the best introduction ever to wing chun. but what surprises me is how useful the book is even after years of MA training. you find yourself going back to it and saying, " you know, that's not a bad technique after all".
being bruce's student, james shows us a few things that are not orthodox wing chun, such as punching under the blocking hand. this is because jun fan/jeet kune do emphasizes striking first, with the parry beng incidental. one only has to remember to push the blocked hand down to punch OVER it to make it traditional wing chun (i however like james' way sometimes too^^).
james tells us that wing chun "trapping hands" cannot be learned from a book, but the 3 or 4 traps that he shows are really enough in the hands of a resourceful student. they're great! i've been using them since i was 14 years old, and they WORK!
also the theory of facing is absolutly correct! a LOT of combat situations can be corrected just by knowing that the center of your chest should face your fingers and your fingers should face your opponent.
even after learning wing chun from an instructor, i am not ashamed to recommend this wonderful book to any beginner. it serves as a great reference text and starting point.
