Sifu Andreas Hoffmann and Sifu Benny Meng outside the VTM

"Every year the VTM hosts one or two official workshops. The VTM was very pleased to welcome Sifu Andreas Hoffmann from Germany, the successor of Chi Sim Ving Tsun. This was truly an historic weekend. Even ten years ago, when people thought about or discussed Wing Chun they would talk about Bruce Lee and Yip Man. However, there are many other families outside the Yip Man line. Many lineages trace their origins back to a time before Yip Man, to the Red Boat, even to time before the Red Boat. This lineage traced beyond the Red Boat, all the way back to the Southern Shaolin. Through VTM research, we think this is perhaps the earliest version of Wing Chun. Many families of martial arts exist that claim a relationship to the Southern Shaolin Temple such as Hung Kuen (Hung Ga), Dragon, Ng Jou, and Wing Chun to name a few. All of these styles share similar motions and training methods, pointing to a common origin."

With these words, Curator Sifu Benny Meng introduced and welcomed Sifu Andreas Hoffmann from Bamberg, Germany. Sifu Hoffmann came to the VTM for a three day workshop to share his art - Chi Sim Weng Chun. (*note - the Chinese character for "Wing" used by the Chi Sim lineage means "eternal/everlasting" rather than the Chinese character used by the Yip Man lineage and others that means "praise")

The first night, Sifu Hoffmann discussed the foundation of his lineage and shared a little of his personal history.

"First of all, if you don't understand my German-English, please let me know. I am honored to present my family in this place. I want to establish a high standard for my line, that is my mission in this life as the successor. I learned in Hong Kong and China and I hope to bring my lineage to an International level. We are strong in Germany but unknown in the US. I am happy to share my art. Like Buddha holding up the flower and the student understanding, this is the foundation of Wing Chun and Shaolin. Your Sifu can only show you the flower. I can only show you the flower with my body, my love, and my care. Through experience you will come to understand through direct mind-to-mind contact."

According to Sifu Hoffmann, the best Sifu is to be effortless. If you are frightened, something is wrong. If you don´t use the whole body there is no power, you must feel something is wrong. Weng Chun is soft, the internal power of shaolin. It is sometimes referred to as Southern Tai Chi. This art came from the Southern Shaolin temple through the Weng Chun Tong. In Chi Sim oral legends, Chi Sim was a monk in the last generation in the Southern Shaolin. He was the monk who brought the art to the Red Boat. Fung Siu-Ching was the last master to be a member of the Red Boat.

There are three main families in the Chi Sim lineage - the Lo, the Tang, and the Dung. Sifu Hoffmann initially learned through the Lo family. The last time he was in Hong Kong, one other successor shared with him all the material they had to unify the different lines.

  Sifu Hoffmann discussing the history of Chi Sim Weng Chun

Chi Sim has two weapons, the long pole and the double knife. But these are not the only two weapons - they are a set of concepts that can be used with any weapon. The first two sets in Chi Sim teach weaponless fighting through the weapon concepts. The Sahp Yat Kuen (eleven fist) teaches with the concepts of the pole and Fa Kuen teaches with the concepts of the knives.

All the movements are Yin/Yang ( for example up/down, forward/back, contraction/relaxation ). This training is also good for developing whole body movement.

Sifu Hoffmann then demonstrated the Fa Kuen both with and without weapons.

The Sahp Yat Kuen set has 11 sections, each one giving you one thing (idea).

Sifu Hoffmann then demonstrated the Sahp Yat Kuen both with and without a weapon.

In the Chi Sim system, the weapons are taught at the same time as the empty hand because of the reality of the time when this art originated. In the late 1600's, the most common method of fighting was with weapons. Therefore, you had to learn weapons to protect yourself. Sifu Hoffmann stated, "Just like the Buddha holding up the flower to understand what is real -you can understand with a word, a movement."

