Although different schools can teach any martial art style differently, no style has a higher level of in-fighting than Wing Chun Kung Fu. (The only one that comes close is Jeet Kune Do which, oddly enough, grew out of Wing Chun.)
This is unfortunate because, since people within the Wing Chun world can’t even agree on the “right” way to do the style, it makes outsiders treat it like a joke. After all, a style doesn’t seem all that great if people are squabbling about who is a true representative of it.
Why is that? What makes someone from the Wong Shun Leung lineage criticize someone from the Leung Ting lineage? In fact, what the heck is a lineage anyway?
We will get into that and more, but first I want to state my stance on the issue: LINEAGE WARS ARE NONSENSE.
I will explain why shortly.
What is a “Wing Chun Lineage?”
The last undisputed Grandmaster of Wing Chun was a gentleman named Ip Man (or Yip Man, if you go by the way it was spelled prior to the Donnie Yen movies). He taught many people who went on to become big names in the Wing Chun world. (He also taught Bruce Lee who, while not the best “Wing Chun practitioner” ever, certainly did have talent, intellect, and charisma.)
Some of these names might mean nothing to the average reader, but I name some of his students anyway because it relates to the definition I’m going to provide you.
- Wong Shun Leung
- Ip Ching and Ip Chun (yes, Ip Man’s sons)
- Chu Shong Tin
- Leung Sheung
- William Cheung
- Leung Ting
- Moy Yat
- Hawkins Cheung
Eventually these students were able to go into the world and teach Wing Chun themselves, and that, my friends, is where the term “lineage” comes into play. For example, if you learned from Wong Shun Leung, you learned the “Wong Shun Leung lineage.” Here in Albany, NY, there is a place called Cichon’s Wing Chun, which is led by Sifu Russ Cichon. His teacher was Ip Ching, so therefore he says he teaches the “Ip Ching lineage.” I believe there are only two instructors who don’t use their own name in their business: William Cheung (who calls his branch “Traditional Wing Chun”) and Leung Ting (who calls his “Ving Tsun”). There could be more, but they are the only two who come to mind.
Why Are There “Wing Chun Lineages,” But No “Tae Kwon Do Lineages?”
This is a good question, and you could pose it for any other art. You don’t hear of different Judo lineages. Although there are different forms of Karate like Shotokan and Kyokushin, I don’t consider those different “lineages;” each one of those became a style in and of itself.
At any rate, back to the question at hand: why does this whole “lineage” issue even exist?
I can answer that question in one word.
Marketing.
That’s right. In a field full of competition, you need an edge to stand out. What better way than to claim yours is the only lineage that learned “real” Wing Chun from Ip Man, while everyone else learned watered-down nonsense?
It still begs the question, “Why don’t Tae Kwon Do or Jiu-Jitsu schools feel compelled to do the same?” That is because those schools are all set; they don’t need this lineage stuff to earn their money. (I don’t know about anywhere else, but in America the Tae Kwon Do schools are thriving because they teach children, so they become a convenient place for Mommy and Daddy to drop the toddlers while they go do their “adulting.” As for Jiu-Jitsu, those schools have been making bank ever since the Gracies cleaned up at the early UFC competitions and made it seem like all striking arts were useless.)
We Understand Lineages, But What Are “Lineage Wars?”
Don’t get me wrong, folks: I understand that if someone wants to stay in business, they need to get customers. If you own a taco stand, and there is another taco stand across the street, then you need to do something that makes your place stand out. I get that.
What I don’t get is the lengths to which people take it. I will continue with the taco stand example to explain myself.
Let’s say the Taco Competitor makes a commercial where they say, “Everyone else makes their tacos according to recipe A, but here at our place we make them according to recipe B.” That’s fine, right? It explains why you should go there instead of anywhere else: different flavor.
Now imagine they made the same commercial, but instead they take it a step further. This time, they say, “We make our tacos according to recipe B because that is the real way to make tacos. None of these other clowns are making authentic tacos. In fact, they might be serving you dog meat for all you know!”
This is the way of the Wing Chun world.
This is what I call “the lineage wars.” It isn’t just one person saying they do Wing Chun differently than another place; it’s them saying their way is the real way, while everyone else teaches inauthentic/watered-down garbage.
Why the Lineage Wars Are Nonsense
The lineage wars are nothing but posturing.
They were started by people who were looking for a different selling angle. Also, they were probably begun by people who didn’t have much faith in their skill. Sadly, instead of doing something positive about that (like, you know, practicing), they decided to talk smack about other practitioners.
This is one of the saddest things I see in the modern world. Instead of building themselves UP, people would rather make themselves look better by tearing others DOWN. Why? Because that’s easier. Building your self-esteem takes effort; uttering an insult…not so much.
At the end of the day, it is all Wing Chun. We are all practicing the same techniques. Okay, one person might have a 45-degree angle bend to their Tan Sao while someone else has 46, but so what? It’s still a Tan Sao! Another thing the lineages do differently are the forms; some have sections that others don’t, while others do the forms in a different order, but they are still Wing Chun forms.
The worst part about the lineage wars is that they diminish Wing Chun’s reputation. People already think of Wing Chun as ineffective. Then, when they see that Wing Chun people can’t even agree with each other on what the style is or how it’s done, they just laugh and say, “There! You see? If none of them can agree on how it’s done, then it must mean no one knows what the hell is going on!”
Conclusion
In a world where people struggle to keep businesses open, it is natural to want to figure out an angle. You need to set yourself apart. I understand that.
However, you don’t need to do it at Wing Chun’s expense. Make the style lose all credibility, and you’re just shooting yourself in the foot.
No matter what lineage someone displays, they are all Wing Chun lineages. That means that, beneath the superficial differences, it’s the same thing. I wish people would realize this, because maybe then they would shut their mouths and open their minds…and when they do that, maybe they could finally absorb the full meaning of one of my favorite quotes by a man named Thomas Carlyle:
“Every man is my superior in that I may learn from him.”
Let’s raise a toast, folks, to learning from each other.
His YouTube channel (Geek Wing Chun) gives free training tips and ideas for people who want to get better at Wing Chun but can't make it to class as often as they'd like. Check it out by simply typing "Geek Wing Chun" into the YouTube search field!
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Well said, let’s learn from each other!
I’m ready! 🙂
It’s ironic an article about lineage in Wing Chun includes a graphic that implies a mythical person (Ng Mui) actually existed and founded the style.
Thanks for the comment. The graphic itself is irrelevant. I just wanted something that visually displayed what I was discussing.
And you didn’t even get to the lineages that don’t descend from Ip Man. I know those are not as widely spread but every now and then I see some guy from some obscure lineage claiming theirs is even purer or something like that. I’m a Choy Lee Fut guy myself and though we don’t quite have “wars”, there are some discrepancies here and there between different lineages.
Thanks for the comment. Well said!