Wing Chun Kung-Fu Volume 1: Basic Forms & Principles

This series of books were put together by Smith as if he came up with this branch of thinking. He didn't but he puts forward the idea that he did. The pictures don't show Smith at all, they show Grandmaster "Felix Leong" who resides in Adelaide, who I don't think is ever mentioned in any of the books but deserves the credit. Basically what you get is Felix doing his thing and someone attempting to analyse it. Smith does a reasonable job but these books have major flaws in their sequencing of photo's. There are still many valuable tips contained within the pages and worth every cent. No book will ever replace going to a real master anyway especially Felix. If you're in Adelaide drop in to Sifu Felix's centre in Hinley Street. His linage is from three schools: Hong Kong- Grandmaster Yip Chun; Foshan- Grandmaster Pan Nam; Guongzhou: Grandmaster Sum Nung and Lei Chi Wah. He has a major focus on sticky hands (chi-sao) and free sparring and students can come in any time of the day and train. I once was his student until I moved away from Adelaide and have never found anyone adequate to replace him. I understand that this is typical of anyone blabbing about their first master but still, there are many students there who have blackbelts in other arts before doing WC and rave about Felix and WC.[..]

I believe that every man will choose what he will wish to train in. Whether it be Wing Chung, or Jujistu. The thing that will make that man is character and values, Joseph is simply stating the princilpe of Wing Chung. We all know that it goes much deaper than just seeing pictures, and working through two man drills. True Wing Chun is way of life and could never be depicted by a book........

Smith does a fine job of explaining and analyzing the main principles of Wing Chun with an open mind, and then describes the 3 main forms of the Yip Man school with clear photos. He looks at Wing Chun as martial science, rather than simply "art", and I found it both refreshing and insightful. I'm always skeptical about what I read on the subject of the martial arts, so I compared his Sil Lum Tao form to the descriptions presented by several other qualified authors (Ip Chan, William Cheung, and James Yipp Lee, so far...) and it would seem to have been presented rather accurately, with only minor variations. The basic principles are all there and embodied in the form. Chum Kil and Bil Jee are also presented clearly, though I haven't cross-referenced their accuracy. Despite what others may say, I believe it is possible to learn the fundamentals, strategies, and katas or forms from books/videos, and therefore teach oneself the essence of a martial art style, an idea I credit this book with justifying. However, mastery, or even realistic applications of that knowledge require experimentation and human contact with an instructor or at least a knowledgable partner. In short, this is a useful edition to any martial artist's bookshelf, and is capable of taking you as far as the printed medium will allow (with dedicated practice, of course).

Dr. smith is a controvercial figure in the wing chun world. Nevertheless, his books bring up some interesting points. I would not rate this book high on the level of instruction however. He touches upon all three levels of wing chun in this book.