My personal opinion of the differences between the WC branches is one tends to talk more with the hands; the others talks. I would be considered rightfully among my brethrens as a big mouth by their standards. So let me hasten to say honestly that I repent and this would be my last post on this thread.
Wing Chun growth
I have lived this exact thing over and over in a certain time in my training. To be honest I found it very disturbing. To get to my story, early in my training I was with a certain Sifu and organization (which I will keep nameless), and within a couple of years my Sifu joined up under another well known Sifu. At this time our forms began to change. Because of my Sifu going under his new Sifu I understood these changes.
Though, the changes to our forms and applications didn’t stop there. They continued to change every time we trained with our Sifu. This was very annoying, because by the time we had learned these new changes, the next time we saw him there would be more changes. These changes included application, all the forms including the weapons. We never seemed to learn the changes before there were more changes. By the way, last I heard there have been more changes since I have left. This was part of the reason that I am no longer with that organization.
When I would question the changes, my Sifu’s answer was ‘Wing Chun is a growing art and needs to grow and change’. I do agree that times change, but these changes didn’t seem to change anyone’s Wing Chun, the only thing that changed was the external look of it when perfoming the forms.
KJ states:
Pragmatically though, I don’t see how the biomechanical functioning of human bodies has significantly changed in 10, 100, or 1000 years. In the realm of hand-to-hand combat, is there really anything new because of our times?
I couldn’t agree more. As I have said many times as have others, there are only so many ways to attack and defend. The biomechanics of the human body don’t change. This is just my humble opinion. 
How the “DNA” is Passed On
Originally posted by rubthebuddha
for those who have practiced several branches of wing chun, how do you view the nuance and difference between the students of yip man?
Among those sincerely trying to pass on the art, differences are just variations on a theme: principle based Wing Chun, not technique based. We should note too that Wing Chun “principles” involve not just acquired skill, but acquired teaching skill. Wing Chun teachers must follow certain principles to maximize the benefit to their students, for instance, repeating themselves until they sound like a broken record. 
In general, people are better off learning directly from teachers close to the source, in my case, close to Yip Man. For others, say in Pan Nam’s line, they should try to learn from his first generation of student, now teachers in their own right. Not that there aren’t third and fourth generation students who are the real deal, but MA drift occurs and some have come to be far from the original.
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an example of this would be the opening of siu nim tau. as far as i know, most students of yip man, once the stance is set, go straight into a double gan sau.
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This is what Ken Chung/Ben Der teach. Plain ol’ vanilla Yip Man HK opening.
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however, leung ting (my sigung) has his students come to double tan sau first, then to double gan sau, then back to double tan sau. the reasoning for this, from what i know, is to further emphasize the kwun sau.
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What Leung Ting has done with the opening does not violate the basic principles of Wing Chun. You do know that he has changed the opening several times, according to LT students I know from Germany and elsewhere. Nothing wrong with variety not in violation with consistent Wing Chun training principles either.
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i agree with this reasoning, as i think that my beginnings in double-hand work were more successful than they would have been not coming to double tan sau first. i’m not saying it’s better. rather, i think it helped me understand by getting hundreds more kwun saus drilled into my hands before i actually used them in application.
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You may be correct. You might have developed certain skills faster. If so, that’s a training plus. Likely, either way, you would have learnt it eventually just as well.
Regards,
aye, i know he’s made slight changes to the snt even in the four years i’ve been studying. none of them on concept, but i think they help teach more than anything.
and yeah, i may have gotten my kwun sau just as good eventually, i still like the extra practice. i liken it to one tan/three fook saus near the beginning – 1/3 is better than 1/1, because what that part of the form reinforces is so important, the repetition is warranted.
I Have a Doubt
Originally posted by rubthebuddha
aye, i know he’s made slight changes to the snt even in the four years i’ve been studying. none of them on concept, but i think they help teach more than anything.
This goes back to the original question, whether in a static environment changes to an optimized system are good—as KJ said, human anatomy and physiology hasn’t changed in the last 1000 years or so. I can understand a teacher making frequent changes to a single student’s curriculum, but why change en masse?
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and yeah, i may have gotten my kwun sau just as good eventually, i still like the extra practice. i liken it to one tan/three fook saus near the beginning – 1/3 is better than 1/1, because what that part of the form reinforces is so important, the repetition is warranted. [/B]
Who can argue that more practice is not good?
The changes you wrote of, might have been good for you, or they might have been irrelevant as most changes probably are. Fur instance, my hair is rapidly graying, but it hasn’t affected my Wing Chun yet.
Regards,
If WCK required a body like silk which can “floating” in the air ---- with one feather cannot landing on capability to perform a Lai Lau Hui Soong…
“thus the hero has no matched because he/she alone knows others… using tranquil to subdue active…”
And, if we all can’t even get there but constant struggle in move which growing away from the nature… importing Hard bow and localized technics…or adding…
What evolution can it be before we figure out how to attain the silk body to gain the full potential of the art? or destruction is proceeded by the name of evolutiuon and the address of the olderst and most original… which travelling to an opposite direction. IMHO.
It is not about power it is about grace
It is not about anger it is about peace -------Bullet proof monk
One way of to be “faster” is to let go of one’s stagnation within one’s body and mind. without a “self” one will behave similar to the nature. There one float and flow. Isn’t it simple and direct? It is a process of returning to nature…
who still remember TAHNNNN sau or WUUUU sau or … call it what you like