Martial Club

《詠春心學》功夫不負有心人，我命由我不由天
Wing Chun Mastermind: THE EIGHT KICKS OF AN UNBROKEN SPIRIT

1941年12月25日，香港城破，日寇入主，萬家燈火盡成寒灰，後人稱之為「黑色聖誕」。至2026年，已歷八十五周年。昔日香港，人口約一百六十萬；至1945年，僅餘六十萬。一城之中，淨失百萬。或扶老攜幼逃難，或被逐出境，或遭遣返、驅離，或於亂世風塵中無名失蹤。死者幾何？史家不敢亂寫。戰爭加饑荒，無精確總帳。常見估算，約一萬平民被殺或處決；其餘酷刑、毆辱、強姦、肢解者，更非紙上數字可盡。1942至1945年間，登記死亡人口約十萬，然其中有尋常病老之死，亦漏去無碑無冊之戰亡、餓斃、病歿者。其時糧荒如刀，配給似閻王帖。有人餓死街頭，有人死於虐待、疾病、強制勞役、驅逐流離。此帳亂如麻，血淚混雜，誰若硬報一個準數，便是欺世。謝永恩師父，生於1941年2月16日。香港降日之日，他不過十個月大，未滿周歲；一個奶娃，尚未識得江湖險惡，已先逢山河破碎。待他方能蹣跚學步，其母便攜他與眾姊，逃回中國內地，返台山鄉下。彼處尚有一口飯，亦有山村巷陌可藏身。誰料亂世最不饒幼子，謝永恩幼年染疾，高燒不退，自此一腿失去行動之力。命運一掌拍來，他尚未習武，已先受劫，身上已留下一生難愈之傷。旁人見之，或曰缺陷，或嘆命薄；習武人見之，卻知天將降大任，先拆你一邊橋，逼你另尋生門。
On December 25, 1941, Hong Kong fell. The city was broken by war, and later generations called that day “Black Christmas.” By 2026, eighty-five years will have passed. Before the war, Hong Kong had about 1.6 million people. By 1945, only about 600,000 remained. One city lost nearly one million people. Some fled with their families. Some were expelled. Some were forced back across the border. Some simply disappeared into the dust of war. To put it plainly: the city was still standing, but its people were scattered. How many died? No honest historian can give a perfect number. Torture, beatings, r**e, dismemberment — the records are incomplete, and the suffering was far beyond paper and numbers. Some estimates say about 10,000 civilians were killed or executed. From 1942 to 1945, roughly 100,000 deaths were registered, but even that number mixes ordinary deaths with deaths caused by war, hunger, abuse, and sickness. Many victims had no grave, no record, and no name. Into that world, Sifu Ben Der was born on February 16, 1941. When Hong Kong fell, he was only ten months old — not even one year old. A baby who did not yet understand danger had already met a broken world. When he was old enough to walk, his mother took him and his sisters back to mainland China, to the village in Toishan. There, at least, there was a little food, and village paths where a family could hide. But hard times do not spare children. As a young boy, Sifu Ben became sick. A high fever would not leave him. From that illness, one of his legs lost its full power, permanently. Before he ever learned martial arts, fate had already struck him. Before he stepped into Wing Chun, life had already left a wound on his body. Some people looked at him and saw a disability. Some felt pity and said his destiny was thin. But a martial artist sees deeper. Sometimes Heaven gives you hardship not to destroy you, but to force you to find another way. Sometimes life breaks one bridge, so you must build a better one. This is the life of Sifu Ben Der, right from the start.

