Classical Wing Chun

Classical Wing Chun Kung Fu is the style of Wing Chun Kung Fu taught by Sifu Ian Protheroe and his students. Protheroe was a direct student of Grandmaster William Cheung in the 1980s in Melbourne, Australia, before moving north to Queensland where he opened his own school and began the development of his Classical Wing Chun Kung Fu System .

General

The Protheroe's Classical system is based on Cheung's Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu system . However, it incorporates chin na into the syllabus and sophisticated traditional weapons drills for the butterfly sword and dragon pole not seen in Cheung's system .

The system also draws from other significant Wing Chun practitioners and influences in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland . These include the three star dummy . Finally, The adoption of the side stance in the non-contact range is believed to facilitate the acquisition of positional advantage in a confrontation .

Training Methods and Drills
Significant emphasis is placed upon the standard Wing Chun open-hand forms and sticky hands in addition to combat and self defence techniques. Basic self defence applications and drills in addition to the Little Idea Form form the core of the beginner syllabus. Single and double handed chi sao drills feature prominently in the training of intermediate students, as does the second open hand form, Seeking Bridges . Finally, senior students are placed in more realistic and live situations to develop combat effectiveness and learn the final open hand form, Thrusting Fingers . Weapons training is central to Classical Wing Chun and is commenced from level one .

Training equipment
Several training devices are used. these include the traditional weapons , the three star dummy , the rattan ring . The standard Wing Chun sandbag is also used, as is the similarly shaped leather heavy hand bag.

Forms
The Traditional Wing Chun forms are also practiced by Classical Wing Chun practitioners. These include:
*Little Idea Form
*Bridge Seeking Form
*Finger Thrusting Form
*The 108 Wooden Dummy Form
*The Eight Slashing Broadsword Form