HISTORY 
OF
WING CHUN DO
( THE WAY OF WING CHUN)

Wing Chun Do is a modern application of a 400 year old martial arts system known as
Classical Wing Chun. It was founded, developed and taught by James W. DeMile, an original
student of Bruce Lee. By modern, it means that it has been adapted to fit the todays student,
who is an individual, rather than a follower or disciple. The modern individual in the western
culture is not going to dedicate himself to the Martial Arts. He is often married, going to
school, has a job, enjoys a social life and is more than likely pacifistic in nature, he does not
want to fight or hurt anybody. In other words, he has a life outside his club. Martial Arts is
only a small part of his life and should compliment his growth rather than restrict it. In the
past, the student was expected to adapt to the style both in philosophy and physical training,
without question. In Wing Chun Do, the student is expected to question or challenge the
system. How can he become confident if he only becomes a clone of his instructor. His
instructor is not going to be there if some idiot attacks him or his family. Confidence is based
on personal belief in oneself. Having an instructor who can break boards or who has a
window full of trophies has no bearing on the reality of defending yourself against someone
who wants to crush your skull. Also, the modern individual does not want to brutalize his
body in order to learn self defense.

He is the butcher the baker and the candlestick maker. The housewife, lawyer, chiropractor
and cabdriver who does not want to win tournaments or prove how tough he/she is, only
learn something that will work in the street, without having to put calluses on the knuckles or
shins. Modern also means training in techniques that use science to validate their practicality,
rather than accepting the technique because it is over three hundred years old. Bruce Lee
brought up a point, that was lost to most people. He said that the way martial arts was
designed, you had to keep training or you lost your skill over a short time. An example is of
someone who is a world champion of some Karate or Kung Fu style. As long as he trains he
can maintain his skill, but as soon as he quits, he immediately starts to decline in his abilities.
And after two years of quitting, he is only a shadow of himself. Bruce did not want that to
happen to him. He wanted to maintain his skill, even though he quit training. In order to do
that he had to train only in techniques that used natural speed, power and movement. It was
like riding a bike or learning to swim, once you learned, you never forgot. It was training in
spontaneous neuro-muscular conditioning that was the key. What actions could the body do
without any warm-up or not restricted by age, size or endurance. It is this natural approach to
technique that is the basis for Wing Chun Do. Once learned, always learned.

Lets talk more about Wing Chun Do later. First of all lets cover when, how and why Wing
Chun Do evolved. Rather than cover the history of Classical Wing Chun, which there is a
wealth of information, lets talk about Bruce Lee and why he broke from traditional training.

First of all it is questionable if Bruce Lee had any choice in his direction of training after
arriving in America. Bruce made certain statements that suggested he would have pursued his
Classical training if there had been any Wing Chun Masters to train with. One of his early
frustrations in the USA was the lack of qualified Gung Fu Masters, in any system, to train
under. He believed the answers to his becoming the best fighter in the world, was hidden
somewhere in the traditional systems, and in particular, Wing Chun. Also, there was the
question of Bruce's skill in the art of Wing Chun in late 1959. In reflecting on the time frame
from Bruce's own stories about how he got into Wing Chun it becomes clear that he began his
training when he was 15 and left for America when he was 18. Although he trained more than
the average Hong Kong Student and was an above average student, it still suggests a limited
knowledge of Wing Chun, since it took many years to be introduced to the whole system.
Bruce himself used to say that he was only a student and not an instructor. Bruce's amazing
effect on his early students, who were mostly street fighters, was in a great degree because of
the uniqueness of his fighting technique. Controlling the opponents offensive/defensive
ability by trapping and sticking to their arms was unheard of by either a professional or street
fighter. Although his early students were very tough from a street fighting perspective, they
where totally ineffective against Bruce's speed and trapping techniques. It is only when you
study the basic principles of Boxing, Karate and most other fighting arts that you begin to see
the flaws in their defensive techniques and how Wing Chun can take advantages of those
weaknesses. However, after seeing many so-called Wing Chun masters, I am confident to say
that regardless of Bruce's limited Wing Chun background, he used it unlike anyone else I've
seen.

