History
of Wing Chun Kung Fu
There
are many versions of the history in existence. The following
version is embraced by this program.
The
origin of Wing Chun can be found in the turbulent, repressive
Ching Dynasty over 250 years ago. It was a time when
90 percent of the Chinese, the Hans, were ruled by the
10 percent minority, Manchus.
When all the weapons were outlawed by the Manchus, the
Hans began training a revolutionary army in the art
of Kung-Fu. The Sil Lum temple became the secret sanctuary
for preparatory training of a classical style which
took 15 to 20 years for each person to master.
To
develop a new form, one which would have a shorter training
time, five of China’s Grandmasters met to discuss
the merits of each of the various forms of Kung-Fu.
By choosing the most efficient techniques from each
style, they developed training programs that would develop
an efficient martial artist in five to seven years,
one third of the original time. However, before this
new form could be put into practice, the Sil Lum temple
was raided and burned by the Manchus.
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Sifu
Jon Diament, 1988, Age 16 |
Ng Mui, a nun, was one of the original five grandmasters.
She passed her knowledge onto a young orphan girl, who she
had named Wing Chun. That represented “Hope for the
Future.” After Yim Wing Chun mastered her art, she left
her aging master, Ng Mui. Because Wing Chun was a rare beauty,
often in tournaments, she would put herself up as the prize,
a bride for the winner against her. But Wing Chun was a master
of her art, and her art was so much superior to all the other
existing styles, she never had trouble defeating the challengers
who paid exorbitant sums to enter the contest. However, one
day there was a handsome young man who was a silk merchant
from the Fatshan county of Kwan Tong Province. Wing Chun was
in love at first sight and she deliberately lost the match
to this gentleman who turned out to be Leung Bok Cho, a master
of the southern Shaolin style. They were married. For many
years, Wing Chun never revealed to Leung that she had lost
the match to him deliberately because she fell in love with
him. Three times Wing Chun sent him sprawling on the ground,
and then he was convinced that Wing Chun’s system was
superior to his, so he took it up from Wing Chun. Through
the years, the style became known as Wing Chun. Its techniques
and teaching were passed onto a few, always carefully selected
students.
1st school, Salisbury, NC, 1997
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Nearly
100 years ago, Leung Jun was one of the chosen students
to receive training in Wing Chun. He lived with his
two sons, Leung Bak and Leung Cheun in a prosperous
Chinese city, Fatshan. Aside from his fame as a martial
artist, Leung Jun owned an herbal shop. He was greatly
respected by his community as a gentleman and a scholar,
one who never boasted of his Kung-Fu ability.
Chan
Wah Soon was a money changer with a shop next door to
Leung Jun’s. He was a large man, who admired his
neighbor’s Wing Chun ability. Leung Jun chose
to keep his art within his family and not take any outside
students. Chan Wah Soon resorted to spying on Leung
Jun’s daily teaching to his sons. Leung Jun soon
learned of Chan’s spying and deliberately taught
a modified version when Chan was watching. |
Chan’s
dedication to spying eventually touched Leung Jun and he was
eventually accepted as a disciple. However, Leung Jun continued
to teach only the modified version to Chan because he feared
that after his own death, Chan would dispute the Wing Chun
grandmastership with his sons. Since Chan was a much larger
and stronger man, neither of Leung Jun’s sons could
have defeated him if Chan had learned the real version of
Wing Chun. Leung Jun’s suspicions of Chan Wah Soon were
well founded in reality. When Leung Jun and his son Leung
Cheun died. Chan drive the surviving son, Leung Bak, from
Fatshan. Leung Bak settled in Hong Kong.
Yip Man studied Chan’s Wing Chun system for four years
and after Chan’s death, moved to Hong Kong. By the age
of sixteen, he had the reputation of an accomplished martial
artist. Through some of his martial arts friends, Yip Man
was introduced to an eccentric old man with renowned Kung-Fu
ability. Yip Man challenged the old eccentric and lost dismally.
The old man was Leung Bak, Leung Jun’s surviving son
of the original Wing Chun system. After the encounter, Leung
Bak told Yip Man the story of the modified version and accepted
him as his only student. Yip Man studied the authentic version
of Wing Chun for four years. With his new knowledge, he returned
to Fatshan, defeated his seniors in the modified system and
became the grandmaster of Wing Chun. All Kung-Fu practitioners
of China respected his Kung-Fu ability, but he never accepted
any disciples.
In 1948, when the Communists took over China, Yip Man left
for Macao, leaving his fortune behind. In Macao, Leung Shan,
a master of White Eyebrow Kung-Fu, found Yin Man in an impoverished
state and took him to Hong Kong where he cared for him.
Lueng Shan had a Kung-Fu school on the premises of the Restaurant
Worker’s Union in Hong Kong. Yin Man was given a small
apartment there. Every night, after the restaurant closed.
Kung-Fu classes were conducted at the Worker’s Union.
Yip Man watched the classes in progress, and without malice,
ridiculed the inadequacy of Leung Shan’s style.
On one night in 1951, Leung Shan became angered by Yip Man’s
disrespect. To teach Yip Man a lesson, he challenged him.
Though Leung Shan was larger and younger than Yip Man, he
was no match for the art of Wing Chun and was easily defeated.
After defeating Leung Shan, Yip Man revealed himself as the
grandmaster of Wing Chun and took Leung Shan as his first
Disciple of a few, always carefully selected students.
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