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This thread is to clear up some bs about the boztepe/cheung fight. The article was too long so its on 2 posts.




The Germany Incident:
Ten years After

Written by Marty Goldberg
Interview by Russ Urquhart

10 years ago, what many consider to be the most degrading crime ever committed in martial arts history occurred in Cologne, Germany.
Grandmaster William Cheung, of Traditional Wing Chun, had been asked to take time out of his busy seminar schedule to give a special two day seminar in Germany. Always happy to accommodate people, Grandmaster
Cheung added the two days, unknowingly stepping in to a detailed plan set up by Leung Ting to defame him. The end result was an illegally distributed and highly edited video clip that wound up as an addition to Leung Ting's video tape Dynamic Wing Tsun, and did nothing more but to further hurt the image of Wing Chun Kung Fu.
This article, composed of interviews with the Grandmaster done over 1994-95, will explain for the fist time in the pages of IKF, Grandmaster Cheung's explanation of what went on that day in Cologne. Also for the
first time in print, a detailed account of Leung Ting's four stage plan for the Germany ambush that was recently exposed by another senior student of Grandmaster Yip Man's that resides in northern Europe.

----------
Background
----------

At the time of the Germany ambush, there was much turmoil going on within the Wing Chun family as to who had seniority, who was most qualified, etc. The general public was exposed to this through letters back and forth between many of the seniors and juniors, that appeared in this magazine as well as others.

GM Cheung: "Well, many many years prior (to the incident), Leung Ting and I were on speaking terms. But, I think it was just some misunderstanding or something. And also, the other...there was a lot of question and answer back and so on, on the magazines. Relating to who's seniority, and who's more qualified. So..you know, it never was in my mind that he would try something like (the Germany ambush)."

The missunerstanding in question is a result of two pieces of misinformation. One was an incorrect interpretation of one of Grandmaster Cheung's letters to state that he would "fight anyone, anywhere, anytime".
Those knowledgable in tradition, know that you can not challenge a senior.
One of the first things taught in any Kung Fu is that no members of the same family should fight amongst themselves, and secondly to respect your seniors.
The second misinterpretation was an incident that occurred in New York, several months before the Germany ambush. Leung Ting was giving a seminar in New York on his art Wing Tsun. Unknown to Grandmaster Cheung,
several of his students had chosen to attend this seminar. Leung Ting wanted a volunteer to help him demonstrate his superior reflexes. He chose one of GM Cheung's students, who happened to be wearing a World Wing Chun Kung Fu Association (the governing body of Traditional Wing Chun) t-shirt. The student managed to get through Leung Ting's guard and slap his face a couple of times. One of Leung Ting's bodyguards immediately jumped in, several other of GM Cheung's students jumped in to help, and a large confrontation occurred, until one of GM Cheung's students finally calmed the situation down. The event was not planned, and later upon hearing of the disturbance that occurred, GM Cheung severely reprimanded the students who had taken part.

--------------------------------
What Actually occurred in Germany
--------------------------------

GM Cheung: Several months later, somebody asked me to organize a seminar in Germany for Traditional Wing Chun.The person who asked it, doesn't practice Wing Chun, so he teamed up with a Wing Chun instructor that
had a school there. So they organized two days, Saturday and Sunday.

Russ: Now the seminar that they asked you, was this part of kind of what you're doing now, this was a set of seminars you were doing, and someone said we want one in Germany?

GM Cheung: Yah, yes.

Russ: Had you been to Germany before this?

GM Cheung: No.....yah, I've been there once before, but it was just on tour.

Russ: Did you have much of an organization or a lot of Traditional Wing Chun people in Germany at that time?

