Structure of Wing Chun Kuen (B&w): Awakening Force Flow

One of the best books on Wing Chun I have ever had the privilege to read. With the exception of a few, most Wing Chun books just give an over view of the system and some pictures of forms without going into much detail. Alan's book covers the aspects of the art that cannot be demonstrated by mere pictures. This book explains the essence of Wing Chun that and the subtleties that are the foundation of the art in great detail. He does a good job of explaining the elements that can't be seen with the eye, but must be felt.Defiantly a book every Wing Chun practitioner should have.

A very interesting read indeed and look to Wing Chun. Alan Orr's book gives you a detailed, informative, and enlightening view point. It's a high level birds eye view innovative look on Wing Chun. A credit and respect to Alan Orr, the system and Sifu he represents. A refreshing read for anyone wanting to improve their own Wing Chun.

totally loved it! Lots of tips and some insight into Sifu Alan as a bonus.

a very good read to understanding the concepts of wing chun! recommended for all to get it!

The true power of wing chun, is it's internal power developed from their unique inner body structure. This is the secret of what made Bruce Lee so great. The internal power is what all jeet kune do and mma practitioners lack.Adding the structure back in to wing chun and jkd adds a whole new dimension of strength and power to the art of expressing the human body in martial form.In science this form of body structure is referred to as tensegrity (tension + integrity). With tensegrity training forces from ones opponents are evenly distributed throughout the entire structure rather than accumulating at certain joints. This makes you much harder to take down, and you will feel like a bulldozer in a clinch.Even your punching and kicking will be far more powerful with body structure. Hawkins would be proud.

Given the configuration and the person, I wonder if the wing chun really was created by a woman .... or it already existed hormones

A very good read, and excellent fight concepts and details about structure. Definitely a book worth buying if you are wing chun student. May help improve your wing chun game and more mindful of how apply your technique. Also appreciate how Sifu Alan Orr shares details of his journey into Martial Arts and acquaintances.

So as a practitioner of Wing Chun from a different family I was very I impressed with the details in this book. Alan Orr caught my attention years ago with his NHB video series. I was always impressed with his ability to put the art into practice. Some real valuable information in this book. Well worth the purchase.

The book starts with some interesting background about Alan sifu and his wing chun journey.Then the 2nd half of the book contains some really good insights into the CSL wing chun method with some real 'golden nuggets' of information. This book is a must have for any wing chun practitioner who wants to improve their skills.

First off, I have to say that I'd really love to give this book five stars. Alan seems to be such a sympathetic, talented teacher and he has something to give to all Wing Tsun practitioners. Something that can and will improve any martial art, once his concept is understood and put into practice. The content of what he has to transmit is so invaluable that I just have to recommend this book.But alas, there are quite a few negative aspects to it, which you will have to deal with, if you want to read it.Price:This is not a particularly thin book, and neither is it a particularly thick book. But if you left out the many photos of Alan that do nothing to further the story, it would most likely be a thin book. And for the relatively high price of 35€, I really expected an extensive collection of well-researched and well-presented material, which is only partly the case here.Pictures:There are so many photos of Alan in different (but not anyhow described) stances, this almost qualifies as a picture-book. While I don't particularly mind the photos, as they actually add a bit to the overall feel while reading (making it lighter and more relaxed), I'm not exactly a friend of this practice either. To me, images in a martial arts book should have a descriptive quality of sorts.Typos:There are a boatload of typos everywhere in this book. Totally avoidable.Personal story:Most of the content is made up of Alan's personal life. Even though in the intro he mentions that he doesn't like to "talk about the past" he basically does just that. And extensively so. While many people might like this, I was hoping more for a technical book to improve my art.Actual content:This is my greatest point of critique. I understood most of Alan's explanations because I have broad knowledge and experience in (many different) martial arts. So I understood through context. Understanding through words alone is rather hard, because I feel that nowhere in the book is his concept explained in clear, proper terms (and with pictures). Don't get me wrong; there are many descriptions, and even some decent illustrations to help the reader understand. But they are few and far between, and not really linked in any way. A solid, overall structure would have made it easier to learn and understand - alas, that is missing. Also, many of the depictions are very cryptic. There is not a single image of how to punch a boxing bag with correct form, for example. This would have enhanced understanding greatly. I also missed detailed descriptions on how to put this concept into practice, either in Wing Tsun sparring, or in the forms. Alan mentions that his ideas can be applied in the Siu Nim Tau, but never describes in detail how. This is doubly sad, seeing that there would have been enough space in the book to add these kinds of practical explanations!Why do I still recommend it? Well, Alan clearly has a fundamental understanding of how martial arts can be applied in the real world, which can not be said for most other martial arts trainers I know. In the book is presented the basis of a concept that transcends singular, defined movements, such as a straight punch or a Tan Sao. Instead, the idea is to focus on the execution of the movement within the dynamic of one's own body either alone or in relation to the opponent, regarding aspects such as position, angle, distribution of gravity and more. By becoming aware of how force flows within any movement or even within a live confrontation, the trainee can learn how to gain a strong stance that is ultimately dynamic in nature, resulting in much more efficient, powerful punches, pulls, shoves et cetera. It is basically the concept of "strike with your whole body", but made fluid for everything else besides strikes. I am still working on a wholesome understanding of this idea, and will likely continue to be for many years. I am certain it enables the practitioner to greatly improve their basic movements, as well as their perception and reactivity, and thus their overall skill in martial arts.Overall:Great concept but with sub-par explanations and a lot of clutter. Now don't get me wrong - I'm very happy with my purchase, and very grateful to Alan. I will be watching his YouTube videos in the future. It's just that as far as books go, this publication has a lot of room to improve.

This book deals with a very advanced subject in Wing Chun -- that of maintaining a sound structure and being able to break down the structure of your opponent (in addition to re-directing and re-using their force). Alan Orr is an expert in this subject and has adapted Wing Chun and trained fighters to use the art in an MMA environment. That being said, I was disappointed somewhat with his book for the followng reasons:1. The majority of the text is not related to the subject of Wing Chun structure and Force Flow. In fact, much of the book is personal stories and testimonials about Alan's ability. Some of this was interesting but I felt it could have been reworked into another book entirely and this book could have been expanded to better treat the subject matter in the title.2. The sections about Wing Chun structure require a lot of context about the CSL lineage that Alan Orr teaches. If the reader does not know much about this lineage, it may be necessary to use additional resources such as YouTube or the courses for sale on Alan's website. I personally found myself struggling with concepts like "Seven Bows" and the "Six Core Elements". Readers already familiar with these concepts will undoubtedly benefit more when first reading the book.4. I found some of the diagrams to be confusing. I think Alan does a much better job explaining and demonstrating the same concepts in his videos. I think this book is a good companion to the large amount of video content he has produced but I was hoping for a more canonical and definite text on structure/Force Flow.However, despite all of this, I think this is a worthwhile addition to my library. There is very little in print that touches the same subject matter. I do hope that Alan writes more about this subject. I also think there is a great potential to re-read the book in the years to come and expect to get more out of it in future readings.