T H E K W O O N

"Man should think of the source of water when he drinks it."
-Yip Man

"A sifu is never broke because he's filled with gold."
-Moy Tung

"Others walk the bow, I walk the string."
-Moy Yat

"Kung Fu is not a sport."
- Moy Sum Tung
There is no difference in who started to study first; the one who achieves accomplishment is first.
Students from the same teacher will differ in their skills.
Touching the opponent’s arm bridge makes the situation more favorable.
When facing multiple opponents, it is easy to manage the situation.
When chasing the opponent’s arm bridge, beware of being led.
When pushing the opponent’s elbow, beware of being pulled.
Learning the techniques without developing the skills will never bring any accomplishment.
The ideal in Martial Arts is humanitarianism. Accomplishment uses diligence as a goal.
When the opponent passes your arm bridge, avert the danger by turning the stance and facing with the appropriate posture.
Strike when you should. Do not strike when you should not.
Do not be too eager to strike. Do not be afraid to strike. One who is afraid of getting hit will finally be hit.
Persistent attacks will surely gain you entry. Staying on the defensive too long will surely get you into trouble.
The punch starts from the heart. The staff does not make two sounds. A kick does not miss.
Power is generated from the joints. Strength originates from the heels.
Store mental energy with the mind. Move chi with mental energy. Exert strength with chi. Generate power with strength.
No harm will come if chi is nurtured naturally. Power can be stored but with enough to spare.
chi comes out of the Tan Tien, and travels along the waist, the thighs, and the back.
Know yourself and your opponent, and you will always win.
People do not know the extent of my skills, but I know their abilities.
Go along with your opponent’s failing posture in order to take advantage of it.
Glass-like head, cotton-like belly, and iron-like arm bridge.
You can strike anywhere when your arm bridge has passed beyond your opponent’s three joints.
Pass by the opponent’s incoming arm bridge from above. Jam the opponent’s bridge to restrict his movement.
Create a bridge if the opponent’s bridge is not present. Nullify the bridge according to how it is presented.
Know the difference between Yin and Yang, real and feigned. Take advantage of any available opportunity.
Sticking to the opponent while shifting hand position shows good control of the situation.
Being stuck to by the opponent while attempting to shift your own hand position cannot produce the intended result.
Bong Sau must not remain. Faan Sau should be closely paced.
Know your own limit in the use of power. Releasing all out is 90% of the way to defeat.
The knees lead the stance. The waist links the body. Where the mind goes, the eyes go, and the hands and feet follow.
Strive to remain calm in the midst of motion. Loosen up the muscles and relax the mind.
The three terrors of Wing Chun are Taun Sau, Bong Sau, and Fok Sau.
Feet and hands work together, and the threat comes to an end.
Beware of brute strength when facing someone from the same style. Beware of the situation in a confrontation.
In uniting the waist with the stance, power can be generated.
In a match do not expect any compassion.
Grasping the throat is a ruthless technique. Once commenced, it cannot be stopped.
Storing energy resembles pulling a bow. Releasing power is like shooting an arrow.
Circular and straight accompany each other. Bent and straight complement one another.
Extreme softness enables one to be hard. Being extremely natural enables one to be agile.
Direct the mind to store spirit, not chi, in the body. Otherwise it leads to sluggishness. No power is obtained when occupied with chi.
Use alterations in stepping forward and backward. Hands and feet should be closely coordinated.
Invisible posture. Invisible kick.
As long as you are sticking to your opponent, you are unlikely to lose. A well trained waist can prevent loss of balance.
Hand techniques must follow the Yin Yang principle. Strength must be applied with inner power. There is a counteraction to every attack.
Rapid moves are hard to guard against. Go in when the opponent slows down.