GM Cheung: No, not one single person. It was just someone that came out from the blue and said "Look, let's do a seminar in Cologne". Before I went to Germany, I was warned by a friend to keep out of trouble with the
law there because they dealt barbarically with foreigners, putting them in jail for months without even questioning them if they broke the law. This was a fact that stuck in my mind. Also, as I was only in Germany to do one seminar, I did not obtain a work permit, so I knew if this was discovered I would be in a lot of trouble and probably be detained there for a long time.
On Saturday, the seminar began at 11am, and the organizer, Augustine Yiu was late to pick me up. By the time I arrived at the university basketball stadium (gym) where the seminar was to take place, the participants were already inside. We were approached by two people, a photographer and a journalist, from a German martial arts magazine who said they wanted to interview me during the break. They wanted some photos straight away and asked me to change in to my Kung Fu suit and slippers.
I complied and they took some photos of me in various poses. Because things were running very late, I didn't have time to change back to my normal track shoes and outfit.
It was time for the seminar to start and there were almost a 100 people there. So I started with some warm-ups, light warm-ups, Wing Chun punching, and coordination drills. So after about fifteen or twenty
minutes, I sort of went around to check everybody's movements. So, one chap came up with a couple of other guys walking behind him. One of them introduced himself as Emin Boztepe, a student of Keith Kernspecht. He
was holding an issue of Combat Magazine in his hand that contained a copy of an open letter which I had written to Lok Yiu, Leung Shung, Tsui Shun Tin, and Wong Shun Leung some time ago. He wanted to ask some questions about what I had previously said in the article. So I said, "Look, you just
read it, it's very clear". He said, "No, no, no, I want to challenge you."
I said although he did not have the seniority, by all means I would humour him after the seminar. But let's please do it after. And then I just walked away and didn't take much notice.
When I started the second sort of technique drill, he came over again, and I noticed there's about 10-15 people walking behind and around him. And as soon as he came up, they went and formed a circle around us. And he said, "I want to fight you now." And I said, "Well, that's different. You said you wanted to spar and now you want to fight." I said, "Let's do it after class." And he began mumbling something, and I said, "Look, you know, I
granted you the fight after the class. And strictly speaking, you're not even in my seniority." So I walked away, but I knew he more or less was going to try something. So after I walked away, the third step he rushed in and threw a round punch with his right arm.

Russ: What did you think when this happened? Had you ever been in a situation like this where you're teaching and someone had done this to you before?

GM Cheung: No. In the exact same terms, when I first came to New York (in 1983), in the seminar, they always want to test this and test that.
I always give them a chace. But this one, I knew it was different because he had a whole group of people. When the second time he came up, there's another 14-15 people with this time I noticed. So when I started
to walk away, the circle had been formed. They sort of put their arm up, so that the other students could not get close. I had a German interpreter standing next to me, and as it happened, someone put him in a headlock and pulled him back behind the circle. And I knew it wasn't one person at that moment, though I didn't know what the numbers were. So, you know, he just jumped in and threw the punch and then I swung around and shot out a Bil Sao (thrusting arm), which stopped his sucker punch. At the same time, I front kicked him. It was always in the back of my mind, if I hurt somebody it will involve the law and it will be so complicated.
So I more or less kicked just to push him away. But because I was wearing the Kung Fu slippers, and the floor was polished timber and very slippery, I slid away on impact. That was the other thing in my mind, that is why I wanted to do it after the class (besides the reason that it was not proper to interrupt other people's time that they are paying good money for), that way I could change my shoes. Boztepe rushed in again throwing punches furiously, so I sidestepped. I did the Jut Sao (jerking arm) and Huen Sao (rotating wrist) to diffuse his punches. Then I used Pak Sao (push block) to control his elbow. Because the floor was so slippery, I wound up behind him. So I put him in a headlock, because my intention was only to restrain him, not to fight him. Then I thought for a moment I was going to...you know, might as well poke him in the eye and finish it right there. He was struggling like a wounded mule because he had no countering technique against the headlock. Because of the slipperiness of the floor and my shoes, I was sliding around like I was on roller skates. At that time, I started slipping, and then he fell as well. He was more or less lying on top of me. Then he was sitting on my stomach, and tried to throw a few punches which I blocked with Bil Sao's to the elbow. Then I arched my body so he was trying to balance more or less, and then I kneed him a couple of times. After that, somebody called out, Boztepe got up and ran away. And as I got up, then I saw at least 20 people run out from the gym. Somebody said that they had video cameras and regular cameras.
http://www.defend.net/deluxeforums/showthread.php?t=11857

The video

WING CHUN & TOURNAMENTS
From time to time I receive questions as to Wing Chun, and how it applies to tournaments. Many are shocked when I answer that I do not advocate participating in tournaments, nor was Wing Chun even designed for such, at least as far as tournaments in the United States. I wish to delve into this subject more, so that those seeking to know more about Wing Chun may have a greater understanding.

