Wing Chun is one of the youngest martial arts. It developed out of Shaolin kung fu and was designed to be a more streamlined system focusing on short,
direct movements to minimise wasted motion and energy. This is what makes Wing Chun the most effective self defence system in the world.
The central idea is that, under pressure, it is impossible to visually recognise the precise direction and speed
of an attack and make a conscious decision on an effective way in which to react,
all within the very brief amount of time you have before your opponent’s attack lands. Rather, one must (counter)
attack immediately in a very direct and protected manner, and rely on reflexes to determine how to react
if the opponent’s attack continues to pose a problem.
Chi Sao , or “sticking hands” trains students to respond
reflexively to the speed, force, and direction of an attack based on tactile information – which the human brain processes much faster than visual information.