詠春之腳，非只飛腿踢人也。手為門，腳為根，身為橋，心為燈；根不穩，門再靚都會塌。謝師父一腿有礙，反不得不問：重心何在？身從何發？腳未起時，意先到否？常人兩腿齊全，反而貪快、貪高、貪威風；他少一分方便，便逼出十分精細。故其八腳之妙，不在腿長力猛，而在「時機、位置、距離、平衡」四者相合。詠春八腳，即「橫踩、直𨂽、正蹬、側撐、高撩、低掃、前撥、後扣」。橫踩破膝內，直𨂽壓膝頂，正蹬取中門，側撐開肋位；高撩奪外踝，低掃摧內根，前撥截小腿外脛，後扣收其退路。八者似狠，實則為奪根、問路、借勢、破衡。你令敵失平，自己不可先亂；你欲摔人，先要站得住。
In Wing Chun, the leg is not only for kicking. The hands are the gate. The legs are the root. The body is the bridge. The mind is the lamp. If the root is unstable, even the most beautiful gate will collapse. Because one of Sifu Ben’s legs was limited, he had to ask questions that ordinary people often ignore: Where is my center of gravity? Where does my power come from? Before the foot moves, has the mind already arrived? Many people with two strong legs become greedy. They want to kick high, kick fast, and look impressive. But Sifu Ben had less convenience, so he developed greater precision. That is why the beauty of his Wing Chun Eight Kicks was not about long legs or brute force. It was about four things: Timing. Position. Distance. Balance. The Wing Chun Eight Kicks are: (1) Horizontal Stomp, (2) Straight Pressing Kick, (3) Front Thrust Kick, (4) Side Bracing Kick, (5) High Lifting Kick, (6) Low Sweeping Kick, (7) Forward Deflecting Kick, and (8} Rear Hooking Kick. The Horizontal Stomp attacks the inside of the knee. The Straight Pressing Kick controls the top of the knee. The Front Thrust Kick enters the centerline. The Side Bracing Kick opens the ribs. The High Lifting Kick takes the outside ankle. The Low Sweeping Kick destroys the inner root. The Forward Deflecting Kick cuts the outside shin. The Rear Hooking Kick takes away the opponent’s retreat. They may sound fierce. But their true purpose is not cruelty. Their purpose is to take the root, find the road, borrow force, and break balance. If you want the opponent to lose balance, you must not lose your own. If you want to throw or sweep another person, you must first know how to stand.

謝師父教人，
Sifu Ben teaches this step by step:

(Video #1) https://youtu.be/aSte-r4jm1g

(1)先練尋橋單腳站立，重心左右移換。
First, he taught us Chum Kiu single-leg standing, shifting the center of gravity from left to right.

(Video #2) https://youtube.com/shorts/ron5teo5i9g

(2)平衡木上正身黐腳，兩人一足相對，攤腳、膀腳循環相黏，未至筋疲力竭，不准跌落。此非折磨，乃叫你知：一條腿弱，便用一顆心補；一邊身失，便以全身整勁救。跌落來再上，唔好講辛苦，辛苦正是師父。
Second, he taught us upright Chi Gerk on a balance beam. Two practitioners faced each other, one leg against one leg, cycling through Tan Gerk and B**g Gerk, sticking and controlling, without falling off. This was not torture. This was education. If one leg is weak, use the whole center to support it. If one side of the body is limited, use the whole body’s structure to save it. Fall down. Climb back up. Do not complain about hardship. Hardship itself is the teacher.

(Video #3) https://youtu.be/-wqP7DjYQt0

(3)再練三角步偏身黐腳，以對方前腳作活木人樁，快馬入位，腳一接，高撩、低掃、前撥、後扣隨觸而生。力弱者不硬頂，腿短者不遠踢，身偏者不失中；借角度做人，借時機發腳，借對手之失形成我之入路。缺處不遮，反覆照見，照到它成為你的老師。
Third, he taught us triangle-step angled Chi Gerk. The opponent’s front leg became a living wooden dummy. With quick footwork, the body entered at an angle. Once the legs touched, the High Lift, Low Sweep, Forward Deflection, and Rear Hook appeared naturally. If you are weaker, do not clash with strength. If your leg is shorter, do not kick from too far away. If your body turns sideways, do not lose the centerline. Borrow the angle. Borrow the timing. Borrow the opponent’s mistake and turn it into your entry. Do not hide your weakness. Look at it again and again until it becomes your teacher.

