Wing Chun History

 

 

Around 300 years ago during the reign of Emperor K'anghsi (1662-1722), the fourth Emperor of the Ching Dynasty, Manchurians had occupied China with an insurmountable force. As soldiers on both sides were equally skilled in Kung Fu, the Emperor gathered together the most skilled warrior monks and nuns in order to devise a style to be the antitheses to all other styles of Kung Fu.

There is a legend that states the Buddhist Abbess Ng Mui went into the wild to observe animals and mimic their moves to devise this new system, at that time known as Plum Blossom style, however we believe that the different "animals" she observed were the different styles of Kung Fu that were present at the time: Snake, Crane, Dragon, Tiger, Leopard etc.

Plum Blossom style was an amalgamation of many forms of kung fu, with fundamental principals of physics, geometry, physiology and Taoism applied to it.

Kung fu was becoming very strong in Siu Lam Monastery (Shaolin Monastery) of Mt. Sung in Honan and this aroused the fear of the Manchu government, which sent troops to attack the Monastery but they were unsuccessful.

Chan Man Wai, that year's First Place Graduate of the Civil Service Examination, sought favor with the government and suggested a plan. Plotting with Siu Lam monk Ma Ning Yee and others they set fire to the Monastery from within while soldiers attacked it. Siu Lam, where masters were devising the Plum Blossom style, was burnt to the ground and the monks scattered.

Abbess Ng Mui along with Abbot Chi Shin, Abbot Pak Mei, Master Fung To Tak and Master Miu Hin escaped and fled their separate ways.

Ng Mui took refuge in a White Crane Temple on Mt. Tai Leung and there she came to know Yim Yee and his daughter Yim Wing Tsun, from whom she bought her bean curd. Yim Wing Tsun's beauty had attracted the attention of a local merchant's son who was bullying her into marriage.

Ng Mui had taken a liking to the young girl and decided to help her by teaching her kung fu. Yim Wing Tsun trained night and day until she mastered the system. She then challenged the bully to a fight and bested him. Before setting off to travel around the country Ng Mui told Wing Tsun to honor the kung fu traditions, to develop her kung fu after her marriage, and to help the people working to overthrow the Manchu government and restore the Ming Dynasty.

This is how Plum Blossom kung fu was handed down from Abbess Ng Mui. After their marriage Wing Tsun passed Plum Blossom on to her husband, Leung Bok Chau, who renamed it after her. He passed his kung fu techniques on to Leung Lan Kwai, who in turn passed it on to Wong Wah Bo, a member of an opera troupe on board a junk known as the Red Junk.

It so happened that the Abbott Chi Shin, one of the monks to have fled the fires of Siu Lam Monastery, had disguised himself as a cook working on the Red Junk, had taught the "Six-and-a-Half Point Long Pole" techniques to Leung Yee Tei. Being close to Wong Wah Bo, the two shared their knowledge of kung fu, correlating and improving their techniques and thus were the "Six-and-a-Half Point Long Pole" techniques incorporated into the Wing Tsun system.

Leung Yee Tei passed the kung fu on to Leung Jan, a well known herbal doctor of Fat Shan. Leung Jan grasped the innermost secrets of Wing Tsun and attained the highest level of proficiency. Many kung fu masters came to challenge him but all were defeated and thus Leung Jan's name became known far and wide.

He passed his kung fu on to Chan Wah Shan, who had many students including Yip Man and Jiu Wan.

 

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HISTORY OF WING CHUN

 

Wing Chun is the name of a system of martial arts developed in southern China approximately 300 years ago. Its originator, the Buddhist nun Ng Mui, was a master of Shaolin Kung Fu and used this knowledge to invent a way to take advantage of the weaknesses inherent in the other Shaolin systems. This new system was well-guarded and passed on to only a few, very dedicated students. Later, the style became known as Wing Chun, after Ng Mui’s first student, a woman named Yim Wing Chun. In 1949, Yip Man, who was considered to be the grandmaster of modern Wing Chun, brought the style out of China into Hong Kong and eventually to the rest of the world.

