Sifu Sergio’s IWKA Wing Tjun System

IWKA Wing Tjun is a unique form of Wing Tjun based on the Three Treasures of Chinese Martial Arts: Philosophy, Health and the Martial Part the balance of these three aspects being so crucial important and severely lacking in many of the well known branches.

Sifu Sergio Pascal Iadarola studied Wing Chun intensively for the last 25 years of which 10 years where devoted to almost full time research into the arts history, philosophy, concepts and principles It’s this hard work that made the difference, the rediscovered gems that make up the base of the IWKA Wing Tjun system and laid the foundation for the Curriculum by putting the pieces together of the various lineages found in China and Southeast Asia and putting it all in systematic order.

By doing that Sifu Sergio managed in preserving a piece of Chinese culture while at the same time preparing the student for today’s needs for realistic self-defense in the streets with an emphasis on developing your body mind and energy to higher levels than the average human being.

The depth of the IWKA Wing Tjun system is the part that surprises most people who come into contact with Sifu Sergio’s work. The depth achieved has only been possible by the intensive studying of the following lineages as well as having access to certain materials that could not have come into his hands if it were not for the help of his Sifus and contacts in China some of which having links to certain secret societies.

The lineages responsible for the creation of the complete picture of the IWKA Wing Tjun system.

  • Ip Man Wing Chun in various forms
  • Chan Wha Sun Wing Chun
  • Gu lo Wing Chun (Leung Jan System)
  • Lo family Wing Chun
  • Tang Family Wing Chun
  • Info from the secret societies
  • Yuen Kay San Wing Chun
  • 1700’s Wing Chun and Snake Crane Wing Chun from after 1854
  • Fukien Wing Chun Bak hok (Fujian Yong Chun Baihe)
  • Tai Zo and Lohan plus several other internal related systems to Wing Tjun
  • Yik Kam Wing Chun
  • Wing chun from 1848

What is most important to note here is that the studying of the diverse lineages helped also immensely in recuperating certain complete forms. To give one example not many realise that the Ip Man system’s Long Pole form [Luk Dim Poon Kwan] is only a small part of the original Luk Dim Poon Kwan found in the Tang Yick Wing Chun system.

Furthermore the studying of all the lineages was also needed in order to systemise and regain all the concepts and principles once found in the system and now spread over several lineages.

The Wing Chun system is a system based on ancient Chinese wisdom deviating from the system’s main concepts and formulas of time, space, energy and heaven, human, earth creates an imbalance and loss of maximum efficiency.

Below is a list of SOME of Wing Chun’s features that were present in the Wing Chun System around the time of the Tai Ping uprising up till the point of its creation and are also a part of the IWKA System’s curriculum.

  1. Song (getting rid of all unnecessary tension), the way of loosening and opening up the body and liberating the force flow paths.
  2. Absorbing and issuing through the whole body and not only through specific parts of the body like for example only the arms or elbows while using hand techniques like Bong Sau, Tan Sau, Fook Sau, etc. The whole body is used according to the fusion of the Emei 12 Zhuang engine (snake engine) and Fujan White Crane engine (7 Bows, etc.).
  3. Using the complete three shapes: the triangle, circle and the straight line, instead of focusing too much on the triangle and straight line.
  4. Knowledge of detachment and separation of the body, mind and energy (detachment needed for issuing the diverse types of Jin and momentum handling).
  5. Understanding the concepts of Ham Hong (empty chest), Lok Bok (dropping shoulder) and Chum Jarn (sinking elbows) and the consequences of not adhering to these concepts.
  6. Avoiding rigid fixing of the shoulder blades or keeping the torso too tensed. This enables one to sink the opponents force into the ground and rebound it back up (action and reaction force).
  7. Giving way to force with the whole body instead with just hand techniques.
  8. The correct control of lower abs whole body breathing.
  9. The knowledge of Chi (the biomechanical/bioelectric energy of the body and its flow throughout the meridians).
  10. Expert handling in Fa Jin (force flow handling) instead of brute force pushing.
  11. Using mainly energy transfer, tendon and joint power instead of  brute muscular power.
  12. The training of bridging and the use of the eyes instead of only contact reflex training.
  13. Correct understanding of the Yee Gee Kim Yeung Ma stance based exactly on the writings of its ancestor arts, and specifications of the writer of the 1848 Kuen Kuit.
  14. Understanding the real meaning of terms like sticking and following instead of thinking that following is just running after an opponent with chain punching and sticking just keeping in contact with the opponent.
  15. Real ability to cut the roots of the opponent by internal sinking.
  16. The use of flow and spontaneity.
  17. Understanding the details of the forms through the Kuen Kuit, by making them alive and actually useful to train and develop real Kung.
  18. Knowledge of Kiu Sao Wing Chun’s training method in handling energy whilst going from no contact to contact.
  19. The Chi Kung part being integrated in the set to build up internal power and health.
  20. Special Wing Chun San Chong (Zhan Zhuang in Mandarin) exercises to build internal power.
  21. Complete understanding of heaven, human, earth.
  22. Understanding of sinking.
  23. Understanding of opening and closing.
  24. Understanding of Fou, Cham, Tan and To (meaning Float, Sink, Absorb and Spit).
  25. Knowledge of the Dan Tian, meridians and bubbling wells.
  26. Understanding of YIN YANG (Yam Yeung) in many of the techniques.
  27. Understanding of Cotton Body.
  28. Understanding of the Three Rings.
  29. Correct usage of the Kwa.
  30. Knowledge of the snake technology from EMEI (the snake slide worm move and under the sleeve Jin, etc.) for handling the joints and energy transfer.
  31. Knowledge of the Fujian White Crane Technology for the center line theory, the external shapes and 7 Bows.
  32. Two types of force flow.
  33. Four types of Jin release.
  34. Five ways to execute the Fa Jin by means of detachment.

