The Tao of Wing Chun: The History and Principles of China's Most Explosive Martial Art

by John Little

Wing Chun is the most popular form of Chinese Kung Fu in the world today, with over four million practitioners. The art as it is presently understood has been handed down from teacher to student for more than three hundred years.
Until now, no one has ever stepped back and taken a critical look at why this art's techniques are presented and performed the way they are. This book, by Wing Chun master Danny Xuan and martial-arts authority John Little, is the first to decipher these techniques that until now have been encrypted within this art.
Xuan and Little reveal how Wing Chun was designed holistically, based on the laws of physics, human nature, and biomechanics. It was also designed with economy, efficiency, and productivity in mind. Unlike other martial arts, Wing Chun doesn't focus on making a person larger, more rugged, acrobatic or animal-like; rather, it focuses on making optimal use of one's own bodily structure and power potential by applying the sciences of biomechanics and physics. Thus, it is possible for males and females of all ages and sizes to excel in this art.
The Tao of Wing Chun provides a readable, authoritative means of cultivating personal protection skills, enhanced flexibility, improved coordination, greater stamina, and physical and mental fitness while simultaneously cultivating humility, focus, determination, self-confidence, character, camaraderie, and deep inner strength. Foremost, this book offers the reader the means by which to apply Wing Chun principles in daily life.
Enhanced by forty-eight full-color illustrations, The Tao of Wing Chun will fascinate, educate, and entertain a wide range of readers--from beginner to master.

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Genres: Martial Arts, Philosophy, Nonfiction

361 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 2, 2015

About the author

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Reviews

[Muhammad Sutton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the worst book I have read in the last five years. The author should change the name of the book from "The Tao of Wing Chun" to "The Physics of Wing Chun." For people that love an author repeating concepts over and over again and rambling on about ideas that have nothing to do with the topic of the book, well, this is the book for you. I hope, by finishing this book, I have proven to myself how patient I can be when I want to. Now I have to go back to reading only Arabic books because this book has made me dislike reading in English for the couple of months.

[Nick Thorne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the authors practical approach to Wing Chun and when he outlined his training pathways and techniques. I feel the book could of benefited from more photos after his excellent explanations. Also the author is rather arrogant and it felt like every chapter ended with ‘the reason why most wing chun practitioners and Sifu’s fail is because....’. However the book does a good job of explaining many of the fundamental principles of Wing Chun.

[Rafal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have ead bad reviews of this title however I truly enjoyed it. It gives good historical background of the art and for someone who has graduated from Sport Science my favorite part of the book is biomechanics and kinesiology of wing chun. My martial art background is Aikido and Brazilian Jujitsu and I can relate to the physics described in this book. I trained wing chun for very brief period of time in the past, however, after reading this book I will definitely go back to it.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the parts about the background and philosophy of Wing Chun. I appreciate how the author acknowledges the feminine aspect of the practice and relating it to Chinese culture through a wider lens. Sadly the physics and science parts mostly went over my head and felt quite dense, but good book overall.

[Dean Ireland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aside from a few chapters that were heavy on the science a really readable book. I came into this knowing next to nothing about wing chun having started training in lau gar it has has made me look at my training from a different perspective. You’ll leave this book wishing Danny was your sifu.

[Bombon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book. I now have a greater understanding of Wing Chun. I hope the authors write a book(s) on the Wing Chung forms.

[Walter Sofronoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

extraordinary

This is a book you should read after some training in wing Chun. It is the only intelligent conceptual book on the subject. It is a treasure.

[Ahdom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very informative book on Wing Chun, perhaps the best I have read so far. It felt a bit dry in some areas, but that is the nature of technicality. This book covers history, technique, and philosophy of Wing Chun. If you are interested in this art, I would not skip this book. I think it is worth having on the shelf.