An Interview with Victor Chan

In late June 2010, we had the privilege to interview Mr. Victor Chan, a long-time student of Sifu Bruce Cheng. Victor had been training in Wing Chun directly under Sifu Bruce for 10 years now. He had learnt all three Wing Chun Empty Hand Forms, two Weapon Forms and the Wooden Dummy Form. He holds a 3rd Dan Black Belt under Bruce Cheng Martial Arts curriculum. Editor’s Note: Although it may sound strange for a Wing Chun school to employ coloured belts to represent grades, it is in fact a practical method for teaching a class where a mixture of students of different levels train together with different development progress.

Below is the excerpt from the interview.
VC: Victor Chan  |  WE: Web Editor

WE: Thank you for taking the time today for an interview. For a starter, how long have you been living in New Zealand?

VC: Almost 18 years, my family immigrated here when I was 7.
 
WE: When did you join Bruce Cheng Martial Arts?

VC: I started learning Wing Chun with Sifu roughly 10 years ago.

WE: What were the reasons of learning Wing Chun in the beginning?

VC: Back then I was a massive Bruce Lee fan and had been looking for a martial arts school, I was also a skinny little Asian boy.

WE: How did you find out about Sifu Bruce Cheng?

VC: A close family friend was a private student of Sifu’s so I decided to take a look the first chance I got.

WE: How do you find Sifu Bruce as a teacher? Can you elaborate a bit about his teaching method and how you relate to it?

VC: Sifu has always been great teacher to me, the amount of knowledge and experience alone is a good enough reason to learn with Sifu. Sifu's methods allow you to grow into your own style, if you observe all the black belts in our dojo you will see that we all fight according to our own physique. I have personally found his style of teaching very profound, I have learnt almost everything I know from Sifu.

WE: Throughout the years, have you noticed much difference in the way Wing Chun is taught in the school specifically and in New Zealand generally?

VC: I have definitely noticed that the curriculum differs with each group of new students, when I first started learning Wing Chun Sifu incorporated a lot of high kicks in my training. I believe that Sifu prefers to be flexible with his methods in order to help individuals develop their own style. I can not comment on the other Wing Chun schools as I have not attended any outside of Sifu's in New Zealand.

WE: What do you think about the impact of recent Ip Man movies towards Wing Chun and general perception on the art?

VC: The movies are definitely good publicity for the Wing Chun community, although I don't think the impact was large enough to change general perception on the art.

WE: So what kept you going after all these years, considering you’ve learnt all the techniques of Wing Chun many years ago?

VC: For me, knowing the technique is not enough. Learning how to apply it in different situations to different people is the hard part, it is one of those things where the more you learn the more there is to master. Constant training is also required to maintain skill level, responsiveness and good muscle control. Then there are the people I've trained with over the years, it has been a very fulfilling journey meeting all of my gung brothers and learning Wing Chun together.

WE: Could you share one of the more memorable experiences you’ve had while training with us?

VC: Grading for my first black belt was particularly memorable for me, I remember having to spar with Anthony and Simon as well as breaking boards with our one inch punch.

WE: Have you had much fighting experience, which you’d like to share with us?

VC: Over the years, I have sparred against several other martial art styles but at the end of the day it is person not the style that defines how good he/she is. I must admit that Sifu’s style of teaching is more practical compared to some of the people I have sparred against.

WE: In regards to the previous question, what are your advices to fellow students in the school relating to their training/fighting habits?

VC: Stance, the more you learn the more you'll realise the importance of your stance. A good way to feel how solid your foundations are is to try and push your opponent during Chisau; if your stance is strong you should feel the weight transfer through your arms and straight into your heel.

WE: Have you learnt any other martial art styles beside Wing Chun over the years?

VC: Sifu also taught me Tae Kwon Do in the earlier years as well as a tiny bit of Kendo. Although I only dabbled in both, the skills I have learnt has definitely been useful. I also studied a little bit of Aikido recently.

WE: How do you find these styles compared to Wing Chun, and in what way do they enrich your fighting skills?

VC: Tae Kwon Do is a great complement to Wing Chun in so many ways; closing distance, improve low kicks, great combos as well as good finishers. With Kendo, it helped with building stronger upper body strength, agility, focus and being one with your weapon. Aikido has provided me with a more scientific approach to the wrist locks and a greater awareness to my own balance and posture.

WE: Now we are going to delve slightly into academic topics about Wing Chun: what are the values of chisau in Wing Chun and how do you compare this to a full-contact sparring? Should the two things be distinguished during training?

VC: I firmly believe that chisau should be trained in three separate ways; slow chisau to learn about the form, focus on posture and learn about trapping, fast chisau to learn practical application, responsiveness and counter attack, lastly chisau with push techniques to learn stance. To me chisau is a great way to learn, as is full contact sparring, you gain different skills from the two.

