Let ' s study some history of the style
The famous teacher of Wing Chun, Dr Leung Jan, from Foshan, wrote three books on the style. These manuscripts and books were never published( story not proven). The truth is that in the history of this system it is said that, without any doubt, there is a before and an after on the fame Wing Tsun had until the appearance of Dr. Leung Jan. He is therefore an undeniable reference and entails a very important point in trying to explain in a clear way the topic today...
Among the students of Dr. Leung Jan were nothing more and nothing less than Chan Wah Shun(" the Money Changer ") and Leung Bik( his own son). Yip Man learned his WingTsun from Master Chan Wah Shun( Foshan) but, by a coincidence of fate, he had a chance encounter of which emerged as a " consequence " that shortly after, Leung Bik accepted him as his pupil. In fact, Yip Man had the honor of being the only student of Leung Bik during his early years in Hong Kong.
Yip Man arrived in Hong Kong when he was 15, in 1908. That same year he met Leung Bik to whom he would follow for a long time learning from him all the refinements and secrets of the Wing Chun Kuen. Despite that, Yip Man always referred to Leung Bik as Si Pak( surprising in these days in which anyone who ' s had an spat with his sifu rejects him and looks for a new SIFU...)
Leung Bik scarcely had economic resources and lived on the edge of poverty in Hong Kong. In fact, he was staying at a relative ' s and could barely eat. Interested in him and his situation, Yip Man invited the master to live with him, a fact that evidently brought about a large narrowing of both the martial and personal ties. Leung Bik taught Yip Man his Wing Chun until 1912. During these years Yip Man learned the entire system under the guidance of Leung Bik and, above all, he practiced daily and diligently for years on the most subtle and advanced issues of the system. After the death of Leung Bik, Yip Man returned to Fatshan to help his Kung Fu brothers with the knowledge he had acquired in Hong Kong. It is precisely at this point where the problems began...
Two TEACHERS who had the same Master on the SAME STYLE, both had ABSOLUTELY DIFFERENT STYLES. The dissimilar perspectives and life situations they had, made obvious their differences within the
WingTsun: Chan Wa Shun was a man of a small cultural development, coarse in his manners and whose knowledge and ways of expression were those of a common man. On the other hand, Leung Bik, was an educated man and his ideals and way of practicing and showing the style were heavily influenced by Philosophy. His knowledge