Women in Wing Chun

An article written by Yvette Wong for “Wing Chun VIewpoint Magazine.” Yvette Wong ran the women’s Wing Chun club in Victoria BC in the late 1980’s.

In a recent letter to the Editor of Inside Kung Fu. A lady asked, “Why are there no female Wing Chun Sifu of Chinese Nationality?” The editor said he did not know why. We have done our own research and discovered the following: First according to the Chinese people we have spoken to, martial arts is not something a woman should engage in.  There is constant pressure on a woman by family and friends to get married and to raise a family. Martial arts are views as being a waste of time for Oriental women.

The problems do not end there. Even for those women who ignore this Chinese tradition, they will still find that taking a martial art is not something easy to do. There are many obstacles for her.

For example, they are often not taken seriously by their male counterparts or even by their teachers. Most women are turned off by the macho male approach to Wing Chun. Most women feel that martial arts are often taught in a very crude manner with no beauty in it. They also think that brute strength is used most of the time, instead of relying on proper technique and skill. Because of these reasons, not to mention the risk of injury, women tend to stay away.

In order to interest more women, instructors need to be more considerate towards their female students, and emphasize less machismo. The women we’ve taught enjoyed sticking hands and the principles of Wing Chun the most.