Fa Kyuhn teaches the knife concepts. The beginner learns both. In Chi Sim, the pole is called the teacher, the double knives are the father and mother. All the movements are Yin/Yan (up/down, forward/back). This training is also good for power. He then showed an exercise that puts power from the body into the tip of the knife. He went on to say that a soft style needs faat ging (explosive power) rather than the muscles of the arm (lik). The length of the weapon does not matter. For training a long pole is good while in fighting you must use whatever is available such as an antenna or a shoe.

The progression in training for Chi Sim Weng Chun is from weapon to weaponless. One of the main concepts of Chi Sim is to control the other person - to subdue them. When you subdue a person, you want to do so definitely. This is easy with a weapon. Without a weapon, it's not so easy. That is the reason for the next level of sets - the Saam Baai Fuht (three bows to Buddha) and the Jong Kuen (structure fist).

In the Saam Baai Fuht, the first bow is for the dharma (true teachings), the second bow is for the community (brothers and sisters), and the third bow is to the Buddha inside yourself. The Buddha inside you is your full potential. You should use your full potential to suffer less mentally, emotionally, and philosophically. On the technical side, you learn to use your whole body in every motion through the bow. Most people tend to think in terms of turning and moving forward and backward. After training the Saam Baai Fuht you learn to think vertically as well; you learn to "sink into the dimensions".

The Jong Kuen is considered by the old chinese weng chun masters as the "secret" set of Chi Sim Weng Chun. It combines together all the previous sets with footwork that moves in all directions. The focus of the workshop was on teaching the Saam Baai Fuht set as well as its applications to fighting. Training the Saam Baai Fuht teaches you to use your whole body for power when locking, throwing, kicking or striking.

In overview, the Sahp Yat Kuen teaches you to understand structure within your own body. The Fa Kuen teaches you to use your body and hands together. The Saam Baai Fuht is an advanced form that teaches you how to fight weaponless, giving you a supercharge in self-defense. The Jong Kuen teaches you how to move to maintain room for all ranges. Additionally, the Chi Sim Weng Chun lineage employs training in three Muk Yahn Jong - a Heaven Dummy, a Human Dummy and an Earth Dummy. The three dummies teach all ranges of combat. When you have to fight, you cannot say what you prefer to do. You need all ranges. By understanding how to protect each of the three heights, you can choose where you what to fight. If you have no understanding of the three heights, you can't choose where to fight. If you look at the old styles, they fight all ranges. The newer styles say it is too hard and try to make things easier. When you do that (make it easier by removing ranges/tools) you make it harder. Sifu Hoffmann asked, "Which is better, the straight or the circle?" He then answered, "Both. A circle can defeat a straight line and a straight line can defeat a circle." The Chan way not to say others are wrong. It is better to say I prefer straight but circle is not wrong. When you really look at it, inside every straight line is a small circle such as a circle in the hip or joints. And you must also learn to move circular in a straight way. Chi Sim Weng Chun uses both the circle and the straight line. While it is easier to teach by separating the circle from the straight, is it bad for your life as you are separating things. Chan (Zen) is about integrating all aspects. When you start, you learn to do "this" and avoid "that" but later you must integrate all aspects into yourself. The Mahayana school deals with integrating everything together.

As a combat system, the dummy can be taught first as there is no set order for training progression. The Dummy is used to train for soft power. When training with a partner, an exercise called Da Saam Sing (hit three star) is used to develop soft power rather than hitting with hard power. The same techniques are used on the dummy to develop force.

A question was asked about reference points used to align structure. Sifu Hoffmann answered by stating that it depends on the opponent. "You would begin with a small circle and punch. From there you would feel the distance and start using more circles. Proper timing together with position equals power. Using the circle helps to pull the opponent into you. Using a straight line helps to push the opponent away from you. When there is no space for a circle use the straight; when there is no room for the straight use the circle. Don't try to be stronger or faster - find the weakness and attack there. When you train at a long distance you don't have contact. You must find a way to gain contact. If you are in balance with your opponent, you must lead them to create an opening within themselves. There are different responses to heaven, human, or earth attacks. To learn the proper timing you must practice - there is no other way. In the long distance, you must use fast footwork. If the opponent is ready, you must do something to distract him and give you an opening to him. After the entry you have chi sau, throwing, and kuhm na (grappling) techniques to use. The transition from long to short is a change than can be your death. You have to learn the feeling just like a flower opening to the sun - it is not just the techniques."

