punch from the front stance and a front projecting punch from the side stance. It also integrates the linked chain punch and introduces the fundamental bong sao (wing arm) movement. In addition, the single dragon punch helps train the reflexes to intercept and counter attacks from the side and back, completing the four directions of basic training.
4. Jin choi (arrow punch) adds linear front and side stepping to the pattern of the single dragon punch, integrating footwork with body structure. This also trains the lower body in both defense (quick rooting, changing the meridian line, etc.) and offense (striking, uprooting, controlling, etc.)
5. Sam pan jeung (triangle palms) drills tan sao (dispersing arm), chang jeung (supporting palm), and gaun sao (cultivating arm) movements that cover basic interception inside, outside, and downward. It also helps illustrate the triangular structure behind Wing Chun kuen bridges. This set is usually matched in application with a partner performing linked high and low punches.
6. Loi lim yum yeung jeung (inside/outside yin & yang palms), also known as tan fook sao (dispersing & controlling arms), weaves two of the primary Wing Chun intercepting tools into a short but densely packed set. Concentrating on the smooth changing of the bridges, this technique can also be expanded into the jao da (run and hit), poon tan bong (half-dispersing-half-wing), etc.
7. Noi dap (inside join) also sometimes referred to as noi lim sao (inside sickle arm), the first of two related sets, trains the reflexes to close the meridian line from the outside in. It consists of a cycle of interior controlling arm and outside circling arm. Its variations include the noi tan (inside dispersing) and noi lop (inside grasp).
8. Ngoi dap (outside join), also sometimes referred to as ngoi lim sao (outside sickle arm), the complement of the inside join, combines a basic exterior controlling arm movement with the inside circling arm. The ngoi tan (outside dispersing) and ngoi lop (outside grasp) are variations of the outside join.
9. Kao dap sao (detaining joining arm) utilizes a Cheung Bo style wide detaining arm along with a vertically dominating kwa choi (hanging punch) and suffocating structure. This form can also be extended into the kao lop sao (detaining & grasping arm).
10. Pok yik jeung (flapping wing palms) combines turning power with horizontal palm attacks to strike or uproot an opponent. It is trained in a variety of manners, both inside and outside, and while stationary or in conjunction with yee ma (moving horse).
11. Na dan kiu (sticking single bridge) cycles a chum kiu (sinking bridge) technique with a horizontally controlling punch in a set typically trained with a partner to develop the dissolving of heavy force. Some branches practice the seung huen sao (double circling arms) instead.
12. Bak hok kum wu (white crane seizes the fox) uses chasing steps to maintain control of an opponent and saat kiu (killing bridge) and gok ma (angle stance) like scissors to cut them down. White crane seizes the fox also helps develop the use of three bridges at once.

Inside Joining, Detaining Joining Arm, Flapping Wing Palms, & White Crane Seizes the Fox

Conclusion

Over the last 50 years, teaching only those he felt were trustworthy, Grandmaster Sum Nung has gone on to train many outstanding students. Due to his tireless efforts, and those of his students and descendants, Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun Kuen has gained a great reputation in China and has spread to Hong Kong, South East Asia, the United States, Canada, South America, Australia, and around the world.

Among those fortunate enough to learn from Grandmaster Sum Nung is a man named Ngo Lui-Kay (Ao Leiqi) who followed him from the mid 1960s until he relocated to Canada in 1982. As the twelve forms were passed from Cheung Bo to Dr. Sum Nung, and from Dr. Sum Nung to Ngo Lui-Kay and his many classmates (with apologies, far to many to list here), so has Ngo Lui-Kay employed them to train his own students. It is hoped that by introducing these techniques in the west, it will help preserve the rare and unique style of Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun kuen, and the teachings of Grandmaster Sum Nung for future generations.

White Crane Seizes the Fox followed up with Kneeling Side Punch

About the Author

René Ritchie has been studying the Yuen Kay-San style of Wing Chun under the guidance of Ngo Lui-Kay since 1990. This article is excerpted, in part, from his book, Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun Kuen History & Foundations. René Ritchie is also co-author, along with Robert Chu and Y. Wu, of the book Complete Wing Chun: The Definitive Guide to the Historical Traditions of Wing Chun Kung-Fu and has written articles for Martial Arts Masters, Martial Arts Illustrated, and Martial Arts Legends magazines and the Wing Chun Today newsletter. Creator of the Internet WingChunKuen website, he works and practices in Eastern Canada.