We were fornunate to have interviewed a genuine fighter of the Wing Chun style from Hong Kong. This student, who wishes to remain anonymous, descended from a first generation student of Yip Man by the name of Jiu Wan.
In Hong Kong, this fighter was the number two bodyguard for an important Hong Kong client. He said that he knew the first set very well. In fact, he said that Jiu Wan had a very thick book just dealing with the first set. Beyond that, this student practiced isolated movements from the Chum Kiu set and from the Wooden Dummy set.
As a bodyguard, our interviewee had to take clients up and down narrow stairways. Sometimes gangsters would charge up the stairs to attack the client who was on his way down. Under these circumstances, he said that the kicking techniques of other arts would make him tumble down the stairs. The tight hand techniques of the Wing Chun system proved to be the ideal solution. In Hong Kong, it was important to know their customs. Once he got attacked by five gang members just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Every gang had special signals to recognize other gang members. Sometimes the way you hold your cup, from what side you sip, or how you light a cigarette are tip offs that you are not a gang member.
This student of Jiu Wan emphasized very soft sticking hands. The power was heavy, but very very soft. According to him, Wing Chun can be used effectively to fight multiple opponents.