(Video #4) https://youtu.be/JWxqdVY6s6M

(4)八仙桌上迫步摔腳，方寸之地如生死擂台，退無可退；雙方不用手，只以腳黐腳、迫步、摔馬，逼人出枱，亦逼自己出懶惰。此時人心最易露底：畏者腳浮，貪者身散，急者自亂。謝師所練，不止腿筋，乃膽氣也；不是叫你逞強，而是教你窄路相逢，心不散，馬不丟。
Fourth, he taught us pressing steps and throwing kicks on top of an Eight Immortals table. In that tiny round space, it became a life-and-death platform. There was nowhere to run. Both practitioners used no hands. Only leg sticking, pressing steps, stance breaking, and throwing. The goal was to force the other person off the table — and also force laziness out of yourself. At that moment, the heart is revealed. The fearful person’s legs float. The greedy person’s body scatters. The impatient person defeats himself. Sifu Ben was not only training the tendons of the legs. He was training courage. Not reckless courage. Real courage. The kind that says: when the road is narrow, the mind must not scatter, and the stance must not be lost.

(Video #5) https://youtu.be/ugAOG-mLOHM

(5)至木人樁前，八腳連環，踢擊與腳摔相生。樁無情，人有意；樁不動，卻照出你身法之偏。
Fifth, he taught us how to link the Eight Kicks continuously on the wooden dummy form. Kicking and leg throwing became one method. The dummy has no emotion, but the practitioner has intention. The dummy does not move, but it exposes every mistake in your body structure.

(Video #6) https://youtu.be/aQl431PjYng

(6)最後自由踢打摔，手中被擊不可停，須至腳下被摔方罷。於是方明「手腳合一，上下兼顧」，亦即「手不離腳，腳不離手，手腳不離身」之真義。
Finally, he taught us how to combine free kicking, striking, and throwing. Even if the hands were hit, the practitioner could not stop. The exchange only ended when the feet were swept or the stance was broken. Only then does one understand the true meaning of: Hands and feet as one. Upper and lower body together. In Wing Chun language: The hands do not leave the feet. The feet do not leave the hands. The hands and feet do not leave the body.

(Video #7) https://youtu.be/bGQTKzoy4no

故曰：有缺者，勿怨天；缺處若能覺，便是入道處。謝永恩師父一腿曾病，卻以一生證明，詠春之腳不單在腿，而在重心、步法、腰馬與不肯低頭之一念。天給你缺口，你便從缺口望見月光；命折你一腿，你便把另一腿練成山，把全身練成橋。江湖風冷，燈火仍在。能把傷痕練成根，把苦處練成法，把跌倒練成穩，斯人雖跛於形，實健於道。這，便是詠春八腳之心法也。
So let us remember this: If you awaken through weakness, the weakness itself becomes the doorway to the Way. Sifu Ben lost full potential in one leg, yet proved with his life that Wing Chun kicking is not only in the leg. It is in the center of gravity. It is in the footwork. It is in the waist and stance. It is in the one thought that refuses to bow down. When Heaven gives you a crack, look through it and see the moonlight. When fate bends one leg, train the other into a mountain. Train the whole body into a bridge. The martial world is cold, but the lamp is still burning. To turn scars into roots, to turn suffering into method, to turn falling into stability. A man may limp in form, yet stand tall in the Way. This is Wing Chun Eight Kicks: The Root and Spirit That Fate Could Not Break.

For more info, go to:
https://LeungSheung.com

Well done, Yeung Sifu!

Wu-Style Tai Chi Explained | Kung Fu Quest Hong Kong — Kung Fu Quest Ａ rare, in-depth conversation with a Wu-style Tai Chi practitioner on the real history behind Yang and Wu lineages, the meaning of four ounces redirecting a thousand pounds, and why Tai Chi's control technique sits above both attack and defence. Translated from Yeung Sifu's appearance on RTHK's In...

Once were heroes! Images from the first generation of Hong Kong kung fu icons.