WE: Do you have any advice regarding the different levels of chisau, especially for beginners?

VC: Focus on improving yourself, even if it means taking a few punches to learn how to block it properly. It is easy to get caught up in landing hits and avoiding being hit, but if you lose sight of your form, your habits will become worse and it will be very difficult to correct later on.

WE: What should intermediate and advanced students be concentrating whilst doing chisau with their partners?

VC: Posture and power, this is not to say that you should pummel your opponent in training but to become more aware of how much damage you can inflict. For example if you land a perfect strike but your arm is already stretched, there will be no power left. Try to land clean hits with your arm semi cocked, this way you know you can extend your arm if you wanted to.

WE: At our school we don’t do Chi Gerk (sticking feet), what’s your thoughts about this?

VC: Although we do not train in the traditional drills of Chi Gerk, we do implement it in our sparring sessions. Due to the dangerous nature of the Wing Chun low kicks,
Sifu may have deliberately left this to the higher belts to avoid injury.

WE: What are the values of learning the Wing Chun Weapon Forms in these days of modern weapons?

VC: If the situation arises where you must defend yourself, anything you find will become a useful tool for survival. Learning to use a weapon also helps you understand how to defend against it.

WE: What about the Wooden Dummy Form, can you distil the advantages of learning this form in one’s fighting skills?

VC: The dummy form is undoubtly the most practical form in the Wing Chun curriculum, it teaches so many important lessons in stepping, correcting form and improving 'inch' power.

WE: We’ve received a number of questions throughout the years about starting Wing Chun too early or too late. Some parents wonder about the value of Wing Chun for their 4-7 year old children, whilst others have enquire about wanting to learn Wing Chun, but they were worried about being in the 50+ age group. Do you have any opinions about this?

VC: Any child from 5 years onwards can be taught just as any 50+ can, that being said I do believe that their curriculum be different and specially tailored to meet their physique and capability. I know Sifu is not a good example to use but he is now 61 and he is one dangerous man.

WE: Do you have any comments about the core principles of Wing Chun that distinguish it to other styles, such as the hand trapping skills, centreline principle and the famed 1-inch force generation?

VC: There are many aspects of Wing Chun that are quite unique; the stance, chisau amongst other techniques. The 1-inch punch, made famous by Bruce Lee's demonstration is quite common in Chinese Kung Fu they simply have a different term for it. At the end of the day, all martial arts have one intention and so long as that intention is the same the end product more or less is not that different from each other.

WE: Do you reckon that one day you might teach Wing Chun formally?

VC: I certainly wish to teach when I settle down, in the mean time I am happy learning anything and everything I can.

WE: When teaching children, compared to adults, is there specific skills that they should concentrate more?

VC: When I used to help Sifu teach the younger children, I always found that their shorter attention span means that you can not force them to do anything too monotonous. In order to get the most out of these short windows of attention, it is not so much the skills that you teach but the way that it is taught. Creating games and competitions that help with their stance, form while they are oblivious to that works best.

WE: So Victor, now you’re ready for the next phase in your professional career in Asia. How’s the preparation for your departure going?

VC: Pretty hectic at this stage, a few days to go and still so much to do!

WE: You’ve been visiting Hong Kong and other parts of China recently; how do you find the working hours and ethics over there compared to New Zealand?

VC: Working hours in Hong Kong are longer and the commute also stops you from doing anything. The overall culture also places much less emphasis on sports, I remember growing up in Hong Kong PE classes were only half an hour long once a week!

WE: Do you think you will find the time to continue practicing Wing Chun considering many people say that the work environment and social life is more demanding there?

VC: Where there is a will there is a way! If I can not find time I will have to make time.

WE: You will be living mainly in Hong Kong, which is famed for being the location of Ip Man’s and his many students’ Wing Chun schools. Do you reckon you will visit one of them to exchange hands or even further your skills?

VC: Every chance I go back to Hong Kong I try to visit different schools, I have found that some of their form differs to our slightly depending on the lineage. I am always open to accept new ideas and learn more but my lineage will always be that of Sifu Bruce Cheng's.

WE: We’ve reached the end of our interview, and it’s been a blast knowing you and practicing Wing Chun together with you. I always enjoyed and found that our chisau sessions to be enlightening and have helped me progress my own skills. Thank you so much for your time and sharing your knowledge with me. Would you like to leave a message for the school and its students?

VC: I wish everyone the best for the future and hope to see some familiar faces with unfamiliar belts when I return for holiday.

The Bruce Cheng Martial Arts school wishes Victor Chan great adventures and success abroad. May you continue your martial art practice to elevate yourself to even higher skills and experience. All the best, Victor!