 

The Origin Of Wing Chun Kung Fu :

As told by the late Grandmaster Yip Man before his death…

Excerpts from The Story of My Father :

Yip Man the Great Grandmaster of the Wing Chun Style
-  by Master Yip Chun.

The founder of the Wing Chun Kung Fu System, Miss Yim Wing Chun was a native of Canton [Kwangtung Province] in China. She was an intelligent and athletic young girl, upstanding and forthright. Her mother died soon after her betrothal to Leung Bok Chau, a salt merchant of Fukien. Her father, Yim Yee, was wrongfully accused of a crime and, rather than risk jail, they slipped away and finally settled down at the foot of Tai Leung Mountain near the border between Yunan and Szechuan provinces. There they earned a living by running a shop that sold bean curd. During the reign of Emperor K’anghsi of the Ching Dynasty (1662-1722) Kung Fu became very strong in the Siu Lam [Shaolin] Monastery of Mt. Sung, in Honan Province. This aroused the fear of the Manchu government [a non-Chinese people from Manchuria in the North, who ruled China at that time], which sent troops to attack the Monastery. Although they were unsuccessful, a man named Chan Man Wai, a recently appointed civil servant seeking favor with the government, suggested a plan.

He plotted with Siu Lam monk Ma Ning Yee and others who were persuaded to betray their companions by setting fire to the monastery while soldiers attacked it from the outside. Siu Lam was burned down, and the monks and disciples scattered. Buddhist Abbess Ng Mui, Abbot Chi Shin, Abbot Pak Mei, Master Fung To Tak and Master Miu Hin escaped and went their separate ways.

Ng Mui took refuge in the White Crane Temple on Mt. Tai Leung [also known as Mt. Chai Har]. It was there she met Yim Yee and his daughter Wing Chun from whom she often bought bean curd on her way home from the market. At fifteen, with her hair bound up in the custom of those days to show she was of an age to marry, Wing Chun’s beauty attracted the attention of a local bully. He tried to force Wing Chun to marry him, and his continuous threats became a source of worry to her and her father.

Ng Mui learned of this and took pity on Wing Chun. She agreed to teach Wing Chun fighting techniques so she could protect herself. Wing Chun followed Ng Mui into the mountains, and began to learn Kung Fu. She trained night and day, until she mastered the techniques. Then she challenged the bully to a fight and beat him.

Ng Mui later traveled around the country, but before she left she told Wing Chun to strictly honor the Kung Fu traditions, to develop her Kung Fu after her marriage, and to help the people working to overthrow the Manchu government and restore the Ming Dynasty.

After her marriage Wing Chun taught Kung Fu to her husband Leung Bok Chau. He in turn passed these techniques on to Leung Lan Kwai. Leung Lan Kwai then passed them on to Wong Wah Bo. Wong Wah Bo was a member of an opera troupe on board a junk, known to Chinese as the Red Junk. Wong worked on the Red Junk with Leung Yee Tei. It so happened that Abbot Chi Shin, who fled from Siu Lam, had disguised himself as a cook and was then working on the Red Junk.

Chi Shin taught the Six-and-a-half-point Long Pole techniques to Leung Yee Tei. Wong Wah Bo was close to Leung Yee Tei, and they shared what they knew about Kung Fu. Together they shared and improved their techniques, and thus the Six-and-a-half-point Long Pole was incorporated into Wing Chun Kung Fu. Leung Yee Tei passed his Kung Fu on to Leung Jan, a well known herbal Doctor in Fat Shan.

Leung Jan grasped the innermost secrets of Wing Chun, attaining the highest level of proficiency. Many Kung Fu masters came to challenge him, but all were defeated. Leung Jan became very famous. Later he passed his Kung Fu on to Chan Wah Shan, who took me and my elder Kung Fu brothers, such as Ng Siu Lo, Ng Chung So, Chan Yu Min and Lui Yu Jai, as his students many decades ago.

It can thus be said that the Wing Chun System was passed on to us in a direct line of succession from its origin. I write this history of the Wing Chun System in respectful memory of my forerunners. I am eternally grateful to them for passing to me the skills I now possess. A man should always think of the source of the water as he drinks it; it is this shared feeling that keeps our Kung Fu brothers together.