Kicks lose nine times out of ten.
The feet are like wheels, and the hands like arrows.
A hand used for attack serves also to parry.
Do not collide with a strong arm bridge. Get out of the way and take initiative to attack.
During sticky hand practice, the hand which has entered beyond the elbow will win nine times out of ten.
Do not follow, force, or butt against the opponent’s hands.
Destroying the opponent’s center line will control his bridge.
In Bong Sau the forearm inclines, the wrist is on the center line, and the fingers droop. A raised elbow weakens the force.
The elbow must be strong. Then you can take on any attack.
If the opponent grasps your arm bridge, do not oppose him with brute force. Go with the opponent’s force and change into rolling hands. Turn around the situation to control him.
KUEN KUIT: VING TSUN PHILOSOPHY
Moy Yat Ving Tsun (Wing Chun) Kung Fu Norfolk, Va
Kungfu in Hampton Roads area
Moy Yat Ving Tsun (Wing Chun) Kung Fu Norfolk, Va
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Portsmouth, Virginia
Chesapeake Virginia
Kungfu in Hampton Roads area
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OUR ROOTS
GRAND MASTER MOY YAT
Moy Yat (Moy Yit-Kai) was born in 1938 in Toi Shan, the province of Canton. In 1953, his family moved to Hong Kong where he had the good fortune to study Ving Tsun Kung Fu under Yip Man. He was a very close follower of the venerable teacher, being a frequent companion as well as a dedicated student.
For fifteen years, Moy Yat kept a close relationship with Yip Man, living the ‘Kung Fu Life’. It was at this time that he learned from Yip Man the principles and deeper aspects of Ving Tsun. Never far from Yip Man’s side, Grandmaster Moy Yat eventually developed into one of his top disciples.
Just as Yip Man had done in Hong Kong, Grandmaster Moy Yat followed his Sifu’s example and utilized the same method to teach his own students. He instilled upon his students the importance of ‘Kung Fu Life’—the use of Ving Tsun principles in everyday life. He always said that Ving Tsun Kung Fu can best be learned outside the classroom. This is how Ving Tsun, as taught by Yip Man, is learned. Grandmaster Moy Yat lived his life very much in this way, spending his time living and teaching Ving Tsun through "Kung Fu Life."
Kung Fu is not the only art Si-Gung Moy had mastered. He was a dynamic and versatile artist. His works have been exhibited in England, Hong Kong, Australia, and Canada as well as in America. He was also one of the foremost seal-makers in the world, and was a consultant to both The Academy of Chinese Arts and The Museum of Natural History. His latest works were the Blush Strokes. Their ingenious, simplistic abstractions are extremely fluid and subtle. A master with the brush, he made a profound impact on contemporary America.
Grandmaster Moy Yat retired from teaching physical Kung Fu on his sixtieth birthday, but continued to teach the principles of Kung Fu as well as art and massage. His son, William, now teaches at both the Chinatown School and at the Bayside, Queens School with Sifu Mickey Chan. The Moy Yat Kung Fu family is quite extensive, with students throughout the world spreading the art of Ving Tsun. Moy Yat’s disciples are teaching Ving Tsun in their own schools throughout the United States and around the world with schools as far reaching as Canada, Brazil and Mexico.
Grand Master Moy Yat died peacefully at his home in Queens, NY on Tuesday morning, January 23rd, 2001, of natural causes. Over 1,500 people from all over the world came to pay their last respects on Saturday, February 3rd at the Chinese Cheung Sang Funeral Home in Manhattan's Chinatown, NY. He was laid to rest the next morning at the Kensico Cemetery in the town of Valhalla, NY. Hundreds of brave mourners endured the sub-freezing temperatures for the graveside service.
During Moy Yat's time our Sigung Moy Tung ( on the bottom right) studied personally as his student as well as staying in his home at times for 17 years. Sifu Moy Sum Tung learned directly from Moy Tung and has been training for over 27 years. We are proud to have genuine kung fu and such masters in our family.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
