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Practice Wing Chun with Traditional Ip Man Wing Chun Indonesia
The film series Ip Man helped popularize Wing Chun, a Southern Chinese martial art said to be inspired by the movements of the crane and snake. Now Indonesians get the chance to learn it.
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Learning the skills: Hendric Kusnadi, a Wing Chun shifu (master) in Tangerang, Banten, teaches students a basic Wing Chun punch. (Courtesy of Hendric Kusnadi) (Courtesy of Hendric Kusnadi/Courtesy of Hendric Kusnadi)
T
em>The film series Ip Man helped popularize Wing Chun, a Southern Chinese martial art said to be inspired by the movements of the crane and snake. Now Indonesians get the chance to learn it.
During the reign of Emperor Jiaqing in the late 1700s and early 1800s, master martial artists who opposed Manchu Qing dynasty rule were hunted down. A Shaolin nun called Ng Mui fled her temple to Southern China shortly before Qing authorities burned it down to the ground.
Being a master of the many fists of Shaolin, she summarized the arts and passed the condensed form down to Yim Wing Chun, the daughter of a tofu merchant who was forced to marry a local general. With the newly mastered combat system, Wing Chun defeated the general and avoided forced marriage. Since then, the art became known as Wing Chun Kuen (the fist of Wing Chun or the fist of singing spring).
Wing Chun Kuen then spread throughout China and eventually the world, including Indonesia, branching into various lineages. The most widespread is that of Ip Man, a Hong Kong Wing Chun master. Today, traditional Wing Chun Indonesia is the largest Wing Chun school of the Ip Man lineage in the country.
"My shifu [teacher] went to Hong Kong to learn the art. [He established the school] in 2009 in Jakarta. Since then, it has spread throughout Indonesia," said Hendric Kusnadi, a Wing Chun shifu (master) in Tangerang, Banten.
Hendric said he had been training in the art since 2015 and began teaching others in 2019. He explained that there were “many schools of Wing Chun in Indonesia, but ours can be traced back to Ip Man”.
"To put it simply, Wing Chun is a summary of [Shaolin] Kung fu," the 56-year-old continued. "Only the important moves are included in Wing Chun […] Learning Kung fu takes years [unlike Wing Chun, which can be learned in a relatively short time]."
Inspired by Ip Man
Asked why he was interested in learning Wing Chun, Hendric said he was inspired by Ip Man as portrayed in a movie of the same name.
"I practice several martial arts. It [struck] me that Wing Chun moves were different from other Kung fu [schools]. It has only a few simple moves. It is practical," he said.
"In other martial arts, blocking and striking call for separate movements. Wing Chun is [more efficient] because you can block and strike at the same time."
Hendric was not the only one who learned Wing Chun because of Ip Man. At least two of his students also practice the art for the same reason.
"After I watched the movie, I looked for a nearby Wing Chun school. I found one in Alam Sutera, [Tangerang]," Clarissa Christy Kusnadi, who has been practicing Wing Chun since 2015, said.
Rather than using one's own force to defeat the opponent, Wing Chun emphasizes using that of the enemy to defeat them. As Wing Chun was created in a relatively modern time and was designed for very close-range combat, it is devoid of many classic Kung fu moves such as high kicks and very low stances.
"I heard that Wing Chun was a suitable martial art for women. [After I began learning Wing Chun, it became apparent that] the moves are very gentle, unlike other martial arts. In terms of effectiveness, other martial arts rely on physical prowess, while Wing Chun [does not]," Clarissa, 22, continued.
"This martial art focuses on our inner structure rather than building muscles. [You can observe] that not many Wing Chun practitioners are muscular. That said, it does not mean Wing Chun lacks power," Christian Darren, another student, said.
The movie Ip Man was first aired in 2008. Starring Donnie Yen, the movie was not the only reason the Ip Man lineage is the most popular school worldwide today. Long before that, Bruce Lee studied Wing Chun, once even under Ip Man himself. He later created his very own martial art, Jeet Kune Do, using some principles found in Ip Man's Wing Chun.
Still, the movie, and its three sequels, is the main contributor to its popularity today.
"After watching Ip Man, I came to realize that Wing Chun was very cool. My father used to train Kung fu, but not Wing Chun," Michelle Ladykia, a 22-year-old private tutor in Karawang, West Java, said. She added she quickly grew fond of Ip Man after watching the movie and that she was interested in learning Wing Chun but had not enrolled in any school.
"I do want to learn Wing Chun, but I have not enrolled because I am shy. The nearest school is also a bit far," said Michelle.
"[From what I see], Wing Chun does not require its practitioners to prepare a strike from a long range. Rather, Wing Chun allows one to [sneak a quick] attack from a short range. In movies portraying Wing Chun, the actors look very attractive with their movements. I am amazed how the moves are so simple but can prove fatal."
Doubts in effectivity
The effectiveness of Wing Chun has long been a subject of debate. Not many Wing Chun practitioners can be found in the UFC and other MMA competitions to prove its effectiveness. Brazilian UFC fighter Anderson Silva has tried to apply Wing Chun in his fights, but he wins his matches using moves from other martial arts instead of Wing Chun.
That said, Hendric remains confident that Wing Chun is an effective martial art "because you can quickly learn how to apply its principles". Hendric said he had sparred with practitioners from other martial arts, such as Taekwondo and Muay Thai, and he found his Wing Chun was effective against them.
Similarly, Darren and Clarissa said they had sparred with boxing practitioners. They said Wing Chun was also effective against boxing.
Their claim that Wing Chun is effective is not entirely baseless. Despite countless videos of Wing Chun masters being defeated in unofficial matches, there are also successful Wing Chun practitioners in the ring. Qi La La, for example, is a prominent fighter in the Taiwanese fighting circuit. He practices mainly Wing Chun and wins most of his matches with it.
Another example is Alan Orr, who studied all Wing Chun lineages, including that of Ip Man, and established his own Wing Chun academy. He puts Wing Chun moves into context rather than just rehearsing them. He often shares videos of his students winning in the ring using mainly Wing Chun.
Hendric demonstrated some effective Wing Chun moves, one of which was how to throw the opponent to the ground. He said only high-ranking students are allowed to learn this move.
"Our philosophy is not for [Wing Chun practitioners] to show off. So, in situations where I have to defend myself, I prefer to try to calm down the opponent. If he strikes, I would rather deflect it. If it turns ugly, I would rather avoid further conflicts. If I have to, I will just pacify the opponent. This country has laws—it would be dangerous if I lost control of my punches," said Hendric.
"I hope Wing Chun will be more popular in Indonesia and supported by the government. We have participated in competitions in Hong Kong, we even have been winning [in several categories] for three consecutive years there, but the government has yet to show its support," Clarissa said.
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