Wing Chun Lift Kick

The Wing Chun Lift Kick

The Wing Chun Kung Fu Lift Kick is a kick (tek) that is often seen by other styles as a fine example of why Wing Chun practitioners cannot kick!  Looking at the Cham Kiu Form it is very easy (deliberately so) to misinterpret the function of the leg skills.  

In this short extract from a Footwork and Kicking MasterClass, James Sinclair discusses the lift kick and some of its potential uses.

“Legs are for standing on” is a common phrase in the Art and sometimes this is taken too far, where teachers simply do not like, don’t train and, therefore, do not teach the leg skills.  

It is said that Grandmaster Ip Man was a specialist in the leg skills and that this was one of his favourite areas.  This makes sense as he started very young and it is well accepted that all children like to develop kicking skills, they can, after all, be very impressive.  

The problem with Wing Chun Kung Fu is that is often solely seen as a close range Art and is often seen as limited in its application for this reason.  

In the UKWCKFA we accept that students like to ‘Spar’ and may have previous experience in Boxing and other sports.  We take the attitude that Wing Chun can be subtly adapted to work in those scenarios and remain rewarding for all.

A Little History

Historically Wing Chun has absorbed many attributes from other Arts. Kkilled practitioners of other Arts who came to Wing Chun Kuen have helped in its development in their quest for excellence.  

Grandmaster Ip Man taught Chow Tse Chun the legs skills and to this day his branch of Wing Chun, through the teaching of Donald Mak, still focus highly on these skills.  They even train on the Plum Blossom poles.  

James Sinclair also started martial arts very young and loved kicking.  He was also quite tall but very slim and had difficulty holding ground to heavier shorter and stronger parters /opponents.  He developed a tremendous skill in footwork and kicking and has formulated considerable Chi Gerk training routines to help aid the students progression.

Possible Application

The Wing Chun Lift Kick is used to fake,  jam, and stop opponents in their tracks, and in the application of their own kicks.  It is something that  can be applied very effectively against a skilled mobile opponent.  

In this short excerpt James Sinclair is discussing the Wing Chun Lift Kick in terms of application in Sparring or martial arts and not just simple self defence.