Wing Tsun means Eternal Spring.
Wing Tsun was created around 1750 by Ng Mui. It was the last Kung Fu art ever developed in China the only martial arts ever created by a woman.
Wing Tsun was brought to Hong Kong and then the rest of the world by Ip Man, with Bruce Lee being his most famous student. Wing Chun gained popularity in the 2010s due to the Ip Man film series starring Donnie Yen. Notable practitioners include Ip Man, Bruce Lee, and Donnie Yen.
Ng Mui: real woman who lived around 1750. She was a Buddhist monk according to the legend, but documents proved she was actually a member of the secret society born in China after the Manchu period, 1644. She taught to Yim Wing Tsun.
Yim Wing Tsun: the woman from whom the art takes its name. The legend wants that she was taught Wing Tsun from Ng Mui to defend herself from a warlord who was trying to force her into marriage, she defeated him in a fight. Yim was a member of the secret society too. She taught the art to his husband and son.
Leung Bok Chau: master of martial arts and Yim’s husband. Yim taught him the Wing Tsun system. Leung gave Yim’s name to the system in her honour. He taught to:
Leung Lan Kwai: orthopaedic and herbologist, he was very private and reserved, no one known he practiced Wing Tsun until a day he was forced to defend a person. He taught to:
Wong Wah Bo: theatrical actor. He taught to:
Leung Yee Tei: sailor man who knew how to use the long pole.
Leung Jan: doctor and herbologist, became skilled at Wing Tsun and taught to his two sons Leung Tsun and Leung Bik, but they weren’t his successors. His successor was his best student: Chan Wah Shun.
Chan Wah Shun: he was a money changer (cambiavalute) who had 16 students among which Ng Chun Sao and Yip Man.
Yip Man: Gran Master, died in 1972. He learnt Wing Tsun from Chan Wah Shun, Ng Chun Sao and Leung Bik (Dr. Leung Jan son’s). His most famous students are Bruce Lee and Prof. Leung Ting who gave birth to an original method now known all around the world through an accurate study of the system. One of his students was Prof K.R. Kernspecht.
Our GM Michele Stellato learned the structure and principles of Wing Tsun from Leung Ting and Prof K.R. Kernspecht, which he still studies and teach throughout the AWTA.