Image guide: 1) All smiles! A rare shot of four martial arts stars at a social gathering. From left to right, Wong Fei-hung film series star Kwan Tak-hing/袁小田, Choy Li-fut master Kwan Mak-ging/关文经, Shek Kin/石堅 and Yuen Siu-tien/袁小田. 2) A theatrical flyer for an early Wong Fei-hung film. The first two movies in this long-running series had a tangential connection to Bruce Lee. They both featured Yue Ming/俞明, the husband of Lee's paternal cousin, 李秋尊/Lee Chow-chun, which made him Bruce's cousin-in-law. Yue Ming passed away just last year, aged 100! He was the last surviving cast member of the original five Wong Fei-hung films shot between 1949 and 1952. 3) The great Yuen Siu-tien was one of the earliest choreographers in Hong Kong cinema. Here he trains a local actress in swordplay. 4) In terms of a muscular martial arts hero, Kwan Tak-hing had the best lat spread until Bruce Lee arrived on the scene! 5) An image of Yuen Siu-tien on what would be his final movie set. He was originally set to reprise his 'Drunken Master/醉拳' role of So Hak-yee/蘇乞兒/Beggar So opposite Sammo Hung/
洪金寶 in his son Yuen Woo-ping's 'The Magnificent Butcher/
林世榮'. Sadly, shortly after production started, Master Yuen fell ill and passed away, and had to be replaced in the role by Fan Mui-san/
樊梅生. 6) Shek Kin (with Cyrano-esque fake nose) matches his stance with that of Kwan Tak-hing's Wong Fei-hung in 1957's 'How Wong Fei-Hung Fought a Bloody Battle in the Spinster's Home/黃飛鴻血濺姑婆屋' 7) 'Uncle' Kin played Wong Fei-hung's nemesis in nearly all of the original black-and-white films. Shaw Brothers invited Kwan Tak-hing to reprise the role for 'Rivals of Kung Fu/黃飛鴻義取丁財炮', but he declined. Shek Kin did appear in the film, which came out the same year as Kwan's colour debut as Wong Fei-hung: 'The Skyhawk/黃飛鴻少林拳'. 8) Lam Kau/ 林蛟 (right) wields a tiger fork against Kwan Tak-hing's rattan shield and butterfly sword in 'Wong Fei-Hung's Battle with the Five Tigers in the Boxing Ring'. 9) A great title for a late era Yuen Siu-tien comedy. 10) Kwan and Shek were reunited, as ice hockey team managers, for 'Aces Go Places 4'!

Rip 1934-2013 Lau Kar-leung

Lau Kar-leung was a Hong Kong martial artist, filmmaker, fight choreographer and actor. He is best known for the films he made in the 1970s and 1980s for the Shaw Brothers Studio, notably those starring Gordon Liu. He is considered one of the most influential figures in the history of martial arts cinema

梁相詠春往事：詠春開宗立派
Leung Sheung Old Times: NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

香江未明之歲，樓窄巷深，電車叮噹，巴士如鯨行沙丁魚群中。其時葉問老先生攜詠春入港，初如夜花，黃昏乃開，天曉即斂。人多地少，肩碰肩，肘貼肘，別派尚講大開大闔，詠春卻在半步之間，沉肩墜肘，守中而行。及至李小龍名揚四海，銀幕風起，木人樁亦似成了明星，武林始知：原來此小門小戶，竟能傳遍萬水千山。
The Old Hong Kong: narrow stairways, crowded rooftops, ringing trams, and buses moving through traffic like whales among sardines. People lived shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow. Space was precious. Perhaps that is why Wing Chun found its home there. When Grandmaster Yip Man brought Wing Chun to Hong Kong, it did not arrive with drums or banners. It came quietly, like a night-blooming flower. Other styles favored wide stances, large movements, big bridges, and heavy power. Wing Chun lived in the half-step: sink the shoulders, tuck the elbows, guard the centerline, move forward without showing off. Then came Bruce Lee. The silver screen carried his image across oceans, and even the wooden dummy seemed to become a mascot. Suddenly the martial world realized: this small, plain-looking art could travel across mountains and oceans. But success does not bring applause alone. It also brings sour faces.

