Short History of Modern Wing Chun Lineages

DO NOT PUBLISH:: ARCHIVE ONLY!!!!

Read before you comment, Think before you comment

Wing Chun is really defined by the martial arts that came off of the red boats when the opera ban came into effect in 1855.

Of those that stepped off of the red boats, five men are primarily responsible for Wing Chun’s spread.

Leung Yee-Tai
Wong Wah-Bo
Dai Fa Min Kam
Gao Lo Chung
Yik Kam

From these men the first lineages were created:

Leung Yee-Tai + Wong Wah-Bo = Leung Jan
Wong Wah-Bo + Dai Fa Min Kam = Fok Bo-Chuen
Dai Fa Min Kam = Fung Siu-Ching
Gao Lo Chung = Yin Lee-Cheung (son-in-law whose lineage then died out)
Yik Kam = Cho Shun

From those men our parent or ancestor lineages were created:

Leung Jan’s teachings can be broken into three periods:

-Early Foshan teachings = Lo Kwai/Chao Family Wing Chun kuen (for example)
-Later Foshan teachings = Chan Wah-Shun (Chan Family) Wing Chun kuen (for example)
-Gulao Village teachings = Fung Family Kulo Pin Sun Wing Chun kuen

Fok Bo-Chuen + Fung Siu-Ching (later teachings) = Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun kuen

Fung Siu-Ching (early teachings) = Tang, Dong and Lo Family Wing Chun kuen (Weng Chun)

Cho Shun = Cho Gar (Cho Family) Wing Chun kuen

From them Wing Chun evolved into the modern age with several sub-branches and evolutions:

Chan Wah-Shun (Chan Family) Wing Chun kuen spawned (for example):

-Chan Yiu-Min Wing Chun kuen (only Chan Wah-Shun lineage to change from Wing to Weng)
-Lai Hip-Chi Wing Chun kuen (also had other influences)
-Ng Chung-So Wing Chun kuen

Evolutions of Chan Yiu-Min Wing Chun kuen + Lai Hip-Chi Wing Chun kuen (and other elements) = Pan Nam Wing Chun kuen (uses Weng character because of Chan Yiu-Min lineage)

Ng Chung-So Wing Chun kuen + influence of many other Wing Chun identities and his own initiative = Ip Man Wing Chun kuen (Hong Kong Wing Chun) – A system which he constantly evolved for many years

Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun kuen’s slight evolution into Sum Nung Wing Chun kuen (Guangzhou Wing Chun)

Yuen Kay-San’s brother, Yuen Chai-Wan’s immigration to Vietnam and the subsequent creation of Nguyen Te Cong Vinh Xuan quyen (Vietnamese Wing Chun

Decedents of the Tang, Dong and Lo Families gathering at the Dai Duk Lan in Hong Kong and spawning modern Shaolin/Chi Sim/Weng Chun

Several branch evolutions of Cho Gar (Cho Family) Wing Chun kuen exist, one being Yip Kin Wing Chun kuen (Malaysian Wing Chun), which in itself also has a few evolutions

This is but a mere sample of the many branches, systems and lineages of our beautiful and diverse art. There are many, many more (apologies for not covering them all (or least more), but this is an introduction only).

So the next time you feel like saying what you think is, or isn’t Wing Chun, or tote the words "traditional", "authentic", "classical", "original" or "true"… Stop and think, are you qualified to make such a comment?

©2012 Wing Chun – All Lineages
Facebook.com/WingChunAllLineages
Twitter.com/WingChunAllLine