Hung Fa Yi 's Time, Space and Energy

An Introduction to Hung Fa Yi’s Time, Space, and Energy

by Micheal Pyun
A Tae Kwon Do Black Belt and Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun practitioner

To this day I still study Grandmaster Garrett Gee’s Hung Fa Yi Wing
Chun for one simple reason – it is the only martial art that I have
ever experienced that explains why we do things rather than just when,
where, how, and against whom.  HFY truly has no preferences or biases
when it comes to combat and that is why it is unequivocally the most
unique form of combat in the world of martial arts today.  However,
due to the publishing of Mastering Kung Fu as well as the Internet,
HFY’s trademark emphasis on the employment of time, space, and energy
to defeat an opponent is no longer a secret.  As a result, I have seen
numerous martial arts videos on the Internet using the words time,
space, or energy to explain their various types of techniques.
Unfortunately, talking about the three terms and fully understanding
them are two totally different things.  With so many layers in HFY,
simply defining the three words is not enough.  One must be able to
express them mentally and physically with pinpoint accuracy and zero
distortion.

To give an example of how unique and precise HFY’s time, space, and
energy principles are in combat; one only has to look at the use of
paak sau and wu sau during an attack.  On video or even to the naked
eye, HFY’s paak sau and wu sau techniques may look similar to many
other Wing Chun schools.  However, the focus is different.  To put it
more precisely, HFY’s goal is not to simply stop the attack, but to
nullify any counter from the moment of contact using concepts such as
wrist energy, five-line theory, and inside-the-box/outside-the-box.

Even in the Siu Nim Tau, each hand position has a specific purpose and
structural integrity while sharing one common goal – maximum
effectiveness and maximum efficiency.  For instance, when applying
paak sau to an incoming punch to the face, HFY teaches the proper
wrist energy that needs to be applied to take the punch to the
defender’s shoulder line.  The positioning of the paak sau hand is so
precise that it requires the knowledge of three different concepts
(wrist energy, five-line theory, and inside-the-box/outside-the-box).
If the paak sau is too low, you risk missing the block.  If the paak
sau is too high, you risk getting hit by a low or middle gate attack.
Further, if the paak sau does not fully absorb the incoming energy,
you risk being out of range for follow up techniques as well as a
swift counter by your opponent.

In addition, HFY’s time, space, and energy concepts truly show the
martial artist what it means to control two arms with one.  With
proper spacing and knowledge of the five-line-theory, it is possible
to control your opponent’s two arms with just one of yours, leaving
your free arm to strike at will.  This is a true example of Wing
Chun’s famous trapping hands.

All in all, without GM Garrett Gee’s Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun, there would
be no discussion of time, space, and energy in any martial art circle
today.  Grant it, it is possible the words could have been used here
and there, but the combination of the three terms as well as a
detailed explanation of how and why they work together would be
non-existent.  If this were not true, why were time, space, and energy
never talked about in the martial arts world prior to GM Garrett Gee’s
arrival to the United States in 1975?