In Sifu Hoffmann's words, Chi Sim Weng Chun is a good system to use for fighting, but its not too easy a system to train. A student must learn to fight in all ranges and learn to move through them all. There is even Chi Geuk training on the floor.

Chi Sim Weng Chun uses three lines on the body to determine range. The three lines are the shoulder, the elbow and the wrist. The shoulder is the same as the thigh, the elbow is the same as the knee, and the wrist is the same as the ankle. These lines are used to determine the technique and tactics that should be used. In Sifu Hoffmann's estimation, "training with Tai Chi players is good because they understand striking, throwing and locking while training with other Wing Chun styles is good because they understand striking and using the hands."

Chi Sim Weng Chun does not make use of the more familiar Chi Sau as seen in the Yip Man lineage. Chi Sim makes use of an exercise called Kiuh Sau (bridge hand). In this exercise, one hand is inside while the other hand is outside. If one person feels an opening, he/she will attack the weakness right away. To continue to roll when there is an opening is to train the wrong reflexes. Sifu Hoffmann explained, "What you do today will determine what you are tomorrow. You are today what you did in the past. When you touch your partner, there are no circles for training; all is fighting. When touching hands with no openings, you open your partner with a circle." Training Kiuh Sau also involves all three lines. This blends all the ranges for locking, throwing, hitting, and striking. The entire body can be used in Kiuh Sau - the head, shoulders, elbows, fist, hip, knee, and feet. Kiuh Sau means to find a bridge using the whole body rather than just an arm. Students are trained to flow from one techniques to another. There is also a different exercise that focuses on subduing; this training having different stages and goals from Kiuh Sau. To quote Sifu Hoffmann, "If you do not have the teeth of a tiger you are not a tiger. When you fight, you must find an opening and attack with the whole body using all tools."

A stance is a position of power and transition. In Chi Sim Weng Chun there are two levels of stances. One stance is sei ping ma (four corner horse) with the legs wide. This stance is used in close range fighting. The other stance is kei luhng ma (ride dragon horse) with the legs narrow. This stance is used for long range fighting. All other stances are variations of these two. For a soft style, footwork must guide every motion in attack or defense.

When looking for weaknesses in an opponent, it can be in terms of emotion, position, timing, movements, or even attack. The Chi Sim practitioner must always be alert for weaknesses.

The key to stance training lies in the hip. It must always be in balance. Just like riding a horse involves change, when fighting the hip must also be ready to change. If a position goes to an extreme it must change. To use circles, a practitioner must know when to circle and where the next circle starts. In striking, the practitioner must change or the force stops. The goal in Chi Sim Weng Chun is to subdue the opponent rather than hit the opponent.

Following the previous discussions, Sifu Hoffmann has the workshop participants train on soft power using the da saam sing exercise. After 10 minutes he brought the group together to review each pair's understanding. He stated that "Watching mistakes is a help for us." He then pointed out ways to improve the training for each pair. The group separated again for more time training. After another 15 minutes he reassembled the group for a recap and to discuss hei gung.

"I think Weng Chun is the best way to learn about body structure" he continued. Through movement you learn to open the energy channels of the body. This is started through the circling of the arms and wrists. The Big Circle travels from your chest along the inside of your arm to your finger. From your finger it moves to the fingertips and then along the outside of your arm to your head. The path them moves from the head down along the back to the feet. From the feet, the energy moves along the front of your body to your chest. The Small Circle moves along your spine in the opposite direction and acts to balance the Big Circle. When you drop your body in the Saam Baai Fuht, you are moving the Big Circle. The spine stays vertical to train the small circle. By doing the proper movement you open up your energy channels. Your hei can be used to support your structure. To do this you must concentrate on the Daan Tien. When you open all your energy channels you get enlightened."

This was the end of the first day's lecture. Sifu Hoffmann commented that as the successor to the style he had a duty to show that there is a lot of knowledge in the system.