Lineage is everything or Does it really matter?
I read from a Wing Cheun (Ving Tsun) Instructor’s webpage that another instructor is from a good lineage. What is good lineage? What arrogance. I have been around in this system for long time. Thus, I have seen and trained with a few of Yip Man’s students. I suspect this instructor has no idea of the politics of lineage and what is really means.
Yip man
Of course, there are many different lineages of Wing Cheun. The most popular lineage is from Yip Man. Yip Man’s earlier students’ skills differ greatly from his later students. It has been said that he had retreated from teaching from his later years. Beyond the movies, Yip man had many challenges in his life. Unfortunately, Yip Man had habitual habits. He rarely taught any of his students. Yip man was well known to teach only few seniors, allow them to teach the school, while he went and tend to his habits. Furthermore, Yip Man lost his school in his early years because of his unfortunate habits when his sons were still in China. His original group of students at that time such as Leung Sheung, Lok Yiu, Tsui Sung Ting, Wong Shun Leung and Chuk Hing Cheung. Yip Man recovered his reputation through the achievements of Bruce Lee. In the end, Yip Man died in 1972 from throat cancer. Most likely, the cancer was caused by his addiction. Well, I guess that’s a good lineage? This is not to diminish Yip Man Achievements but he was only human.
Another case in point, Moy Yat, from Yip Man lineage, was my first SiGung at the age of thirteen. At that time, I learned conventional Wing Cheun from instructor who mastered the system under Moy Yat. I would like to keep his name anomies as of respect. At that age, I did not have the funds to drive to New York to formally train under a Chinese instructor such as Moy Yat. However, there was a grand opening of our training hall in South Jersey. I remember my instructor was worried about us bringing Lucky Money envelopes with donations to welcome Moy Yat to the dedication of the new training hall in his honor. I was dragging my mother around town to find a red envelope with appropriate funds to meet Moy Yat. I was so proud to meet Moy Yat. I remember seeing him suck that envelope right into his hand and down his sleeve. To my dismay, I found out later that day. Moy Yat drove to Atlantic City and gambled all the students’ donations at the local casino. The funny thing about Moy Yat was that he was more interested in talking about creating Chinese seals than even teaching Wing Cheun. I have a book from Moy Yat on Wing Cheun with bunch of Seal / Chops in it with no knowledge on the system what so ever. Sadly, Wing Cheun paid the bills for him. I guess.
On the other hand, I was extremely excited to meet William Cheung for the first time at the age of fourteen. He came and did seminar at our school in the mid-eighties. He was knowledgeable on the system and liked to teach at that time. Even so, Cheung had an oddity to him. He would like standing on eggs and do parlor tricks for marketing purposes. I just wanted to tell Cheung to get off the eggs and teach Wing Cheun that was his forte. Cheung’s system made the most common sense to me. The theory made more sense than the constant it’s the center and the center only concept of conventional Wing Cheun. Nevertheless, yhere were some holes still in Cheung’s theories but not like the gaping holes in the conventional system. It was easy sure up those holes when I was in my late teens and early twenties. I was so proud to get me certification in World Wing Chun Kung Fu Association and my personal grading under Cheung. I just wanted Cheung would just stop the politics and marketing. Cheung’s story that he is the only person to learn the true Wing Cheun system from Yip Man seems odd and extremely debatable. Most likely, the story was a marketing gimmick. Nevertheless, I did not care it was leaps and bounds better than the previous conventional Wing Chun under Moy Yat.
Let’s take a look at Leung Ting. He had created the largest Wing Chun organizations in the world. First started in Europe and migrated to the United States. His schools ranged in the hundreds, if not thousands. Of course, it is nice to be backed by a billionaire in Germany with his own Castle. Now, here comes the great Cheung and Ting battles of the late eighties and early nineties. I remember Cheung was angry with Leung Ting for wearing a sash to Yip Man’s funeral in 1972. Cheung proclaimed Leung Ting never trained under Yip Man. Of course, the Yip Man organization and his cronies in China at that time supported Leung Ting because he had a large organization with possible kickbacks to them. Leung Ting had a traditional photo to prove his close door discipleship with Yip Man. Years later, another photo pops up showing the same image with another person head replacing Leung Ting head in the photo. Apparently, Leung Ting swapped heads on the photo to prove his lineage directly under Yip Man. What a con artist. There’s linage for you. Fake. Actually, Leung Ting was not first or second generation. He was a third generation student down from Yip Man under Leung Shun. The proceeding years his organization falls to ruin.
It seems there are so many non-Chinese instructors need to prove there validity with a connection to a Chinese lineage. I have fallen into that category by happen stance. I have seen all the politics that I can stand through my years with lineage. The politics has one root core. It’s about the money and not teaching and improving the Wing Cheun system.