There are two reasons as to why Wing Chun does not work well in a tournament setting: One, Wing Chun and its forms were not designed to be showpieces, or for grace and beauty. Two, the rules that exist in modern US tournaments.

To look at the first reason, one must understand that the Wing Chun forms (i.e., Siu-Nim-Tou, Cham Kiu, and Biu Zi) are designed to teach position, motion, and power. They are esoteric in nature, and do not relate to the idea of dance or shadowboxing, like the forms of the majority of Chinese arts, and the arts of Japan and Korea. The forms are really nothing more that tools, which are meant to serve in creating better Chi Sau or fighting skills, and in working the Qigong skills. The same is true of the sword (Baat Zam Dou) and pole (Luk Bon Dim Gon) forms. The wooden dummy form (Muk Jan Zong) is seen as some to be a form wherein the Wing Chun practitioner is "fighting" the dummy, but this is not the case: rather, the practitioner is learning correct position, and how to sequence their strikes, as relating to Dim Mak. Lacking in the flashy-looking kicks, spins, leaps, yells, and so forth found in other martial arts, the Wing Chun forms look dull to most. When I used to attend tournaments, to try to introduce Wing Chun to the public, many responded to what they saw by saying "Gee, you don't do much kicks," and "That does not look very effective!" Bear in mind, though, that looks can be deceiving! The forms are highly effective, and are compact with information. Wing Chun, being a system of effectiveness, simply lacks the things that are useless to fighting.

The second reason, the rules that can be found in tournaments, offers many restrictions placed on the participants to prevent injury to each other. Tournaments are meant to be friendly meets, designed for sportsmanship and competitiveness, with trophies and other such prizes being handed out to the "winner." Even tournaments that offer "full contact" restrict what may be done. Any participant who is seen to be using "excessive" force are booed by the audience, and disqualified in disgrace.

To this end, the vast majority of martial arts in the US train to fight according to tournaments. When I had studied Kenpo, kicks to the lower extremities, elbows, grabbing an opponent's leg, or blocking a kick with another kick was unheard of. Once contact in sparring was made, the two "fighters" would be separated, and the sparring would be begun again. The problem in training this way is that a student learns only those things that relate to tournaments, which skills serve no value when it comes to a street fight. A street fighter will use any and all tools to beat you. Tournaments say that kicks and punches must be pulled to prevent injury. When done in this way, the student learns to automatically do so, and power is lost in a real fight.

Wing Chun trains solely in the art of combat. Students learn to attack all targets of the body, with all of the various armed and unarmed weapons of the art. While control of the strikes are required, the students is taught how to strike with power, if the need arises. Kicks may be grabbed or kicked against, and elbows, finger strikes, and so forth are used. The Wing Chun student learns to respond with what he or she is taught, without rules. When placed in a tournament situation, the person using Wing Chun would be disqualified based upon the fact that they would seek to take the opponent by any means. The Wing Chun fighter keeps an attack up until the opponent surrenders of their own volition, or until serious injury to them leads to their being effectively taken out. There is no "one strike-return to starting position" rule in Wing Chun, and more importantly, on the street. How could one effectively judge a Wing Chun fighter who has delivered 10-20 attacks in a manner of seconds, when in a tournament, as I have seen, it takes several seconds to deliver a single blow! In fighting in the Wing Chun way, one could not be effective in a tournament, as he or she would be seen as using excessive force, and would be thrown out.

Therefore, if you are seeking an art that emphasizes tournaments, trophies, and glory, Wing Chun is not for you. If, however, you want to learn a martial art that will help you to survive serious combat, then Wing Chun is the art for you.

by Sifu Robert Anthony - http://www.mainewingchunkungfu.com

http://www.wing-chun-training.com/wing-chun-articles.htm

(1) The defender establishes a left neutral side stance to face the attacker. (2) The defender blocks the attacker's right round punch with a left thrusting arm block as he steps into a left foward stance and (3) follows with a right punch to the head. (4) He shifts into a left neutral side stance as he swings his right arm around to execute a right rotating arm block exposing the a ttackers right side. (5) The defender strikes with a left punch to the temple.

http://awcaonline.com/blog/?cat=17

In reply of the William Cheung Interview Feb 1996 Mitcham Kwoon.

