I have a good collection of Wing Chun books - as I am sure most of you have. I obviously have favourites, some old and out of print, some signed by the author and some just well written and informative.
What are your favourite books and why ??
What books would you recommend and why ?
Thanks
Nat from UK
My own teachers books(Augustine Fong)- but they are out of print and therefore obviously read. Also imitated and even plagiarized. Like a perfectionist he is not happy with the books: can be improved but not planning re publishing soon.
Chao and Weakland: the Secrets of Wing chun(all the volumes)
Goes downhill fast for me. Though many second rate books remind me-how not to do it. They are lots of jazzed up books -
for marketing.
Remark not meant to be arrogant. Its natural for people to think
that they are doing some thing right. If not why do it?
PS. Yip Man was wise-he taught individuals-- didnt write books.
The minute you write-you can get it wrong!!
My Sifus book - Path to Wing Chun (Samuel Kwok) and Why wing chun works by Alan Gibson stand out. Paul Oneals is quite good too.
Stuart
The Ip Chun/ Michael Tse book is my fav. its a good book especially for beguiners and i got it signed by Ip Chun and Sam Kwok, it also reminds me if when i got it signed, it was a very good day out in manchester
books
I like three. I like the dummy technique book by Leung Ting because it was my first. I also like the Ip Chun/Michael Tse book because it is simple and perfect for beginners or advanced students. It mentions mixing it up with Qigong, which I thought was excellent. Finally, I enjoy the Wing Tsun Kuen book by Leung Ting, which is very informative. 
sweets to scucubi
hey guys,
my favorite is a manuscript from chu shong tin..it has an english translation…no pictures but none needed…the theory is the best ive ever read…lo man kams book has some nice chin na
yuanfen... i loved the article you wrote about 5 years ago..on the mother line and wc geometry...nice...i had only studied wc forabout 4 years at that time....your article really helped "fine tune"my understanding ......i agree the chao and weakland books are to this day pretty darn nice....havnt seen sifu fongs books:(:(
stuart…who is paul oneal and alan gibson and what are the names of there books..what is the material covered in them??
wt-disciple…i love the 116 dummy book…its some of the only visual material on grandmaster yipman
Alan Gibson
Alan Gibson - Why Wing Chun Works - is definitely from the UK and his book is on Amazon, I think Paul Oneal is English as well.
Nat from UK
My favorite book on Ving Tsun (Wing Chun) for obvious reasons is David Peterson’s, “Look Beyond the Pointing Finger… The Combat Philosophy of Wong Shun Leung.”
I like Tsui Sheung-Tin’s book, since it covers pretty much everything, but the line drawings, while okay for the sets, get a little abstract for the concepts. His ideas on geometry, while a little different from the mainstream, perhaps, are intriguing to say the least.
The Pan Nam series is interesting mostly because it covers some previously uncovered material on the Pan Nam system, and diverts in the end into the Chan Yiu-Min system as well.
Leung Gang-Moon’s book is the same. Not ideal in pictures, but interesting to see Yiu Kai’s line in book form.
The various pulp novels by Ngaw Hai Faatshan Yan, Ngaw Hai Saan Yan, while not historically acurate, give a lot of flavor to the old stories and characters.
Leung Ting’s Wing Tsun and Roots and Branches, while polical to the point of being distraction, are also very thorough in terms of pictures.
Augustine Fong’s series, and the very similar series from Randy Williams, were also very thorough and interesting reads.
David Peterson’s book is a very nice change of pace from the usual by-the-numbers approach, giving an invaluable glimpse into Wong Shun-Leung sifu’s thinking.
Every book has its good points and bad points, its parts that make you exhault and its parts that make you wince. If they come from your lineage, they can be helpful guides or study-aides, if from a different lineage, they can give perspective (either on other ways of doing things, or as Joy so aptly said, not doing them, as the case may be).
Rgds,
RR
can’t forget complete wing chun
I want a book that tells the chinese names for the techniques.
I was want to buy a book on Wing Chun. There were two books at my local bookstore. Wing Chun ( the green book by Lee) and Advanced Wing Chun by William Cheung. Neither book had listed Chinese names for the techniqes. I don’t want a book to learn how to do. I want a book to learn what things are called. I have a problem with learning the Cantonese vocabulary. Any suggestions. Thanks for your support.
CEB
The web is an excellent source for that information
In particular Fong’s web site has a very comprehensive dictionary
I will try and find the URL
Nat from UK
Both Complete Wing Chun and Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun Kuen have lists of Chinese names and terms, including Chinese characters, common Cantonese romanization, PinYin Mandarin romanization, and translations. Complete Wing Chun focuses on some of the major ones from 7 or so different branches (Yip Man, Yuen Kay-San, Pan Nam, Nanyang, Gulao, Pao Fa Lien, Chi Sim, Hung Suen, etc.) while Yuen Kay-San, obviously, focuses on that branch.
Online, I’d recommend the VTM’s terminology database. You can find it via http://www.vtmuseum.org
Rgds,
RR
My favorite books on Wing Chun are (not in any special order)