Around 350 years ago. China was conquered by the Manchurian from the Northeastern Region of Mainland China. Manchurians conquest of the Han people ended the Ming Dynasty and began the Ching Dynasty. While ninety percent of the people in China were Han, they always wanted to take control of Mainland back. Around that time Manchurian set many restrictions on the Han. The Han were prohibited from owning weapons or practicing Kung Fu (Wu Shu in mandarin ). Kung Fu had been practiced by the Han for thousands of years and was an integral part of their culture. It was impossible to stop it completely. So, Han practiced Kung Fu secretly inside their house mostly during the night time. After practicing, they would have a bowl of congee (rice soup). In order to avoid being recognized as Kung Fu practitioner they called themselves as “the men who ate the night time congee”. Today this expression still being used in Hong Kong and China. Temples and Monasteries also became ideal places to practice Kung Fu. The most respectful was Shoalin Temple in Honan Province of Southern China. There was a nun named Ng Mui who practiced Kung Fu regularly. She also realized what she had been practiced eagerly was invented by men for other men. It was not for women. Kung Fu required a great deal of physical strength and reach. As a woman she had little physical advantage. She needed a system which would allow her to fight smarter not harder. She began to work on an more economical system. A system included a lower stand and economical techniques. Lastly it also has the sensitivity for better flow and timing. Before she finalized the new system. The Ching Dynasty attempted to capture the “the men who ate the night time congee”. They burnt down the Shaolin Temple. Fortunately, Ng Mui was able to escape to southern Kwantung Providence. Then, she met a tofu lady named Yim Wing Chun who made tofu for living. Yim WIng Chun was also a Kung Fu lover. They shared the same commands and started to develop anew fighting system for women. They named the new system Wing Chun after Yim Wing Chun.
WING CHUN IN HONG KONG Yim Wing Chun taught the art of Wing Chun to her husband, Leung Bok Toa. Later Leong Bok Toa taught to two opera performers, Leung Yee Tei and Wong Wah Bo. These two opera performers traveled to Fatshan City in Kwantung Providence where they would pass down the art of Wing Chun to Dr. Leung Jon. Fatshan City became a landmark of development in Wing Chun. About a hundred years ago, Yip Man was born. At age of ten, Yip Man began to study Wing Chun from Dr. Leung Jon’s disciple Chan Wah Soon. Later, Yip Man also studied from Dr. Leung Jon’s son Leong Bik. In 1950 Yip Man like many Chinese ran away from Communism Party and moved to Hong Kong. Where he started to teach Wing Chun and gained numerous disciples. His most senior student was Sifu Leung Sheung (Sifu Chow’s Sikung). There were also Yip Po Ching, Lok Yiu, Chu Shong Tin, Wong Shun Leung, Bruce Lee, etc. One of the best students from Leung Sheung was Sifu Ng Wah Sum. Sifu Ng Wah Sum earned his respect in fighting for Wing Chun in two events. In 1968, Ng Wah Sum represented Wing Chun Pei to fight in the first Far East Kung Fu Tourament in Singapore. He won two fights but lost one. He took the second place. The second time was a beimo* in 1980. It was a hot and humid summer evening, on the roof top of a biulding in Mok Kwok, Kowloon. His opponent was a Choy Lee Fut instructor. At one point his opponent used a overhead blow. Sikung Ng Wah Sum responded to the blow by a side shifting and a Wu Sao. followed by two Chung Kuens. They knocked his opponent off his stance. A journalist captured the entire event and printed it in the next day’s newspaper. The headline said: Wing Chun Lightning Hands…Sifu Ng Wah Sum of Wing Chun defeated his opponent with a lightning speed blocks and strikes.
EVOLUTION OF INTEGRATIVE WING CHUN. FROM STICKY HAND TO STICKY BODY! Wing Chun is a stand-up and close-range fighting style. It’s techniques and training are mainly for hand striking distance. Bruce Lee integrated Wing Chun with higher kicks and western boxing in order to fill the gap. He announced his Jeet Kuen Do in the late sixties. A system influenced everybody in martial arts world including the Wing Chun practitioners. Early nineties, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu came to United States and the rest of the world. They have proven that ground fighting is another effective fighting range. However, there is a big gap between the striking range and the ground range. Wing Chun’s fighting range got caught in the middle. Sifu Chow’s IWC uses Wing Chun to bridge the gaps from entry to Sticky Hand, from Sticky Hand to Sticky body on the ground. Today Sifu Chow’s IWC is an all range fighting system which includes long range, close range and ground submission. In order to accomplish that. There are 10 levels of ranking in IWC.