The following letter appears in Martial Arts Magazines


VING TSUN ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION LTD
3, Nullah Rd., 2C/fl., Kowloon,
Hong Kong Tel 3-816044

Dear Sir,

RE: Point Three of the minutes of the 11th General Meeting

Recently we have received many letters and complaints about a person
called William Cheung who has distorted many affairs with ulterior motive.
As the board of directors of the Ving Tsun Athletic Association -- the
general association of the WHOLE Ving Tsun (Wing Tsun / Wing Chun) system,
which was founded by the late Grandmaster Yip Man and most of his senior
students since 1976, we have the responsibility to clarify the following
points:

1/ William Cheung has NEVER been regarded by anyone of his fellow-students
as the grandmaster or the leader of the whole Wing Chun Clan.

2/ NOBODY is recognized as the so-called "No 1 student of Grandmaster
Yip Man" and we have NEVER heard of William Cheung as the "No. 1 Fighter
of the Wing Chun Style".

3/ "Footwork" in the Wing Chun System is regarded as a most advanced
technique. We do not deny that some of the students of Grandmaster
Yip Man did not learn the whole system, but it is NOT TRUE that
William Cheung is the ONLY person to have ever learnt the entire
Wing Chun System" as what he announced in his advertisement.

4/ There have NEVER been any techniques in our system called "DIM-MAK" or
"Disabling Pressure Points", NOR any so-called "Missing Techniques" since
the creation of the Wing Chun System by Ng Mui.

5/ When Grandmaster Yip Man taught the techniques to his students he asked
NO-ONE "to take an oath not to reveal the secret to anyone during his life
time." He taught according to the potential of his students, teaching
the most advanced techniques to the most talented ones.

In the mid of 50's there had been a kid called William Cheung who had studied
in Grandmaster Yip Man's school for a few years intermittently and left
Hong Kong when he was 18 years old, and since then had become isolated from
his instructor and all the other fellow-students. During his short training
he surely gained the wrong impression in thinking that Grandmaster Yip Man
never taught the advanced techniques to students other than himself. And yet
we do not know how much William Cheung really learned himself.

It is regrettable that his lies have gone so far (i.e he told the
reporters that Grandmaster Yip Man had taught only him the so-called
"traditional Wing Chun", but had taught all his other students the
"modified Wing Chun").

However, any average person could easily analyze his techniques and see
this statement must be a lie. It is unthinkable that Grandmaster Yip Man
would choose to cheat all the students except one impudent kid, who actually
had little respect for him!

We feel sorry to have such an ignorant person in out clan, We want
to establish our position: we have NEVER AGREED with his Crazy
self-promotion, though we do understand his motive in casting himself as the
"Superman" in the William Cheung's Wing Chun System.

Yours faithfully,

The Board Of Directors and Attendance in the meeting of clarification
the distored affairs.

Wong Shun Leung (Chairman)
Leung Ting (Vice Chairman)
Tong Chao Chi (Vice Chairman)
Lok Yiu (President)
Yip Ching (Vice President)
Ho Kam Ming (Vice President)
Siu Yuk Man (Secretary)
Chan Tak Chiu (Treasurer)
Tsui Sheung Tim (Membership Management)
Koo Sang (Membership Management)
Lee Wai Chi (Public Relation)
Victor Kan (attendance)
Yip Chun (attendance)

The Secret History of Wing Chun: The Truth Revealed
(also appeared as "Wing Chun Controversy: Is this the truth about Wing Chun's History")
By Benny Meng and Alfredo Delbrocco
"The first casualty when war comes is truth."
-- Hiram Johnson


Preface
Although the world itself has not gotten smaller, life in the Information Technology Age (via the media of email and Internet) has made contact and communication with people around the globe easier. Consequently, it is now harder for information and research to be constrained or concealed, or for only one perspective to be put forward. Most importantly, it means that certain myths will not be perpetuated. Information pointing to the historical origins of Wing Chun kung fu is one of them.

Put simply, the harsh truth is this: the myth of the Buddhist nun, Ng Mui and her disciple Yim Wing Chun, the supposed founders of the Wing Chun system, is just that - a myth. As the internet has brought information more readily to us, it has come to light that the story of Ng Mui and Yim Wing Chun was merely a way to conceal the truth about the system's origins and the identities of the political rebels who truly developed it.