(Video #1) https://youtu.be/8F-HWjnUxUU

那年月，武林中有幾位老兄，平日愛在武館街茶樓吹水講拳，聲如洪鐘，拳如鐵槌。初聞學詠春人日多，尚笑曰：「女人拳，學乜人上天台比武呀？」及見梁相攜同門下四虎將，三時開課，晨昏不輟，仍教人守中、黐手、練樁，弟子漸眾，名聲漸隆，彼等臉色便如隔夜苦瓜，青中帶酸。有人陰陰地說：「詠春不過梨園粵劇舞台手勢啫。」有人又酸溜溜道：「位置敏感，有乜好講？我掛哨插拳一打落去，山都崩啦！」又有人暗中探頭探腦，想偷一兩式，回去改名作自家秘傳。更有甚者，酒酣耳熱，便在街角放話：「葉問一門，不過會收班工友為徒；真落場，未必掂！」此等說話，若風吹瓦罅，嘶嘶作響，聽來煩，卻不入骨。梁相聞之，大都一笑。蓋真功夫不靠舌頭爭長短。梁相曾示人：手高一分，便失其位；心貪一寸，便亂其門。葉問宗師亦常言，不貪不畏，非無欲無懼也，乃知欲而不為欲牽，知怕而不為怕驅。武林人酸，任佢酸；同行陰，任佢陰。若以酸還酸，便中了旁門之套；若以怒鬥怒，便離了中線。
In those days, some martial art teachers loved to gather in teahouses near the schools, talking loudly about fists and fighting. At first, when they heard more people were learning Wing Chun, they laughed: “Woman Style? What business does that have on the rooftops?” Then they saw Leung Sheung teaching. They saw his "four tigers" training morning, afternoon, and night. They saw centerline, Chi Sau, and wooden dummy practice repeated day after day. They saw the numbers grow and the reputation rise. Their faces became like bitter melon left overnight—green, sour, and unhappy. Some whispered, “Wing Chun is just cantonese opera hand movements.” Others sneered, “Position? Sensitivity? One heavy punch from my Gua-Sau-Chap fists and the mountain falls.” Some peeked from the shadows, hoping to steal one or two movements, rename them, and call them secret family treasure. Others said, “Yip Man’s people only collect restaurant workers as students. In a real fight, who knows?” Such talk was wind through cracked roof tiles: noisy, irritating, but unable to cut into the bone. Leung Sheung usually smiled, because real kung fu does not fight with the tongue. He showed that if the hand is one inch too high, position is lost; if the heart is one inch too greedy, the whole gate becomes confused. Grandmaster Yip Man taught the same spirit: no greed, no fear. Not without desire, not without fear—but not dragged by desire, not ruled by fear. If others are sour, let them be sour. If others move in shadows, let them move in shadows. Answer sourness with sourness, and we lose our path. Answer anger with anger, and we leave the centerline.

