Message From Michael * Ng Mui - A Women’s Champion

	* As first Blogged on Yahoo 360 * Message From Michael * Blogs from Beyond Ng Mui - A Women’s Champion ~ Creator, Innovator, Protector, Martial Artist ~

	Ng Mui was a Nun and Abbess at the Shaolin Temple Monastery, Henan, China. She was one of The Five Elders there, and the only woman among them. Ng Mui was a Master of many Styles of Martial Arts, and is credited as the Creator of the only Style or System Created by a Woman ~ The Style is named Wing Chun.
	Wing Chun is a very unique and effective martial art. It is the only martial art created and made famous by a woman. As a Master of many Styles, Ng Mui, realized that most of the techniques in Shaolin Kung Fu were useless for a small woman to use against a larger, stronger man. She also realized that a woman could not match a man's stamina in a long fight. With this in mind, she developed a system of fighting that enabled a smaller, weaker person such as herself to defeat a bigger, stronger person within a few seconds.
	Oral accounts note that The Shaolin Monastery was attacked and destroyed by Ching (Qing or Manchu) forces and Ng Mui managed to escape along with The Five Elders and other surviving monks. She then fled to the White Crane Temple, which this account locates in the distant Daliang mountains on the border between Yunnan and Sichuan. One day Ng Mui made her usual trip to the village at the bottom of the mountain to buy food and supplies. While at a bean curd stand owned by a father and his daughter, Ng Mui noticed that the two seemed troubled. She soon found out that the girl, named Yim Wing Chun, was being pressured into marriage by a local bully who had threatened her Father with physical harm if She refused. Sensing their desperation, Ng Mui revealed her identity and offered to train the girl in Kung Fu. She suggested that Wing Chun challenge the bully to a fight in one year’s time. If the bully won, the girl would marry him; if the girl won, the bully would leave her alone. Wing Chun and her father agreed and the bully, who was the best fighter in the area, laughed at the challenge and gladly accepted. Ng Mui trained the young Wing Chun in her newly revised system. She trained diligently day and night for one year, learning the basic Theories and Techniques of the System. When the year was up, Wing Chun returned to the village and faced her challenger. Each time the Bully charged in at her, she would quickly Knock Him Down with a simple technique. The Bully could not believe he was being defeated - much less by a young girl. He became more frustrated and charged in harder. Each time he was knocked down by Wing Chun until he stayed down. Ng Mui, named Her New System Wing Chun, in Honor of Her Student, Yim Wing Chun. Wing Chun immediately became famous in Southern China, and its name quickly spread throughout Asia. Almost three hundred years later, as Asian martial arts began to spread to the West, Wing Chun became famous in America. Its popularity continues to grow as increasing numbers of students are drawn by its simplicity and effectiveness. Bruce Lee, a Student of Wing Chun Kung Fu, made Wing Chun famous all around the World through Movies and His amazing Demonstrations at Martial Arts Tournaments.
	Michelle Yeoh, Movie Star, Actress, Singer, Dancer and former Miss Malaysia, starred in the Portrayal of The Legendary Heroine, Yim Wing Chun, in the 1994, Yuen Wo-Ping Directed Hong Kong Movie “Wing Chun”, in which She Dazzles audiences with Her Stunning Martial Art Techniques, Beauty of Motion and Speed of Delivery in Action! She Captured the Embodiment of the Spirit of Yim Wing Chun to the delight of Fans and Martial Artists all around the World as She Battles against Bullies and Bandits! Each time I watch the Movie Wing Chun, I am amazed by all the incredible action scenes of Michelle. No matter what she uses (Swords, Knives, or Bare Hands) and no matter where she fights (on land, atop a Horse or even on an Iron Pole), Michelle is the only one who could deliver all these stunning moments with such a perfect combination of Power, Grace, and Beauty. ** More to follow on Michelle Yeoh, in an upcoming Blog.