Let's not dwell on how much Wing Chun Bruce knew but focus on how Bruce evolved after
arriving in the USA. Bruce Lee wanted to become the best fighter in the world, not just good,
but the best. His frustration in not having Masters to train under was quickly replaced with
the knowledge that he was going to have to become his own Master. He quickly surrounded
himself with students who had extensive martial arts backgrounds or who where rough and
tumble street fighters. He would analyze their every move, break down their techniques, find
the flaws, and then reassemble them into more effective techniques for himself. His only focus
was to make everything he trained in, Simple, Efficient and Practical. If any technique did not
fit into these three rules, he rejected it. Once he began to see the effect of his creative abilities
he came to realize that the answers to being the best were not hidden in any martial arts
system, but were locked away in each individual. The key to finding this potential was to
trust in yourself and not be swayed by the person, title, rank or length of history. "Empty your
cup" became a reality for Bruce Lee, rather than just profound insight.

Bruce broke the traditional mold. It was all right to seek your own answers. It was all right to
question the master. It was all right to cross-train in systems or create your techniques. March
to your own drummer, but always remember, be true to thyself. Do not be blinded by the ego
and create for glory and gain.

For the sake of readers who are interested in the Wing Chun Do opinion of why there was four
stages of Bruce Lee's evolution we will break it down into each stage and try to define its
existence.

The Hong Kong Period. Bruce's basic foundation in Gung Fu. (Why Gung Fu instead of Kung
Fu), because that's the way Bruce spelled it! Bruce trained in many styles, finally accepting
Wing Chun as the best.

The Seattle Period or Bruce's fighting period. This was when Bruce had no awareness of who
he was going to become. He was just a young kid with a dream. His pursuit of excellence as a
fighter was fanatical. To be the best. Once he achieved this, he set a new goal, to become the
first Asian to achieve fame and fortune in Hollywood. In order to do that, he first had to
escape from the restaurant he was living at and do something else other than wait on tables
and wash dishes. He was broke, he needed to earn money, so he decided to teach martial arts
and charge a fee. (He never charged a fee in the early years). So he put together a style he
called Jun Fan. It was at this time that some of the early students began to question some of
the techniques that Bruce decided to teach. They did not feel that the concepts were as
practical as the early training. Approaching Bruce with the question of why he was changing
what he was teaching, Bruce told DeMile, "Why should I teach someone to beat me". For
DeMile that was enough. Bruce would never share his personal techniques. He would teach
neat and interesting concepts, but he would leave out little gems that would always give him
the advantage over any student. Fortunately for DeMile and a few others who knew of those
little gems, the personal techniques of Bruce Lee will never be lost. NOTE. There will be those
who will be unhappy that it is suggested that Bruce's later teaching, Jun Fan and Jeet Kune Do
was not Bruce's best. It has been the policy of Wing Chun Do and DeMile as the Chief
instructor to show anyone interested in the difference between Bruce's fighting period and his
later teaching. DeMile has always believed that talk is cheap. If you cannot back it up, don't
say it. Another student from Bruce's early days, in fact his first student, Jesse Glover, is also
always ready to show interested individuals the difference. Jesse was a close friend and one of
Bruce's most aggressive students. It was in part Jesse's fighting skills that forced Bruce to
evolve or get wiped out.

The Jun Fan Period. It was simply a way for Bruce to get out on his own. In order to charge for
what he taught, it had to be more organized and structured than the helter skelter teaching of
his fighting period.

The Jeet Kune Do period. Often thought of as the Hollywood period. There are two elements
to this level. First, Bruce was to collect, analyze and create a definitive martial arts system by
studying all systems and accumulating vast sources of reference material so one day Bruce
could share the final results of his overview of the martial arts. This of course would take
many years. Meanwhile, the movies. Bruce had been a child movie star and appeared in 17
films by the time he left Hong Kong at 18. He dreamed of becoming an American movie star.
His whole focus on training shifted to doing things that were really designed for the movies.
His more flourishing moves and kicks were for the screen rather than the street. As we know,
he became a Legend. After his tragic death, the family hired a non-martial artist, who was a
writer, to go through Bruce's notes and create the book "Tao of Jeet Kune Do. It is this
collection of random thoughts of Bruce's and many others that is the basis for Jeet Kune Do. In
Wing Chun Do's opinion Jeet Kune Do does not really exist. If you talk to 10 different Jeet
Kune Do practitioners you get 10 different versions. This difference is supposed to be
explained by the philosophy that JKD is a style without style. Do your own thing. That's great
in religion, but if someone is going to kill you or you family, you should have something that
is based on practicality rather than philosophy. The simple truth is that Bruce had a dream
and when Bruce died, so did the dream.

THE JOURNEY OF WING CHUN DO

Wing Chun Do (WCD) began in late 1959 with the meeting between Bruce Lee and James W.
DeMile. From that moment in time, began a journey that is still taking place in 1996. Wing
Chun Do has gone through four previous stages of growth and is in its fifth and final level.

