Wing Chun 🥋
Let's talk about Wing Chun depicted in movies and shows!
These characters above are all Wing Chun practitioners, and these are photos of them getting ready for a fight, but why do their poses all look different?
Even though their hand gestures are not the same, they are still adopting the same stance called Man Sau (問手) "Asking Hand". The full verse with Man Sau goes:
有手黐手，無手問手 "With hands, sticky hands; without hands, asking hands"
Meaning: when we are in contact with our opponent's hand/arm, we use a technique called Chi Sau (黐手) "Sticky Hand"; when there is no contact, we use Man Sau (問手) "Asking Hand" to search for one.
Wing Chun is a close combat system, which means we fight very close and "stick" to our opponents. When our opponent is far away, we reach out with our hands to "ask" and look for contact.
Wing Chun is also a self-defense martial art, so we "ask" our opponent to make the first move.
In my opinion, that is why it doesn't matter how Wing Chun practitioners pose their hands, as long as their arm is stretched out. There is no wrong way of doing Man Sau (問手) "Asking Hand".
Thanks to @unreliable-bean for giving me an excuse to talk about my favorite martial art! 🫶
