Wing Chun Kuen: A Revised Historical Perspective (Part 1)

Wing Chun Kuen (Beautiful Springtime First), more commonly known simply as ‘Wing Chun’ has steadily gained international recognition, originally due to the popularity of Bruce Lee, although more recently over the past decade with the films ‘Ip Man’, ‘Ip Man 2’, ‘Ip Man 3’, ‘The Legend is Born: Ip Man’ and ‘The Grandmaster’.

It is purported that Wing Chun was developed by a nun from the Southern Shaolin Monastey, Ng Mui, who progressed to teach Yim Wing Chun, from where the style received its name. Given that Wing Chun is a pragmatic combat system where speed and simultaneous attack and defence, adhering to principles of physics, the need for size, strength or flexibility is limited, a possible reason why the ‘myth’ that Wing Chun was developed by a woman has remained.

In this article, the myth of Ng Mui and the Southern Shaolin Monastery is questioned as a basis for providing an alternate historical argument and justification for the development of Wing Chun.