	~ According to Oral Traditions passed down faithfully over Generations ~ Inspiration for Wing Chun One day, Ng Mui happened upon a fight between A Snake and Crane I the woods … Ng Mui, already an accomplished martial artist, developed the core ideas and philosophies of what is now Wing Chun Kung Fu after witnessing the fateful encounter between a Crane and a Snake. Ng Mui observed that the snake, though possessing no limbs, was able to skillfully defend itself. The snake would lure the crane into initiating the first move by coiling up its body while constantly moving its head. The snake remained deadly calm, poised for the most opportune time to swiftly attack. The crane used the opposite tactic. It would make a lot of movements to distract the snake while also waiting for the right moment to launch an attack. The crane would jump up and down and side-to-side to avoid the snake and to bait it into initiating the first attack. The crane would smack the advancing snake aside with its wings and immediately follow up by attacking with its beak. It would also lure the snake further within the range of its deadly beak by dancing back. Once the snake took the bait, the crane would immediately lash out with one of its talons and follow up with its beak. Ng Mui thought that this battle demonstrated an awesome display of strategy and technique. It was through this battle’s edification that Ng Mui received an Epiphany: To Apply the Strategy and Techniques of the Crane and Snake into human combat. The battle between the Crane and Snake provided the inspiration for Ng Mui’s ideas for combat incorporating the strategies she observed in the encounter. Whether through chance or fate, Ng Mui had the opportunity to pass on her newfound knowledge to a beautiful young girl named Yim Wing Chun. It seemed preordained that Yim Wing Chun be Ng Mui's successor, for she developed both a deep, diligent passion for martial arts and an innate genius for understanding martial arts and its application in real combat. Yim Wing Chun undertook much hard work and research to refine and expand upon Ng Mui's ideas and philosophies through numerous challenges and conflicts. Yim Wing Chun took the teachings of Ng Mui and carried on what would be the beginnings of Wing Chun Kung Fu. To Memorialize, Honor and Forever Recognize Her incredible Achievements, this Martial Art System, is named Wing Chun. ~ More About Ng Mui and The Shaolin Temple ~ Shaolin Temple. Buddhist temple in China, the birthplace of all martial arts styles. Divided into chambers, or rooms, each chamber teaching a certain style, weapon, or skill. The temple was burned down by the Ching government about 300 years ago, killing many of the monks and nuns. A few escaped, including the Five Elders: five who had mastered every chamber. Only one of the Five Elders was a nun; her name was Ng Mui. Already an accomplished martial artist, Ng Mui became the number one skilled Elder at the Temple. She had studied at the Mo Dong Mountain under si-fu Wan Ho Lo Yan. And advanced her martial art skill with Dook Bay Sunn Lai. The other Elders at the Temple, in order of rank, were Gee Sip, Fong Do Duk, Bak Mei and Miao Hin. At the Temple, Ng Mui developed a style of Martial Arts, after observing a mouse walking, called Siu Bo Mui Fa Kuen (Little Mouse Foot Work, Plum Flower Fist).. After further research, development, and the observing of a Snake and Crane, Ng Mui improved the style which became known as Sei Ho Bak Bo (Snake and Crane Eight Step). She then refined the style further and it became known as Ng Bo Mui Fa Kuen (Plum Flower Fist). These three styles are the predecessors of Wing Chun. ~ And More ~ During the reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Kung Fu was practiced in the Shaolin (Siu Lum) Monastery in Southern China primarily as a form of physical exercise. With the usurpation by the Manchurians and the establishment of the Ching Dynasty, however, many Ming patriots sought protection in the temple where their lives were not endangered and where some of the people were sympathetic to their cause. Meanwhile, they readied themselves for the day when they would attempt to overthrow the ruling government. It was during this period of time that Kung Fu reached its peak in China. Quite ironically, when almost everything was prepared to launch their strike, the Mings were betrayed by an insider. Consequently, the Ching Emperor feared a revolution was astir, and his soldiers attacked and burned the Monastery. Only a handful of people and the Five Elders escaped the burning Temple. Ng Mui, a Shaolin Master, began to teach the arts to laymen. These disciples were obliged to conceal their activities because the Ching government had dispatched numerous martial arts experts to exterminate them. Ng Mui realized that she would have to save the Shaolin fighting arts from the emperor's efforts to erase all traces of their existence. Thus, she