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Ng Mui (五枚)
17th century
Around 1650 the southern Shaolin temple (Siu Lam Monastery) was destroyed by authorities of the Qing government. A handful of Shaolin monks, including The Buddhist Nun, Ng Mui, managed to escape the destruction.
Ng Mui took refuge in the distant White Crane Temple in Yunnan. She travelled to a nearby village for provisions which she bought from a shopkeeper named Yim Yee and his daughter, Yim Wing Chun.
According to legend, Ng Mui was inspired by the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of fights she had observed between animals. After being inspired by witnessing a crane and a snake fighting, Ng Mui incorporated their movements into her style of Chinese Kung Fu to form a new, yet-unnamed martial art system.
She restructured her Shaolin Kung Fu, simplifying it in order to train proficient fighters for the revolution against the Qing government. It wasn’t until Ng Mui met her first student, Yim Wing Chun, and trained her in this new style, that the martial art got its name.
Yim Wing Chun (嚴詠春)
Yim Wing Chun lived at the foot of the Tai Leung Mountain at the Yunnan-Szechuan border. She was betrothed to Leung Bok Chau, a salt merchant of Fukien. However, her beauty had attracted a local warlord who sort to marry her, forcibly if necessary.
Hearing of her plight Ng Mui took pity on her and trained Yim Wing Chun. Having completed her training Yim Wing Chun challenged the warlord to open hand combat and won, meaning she was now free to marry.
Ng Mui advised Yim Wing Chun to develop her Kung Fu and pass this on.
After she was married she taught her Kung Fu skills to her Husband, Leung Bok Chau.
Dr Leung Jan (梁贊)
1826-1901
Leung Jan was a well-known herbal Doctor from Fatshan, in the Kwangtung Province. Many Kung Fu Masters came to challenge him, but he remained undefeated for over 300 challenge fights, earning him the title King of Wing Chun.
Leung Jan was responsible for the systemisation of the Wing Chun system, creating the standard 3 empty hand forms as we know them today.
Leung Jan had two sons, Leung Bik (梁壁) and Leung Chun (梁春) who he taught Wing Chun along with one additional student, Chan Wah Shan. Chan Wah Shan and Leung Bik went on to teach Ip Man.
Chan Wah Shan (陳華順)
1849-1913
Born in the Shunde District of Foshan, Chan Wah Shan, was known as the Money Changer. This was because Chan ran a currency exchange stall near Dit Da and Wing Chun practitioner Leung Jan’s herbal medicine clinic in Foshan.
Chan Wah Shan taught Wing Chun to sixteen students over a thirty year period. He was teaching in the Ip family clan hall on Song Yeun Dai Gai, Foshan and it was here he took his final student, Ip Man.
In 1909 he suffered a mild stroke. Chan asked his second student, Ng Chung-sok (吳仲素), to take over the hall and continue with students’ trainings before retiring back to his village.
Leung Bik (梁壁)
1845 – 1911
Leung Bik was the son of Leung Jan and it is believed he achieved the highest skills in Wing Chun Kuen.
Due to the political situation in the late Qing Dynasty, Leung left Foshan for Hong Kong. Here he ran a silk and satin business at Cha Wai Street, in Sheung Wan.
In 1909, Leung was introduced to Ip Man by Ip’s classmate Lai. Leung challenged Ip to a friendly sparring match at Lai’s house and defeated Ip twice.
Although Ip left embarrassed at having been beaten, Leung Bij had been impressed by Ip’s skill. Leung Bik requested Lai to get the disheartened Ip’s to return and thereafter trained him until his death in 1911.
Ip Man
October, 1893 – December 1972
Ip Man was born in the Namhoi county of Kwangtung and spent most of his life living in Foshan. He began training Wing Chun with Chan Wah Shan around 1902, at the age of 9 years old. In 1905 Chan Wah Shan died but his most senior student, Ng Chung So, continued to train Ip Man.
At the age of 15 Ip Man moved to Hong Kong to continue his academic studies at St. Stephen’s College. Here he met Leung Bik, the eldest son of Leung Jan, and began training with him.
At the age of 24, Yip Man moved back to Foshan and worked as a police officer. He began to teach Wing Chun during this time period and had several students who reached a high level of proficiency in the art. In 1949, Yip Man left Foshan for Hong Kong once again as the Communist Party in China came to power.
Yip Man continued to teach Wing Chun in Hong Kong for decades and established the Wing Chun Athletic Association in 1967. Before he died in 1972 at the age of 79, Ip Man sought to preserve Wing Chun by capturing an 8mm film of himself performing the forms and the Wooden Dummy Techniques. These were left in trust to his sons, Ip Chun and Ip Ching.
If you are interested in finding out more about the life of Ip Man, check out the page Ip Man Biography here: Link Video footage of Ip Man performing the forms is available on our Resources Page, here: Link
Wing Chun Journey 
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