The founder of the Wing Chun Kung Fu System, Miss Yim Wing Chun was a native of Canton Kwangtung Province in China. She was an intelligent and athletic young girl, upstanding and forthright. Her mother died soon after her betrothal to Leung Bok Chau, a salt merchant of Fukien. Her father, Yim Yee, was wrongfully accused of a crime and, rather than risk jail, they slipped away and finally settled down at the foot of Tai Leung Mountain near the border between Yunan and Szechuan provinces. There they earned a living by running a shop that sold bean curd.
During the reign of Emperor K’anghsi of the Ching Dynasty (1662–1722) Kung Fu became very strong in the Siu Lam (Shaolin) Monastery of Mt. Sung, in Honan Province. This aroused the fear of the Manchu government [a non-Chinese people from Manchuria in the North, who ruled China at that time], which sent troops to attack the Monastery. Although they were unsuccessful, a man named Chan Man Wai, a recently appointed civil servant seeking favor with the government, suggested a plan.
He plotted with Siu Lam monk Ma Ning Yee and others who were persuaded to betray their companions by setting fire to the monastery while soldiers attacked it from the outside. Siu Lam was burned down, and the monks and disciples scattered. Buddhist Abbess Ng Mui, Abbot Chi Sim, Abbot Pak Mei, Master Fung To Tak and Master Miu Hin escaped and went their separate ways.
Ng Mui took refuge in the White Crane Temple on Mt. Tai Leung (also known as Mt. Chai Har). It was there she met Yim Yee and his daughter Yim Wing Chun from whom she often bought bean curd on her way home from the market. At fifteen, with her hair bound up in the custom of those days to show she was of an age to marry, Wing Chun’s beauty attracted the attention of a local bully. He tried to force Wing Chun to marry him, and his continuous threats became a source of worry to her and her father. Ng Mui learned of this and took pity on Wing Chun. She agreed to teach Wing Chun fighting techniques so she could protect herself. Wing Chun followed Ng Mui into the mountains, and began to learn Kung Fu. She trained night and day, until she mastered the techniques. Then she challenged the bully to a fight and beat him.
Ng Mui later traveled around the country, but before she left she told Wing Chun to strictly honor the Kung Fu traditions, to develop her Kung Fu after her marriage, and to help the people working to overthrow the Manchu government and restore the Ming Dynasty.
After her marriage Wing Chun taught Kung Fu to her husband Leung Bok Lau. He in turn passed these techniques on to Leung Lan Kwai. Leung Lan Kwai then passed them on to Wong Wah Bo. Wong Wah Bo was a member of an opera troupe on board a junk, known to Chinese as the Red Junk or Red Boats. Wong worked on the Red Junk with Leung Yee Tei. It so happened that Abbot Chi Shin, who fled from Siu Lam, had disguised himself as a cook and was then working on the Red Junk. Chi Shin taught the Six-and-a-half-point Long Pole techniques to Leung Yee Tei. Wong Wah Bo was close to Leung Yee Tei, and they shared what they knew about Kung Fu. Together they shared and improved their techniques, and thus the Six-and-a-half-point Long Pole was incorporated into Wing Chun Kung Fu. Leung Yee Tei passed his Kung Fu on to Leung Jan, a well known herbal Doctor in Fat Shan. Leung Jan grasped the innermost secrets of Wing Chun, attaining the highest level of proficiency. Many Kung Fu masters came to challenge him, but all were defeated. Leung Jan became very famous. Later he passed his Kung Fu on to Chan Wah Shun, who took me and my elder Kung Fu brothers, such as Ng Siu Lo, Ng Chung So, Chan Yu Min and Lui Yu Jai, as his students many decades ago.
It can thus be said that the Wing Chun System was passed on to us in a direct line of succession from its origin. I write this history of the Wing Chun System in respectful memory of my forerunners. I am eternally grateful to them for passing to me the skills I now possess. A man should always think of the source of the water as he drinks it; it is this shared feeling that keeps our Kung Fu brothers together.
Is this not the way to promote Kung Fu, and to project the image of our country?
Yip Man

MOY YAT VING TSUN KUNG FU SCHOOL
Traditional Kung Fu in Norfolk
SINCE 2006