devised a new, modified system of fighting based on her knowledge of what she had mastered in the Temple. In essence, the style utilized techniques of efficiency of motion and direct line attacks and could be perfected in a short period of time. ~ More About The Art of Wing Chun ~ In the Words of one Noted Wing Chun Teacher …. Wing Chun cannot strictly be considered an independent style. We consider Wing Chun Kung Fu as merely a branch of Shaolin. In fact, many Chinese martial arts can trace their roots back to Shaolin. The arts of Hung Ga, Choy Li Fut, Mok Ga, Praying Mantis, White Eyebrow, Hap Ga, Jow Ga, Eagle Claw, and numerous others are also branches of Shaolin. Each of these styles emphasizes different aspects of the Shaolin art. It is only when later generations of martial arts practitioners divided and categorized these different aspects that these "styles" came into existence. The Chinese people have a saying: "mahn faht gwai jung, yut sui lam." Simply put, this phrase means that all styles flow back to Shaolin, which is not unlike the ancient saying, "All roads lead to Rome." Actually, all styles have their own special emphases and advantages. It is very important for a martial arts practitioner to have an open mind when encountering other ideas and streams of knowledge. This should be done with humility and thorough research, so that our quest for knowledge may remain sincere. A mutual comparison and exchange of ideas with other martial artists of any style can help you gain a clearer perception of both the advantages and disadvantages of your own martial art. This will not only result in a better understanding of your opponent, but also of yourself. This relentless research and self-examination is essential for taking martial arts to a higher level, improving upon the art until it can gain universal popularity. This kind of insight cannot be achieved by isolating oneself from other ideas while learning. Thanks to the extensive research, review, and real, applied fighting experiences of past generations of Wing Chun practitioners, an accumulation of knowledge and real application allowed Wing Chun to evolve and be refined into an amalgam containing the best of these ideas. Although Wing Chun theory is very scientific and systematic in its approach, the application of Wing Chun is simple. Unlike many other styles, Wing Chun techniques do not try to imitate the movements of animals such as tigers and monkeys. Although it is commonly believed that the movements of a crane and snake in battle inspired Wing Chun, it should be noted that only the idea and not the actual movement was incorporated into Wing Chun. Because we are humans and not tigers or monkeys, we cannot hope to gain the ability to pounce like a tiger, jump like a monkey or coil up like a snake. No matter how diligently we train, our hands will always remain human. Human hands cannot possibly be like the claws of a tiger or the deadly talons of an eagle; nor will one be able to grow taller or that much bigger through training. This is because the human body is limited. If one attempts to imitate an animal, the movements will be much harder to learn and perfect because, as humans, we are not designed for specialization in their movements. It follows that a great amount of time can be consumed in attempting movements that humans are not born to do. This is why Wing Chun techniques are designed to accommodate the structure and capabilities of the human body. The majority of sound scientific definition or theory is derived from observing conditions in nature. For example, Sir Isaac Newton observed an apple falling from a tree and later developed his theory of gravity. This is also the case in Wing Chun. The idea behind Wing Chun was inspired by watching an intense battle between a crane and snake. Furthermore, it uses the key hypothetical assumptions that we are smaller, slower, and weaker than our opponent. If we hold to these assumptions, we must then find a better, more clever way to conquer our adversary. We say that Wing Chun is scientific because any and all of our theories and techniques can be explained through principles of physics and/or geometry. There are no mystical tricks or secret techniques that cannot be explained by universally proven scientific theory. Wing Chun is a complete system of training that includes elements such as confidence, theory, technique, speed, timing, distance, reflex, agility, stamina, coordination, power, strategy, etc. Without training all of these elements, you cannot honestly call what you train a complete martial art. Due to its scientific approach, Wing Chun has become a style that specifically emphasizes practical, real life application. Proper training in Wing Chun can offer a diligent practitioner decent, applicable combat ability in a relatively short period of time. It is this specialty that has made Wing Chun extremely famous in the martial arts field.
