Nevada Wing Chun Kung Fu Authentic Ip Ching Wing Chun As taught by his father, Grandmaster Ip Man

There are many different legends and theories about the origins of Wing Chun Kung Fu.  The first written history began with Leung Jan.  Everything before his time was passed down as an oral history.  Therefore, we can only speak with certainty about events that happened from Leung Jan’s time to the present.  The following is the story of the origin of Wing Chun as passed down by Grandmaster Ip Man.

The Wing Chun Kung Fu system was founded by Miss Yim Wing Chun, a native of Canton, China. She was intelligent, athletic, and noble.  When she was young, she was betrothed to Leung Bok Chau, a salt merchant from Fukien.  Soon after that, her mother died, and her father, Yim Yee, was wrongfully accused of a crime and almost sent to jail.  So the family moved away and settled down at the foot of Tai Leung Mountain.  There, they opened a store and made a living selling bean curds.

At this time, the kung fu at the Siu Lim (Shaolin) Temple had become very good. This caused fear in the Manchu government, so they sent troops to attack the Temple. They were unsuccessful.  A man called Chan Man Wai was seeking favor with the government and developed a plan to destroy the temple.  He plotted with some monks from the Temple.  They set fire to the Temple while soldiers attacked it from the outside. Siu Lim was burnt down and the surviving monks scattered. Five masters, Ng Mui, Chi Shin, Pak Mei, Fung To Tak, and Miu Hin escaped and went their separate ways.

Ng Mui took refuge at the White Crane Temple on Tai Leung Mountain.  There she met Yim Yee and his daughter Yim Wing Chun.  She bought bean curds at their store, and she became a friend of the family.

Yim Wing Chun had become a beautiful young woman, and her beauty attracted the unwanted attention of a local bully.  He tried to force her to marry him, and she and her father were very worried.  Ng Mui learned of this situation and felt sorry for Yim Wing Chun, so she offered to teach her to fight so that she could protect herself and marry the man to whom she was betrothed, Leung Bok Chau.  Yim Wing Chun accepted the offer and started to learn kung fu from Ng Mui.  She trained vigorously and soon mastered the techniques given to her by Ng Mui.  She then challenged the bully to a fight and easily defeated him.  Ng Mui soon left to travel around the country, but before she did, she told Yim Wing Chun to honor the kung fu traditions, to continue to develop her kung fu, and to help the people who were working to overthrow the Manchu government.  This is how Wing Chun Kung Fu was handed down from Ng Mui.

After she was married, Yim Wing Chun passed her knowledge of kung fu to her husband Leung Bok Chau.  Leung Bok Chau passed his kung fu on to Leung Lan Kwai.  Leung Lan Kwai then passed it on to Wong Wah Bo.  Wong Wah Bo was a member of an opera troupe known as the Red Junk.  Wong worked on the Red Junk with Leung Yee Tai. Abbot Chi Shin, who had also fled from the Siu Liu Temple, had disguised himself as a cook and was also working on the Red Junk. Chi Shin taught the Six-and-a-half Point Long Pole Techniques to Leung Yee Tai.  Because Wong Wah Bo and Leung Yee Tai were close friends, they shared their knowledge of kung fu. They practiced together to improve their skills, and this is how the Six-and-a-half Point Long Pole Techniques were incorporated into the Wing Chun Kung Fu system.

Leung Yee Tai then passed his kung fu on to Leung Jan, a well known herbal doctor in FoShan. Leung Jan learned the complete system of Wing Chun and attained the highest level of proficiency.  Later, Leung Jan passed his kung fu on to Chan Wah Shan, who accepted me (Ip Man) as his student.