The Wing Chun club team at the University practices a unique form of Chinese martial arts distinctive from the type commonly seen on TV or in the latest Jackie Chan movie.
"Wing Chun emphasizes ideas and not techniques, the main ideas [being] simplicity, efficiency and effectiveness," instructor John Chang said.
Chang, who lives in Richmond, drives to Charlottesville once a week to teach the 20-person group. The club, founded by Virginia student Jack Schell, was started two or three years ago and hopes to continue attracting new members, Chang said.
"We always would like to see the class grow," he said. "People are always coming and going [but] it would be nice to see year-by-year growth."
Kenny Lai Cheong, the current club president, shares Chang's sentiment.
"People can come as much as they want or as little as they want," Cheong said. "But it would be great if people who came would be serious about it. Even if they come once a week, if they commit to that, that is great. We are new. We are really low key, and we try to make it as easy as possible for people to have fun."
Wing Chun further distinguishes itself from other martial arts because there are no belts, levels or competitions used to judge a person's skill. Instead, achievement is measured based on the difficulty of the movements that a student can successfully perform.
"Wing Chun is a very practical martial art because we do not jump around and do fancy kicks," Cheong said. "We stress the economy of motion."
Chang further explained the distinguishing features of Wing Chun.
"It allows you to think because it is not a technique-based art but an idea-based art," Chang said. "So often times you are thinking about those ideas and how to express those ideas physically."
That is not to say there is no physical contact between students.
Wing Chun's famed "sticky hands" involves keeping opposing forearms in constant contact while searching for gaps in an opponent's defense. This is possible because Wing Chun emphasizes a full understanding of the theory behind each move, thus allowing students to analyze their opponents. By identifying strengths and weaknesses of their opponents, students of Wing Chun have the ability to sense their opponent's intentions.
"The thing with Wing Chun is that you cannot teach yourself or read a book," Cheong said. "You have to practice with more than one other person in order to advance."
The history of Wing Chun, as with the majority of martial arts, has traditionally been an oral one. This makes it difficult to confirm the origins of its creation, particularly because as teachers passed down what knowledge they did have, students tended to focus more on learning the art and less on memorizing its historical context. Today, there are a multitude of explanations for the rise of the Wing Chun art form.
"The biggest legend is that it is created by a woman," Chang said. "The Shaolin temple is the home of Chinese martial arts. At the time, there were revolutionaries against the government who came and burnt the temple down. Five elders escaped and one of them was this nun. She created a simplified system that could beat other martial arts systems."
While Wing Chun may never make it to the big screen any time soon, it can be found Sunday nights in the Chemistry Building.
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