The History Of Wing Chun Kung Fu
The in late 1600's and early 1700's Kung Fu became very popular at the Siu Lam (Shaolin) monastery in Honan Province, China. The Kung Fu exercises were designed to help keep the monks and abbots awake during the ling periods of mental training and meditation. By exercising their bodies as well as their minds they developed even further in their spiritual training. The Manchu (non-Chinese) government in the North at the time were deeply suspicious of such activities, believing the monastery to be training an army. They eventually attacked the monastery, burning it to the ground and killing many of the monks and disciples.
A few escaped the attack though, and one of them was a Buddhist nun named Ng Moi. Ng Moi hid on Mt Tai Leung and it was there that she met a girl names Wing Chun and agreed to teach her Kung Fu to defend herself from unwanted admirers.
Wing Chun carried on training in Kung Fu and taught her husband. He named the system after his wife and passed it on to many famous masters the most well known the late Grandmaster Yip Man.
1950's and Yip Man To The Present Day:
Chan Wah Shun Taught the system to a man named Yip Man, who attained a very high level of skill in Wing Chun and in turn taught many people, including the late movie star, Bruce Lee who he personally trained in the 1950's in Hong Kong. The late Grandmaster Yip Man simplified the system including removing the long and complicated names for shapes and movements. He is mainly responsible for the Wing Chun system as we know it today. Yip Man was a superb teacher and taught according to the individual's own skill and knowledge, adapting his approach where necessary. Wing Chun flourished in Hong Kong and the late Grandmaster Yip Man passed his knowledge to his two sons Yip Chun and Yip Ching, as well as Wing Chun Grandmasters Leung Ting, the late Wong Shun Leung and many more.