(Video #2) https://youtu.be/M_ohimS38Ks

一夕，有外派客至館，衣袍鮮亮，笑容半真半假，曰：「久聞詠春巧妙，今日想摸摸底。」眾弟子望向葉問宗師。宗師只擺擺手，道：「阿相，斟茶先。」那客不耐，伸手便壓，力沉如石，心中暗想：「我今日要叫你哋詠春好睇。」豈料梁相不頂不抗，手若春水，水不揚波；身如梅枝，寒來更挺。客人越貪，越覺落空；越想控制，越被自己之力牽到門外。只聽「啪」一聲，非拳中人，乃其心中驕氣跌落地也。梁相收手，仍笑曰：「兄台手重，有料。不過我哋學詠春，先學做人。橋來橋上過，路塞頭筒入二筒；有機則打，不應打便不可打。贏人一招易，收住自己難。」眾人聽了，心頭一亮。那客面紅，嘴上仍酸：「今日地滑。」茶博士在旁聽得忍唔住，低聲道：「地滑唔滑我唔知，塊面就幾滑。」眾皆忍笑，不敢放聲，免傷人面。自此武林流言更盛。有人說詠春派裝柔弱，有人說詠春派扮高深。然詠春弟子仍日日黐手，千錘百鍊，從無打到有；仍學捨己隨人，接要棄，骨起肉沉；仍記萬丈高樓從地起，萬里前程始於足下。蓋門派成敗，不在掌聲幾響，亦不在同行幾酸，而在能否守住一點春意：受辱不亂，得勢不狂，遇強不怯，遇弱不欺。
One evening, a visitor from another style came to the school. His clothes were sharp; his smile was half polite, half challenge. “I have long heard Wing Chun is intelligent fighting style,” he said. “Today, I would like to test it.” The students looked to Grandmaster Yip Man. He only waved gently: “Ah Sheung, pour the tea first.” But the visitor was impatient. Before the tea settled, he pressed forward with force heavy as stone, thinking, “Today I will make Wing Chun look bad.” Leung Sheung did not clash. He did not resist. His hands were like spring water—calm, alive, without waves. His body was like a plum branch in winter: the colder the wind, the straighter it stood. The more the visitor became greedy, the more empty he felt. The more he tried to control, the more his own force led him outside the door. Then came a sharp sound—pak! Not the sound of a man being struck, but of pride falling to the floor. Leung Sheung withdrew his hands and smiled. “Brother, your hands are heavy. You have substance. But in Wing Chun, before we learn to fight, we learn to be a righteous person. When a bridge comes, cross the bridge. When the road is blocked, find the next opening. If there is true opportunity, strike. If one should not strike, do not strike. To win one exchange is easy. To control oneself is difficult.” The visitor’s face turned red. Still, he muttered, “The floor is slippery today.” A tea waiter whispered, “I don’t know whether the floor is slippery, but that face is certainly smooth.” Everyone held back their laughter. In kung fu, even in victory, one leaves a man some face. After that, rumors grew louder. Some said Wing Chun pretended to be weak. Some said it pretended to be deep. But the students kept training: Chi Sau, wooden dummy, thousands of repetitions. From nothing, they built something. From awkwardness, structure. From force, release. From release, power. They learned to give up the self and follow the opponent. They learned that receiving is not weakness. They learned that the bones must rise, the flesh must sink, and the mind must stay clear. A tower of ten thousand feet begins from the ground; a journey of ten thousand miles begins beneath the foot. A martial family is not measured by applause, nor by how jealous others become. It is measured by whether it can keep one breath of spring alive: Insulted, yet not chaotic. Successful, yet not arrogant. Facing strength, yet not afraid. Facing weakness, yet not cruel.

(Video #1) https://youtu.be/boNzS_bJqks

武林之大，百川並流。異路同歸者，可結善緣；同門異見者，亦可飲茶。惟酸者以人之成為己之敗，陰者以人之光照己之暗，終日算計，手未出而心已偏。詠春之品格，則如梅花小小，雪越厚，香越清；如中線直直，人行弓，我行弦。你笑我細，我便更細處求真；你話我慢，我便在寸進中養快；你說我無力，我便由無力練到有力而不露力。故曰：詠春心法，不外八字——不貪不畏，留中守中。同行見我成功，陰也好，酸也罷，皆是風聲。風來不追，風去不留。只將雙手收回胸前，沉肩，墜肘，立身如柱，心若平湖。今日練一分，明日正一寸。春不與冬爭，而冬過後，滿城自有花開。
The martial world is vast; a hundred rivers may flow to the same sea. Different paths may still share friendship. Even disagreement may sit down for tea. But the sour person sees another’s success as his own defeat. The shadow-minded person sees another’s light as proof of his own darkness. Before his hands move, his heart has already lost position. Wing Chun is different. Like a small plum blossom: the heavier the snow, the clearer the fragrance. Like the centerline: straight, quiet, and true. You laugh that we are small? We seek truth in smaller details. You say we are slow? We cultivate speed inch by inch. You say we have no power? We train from no power into true power—and still do not show it off. So remember the proverbs of Wing Chun: No greed. No fear. Remain centered. Guard the center. When the wind comes, do not chase it. When the wind leaves, do not hold it. Bring the hands before the chest. Lower the shoulders. Drop the elbows. Stand like a pillar. Keep the heart like a calm lake. Train one point today. Correct one inch tomorrow. Elegant Spring does not argue with Cold Winter. But when winter passes—the whole city blooms.

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