These by all means are not all of the differences between the IWKA Wing Tjun system and the other lineages. It is important to note here however that some of the lineages have some of the forty above mentioned points it’s just that no lineage has them all. It’s thanks to the immense sacrifice, work and research of Sifu Sergio who by doing this has put his association, persona and credibility many times at risk, that all of the above points can now all be found and learned within the IWKA’s unique state-of-the-art curriculum derived from Wing Chun’s two sister closely related branches “Eternal Spring” and “Beautiful Spring” as well as the ancestor’s of Fujian Yong Chun Bai He (fujian White Crane) and EMEI (responsible for the unique snake engine especially evident in it’s snake slide worm moves of the second set of the ancient and first Siu Nim Tao of the mid 1700’s).

Due to recent research of Sifu Sergio other things came to light that finally clears up and lines out with evidence the creation of the beautiful spring lineage which evolved out of EMEI and White Crane ,whereas the eternal spring lineage is based entirely on the white crane engine,furthermore according to deep study of documents and Chinese history its highly likely that the eternal spring hall was actually a hall of a certain Tien Tee Hui group or sector.

Lets take a look at the following points.

  1. From the Chan Buddhism point of view, Eternal spring is a wrong term to use in Chan, Chan Buddhism’s core is “nothing is permanent”, Therefore there is no such thing as eternal in Buddhism, so to call a hall eternal spring hall in a Shaolin temple which is about Chan Buddhism is violating the Chan Buddhism essence.
  2. The term Chi Sim exists in Chinese Confucius teachings, so it is a Confucius term. So, to use a wrong term in a Chan Buddhism temple as the hall name and using a Confucius term for the a Buddhist monk, shows contradiction to real Buddhism. But we know, the Tien Tee Hui did those type of mixing Buddhism, Daoism and Confusism in Qi dynasty, So, we know, the eternal spring hall and Chi Sim are a signature of the Tien Tee Hui, Instead of real Buddhism related .
  3. White crane of Fujian is the art of Tien Tee Hui, and as in the study of the Chinese on southern Shaolin, it is more likely that southern Shaolin is a pseudoname of Tien Tee Hui.
  4. So all the pointing to the Eternal Spring hall might be in fact a hall of a certain Tien Tee Hui group or sector. And not a real Chan Buddhist Shaolin temple, but for sure a hall existed somewhere and in that hall they practiced a certain type of white Crane or Fujian related martial art.

( In 1855 the governor of Canton Yip Ming Shun lead the Qing army to destroy the Red Boat opera union, killing the troupers, and burned down the Fine Jade hall. This destroyment of the Fine Jade Hall of the Red Boat opera is later pseudonym as the burning of the Shaolin temple by the Anti Qing or Hung Mun secret society. After this Fine Jade hall incident, Cantonese opera was ban for the next fifteen years. Fifteen years later the Eight Harmony hall of Cantonese opera started and continuous on until today.)