After almost 400 years, mounting evidence is pointing to the truth of Wing Chun's creation and evolution. The question is: is the kung fu world ready for it?

There is no doubt that the information about to be disclosed will ruffle feathers to say the least. This is mainly because many Wing Chun instructors throughout the world are naively, and through no fault of their own, imparting a romanticized, fantastical history of the Wing Chun system. They are telling and retelling a story that is little more than a fairytale.

A view of the traditional legends with an eye on history reads as an even more fascinating point of view. And no less deserving of the term `legendary'...

Secrets in the Shadows of Shaolin

As near as history can testify, Wing Chun was developed around 400 years ago in a time of civil unrest. Between 1644 to 1911, the Manchurians ruled China, where 10% of the population (the Manchus) ruled over 90% of the population (the Hons). To maintain control over the Hons, the Manchus ruled with an iron fist. Aggression and oppression were the cornerstones of the Dynasty and the Hons were banned from using weapons or training in the martial arts. Thus, in order to overthrow their oppressors, rebel activity was instigated by martial arts masters in hiding.

Rebel activity developed rapidly in the Buddhist monasteries, which were largely left alone by the Manchus out of respect for the Buddhist culture and religion. These Shaolin/Siu Lam sanctuaries were ideal places for renegades to conceal themselves - they simply shaved their heads and donned the monastic robes of the disciples of the temple. During the day, the rebels would earn their keep by doing chores around the temple. At night, they would gather to formulate their plans to overthrow the Manchus.

There are some that maintain that Shaolin/Siu Lam sanctuaries possessed no political leanings. They further emphasize that the Buddhist teachings of these monasteries would have prevented their support for rebels and secret societies. Such a position is emotional at best with no grounding in historical fact. Religious leaders throughout history, in both the Western as well as the Eastern world, have influenced politics and government since the beginning of time. Churches have forever harbored political victims sought by authorities believed to be oppressive. In the case China, serious precedent for such behavior on the part of the monasteries had already been set 400 years earlier. As verified by Ving Tsun Museum research, Jyu Yuhn Jeung, the man who led the Chinese revolt against the Mongol and established the Ming Dynasty was himself a Buddhist monk.

Upon meeting, the revolutionaries identified themselves to each other with a secret hand-signal that would come to be the formal greeting or courtesy of Wing Chun. In fact, the traditional greeting or courtesy common to many of today's kung fu styles has two meanings. The first meaning recognizes the style's Shaolin origins - the left hand symbolizing the union of the Green Dragon (the left hand) and the White Tiger (the right hand), the fighting animals of the Shaolin monks.

In the Hung Fa Yi (Red Flower Righteous) Lineage of Wing Chun, however, the hands are reversed: the left hand forms a fist and the right hand is open palm. It still retains its significance to Shaolin but it also refers to the secret society. In this context, the fist represents Yat (the Sun) and the palm represents Yuet (the Moon). Combined, these two characters mean "Bright" which reads and sounds like "Ming." This is the name of the previous Dynasty - the one overthrown by the Manchurians who formed the "Ching" Dynasty in its place. Hence, during the time of rebellion, when a Wing Chun practitioner or secret society member saluted with a fist and open palm pushed toward you, they were saying "Return the Ming, overturn the Ching." Obviously, this was not a sentiment shared by the Manchus.

Late in the 1600's, the Manchurians became concerned about the Siu Lam Temples' rebellious activities and their continual development of the fighting arts. Therefore, they sent spies (many of them Manchu military leaders) to infiltrate the rebels and learn the traditional Southern fist systems as taught secretly in the Temples. The rebel kung-fu masters, realizing this, clandestinely developed a new system that was two-fold in purpose: firstly, it had to be learned quickly and efficiently, and secondly, it had to be devastatingly effective against the existing fighting systems that the Manchus were learning and teaching to their soldiers. Thus, Wing Chun was born.

Their spy rings compromised, the Manchus decided to eliminate the threat of spreading rebel activity by simply exterminating the Siu Lam monks. Eventually, the Southern Siu Lam Temple was burned and destroyed.

