Introduction

« The enemy is built with tendons of bronze and bones of steel. And we, however are but withered branches and rotted wood…Alas ! Confrontation would be suicidal… »

«Are horses and monkeys not agile enough to run and climb ? But how might they confront bears and tigers ? »

Grand Master Nguyen Minh

« The essence of Wing Chun is based upon the game of the five animals, the three awakenings and the eight barriers… And each one of these three stages is as important as the other: if one of these three were missing, it would not be Wing Chun, for Wing Chun is what is necessary and what is sufficient… »

Grand Master Nguyen Te Cong

In comformity with these enlightned words, the Orthodox Wing Chun school’s teaching respects a program of the most traditional courses, regrouping the three aspects sinequanon of Kung Fu : external force, combat techniques and internal force.

The Wing Chun Kung Fu way is divided into three stages aimed at unifying the three bodies (physical, energitic and mental) of the human being into one harmonious unit in order to be able to merge with eternal cosmic evolution.

The Shaolin Wing Chun school offers three belts: ^*:

• The Black Sash signifies obscurity or ignorance. Its obtainment is a sign of the practitioner’s integration with the school and the master’s approbation. Its three bars symbolize the three degrees of apprenticeship and of perseverance.
• The Red Sash is second and its colour represents determination and perseverance. It consists of nine levels represented by white bars, each one corresponding to one of the qualities and to one of the proficiencies required by one’s progression towards the Great Way.
• The White Sash is the last in the Shaolin Wing Chun system and is synonymous with chastity, wisdom and enlightenment. Moreover, it is the only belt one may award oneself. Although, the individuals who have attained this level are no longer interested in display, preferring to withdraw from the society and to dedicated themselves to a religious life.

^*Note : In 1990, the General department of physical education and sports, under the Vietnam Ministry of culture and informations, modernized and restructured the teaching of martial arts, normalizing it to the national education system. Therefore, levels of competence are represented by the number of years of practice, so that:

• Instructor : Red Sash 15th dan
• Chief-instructor : Red Sash 15th dan
• Master : White Sash 17th dan
• Expert-Master : White Sash 18th dan
• Head-Master : Laced White Sash (Worn by one who is chief of a school or an independent branch)
• There are no more Grandmasters ou head Grandmasters

This way, we see the recent apparition of numerous young Vietnamese master who arrogantly bear the White Sash. Furthermore, the system permits Expert-Master, if they so desire, to start at any time their own style or branch in order to become Head-Master, bearing the laced white belt. Nonetheless, the Shaolin Wing Chun School remains faithful to the ancestral ways.