The Masters | kungfu-piaseczno

Great Grandmaster Yip Man

Grand Master Yip Kai Man was born on October 1, 1893 in Fatshan, China. The third of four children Yip Man, was raised by his wealthy parents, Yip Oi Dor and Ng Shui. Even at a young age Yip Man exhibited a keen interest in martial arts. He first started his studies of Wing Tsun Kung Fu at the age of 8 with Chan Wah Shun, the first disciple of Leung Jan (Doctor Jan of Fatshan.) Chan Wah Shun tried to discourage young Man by charging him an exorbitant amount of money, but much to his surprise, the young boy persisted. And he persisted for another three years before the death of his master, Chan Wah Shun. Yip Man then continued his studies with master Ng Chu So, a disciple of his master Chan Wah Shun.

After several years Yip Man was known throughout the area as an invincible expert in martial arts. At the of age 15 Yip Man moved to Hong Kong, where he studied for four years under the guidance of Leung Bik (the son of Leung Jan). During the years 1914-1937, he worked in the army and the police. From 1941, he began to teach Wing Tsun Kung Fu in one of the numerous cotton mills in Fatshan, but after five years, had to stop. Then in 1949, because of the change from republic to communist governments Yip Man had to flee to Hong Kong, where opened the first official public school of Wing Tsun Kung Fu. It was housed at the Association of Professional Restaurant Employees in Hong Kong. At the beginning he only had eight students, but over the years more and more people became interested in the style of Wing Tsun Kung Fu. One of his best students went on to become an icon of the martial arts world – Bruce Lee. Starting in 1953, when he was only 15 years old, Bruce Lee studied under the master for 5 years before moving to the States to further his education and film career. At the age of 72 Yip Man retired from active teaching and taught only selected students for private lessons at his home. One of them was Leung Ting, his last “closed door” student.

Shortly before his death, Yip Man was asked about who would be the heir of the whole Wing Tsun Kung Fu system. He replied that, that would be the person who had the most students with significant results. On December 2, 1972 Master Yip Man died at the age of 79 at his home on Tong Choi Street. Since that time the system which Master Yip Man introduced to the west, and Sijo Leung Ting revolutionized has spread to over 64 countries around the world and can now claim to have over a million practitioners.

Sijo Dr Leung Ting

Leung Ting began training Wing Tsun Kung Fu at the age of 13 years. His first instructors were his kung fu “uncles” - Cheng Fook and Cheng Pak who exercized at Yip Man’s kung fu school. At the young age of 18 Leung Ting became an assistant at the club and helped conduct classes. Later he was personally taught by Yip Man and was the last private student of Grand Master. He began to recognize the deeper concepts of Wing Tsun Kung Fu in the final stages of Yip Man’s instruction as a private pupil "behind closed doors". It is thanks to this that the most refined, and effective techniques were transferred to him.

This means, therefore, that the heritage of Leung Ting Wing Tsun is slightly different from other varieties taught during the 50s. Sijo Leung Ting also changed the spelling of the name of this style from the more conventional spelling – “Wing Chun” to the now used “Wing Tsun” in order to distinguish his teachings from the other students of Yip Man. In 1972, he founded the International Wing Tsun Association (IWTA). He promoted Wing Tsun around the world, and during the nineteen-eighties, made it the most popular type of kung fu in Europe. The greatest achievement of Leung Ting, along with Yip Man, was the fine-tuning of the curriculum of Wing Tsun Kung Fu, modernizing the system for a more urban population that what was found in Fatshan, and allowing for the transfer of knowledge to larger groups of people. This specific martial art, which has always been transmitted directly from master to student, required a complete systematization in order to be taught to larger schools. By creating a modern curriculum, instructors can transmit this knowledge to their students according to uniform guidelines and plan a uniform and logical way for student development.

Leung Ting propagated Wing Tsun Kung Fu all over the world. He is the author of over 50 books on Wing Tsun, and other styles. And, now heads the largest traditional Chinese martial arts organization in the world.

Sikung Maday Norbert

Sifu Jaroslaw Buc

After training several other oriental martial arts and finding them lacking, Sikung Maday Norbert started training Wing Tsun Kung Fu at the age of 14 years. His first teacher was Sifu Slavko Truntic of Yugoslavia, who in the 70s contacted Sijo leung Ting and formed the first formal Wing Tsun association in the former Eastern bloc ( E.E.W.T.O.). In 1989 the first seminar in Hungary was organized. Norbert Maday then became a private student of Sijo Leung Ting. Since that time Sijo Leung Ting has visited the Hungarian headquarters in Kesckemet every year, which is headquarters for more than a hundred instructors at clubs in Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine and Romania.

Currently Sikung Norbert Maday holds a 9th degree master's level, (one of the highest in the world), and is the chairman of the Eastern European Wing Chun Organization( E.E.W.T.O.).

Sifu Jarek Buc started his journey into practicing martial arts in 1995. By 2001, he had began studying Wing Tsun Kung Fu, but unfortunately, that year the school closed. Undeterred by this setback, he continued looking for his way in martial arts training in Muay Thai, Kickboxing and Jeet Kune Do.

After a few years, he returned to Wing Tsun kung fu, but this time to Leung Ting Wing Tsun. In 2007, he opened a school in Ursynów, which operates to this day. Currently, he also leads schools in Lublin and Lodz.

In addition to attending regular, on-going advanced training every month, along with other instructors of EEWTO he actively participates in advanced training with senior instructor Sikung Maday Norbert (9th level Master degree).

He graduated from the Faculty of Food Sciences, Warsaw Agricultural University.