The first level, of course, was 1959 and the early 60's. This was the time when Bruce was
constantly experimenting and was formulating his own unique fighting concepts and applied
skills. DeMile had spent 12 years in an orphanage and survived by street fighting. When he
met Bruce he had just been discharged from the Air Force where he had been undefeated in
128 boxing matches. Beaten easily by Bruce, DeMile was fascinated by the "art" of fighting
rather than using the Neanderthal crush and destroy methods of his youth. Focusing on the
How and Why of Bruce's evolving skills, DeMile was able to develop a basic understanding
of Bruce's skills in speed, power and trapping skills.

The second level began in 1971. While living in Hawaii and training on his own at the Nuuanu
YMCA, a number of local martial artist asked DeMile what he was doing. DeMile mentioned
it was some moves he had learned while training with Bruce Lee. Since Bruce was just
becoming a big star, the martial artists asked DeMile to show them some techniques.
Amazing, within one month, DeMile had 60 students. It is in this level that DeMile had to step
back and try to remember what he had learned. Since DeMile had had no intention of teaching,
his martial arts knowledge was scattered through his memory, without any structure. The
main focus at this time was to develop a basic outline of WCD. By the time DeMile left Hawaii
in 1976, he had created a rough overview.

The Third level was from 1976 until 1979. It was also a basic phase of WCD as the focus was
on teaching the application. It was at this time DeMile became very frustrated with trying to
create the system. He decided to quit and let the few students who were dedicated to teach
what they had learned. He put on a two week instructors seminar at his 10 acre farm in Sedro
Wooley, Washington. DeMile felt that the participating instructors could teach the basics and
create whatever they needed to round out their program. He stipulated that no instructor was
to award a Black Belt in WCD without further training and only with DeMile's approval. WCD
had not developed the teaching program for Chi Sao (sticking hands), Phon Sao (trapping
hands), its 9 speed and 10 power source concepts and the 8 Closing of the gap techniques, so
DeMile felt they needed to confine themselves to the basics. If they developed their own
higher levels, that was fine, they could call their teaching anything they liked, but not Wing
Chun Do. Unfortunately some of those certified in the basics abused their right to teach only
WCD basics. I will identify those qualified to teach Modern WCD in the Family tree which
will be included in this history, and clarify those who have abused my trust in them.

The forth level was from 1980 to 1990. It did not take long for DeMile to realize that he had to
finish the system he was creating. Too much work had been done to quit now, so he once
again began to teach. It was in the early 80's that Phon Sao, Chi Sao and the Closing techniques
were finally defined in over 1000 pages of notes written by Ronald Ogi, of Hawaii, as a result
of a Instructors program where Ronald taped every 6 hours a day training session for six
months. Since these skills require a lot of individual spontaneity and create application they
are very difficult to teach. It is only after years of restructuring and experimenting that the
teaching curriculum is finally working. There are also people from this level , outside of
Washington, who have a red certificate, to teach the basics, who are claiming to be certified for
the whole system. They have abused our agreement to confine themselves to Gray level and
below and yet have not continued to train to become certified in the upper levels. Creating a
martial arts system is not easy, and mistakes will be made. Hopefully the mistakes will be
fewer as the years go bye, and great effort will be made to correct past mistakes. These
individuals will also be identified in the Family tree.

The fifth level is from 1990 to the present, Jan, 1996. In this phase, the finalizing of the system
into teaching levels, White, Yellow, Orange, Gray, Lt. Blue, Blue, Green, Brown and Black has
been completed. Each level is like part of a puzzle. Each piece should fit snugly into the next
piece till finally you see the complete picture. DeMile is now ready to focus on expanding the
WCD system. He is reducing most of his general teaching and will primarily train instructors.
The future of the system will directed by a nine member board of directors who will be fully
certified instructors and chosen by the other fully certified instructors in the system. 

To compress the WCD system into a few thoughts would be to say it is Soft system, not using
kinetic strength, a trapping system that restricts the opponents offensive/defensive potential
by controlling his arms and an Explosive system because of the dynamic way WCD uses it's
energy. It is not a kicking system. It is a street oriented style rather than structured for sports
or tournament. The style is based on scientific concepts that bring out the maximum in each
persons potential for using natural Speed, Power and practical technique. It is not the least or
the best style, it is only searching to become the best "it" can be.

To help clarify instructors in WCD and their level of skills, I have created a family tree. Again,
if there is any questions please contact our headquarters in Seattle Washington.

Sijo James DeMile 



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Last Updated and Validated on October 24, 1997