Extensive research conducted by the Ving Tsun Museum points to a generation of inheritors following the Southern temple's burning. Among them was a gentleman named Cheung Ng (referred to as Tan Sao Ng in other texts). Of this generation of inheritors, Cheung Ng is one to date that has proven to have historically existed. After establishing the Beautiful Flower Society Association (the precursor to the Red Opera and the public name for the Red Flower Society) and providing Wing Chun training to the secret societies, Cheung Ng went into hiding, disappearing from the public eye to escape Qing Dynasty persecution.

He was hidden by distant relatives, a f** Gin business family named Chahn. The Chahn Sih Sai Ga (Chan family) were well established and wealthy. Through indirect action they were willing to help Cheung Ng. Staying with the family for over a decade, Cheung Ng taught the family the art of Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun. It was preserved by the family for four generations before it was taught to outsiders. The direct members of the Chahn family were never directly involved with the secret societies themselves, resulting in a low profile in Praise Spring Boxing history. The last generation of the Chahn family to learn the art was a distant nephew, a high level secret society leader, Huhng Gan Biu. In Qing archives as well as historical research into Chinese secret societies, a person by the name of Chahn Biu was recorded as the leader of the Heaven and Earth Society. He was caught and executed by the Qing authorities. Due to similar names appearing in difference sources at around the same timeframe, there is much debate as to whether the Opera's Biu and the Heaven and Earth Society's Biu were the same person. According to members of the Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun clan, Huhng Gan Biu was the 4th generation leader of the Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun clan and his Wing Chun descendants have preserved the system through to the 8th generation Master Garrett Gee and his 9th generation students in today's modern era.

It was at the fourth generation that history and truth parted ways and the myth of Wing Chun's origins was created.

The Myth of Ng Mui and The Truth About Yim Wing Chun To protect the identities of the creators and the perpetuators of the Wing Chun system, a smokescreen was thrown up in the form of a story - the story of Ng Mui and Yim Wing Chun.

The legend was told that among the survivors of the Shaolin/Siu Lam massacres was a Buddhist nun named Ng Mui. Ng Mui was believed to have been the sole custodian of a streamlined, highly practical and effective martial arts developed within the temples. In turn, Ng Mui is said to have passed her knowledge onto her chosen disciple, a young girl named Yim Wing Chun. As Yim Wing Chun taught the system to others, it became known as Wing Chun. The story spread and today many versions of it exist around the world.

However, there are three important considerations to make when regarding the story of Ng Mui. Firstly, outside of the legend, there is no other evidence that Ng Mui - in her capacity as a kung-fu grandmaster or founder of a kung-fu system actually existed - no records, no historical documents - nothing. Secondly, it would have been forbidden for a nun to live in, let alone train within, a celibate monastic environment like the Siu Lam /Shaolin Temples. Thirdly, and perhaps the most important, after escaping from a life and death situation as a revolutionary, it does not make sense that Ng Mui would teach an advanced level fighting system to a local girl with romantic problems and no connection to the revolution. At that time in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty had devised a special form of punishment for traitors and rebels. After being made to confess his or her crimes, the guilty party was executed. Afterwards, Qing officials would hunt down members of the guilty party's family down to nine generations and execute them as traitors as well. Teaching Yim Wing Chun a martial arts would directly put her life at risk.

With regards to the Yim Wing Chun element of the legend, consider once more the relevance of secret rebel societies. `Yim' can be translated to mean `prohibit' or `secret.' The term `Wing Chun' referred to a geographic location - the Siu Lam Wing Chun Tong (Always Spring Hall), where the rebels perhaps practiced martial arts and orchestrated their seditious activities. The use of the term Spring symbolized the rebirth of the Ming Dynasty and Always referred to the reestablished dynasty lasting forever. After the destruction of the Southern Shaolin temple and its Wing Chun Tong, the survivors changed the character of Wing from Always to Praise. The term Praise referred to the fact that the revolutionaries had to spread the word about the revolution after the destruction of their base. Thus, `Yim Wing Chun' was actually a codename, meaning (protect) the secret art of the Wing Chun Hall.

If we now know that the destruction of the Siu Lam/Shaolin Temples occurred but that the story of Ng Mui was a diversion, the question remains: who were the real custodians of the Wing Chun system?