Comments	(7 total)
Tess	First of all -welcome back - ok here is my comments and wishes for you. kong hei fat choi for you and to all chinese friend, even not chinese, your blog is very interesting.here is my opinion, if your eating to some restaurant you have to pick the Menu! so you can order,same to our brother and sister in China, Hong Kong, Thailand or Malesia. thats their menu, kung fu master or Movies made by thir actress and actor leading most of popular one, you mentioned it, Bruce Lee. Jackie Chan, Jet Lee. I love Martial Arts, its not because you love to fight, but its self defense also. I love your come backing blog my friend, you open the good start.have nice monday to you . -lots of hugs - tcl Monday February 19, 2007 - 06:45pm (KST)
Warrior Princess	This was very interesting and informative. Thank you for sharing! Monday February 19, 2007 - 06:14am (CST)
Imelda Taute	Hola Brother! I read your blog, from start to the very last word. It's interesting! I guess Wing Chun is the right form of Martial Arts for me... for I am small and petire and I am in the land of Big, tall people. I am studying Martial Arts. It's something I would like to do eversince I was a child, but never had an opportunity and resources to do it. Now, here, I enrolled at Taekwondo Class; I was happy at first, but after a few months of training I started feeling unsatisfied. The Martial Arts School here seems no longer teaching Martial Arts like the traditional Martial Art Schools ... I have seen several people being promoted even they have not mastered the complete segments yet; they are promoting people, if they pay for the belt. Actually the school where I attented, they have promotion every two months ($50 for belt). I am very disappointed with this. I have seen several students who recieved their Red or Blue Belts, but in my observation, they have not mastered the segments yet. Not to mention, they are selling the weapons more than twice of it's original price. I paid $65 for my KAMA's, when I look around I found same type of Kama for only $20. Gee, talk about Martial Arts (BUSSINESS STYLE).... They seem no longer teaching to spread the real spirit of Martial Arts. Instead, they are running the Martial Arts school like the big Corporations. Just my Observation!......... Anyway, thanks for sharing this - I will surely rent the movie "Wing Chun" and watch it. Thank You! Monday February 19, 2007 - 08:58am (EST)
RaJan	hi Michael! thanks for posting this very educational and informational blog on martial arts.... i used to watch bruce lee's movies before and i like his ways that much! i enrolled my son in taekwondo class for 2 years now with the following reasons: 1) for self-defense; 2) for health reasons; 3) for camaraderie and finally, my wish is for him to become a national player so that he can be send to different countries for training and as representative of the Philippines, what a big dream! Wednesday February 21, 2007 - 10:00pm (CST)
Michael	Thank You, Tess, Warrior Princess, Angel and RaJan, for Reading and Sharing Your Comments with me! I really appreciate Your Comments and Feedback, and I had really been looking forward to Sharing this Information about Wing Chun, Ng Mui and Martial Arts. I felt many Women might Benefit from learning more, as Wing Chun most Especially by Design, can Give the Advantage to A Lady over A Man, or a Small person over a Big person! I have planned 2 following Blog Posts, which will share more information, and one Post will bring the Very Real World Situation of a Lady who has learned A Little Wing Chun, and uses it to Defend and Protect her Life and Home, in This Day and Time! I Think You May Find it Inspiring!! I originally Planned this as a Reply to Your Comments ~ it Grew and Evolved in Size to where I had to Consider Sending it as a Message, but it continued to Grow in Depth and Length, until the only option was to Post it as an Unplanned Blog! So, please do Follow Me Over to My Next Blog, in which I hope to Lend The Benefit of My Experiences and Speak to many of Your Comments and Observations. Thank You!! ((wink~wink)) Wednesday February 21, 2007 - 01:11pm (EST)
Ilda	wow my sweet friend what a great blog i have always been facinated by martial arts as well and have always watched and own almost all martial arts movies, as i have always loved bruce lee, jet li, jackie chan, and others, my brother took lessons of tek wan do, i dont know if i wrote it correctly,but we use to practice together,i had not heard of yim wing chun, but amazing she is, i journeyed with you in this blog thru all ur adventures, amazing i loved it so, your have been blessed to have experienced such a great world.you are amazing my friend thanks so much for sharing this with ur friends. loved it. love to u my brother. hugs Wednesday February 21, 2007 - 11:47am (PST)
Black Phoenix	Wow! You have had quite an exciting journey. I myself have always had an intense interest in the martial arts, but unfortunately never got the opportunity to learn any, so all I know is pickupa(pick up a brick..etc (lol.). My body might not cooperate,But the interest remains. I've also had an interest in computer technology, but only got an opportunity to get online and self-educate myself last year, so I learn as I go along. Earlier you made mention of astral projection, topics of that nature are yet another one of my many interests. You my brother are a wealth of knowledge, and my brain is a sponge, so, as you are willing to pour, I intend to soak and saturate as much as I can ........Michael Thursday April 19, 2007 - 10:30am (EDT)
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