Knowledge of Science can be useful to a Kung Fu man. Part 03
The first article in this series made the claim that knowledge of science could be useful to a kung fu man. The science of Physics, Engineering, and Trigonometry, were emphasized as areas of study that would give the most benefit to a Kung Fu man.
A simple definition of each of those areas of science was provided, and the term “kung fu man” was defined as meaning “any person engaged in any kind of hand to hand or weapon combat system”.
This third article in the series is based on the widely known and discussed kung fu style called Wing Chun. Wing Chun is claimed to be a kung fu style that is based on science. Those claims are not accepted by everyone. In fact, there are claims that the Wing Chun kung fu style is not scientific at all, and that Wing Chun is not even an effective fighting style.
This article is going to present evidence, that supports the claim that Wing Chun is a scientifically based hand to hand combat system.
The Wing Chun system consists of three main forms. The forms in the order they are taught, are the Siu Nim Tau, the Chum Kiu, and the Biu Tze forms. The Siu Nim Tau form is commonly translated into english as “little idea form”.
The next picture shows a computer model human body in the Wing Chun Siu Nim Tau stance. The picture shows a front view, a profile view, and as angled side view.
To get into the Siu Nim Tau stance, the body is lowered towards the ground while the knees are simultaneously bent. The entire body leans backwards from the knees. The fists are closed and held up by the chest, and the legs are positioned so that the knees are pulled in towards each other.
Examination of the front view of the Siu Nim Tau stance, reveals that a triangle can be formed by connecting the hips and the knees.
A upward pointing triangle can be formed by connecting the feet and the knees.
In the profile view, a triangle can be formed by connecting the feet, the buttocks, and the knees.
Another triangle in the profile view can be formed by connecting the shoulder, the elbow, and the hand.
In the profile view, the entire body of the Wing Chun practitioner almost looks like it is leaning back on a triangle.
In the rear view, a triangle can be formed by connecting the feet and the groin.
Another triangle in the rear view can be formed by connecting the feet and the top of the head.
An angled side view of the Wing Chun Siu Nim Tau stance reveals an interesting observation. The next picture shows the downwards pointing triangle on the upper legs, and the upwards pointing triangle on the lower legs, from an angled side view.
The triangle formed by the side of the legs in the profile view, is then added to the picture above. Some arrows have been drawn in on the next picture to help see which triangle is connected where.
The following picture shows only the body with the front leg triangles and the side leg triangle.
Can you see what has happened? Combining the triangles at the front of the legs, with the triangle on the side of the legs, produces a pyramid shape. The faces of the pyramid are colored in on the next picture to help with visibility.
The following picture shows the pyramid shape created by the legs from the rear.
The previous pictures demonstrated that when a human body assumes the Wing Chun Siu Nim Tau stance, triangle shapes are created by many different parts of the body. In addition, a pyramid shape is created by the legs of a human body in the Siu Nim Tau stance.
Could that really be an accident? Could someone just accidentally develop a stance that would create many different triangle shapes all over the body, and a pyramid shape from the legs?
That seems hard to believe.
Or is it more likely that someone had some specific goal in mind, when they developed a stance that creates triangle shapes in many different areas of the body, and a pyramid shape from the legs? If that person had a goal, what would that goal be?
Knowledge of science could provide the answer to that question.
Trigonometry is the modern science of the properties and characteristics of triangles. It seems reasonable to believe that a kung fu man who learned about the science of Trigonometry, then applied the modern science of Trigonometry, to the triangles created by the human body in the Wing Chun Siu Nim Tau stance, might be able to figure out what it was that the original creator of the Siu Nim Tau stance was thinking, when he developed a stance that created triangle shapes in many different parts of the body, and a pyramid shape from the legs.
According to this author, a kung fu man can learn part of the reason, why the Wing Chun Siu Nim Tau stance was designed the way that it was, by learning the modern science of Trigonometry, then applying what they learned from the science of Trigonometry, to the triangles formed by the human body in the Wing Chun Siu Nim Tau stance.
Some of the ways in which knowledge of the science of Trigonometry, could help a kung fu man understand why the Siu Nim Tau was designed the way that it was, will be discussed in future articles of this series.