Sunny Tang Martial Arts Centre developed over 30 years from a group of local students in its early years to one of Canada’s leading martial arts institutions. It began in a 200 ft. basement of a restaurant located in the Danforth/Jones area of downtown Toronto. Today there are over 10 centres across the country bearing the Sunny Tang name, with the main headquarters located in a 6000 square foot facility in Scarborough, Ontario. Master Tang’s teaching experience dates back to 1969 where he began teaching students through local community centres in London, England. Once arriving in Canada in 1971, he began teaching several friends beneath a restaurant owned by himself and his brother Augustine as a source of income during hard times. After attaining full landed immigrant status, Sunny Tang officially began teaching to the public in 1973. It was founded as “Dunn’s Wing Chun Kung Fu Club”, given at the time it was common to relate directly to the Cantonese Chinese pronunciation of the “Tang” name.
The Sunny Tang Ving Tsun program is a direct lineage to Grand Master Yip Man through Grand Master Moy Yat. There are 5 schools in the Greater Toronto Area taught by the Sunny Tang Family and over 10 additional schools across the country bearing the Sunny Tang affiliation. In 1996 as tribute to the now late Grand Master Moy Yat, the spelling of Ving Tsun as opposed to the more traditional “Wing Chun” was incorporated by our schools as recognition to the lineage of our Kung Fu Family.
 

Ving Tsun
By Sunny Tang

Ving Tsun is a result-oriented style of Chinese Martial Arts known for its economy of movement and efficiency. Ving Tsun does not rely on magic to achieve its efficiency. All Ving Tsun techniques are based on certain fundamental principles, which take into account the llimitation and capability of human movements, the relative position between the practitioner and the opponent, and the most economic movement to achieve the desired result under any situation.

The system is governed by three areas of understanding: Theories, principles and idioms.

Theories (TWO)
Straight line theory: FACT The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Using this, punches or kicks are delivered directly to the target via the straight line. In theory, given that there is enough power, a straight line attack will reach a target first and negate all other movement from your opponent.

Centre line theory: The centre line is the vertical line that symmetrically divides your body in two. The centre line theory dictates that as long as you attack and defend through the centre line of the body, you will be in the most advantageous position. When an attack originates from the centre line, it occupies the centre line and, therefore, also serves as the protection during the attack. Hand and foot techniques can be used to protect the centre line. Therefore, there is only one centre line in the Ving Tsun terminology.

Principles (THREE)
Save Time, Save Movement, Save Energy

Idioms: Idioms are phrases and concepts which aid in the understanding towards the use of the theories and principles in all situations. If you were to look at the theories and principles as a formula, the idioms will dictate how you would apply them.

For example: Idiom "Face the shape", dictates that to ensure the centre line attack is effective, the centre line must face the target or shape. In combat, a Ving Tsun practitioner follows and faces his target as if he were the shadow of the target. Further, there is always a psychological meaning to each idiom as there is a physical meaning. When facing the "shape", you are to treat your opponent as a shape and nothing more, in order to maximize your confidence and application of Ving Tsun. Regardless of size, build, emotion, or any other characteristic, your opponent becomes nothing more than a shape.

Summary: Most other martial arts styles tell you to deliver a block with one hand and strike with the other hand. In Ving Tsun, great emphasis is placed on training both hands to respond in the same amount of time. For example, if I asked you to pick up a hammer in one hand and a needle in the other at the same time, you would feel a difference in sensitivity in each hand due to weight difference, size of object, etc. However, if you were a well-trained Ving Tsun practitioner, the sensitivity would be identical in both hands. This type of sensitivity is learned through the practice of Chi Sao (sticking hands).

In Ving Tsun balance should be placed at the back of the body while most other styles place the balance at the front of the body (e.g. bow and arrow stance), believing that the arms should move as an extension of the body. The hands of a Ving Tsun practitioner can move independently of body commitments and the front leg is always ready for kicking or blocking.

The belief that the Ving Tsun horse stance is more fragile than that of other systems is false. Strength is built up in the Ving Tsun stance through the practice of Chi Sao . The moving actions in this training process are capable of building up a tremendous degree of strength in the footwork.

I will not go into too much detail about Chi Sao at this point, as there will be a section of this web site dedicated to this training process. I will say, however, that Chi Sao is the main process used in developing the high degree of sensitivity in the hands, arms, and legs necessary to respond immediately to any movement made by an opponent, no matter how subtle.