THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE BOOK ON THE FOUNDATIONS OF WING CHUN KUNG FU. 220 pages of thorough text. Loaded with detailed photos. Absolutely educational. A clear layout of this amazing art. Precise instruction and explanations. Great for all levels and all stylists. Soon to set the standard for instructional martial arts books. Learn the foundations and philosophy of this amazing art! Wing Chun is a scientific yet theoretically based martial arts form. The specialty of a Wing Chun practitioner is close-range combat. Wing Chun utilizes well-coordinated angular deflections with simultaneous attacks. A Wing Chun practitioner is agile yet powerful, delivering quick, close-range punches and kicks rather than locks and grabs. Wing Chun is based on the concepts and principles of simplicity, economy of movement, and economy of energy.
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Way too brief. Comment: If you plan to learn wing chun only from books then this book is a good introduction. However, if you are a wing chun student and you have a sifu then this book will not help you.
The book covers each technique very briefly. It gives you just enough instruction to perform each technique and that is all.
This book was written for wing chun outsiders.
Customer Rating: Summary: Pretty solid Comment: Due to my geographic location I have to rely on books and other such means if I want to study anything martial arts related that isn't TKD or Karate.
Since book learning isn't the most desirable way to study any martial art I have to be pretty selective in what materials I choose to learn from.
As my first book on this system I can say i'm quite satisfied with it. The material is laid out very well, covering basic foundations first and applications later on.
Large photographs and fairly clear descriptions line the volume as well making it easy to interpret the material being covered.
This book goes through hand positions, Si Lum Tao form, stances, punching and kicking drills, and basic applications. It does not go through Chi Sao practice, wooden dummy practice, or anything else more advanced so those looking for these kinds of things should look elsewhere. Customer Rating: Summary: one of the best wing chun books Comment: This is a very clear introduction to wing chun, and one of the best books on wing chun I have seen. I like this book because it explains wing chun to American readers or western readers, and doesn't assume we know chinese or the "mystical" origins of their arts. It just explains things plainly and simply. The photos are well done and clearly help explain the art. The only minor thing is, I think a book cannot show how dynamic and explosive wing chun can be. You have to really see someone exploding a kick into someone's abdomen to really see how wing chun works. But this book is excellent. I would suggest to anyone interested in wing chun to get this book, and also get one of the DVDs, like that from Michael Wong, that shows the "explosiveness" of wing chun. Customer Rating: Summary: A superior work Comment: The two most highly rated books on Wing Chun are this one and The Wing Chun Compendium by Belonoha. I have both, and for anyone new to Wing Chun, this is by far a more rewarding book.
No doubt Belonoha's book contains more material...it reminds me of a reference source.
But Sifu Wahnish's effort is far more useful. For example, Chapter 3 covers stances and footwork. In 12 pages, the stances are clearly defined, and more importantly, he gives simple drills for movement between the stances and how they apply to positioning against your opponent. After reading the material, you 'get it', so to speak. I find in the other work, you don't.
Everything here seems to be geared at one goal...proper formation of the elemental techniques of Wing Chun. Nothing fancy. Like building a house with a rock solid foundation. Simplicity and economy....the essence of Wing Chun. Customer Rating: Summary: The Foundations of Wing Chun Kung Fu Vol.1 Comment: An honest and thorough exposition of Wing Chun. John covers aspects of Wing Chun seldom revealed to the public by the Chinese people. This is the main reason I enjoy books written by the western teachers - no withholding the techniques that make the sytem works. Looking forward to more of John's works.
