Ethics in Ethnography: The Wing Chun Narrative (Part 1)

Introduction

Unlike Martial Arts that emphasize strength, speed or acrobatic prowess, Wing Chun Kung Fu instead relies on an economy of motion, sensitivity, and technique to defeat opponents Legends differ over to the origins of Wing Chun, but each was influenced by the tumultuous history of China. China’s tumultuous history often meant that practitioners often relied on secretive methods, aliases, and oral history to protect themselves and their art. Today, Wing Chun is best known through the lineage of one instructor – Grandmaster Ip Man of Hong Kong. But Ip Man was not the sole repository of knowledge for the art – he was instead perhaps the most well-known master in recent history. Now less than a hundred years after his death, Ip Man’s students and their disciples have developed their own interpretations of his teachings, widening the divide between practitioners within this one Kung Fu family. Is it even possible to construct a clear history of Wing Chun from so many divergent, often contradictory, perspectives? Can we frame and contextualize each of these personal narratives against one another, while conscious of a larger historical discourse? (In the interests of space and focus, the discussion here has been limited between the Ip Man and Pan Nam systems – but sources acknowledge at least 7 families of Wing Chun exist, and likely more (Chu, Ritchie, and Wu , 1998; Chong, 2012).

As a student of Wing Chun, I first contacted my own Sifu, Michael Nedderman, to help establish an emic perspective of the art. After constructing this framework, Sifu Nedderman put me in touch with his instructor, Sifu Eddie Chong, who is trained in two different styles of the art – both within and outside the Ip Man system. This duality meant Sifu Chong was qualified to make a comparison between these styles. But in the course of my ethnographic research a new element emerged: Individual narratives are inherently unique –each with their own concerns and agendas that can be at odds with other points of view. As this paper developed, I became aware of how Sifu Nedderman’s relationship with Eddie Chong was shaping my research. This in turn made me reflect upon the ethical dilemma inherent in ethnography – whose voice do we give the greatest weight to?

Methodology

My initial goal for this paper was to compare and contrast different lineages of Wing Chun Kung Fu (Pan Nam and Ip Man) and see if I could determine the factors that helped to shape them in different ways. To do this, I contacted my former Martial Arts instructor – Sifu Michael Nedderman, who has taught Wing Chun in various capacities over the last two decades. Sifu Nedderman’s experience and familiarity with the art would mean I would be able to frame my research in a thoughtful way that would be more nuanced and aware than if I had done so independently. Sifu Nedderman and I exchanged a few preliminary emails before meeting for a lunch meeting/interview in March to discuss the project, my goals, and how I might go about achieving them. When he became aware I wanted to do a comparative analysis of the Pan Nam lineage, Sifu Nedderman strongly I suggested I interview his instructor, Sifu Eddie Chong. Mike informed me that Sifu Chong was Pan Nam’s last closed door student and had mastered that version of the Wing Chun system, which meant he was the best qualified candidate for making an informed comparison.

Sifu Nedderman also suggested a few books where I might begin my research, written by a group of knowledgeable authorities within the Wing Chun community. In addition, he provided me with published work from both himself and other members of the martial arts community. Most importantly, he was able to share with me family trees and with a copy of a book published by the Ving Tsun athletic association from Hong Kong, written in both Chinese and English. Along with these works, I utilized my own personal library on the subject. Finally, I utilized resources available through California State University, Sacramento’s library. Anthropology Research Librarian Reza Peigahi assisted me in conducting cursory literature reviews through University databases, and I attempted to correlate data obtained from ethnographic materials with more widely available academic and scholarly works.

I conducted a single interview with Sifu Chong at his martial arts school in South Sacramento, in which he referred me repeatedly to his contributions Complete Wing Chun by Chu, Ritchie, and Wu. Sifu Chong had been consulted by the authors to provide information from the Pan Nam system so I tried to use my time with him to ask questions that would flesh out the world beyond the page- how did he feel about other martial artists, their interpretations of Wing Chun, as well his relationship with Michael Nedderman. Complete Wing Chun would prove a valuable research tool, providing a foundation of knowledge for the historical portions of this report. In order to fill out my understanding, I also contacted Sifu Nedderman additional times as the paper developed both for advice and follow up questions.

(Part 2)