Wing Chun In-Depth: Skills for Combat, Strategies for Life

AWARDS WINNER-Sports,American Legacy Book Awards, 2023 FINALIST-Sports, Best Books Awards, 2023 A rare in-depth look at the history, teachings, and wider implications of Wing Chun Wing Chun In-Depthoffers an historical overview of the art's development, it examines how to properly approach training for fighting skills that give you an edge in street defence and it presents Wing Chun's underlying principles and strategies as a way of life for health and happiness. This work traces the lives and legends of the great masters of Wing Chun, it reveals their training techniques and philosophies, and shows the reader how they can be applied in all aspects of life. Written in an enjoyable and readable way,Wing Chun In-Depthshares profound insights, training drills and martial techniques that will improve your fighting foundation; it connects you to the great masters of Wing Chun-their lives, their martial teachings, and their philosophies. In the end, it is intended to inspire and enrich readers with history, practical skills, and a winning mindset for all of life's challenges. Contents include Part 1: The Lineage The origins of Wing Chun from its legendary past. Its historical development and its present evolution from Ip Man and Wong, Shun-Leung. Insight into Bruce Lee's relationship with Wing Chun, Ip Man and Wong, Shun-Leung. Part 2: The System Forms, training drills, and techniques that can be used to develop oneself into a skilled fighter. Part 3: Up Close Master Class Training to fight without fighting Master Class Avoiding a stand off Master Class No technique as technique Part 4: Strategies for Life Explores the strategic and martial fruits of Wing Chun as a practice which provides both skills for combat and strategies for life. Startling truths that enrich life inside and outside the training hall (kwoon). Ip Man's senior student, Wong Shun-Leung was the man who made Wing Chun famous in Hong Kong's challenge matches. He was also a close friend and mentor to Bruce Lee. Sifu Loukas Kastrounis, one of the few active teachers of this lineage, is a highly respected Wing Chun teacher who has spent his life honing and developing Wing Chun. "Written at the request, and in collaboration with Sifu Loukas Kastrounis-a third generation master of the Wong Shun-Leung lineage, it is the fruit of over 5 years of my careful observations and research into Loukas's teachings as both his student and as a professional historian."-Munawar Ali Karim

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction   Part One The Lineage Through the Tempests of History China At the Time of Grandmaster Ip Man’s Birth (1900’s) Alive And Well Bringing Wing Chun Out of Myth and Into History Growing And Continuing Two Legendary Students of Grandmaster Ip Man In The Present and On to The Future From Sifu Wong Shun Leung to Sifu Loukas Kastrounis   Part Two The System What’s The Big Idea? A Concise Overview of Wing Chun Siu Nim Tau The First Form, The Last Form Chi Sau The Heart and Soul of Wing Chun   Part Three Up Close Master Class 1 Training to Fight Without Fighting Master Class 2 Avoiding the Stand-Off Master Class 3 “No Technique as Technique”     Part Four Strategies for Life Beyond Fighting What Wing Chun Can Teach Us About Life   Afterword Closing Thoughts on Wing Chun About the Authors 

About the Author :
Munawar Ali Karim is an author, historian, and combatives instructor with over three decades of martial arts experience. Munawar lived in the Japanese countryside for several years studying Shorinji Kempo, and the way of ninjutsu, samurai and sufi masters. Later, he took up the study of Shaolin Kung Fu; Brazilian Jiu Jitsu; and Wing Chun. In his writing, coaching and personal practice he seeks to realise the maxim of Musashi Miyamoto: "Pen and Sword in Accord".  Munawar Karim resides in Reading, Berkshire, England. Loukas Kastrounis is a third-generation descendant of Grand Master Yip Man through Bruce Lee teacher Wong Shun Leung, and second-generation Kali instructor through Guru Dan Inosanto. For over three decades he has been teaching complete beginners and experienced martial artists of different styles, law enforcement officers, security firms and the military at home and overseas. His work has been featured in the British and international press and he is a Combat Magazine Hall of Famer. Sifu Loukas Kastrounis resides in Wokingham, Berkshire, England.

Review :
Aristotle once said, “the most difficult thing in the world is to discover and know yourself.” One way to do this is to interact with a real friend who will play the role of a mirror and help you “see” yourself and assist you in achieving self-realization, self-confidence, and self-control. Reading Plato’s dialogues, we often cannot recognize who is the true author (Aristotle the mas- ter, or Plato the student). This matters less that the content itself. Something similar is happening in this book. What really matters is that Wing Chun is preserved and transferred to future generations. Like Plato, these authors invite you to question and analyze yourself by accepting current circum- stances and remaining focused to find your own truth and to deal with the complexity and chal- lenges of your own life. This book will help you discover your inner self, allowing your skills and abilities to be revealed and your imagination explored. Wing Chun In-Depth begins with the origins and history of the Wing Chun system. It explores the contributions of Ip Man and Bruce Lee through the social and political environments of their times. The authors focus not only on sophisticated martial skills but on principles, mental values, attitudes, and philosophies that these masters taught for success in life. It continues with an exami- nation of Wing Chun skills including the economy of motion, effort, and natural reactions with forward energy. The work is also precisely illustrated with hundreds of enhanced photographs. The authors complete this book by offering the readers various strategies on how Wing Chun’s universal principles can work as a stabilizing force in life. Wing Chun is a way of thinking. It helps overcome anger, stress, bias, and mental blocks. It replaces them with calmness, charm, and intelli- gence so that we can confront the most difficult opponent: ourselves. In Wing Chun, every obstacle is an opportunity to find a natural way. This book will inspire the remarkable journey of Wing Chun and bring out the very best in all who take it. —Vasileios Manousakis Colonel GR (A)   If you are looking for a book on Wing Chun that covers both the practical aspects of applying the techniques in combat as well as the philosophical side of the martial art, then this is the book for you. I have read many books on Wing Chun, and this is by far one of the most comprehensive and well-written books I have come across. Loukas Kastrounis has been teaching martial arts for over thirty years to many martial artists of different styles, law enforcement officers, security firms, and the military at home and overseas. He is a highly creative instructor with a unique approach to training that helps students achieve their goals quickly and effectively. Wing Chun In-Depth: Skills for Combat, Strategies for Life is a must-read for anyone passionate about Wing Chun and martial arts. This is one of those books you will be able to reference time and time again. I highly recommend this book for everyone! —Lafayette Harris, Wing Chun martial arts instructor   A solidly researched, beautifully narrated deep dive into the philosophical, historical, and tech- nical aspects of Wing Chun. Fascinating history combined with great narration and revealing insights that make Wing Chun relevant for all of life’s challenges. Highly recommended if you love history, martial arts, and strategy. —Erwan Le Corre, author of The Practice of Natural Movement   I was fascinated to understand how Wing Chun practitioners can gain mechanical advantages through natural movement and gain freedom through imitation and repetition. It’s as though the practitioner is a work of art [becoming] a masterpiece. Reading the history of Wing Chun practitio- ners drew me in deeply, a veritable who’s-who of Wing Chun. —Eric Brown, former US Navy SEAL, Naval Special Warfare Center Instructor of the Year (1993)