Internal versus external Wing Chun – what’s the difference? Chu Shong Tin was known by Ip Man as the Siu Nim Tao King! Towards the later part of his teachings, he changed his approach, preferring to focus on the element he believed was missing with his students – internal wing chun.
What became his focus, was based on what he had discovered over many years of practice and teaching. It was the internal aspect of Wing Chun. So what is meant by that?
Wing Chun has both soft and hard within its style. It uses hard, forwarding energy but also softer, retreating energy – known as gung lik and sung lik (hard and soft).
This can be one way of describing what internal versus external Wing Chun is. When muscles fire, and muscular force is used, this could be described as the external style. When muscles are relaxed, and a softer more retreating energy is used, this could be described as “internal” wing chun.
Chu Shong Tin took this concept to an even deeper level – in which muscular force wasn’t used in favour of allowing the body to do its thing without the interference of muscular tension. He used this to generate incredible power which can overcome younger and stronger opponents.
By properly relaxing the muscles, and using the body more efficiently, Shu Shong Tin could generate huge power with less effort.
Internal Versus External Wing Chun – Mind Power
Internal Wing Chun therefore is a way of using the body more efficiently – less muscular force, but more power. External Wing Chun is using the muscles. Firing muscular tension in order to force the body to move. Internal Wing Chun challenges this by switching off the tension, and instead finding a path which requires little or no muscular force.
Perhaps this is why we see this being practiced by older martial artists such as Shu Shong Tin. One of the instructors, Mark, explained this concept to me at Sung Wing Chun – the Shu Shong Tin school in Sheffield. He said he couldn’t match my muscular strength, being much older than me. But that he could redirect it through being sensitive and relaxed. He would redirect my force, and send it right back to me, all while remaining relaxed.
Although this can sound a little “bull-shido” to some, it’s genuinely apparent when you’re on the receiving end of it!
Chu Shong Tin explained this as an intension to move, rather than a physical force to move. By allowing the body to find the most economic path to movement, more power can be generated than through muscular force alone. By aligning the structures and intension, he was able to genuinely move people much larger than him.
In this video Shu Shong Tin explains the evolution of his teaching over 5 decades:
Power Generation In Wing Chun
So what’s the difference between internal versus external Wing Chun? With external Wing Chun, you’re more likely to be practicing Chi Sau, using the fast twitch fibres of your muscles to generate power. With internal Wing Chun, more time is spent in meditative practice, mastering the Siu Nim Tao (first form) and understanding how to generate power through relaxation.
In my first 25 years of practicing Wing Chun I learned first form, other hand forms and of course chi sau. However, it wasn’t until later that I came to understand the deeper internal aspects of Wing Chun as taught by Chu Shong Tin.
My first Sifu was Sifu Colin Ward, a student of Ip Chun’s lineage. It was a soft style, with fast fluid movements and an emphasis on centreline striking. There was less emphasis on the soft power generation I later learned with Sifu Daniel Parr of the Shu Shong Tin lineage. Power was generated through muscular tension and explosive energy. With Dan, there was emphasis on not using muscular force. The whole system was created around this. Any muscular force would inhibit the generation of this soft power. So it was something to let go of.
So what does “Internal” in the context of Wing Chun really mean? Usually I have found this refers to the way power is generated. Sung lik or gung lik energy is use of soft and hard kung fu. An external school can have both gung lik (hard, forwarding energy) and sun Lik energy (soft, retreating). But it is less common for a school to teach internal power. At least that’s my experience here in the UK.
See also Siu Nim Tao and internal Wing Chun.
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