Enter the Hung Suen

We do know that many (not the legendary five) monks and rebel leaders escaped the Manchurian massacres and that, to aid the secrecy of the system, historical material was passed directly from teacher to student. Thus, the elders told of two Siu Lam monks/rebels who survived the temple raids and were able to keep their Wing Chun system alive. One of these was a monk, a 22nd generation Siu Lam Grandmaster, Yat Chum Dai Si from the Northern Shaolin temple. The other was a rebel training under him in the Southern Temple, named Cheung Ng. Fleeing the Manchurian persecutors, Cheung Ng founded the Kihng Fa Wui Gun (Beautiful Flower Society), the roots of the (in)famous Hung Suen (Red Boat) Opera Troupe.

Historically, we know that rebel activity flourished in the Red Boat Opera Troupe. The Red Boats allowed talented stage performers, accomplished in kung-fu and gymnastics, to form their own secret societies to overthrow the Manchu Dynasty. The Troupes provided the ideal sanctuary for fleeing rebels as the performers wore elaborate costumes and stage make-up, providing excellent but natural/plausible disguises for them. Additionally, the performers adopted and were known by their `stage-names', further cloaking their secret identities.

When Cheung Ng founded the Opera Troupe he became known as Tan Sao Ng - not only a stage-name but also a sly nod to his skillful deployment of the Wing Chun deflection/striking technique, Tan Sao.

An important fact to note is that so suspicious of the Manchus and their spies were these secret societies, that the true identities of the leaders, members and real nature of their activities were known only to an inner-circle within the society. Thus, genuine knowledge of kung-fu was passed only from a master to select, trusted disciples, thus protecting the purity and origins of the system.
In conclusion

With the development of many different lineages of Wing Chun over the centuries (over 10 are known to date), Wing Chun could simply be seen as a generic name for a style with so many lineages - no different to `karate' being a generic term to describe the various Japanese arts - varying and similar. However, this article has focussed on shedding light on the origins of Wing Chun. Indeed, to chart the development of the various lineages would require an entire book more complete than anything currently written. A complete historical and political analysis of Wing Chun's origins and development is currently being compiled in book form by the Ving Tsun Museum and should be available through major publication sources within the next twelve months.

A hypothesis that Cheung Ng was indeed the inheritor of the art from Southern Temple and the guiding force behind its employment as a complete combat training system for rebels certainly has more historical weight behind it than the legend of a young girl. It represents a much more plausible explanation of Wing Chun's roots considering the completeness of the art in terms of total combat effectiveness. It also gels with the historical background of the times preceding the Red Boat Opera travels. However, as with all historical study, one hypothesis can give great impetus to further in depth study giving rise to even more revelations. In short, more study grounded in the proper structure and atmosphere of true historical research will get us even closer to reality. Hats off to the Ving Tsun Museum staff and researchers for moving our search into the realm of scientific investigation and giving us another starting point for serious research!

Myths are often created to simplify something or to disguise the true nature of the subject to make it more palatable to the mind. Consequently, sometimes people want to believe the myths despite scientific or historical evidence to the contrary. A fiction can be more comforting than the truth; a fairytale easier to grasp than a treatise. The legend of Ng Mui and Yim Wing Chun is a great story. It just isn't true.

In light of being told one story for centuries, it will be difficult for some to accept the truth in minutes, hours or even months. But studying the martial arts (and Wing Chun in particular) is a continual quest for truth - personal truth, social truth, spiritual truth and - yes - historical truth.

I trust you have enjoyed your enlightenment on the true origins of Wing Chun.


An internationally published author, Sifu Benny Meng is the founder and Curator of the Ving Tsun Museum in Dayton, OH, USA. A practitioner of Wing Chun for over 15 years, Sifu Meng has come into contact with most of the major families in Wing Chun. More information is available on the Ving Tsun Museum at http://www.vtmuseum.org or by mail at 5715 Brandt Pike, Dayton, OH 45424, phone/fax (937) 236-6485.

Sifu Alfredo Del-Brocco has been training in Wing Chun for over 15 years, firstly under the guidance of Grand Master William Cheung, then under Master Rick Spain. Today he teaches around 350 active students in his Brisbane Kwoon. Sifu Alfredo was also the recipient of the 1998 Australasian Blitz Kung Fu Instructor of the Year Award. Sifu Alfredo can be contacted at http://www.wckfo.com.au or by phone / fax : (07) 3229 8694

http://home.vtmuseum.org/articles/meng/truthrevealed.php