“Chu Shong-tin was born in China and moved to Hong Kong in 1949. Whilst working as secretary of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Restaurant Workers Union he met famous Wing Chun Kung Fu Master Ip Man, who was teaching members of the union. The two became friends and in 1951 Chu became the third student of Master Ip after Leung Sheung and Lok Yiu.[2][3] Chu Shong-tin trained and eventually taught continuously from 1951 until his passing in 2014.[4]
Early on, Chu questioned Master Ip about the meaning of the first Wing Chun form name – Siu Nim Tau – and was just told “keep practicing”. He persevered in only practicing this first form and eventually “felt something different while practicing. A sort of understanding that was not there before.” He told his Master about his experience and after that Ip Man started to call him “Siu Nim Tau Wong (小念頭王)” or “Siu Nim Tau King “.[5]” -From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_Shong-tin
Chu Shong tin Wing Chun
Despite having crossed paths with Chu Shong Tin at a seminar held by my Sifu held in the 90’s, it was a few decades before I found a Chu Shong Tin lineage Wing Chun teacher. Here is Chu Shong-tin standing between Sifu Samual Kwok and Grandmaster Ip Ching in Leeds, UK.
At the time I was learning from my Sifu and remember being confused by the differing styles. I had learned a very illusive way to draw in an attack with a soft bong sau, whereas the bong sau (wing arm position) was being shown to me in a very different manner to before. It was a stiffer position, being used with more stability, rather than folding back. I remember only being confused by this at the time, and since the masters were only there for a short visit, I forgot about it and focused back on my training.
Shu Shong Tin Lineage
In June 2021 I contacted Daniel Parr from Sung Wing Chun, a school in Sheffield and started training there after joining the beginners course. Dan is a Chu Shong tin lineage instructor who trained for many years and is a recognised Hong Kong qualified Sifu. I found Dan very genuine and humble and I was of course interested in how my understanding of Wing Chun would differ from his.
What I found was fascinating and although very challenging mentally, I attempted to put down 20+ years of training, in order to learn with an “empty cup”. It hasn’t been easy, and the difference between what I am studying to what I was already doing was like night and day! Despite so many similarities in the two methods of training, I had to put my old style down in order to welcome the new. Trying to do the two simultaneously led to much confusion and exasperation, (and not much learning). In many ways it would have been easier to start from scratch, without previous Wing Chun knowledge from another style.
Standing Practice
Since Dan’s club in Sheffield is a fair drive from Leeds where I live, (about an hour). I started going to classes on a weekly basis. Some weeks I was just plain confused, and others I was even more confused! It seemed like a futile attempt to keep going at times, but all the instructors at Sung Wing Chun were incredibly patient and generous with their time. The soft power was like nothing I had seen in 20+ years of training Wing Chun, and this inspired me to continue. So I persevered week after week, month after month!
The standing practice which Chu Shong Tin would make his students do inspired me too. As I understood it, as he reached a certain level of understanding of the Siu Nim Tao (first form), he changed the way in which he taught Wing Chun. He had his students standing for hours so they could understand it!
I began doing standing practice at home, building up the time, to help with my understanding of what we were doing in classes.
It definitely helped but it was the expert instruction from Dan and his instructors which kept me going. I can definitely recommend the classes if you want to learn this fascinating system.
A Long Road Ahead
Despite being on the very bottom step of this fascinating lineage (once more), I have gained some insight and it is changing the way I teach. To date, I have only been studying with Dan at Sung Wing Chun for a year and a half (since June ’21). But it has already opened my eyes to the missing pieces I hadn’t previously understood.
It took several months before I started seeing even a glimpse of what was going on in the classes! So if you’re a beginner I recommend sticking at it and seeing it through. The benefits of learning Wing Chun are huge and not only are you learning a fighting system which could save your life some day, you are also learning how to relax your body and release tension. This alone has powerful implications for your health both in mind and body. Stress is a big problem for many and leaning how to relax the mind and body, (while punching each other) is incredibly rewarding and satisfying!
