S88 Wing Chun

You are not being punished. Whatever you're living through right now — the caregiving that drains you, the financial pressure that never fully lifts, the relationship that broke, the grief that won't schedule itself conveniently — none of it is evidence that you did something wrong or that life has singled you out. Hard things happen to people who are doing everything right. That includes you.

There is a deeper order to your life than the chaos currently visible on the surface. You may not be able to see it from where you're standing — that's okay. The roots of a tree aren't visible either, but they are what allow it to stand in the storm. You have roots. You have a history of surviving things that once seemed unsurvivable. That is not nothing. That is everything.

In this short video I explore a question I’ve been wondering about: why can traditional kung fu sometimes feel difficult to understand from the outside?

Part of the answer may lie in history.

After the Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901), martial arts groups in China became closely associated with secret societies and anti-government movements. Because of this, martial training may have increasingly moved into more private settings, with knowledge passed carefully between trusted teachers and students.

Later, during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) under Mao Zedong, many elements of traditional Chinese culture were suppressed as part of the campaign against the “Four Olds.” Martial arts lineages, manuals, and family records were sometimes destroyed or hidden for safety. In response, practitioners may have adapted how knowledge was transmitted — teaching movements publicly while explaining deeper applications privately to trusted students.

At the same time, the Chinese government began developing and promoting a modern, state-sponsored system of Wushu, which emphasized athletic performance, health, and public demonstration. While this preserved many movements and helped popularize Chinese martial arts worldwide, it also changed how the arts appeared to the public.

Interestingly, history provides examples of similar adaptations elsewhere. Brazilian Capoeira, for example, is often described as a martial art whose techniques were hidden inside dance-like movements during periods when enslaved Africans and their descendants were forbidden from openly practicing combat training.

None of this means traditional kung fu techniques were intentionally “mysterious” or ineffective. But it does raise an interesting possibility: that some movements we see today may have survived through periods of cultural pressure by appearing harmless on the surface while deeper meanings were transmitted quietly within lineages.

Chain punches get a bad reputation in Wing Chun. But like many drills and techniques, they’re developmental tools meant to build a core mechanic and lay the neuromuscular foundation for everything that follows.

One reason they’re misunderstood is because they’re first practiced from a square stance, where power generation is intentionally limited. When people feel that lack of power, they often start adding shoulders and waist to force it — but in doing so they may actually be cheating the reps and short-circuiting the skill the drill is meant to develop.

There’s a lot of confusion around Wing Chun — and really traditional Kung Fu in general. People question the forms, critique the drills, and wonder how any of it is meant to apply. From the outside, those reactions make sense.

But over time I started to realize the difficulty isn’t just about fighting or technique. The art is coming from a very different way of teaching, learning, and even looking at practice than many of us are used to. Without that context, what you see can feel incomplete, symbolic, or even unrealistic.

I’ve always been hesitant to try to “explain” Wing Chun. I don’t think it was built to persuade everyone, and the people it resonates with tend to find their way to it. But I’ve also met many practitioners who care deeply about it and still feel like they’re missing something — often assuming the problem is themselves.

So in this short series I want to share a perspective that helped things make sense for me. Not just what the movements are doing, but why the art often appears the way it does, and why so many people struggle to interpret it.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re looking at the same material as everyone else but seeing something different — or nothing at all — this series is for you.

You may have heard this before — Kon (Gon) Sao and Kwon Sao were classically described as the Golden and Silver (or Iron) Scissors.

I’ve always loved that image because it tells us more than “hand positions.”

They aren’t just blocks.

Sometimes we use them that way — and honestly, life gives brutish problems, so a brutish answer can work. But the scissors idea points to something more refined.

Instead of stopping the attack, they can cut the structure.

One closes. One opens. Yet both separate the incoming force from its ability to affect us. That’s the interesting part — not just for training.

In life, pressure shows up and our instinct is to block. Sometimes that’s all we have. But other times, if we see clearly, we don’t have to fight the pressure at all… we can cut the structure creating it and step into an opening.

We get a lot of questions about the fighting effectiveness of Wing Chun.

The honest answer is a little more complex—because fighting is complex, and Wing Chun is a deep system. I want to unpack that more later. For now, here’s a concrete example.

This clip shows a response to a boxing combination, using Wing Chun techniques, but more importantly Wing Chun ideas—concepts, principles, and Kuen Kuit. I’m a bit rusty, but I made a conscious effort not to violate either.

I also thought this could be a useful challenge for other Wing Chun practitioners:

The order of priority

Wing Chun techniques

Adherence to Wing Chun ideas (concepts, principles, Kuen Kuit)

The combination below

The combination Jab → Jab → Cross → Rear Uppercut → Lead High Hook → Shoulder Roll → Cross → Lead Body Hook → Lead High Hook

If you want to try it, post your response and use #s88boxingchallenge