Self Defense, Martial Arts, and Kung Fu Classes at Wing Chun Hall of Utah

Wing Chun Kung Fu Lineage

The elders of Siu-lum in (Ho-nan province) were aware of a threat from the Ch’ing government, and set out to create a new and superior art. They were successful at collecting all of the elements and ideas for this art but were interrupted by a betrayal from within before the outline of a training curriculum could be designed. The temple was subsequently destroyed, and the elders fled. One of those elders was a woman^[1] named Ng Mui. She sought sanctuary in a sister monastery near Fo-Shan, China. By chance, she lived near a bean-curd vendor whose daughter was being bullied into an unwanted marriage to a local brigand. Ng Mui offered to help and taught the girl the new style she had been working on with the elders. Whether she named the girl after the style or the style after the girl is still a matter of some debate, but both were called “Wing Chun.” After learning the style, Wing Chun defeated the brigand and was free to marry her chosen mate, Leung Bok Cho. He learned the art from her and passed it on to his nephew, Leung Lan Kwai (though some people say these two were the same people). It was then passed to Leung Yi Tai and Wong Wah Bo, actors in the Red Junk troupe. These two, among other members of this troupe, were also famous for guerilla-type activity against the Ch’ing government. They eventually passed the art on to an herbal doctor by the name of Leung Jan. At one time, Leung Jan was known as the king of boxers. Leung Jan taught his two sons, Leung Sheung and Leung Bik, and a neighbor named Chan Wah Shan. Chan eventually set up a school in the Ip family temple, and Ip Man began learning from him at the age of nine. When Ip Man went to school in Hong Kong at the age of 17, he met Leung Bik, the son of Leung Jan, and completed his training. Ip Man taught several people including his own son, Ip Ching, who in turn taught Ron Heimberger, who then taught Jon Nielson.

[1] Ng Mui is typically characterized as a nun in most histories, but neither Ip Man nor Leung Jan actually said she was a nun. Instead they said something to the effect of “there was a woman at the temple at the time referred to as Ng Mui.”