Complete Wing Chun: The Definitive Guide to Wing Chun's History and Traditions (Tuttle Martial Arts)

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Summary: One man's truth is another mans fiction
Review: Looking over some of the reviews I think the authors had their friends write in for them and put in a good word. It's a fair book, not a great book, and while I won't go so far as to get into the authors credentials you do have to wonder with books like these. While the book did introduce me to variants of the system I had never heard of, I don't know how much of the history is fact, fiction, or faction.

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Summary: A unique attempt to look beyond myth to historical reality
Review: One suspects that the title may have been forced upon the authors by a publisher with a series of "The Complete ..." martial arts books. Not truly complete in that it is not an instructional manual, this book is a unique historical effort to get beyond the legends and myths and explore the true origins of Wing Chun and its many branches. It has much to offer the student who is not afraid to think for himself and much to offend the student who is afraid to question what he was told that he must accept as tradition.

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Summary: Lacks hard evidence and Footnotes
Review: The book was good. A companion video, which could show the differences between lineages in technical detail, would be great.

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Summary: Interesting history lesson
Review: The book was good. A companion video, which could show the differences between lineages in technical detail, would be great.

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Summary: About the one star reviews
Review: The recent May 22nd review was obviously made by a kid who has had a poor upbringing and loves to trash what he does not understand. The review by the German customer stated that it was not the "real" Wing Chun & that there was to much History well HELLO the title IS "Complete Wing Chun : The Definitive Guide to Wing Chun's History and Traditions". What other clues do you need? I highly recomend this book by these highly informed Martial Artists;)

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Summary: Conclusion based on guessing
Review: The title of the book should be Incomplete rather than Complete Wing Chun. The writing on the Yip Man chapter is based on the author's biased opinion rather than objective information. The authors gave three or four version of Wing Chun history which only shows their lack of academic research. Proprigating myths and legends without coming up with thesis will only add more confusions to the wing chun world.

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Summary: Very nice
Review: This book differs from other Martial Arts books along the lines of "Technique, Application" etc. The book details different lineages of Wing Chun, there history, how they differ, etc. It is more of a book not to improve your fighting but rather to learn about how Wing Chun evolved so differently.

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Summary: A generous contribution to the art!
Review: This book will inform, educate and open the mind of any practitioner who seeks more enlightenment in the art. It was refreshing to see the existence of other branches in the art revealed. The book serves its purpose in presenting the reader an extensive history and had made known all that is available in the art to the reader . What sold me on this book was not just the great reviews but also the bad ones. I was intrigued by how one book could spark so much controversy. A must have book!

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Summary: This book is confusing at best and misleading at worst.
Review: This book's purpose is confusing. It is not a complete guide to Wing Chun, but focuses on obscure and marginal branches and instructors. The most influential and authentic teachers are either not mentioned or given short shrift. The authors promote themselves as experts, asserting their authority in the unattributed assertions and overgeneralizations. No proper critical appraisal of different schools or approaches is given; as if each school discussed gave their students the same benefits, which they do not. Like many of the highlighted "teachers," the book is too commercial without any depth. Its simple premise is "It's all Wing Chun," as if one branch and another are interchangable despite the shortcomings of these minor offshoots. Do not waste your money.

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Summary: The best historical overview of liniages&principles to date
Review: This is a complete book in the sense of initiating both the advanced and novice practitioners into the world of Wing Chun. The book is rich in information concerning the many lineage's of Wing Chun, both the well known and obscure. Additionally it provides the histories for each branch of the family tree, many of the underlining principles contained in each art and is rich and descriptive in its overall scope. As a martial artist I recommend it as a far more revealing look into Wing Chun then books that may only contain a few techniques and Spartan descriptions of this complex arts principles.