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Origin and Development of Wing Chun Kung Fu
Chinese character "Wing Chun Kungfu" |
When all weapons were outlawed by the Manchus, the Han people began training a revolutionary army in the secret art of Kung Fu. The Shil Lim Temple became the secret sanctuary for preparatory trainings of a classic style which took 15 to 20 years to master.
To develop a new form that takes shorter training time, five of China's grandmasters met to discuss the merits of various forms of Kung Fu. By choosing the most efficient techniques from each style, they developed training programs that would develop an efficient martial artist in 5 to 7 years. However before this new form could be put into practice, the Shil Lim Temple was raided and burned by the Manchus.
Ng Mui, a nun, was the only survivor of the original five grandmasters. She passed her knowledge onto a young orphan girl whom she named Wing Chun. The name represented "hope for the future". In turn Wing Chun passed her knowledge on to her husband. Through the years, the style became known as Wing Chun. Its techniques and teachings were passed down to a few carefully selected students.
In 1950, Yip Man started to teach Wing Chun in Hong Kong. One of his first students was the new Grandmaster, William Cheung, head of the World Wing Chun Kung Fu Association.
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