Fort Collins Wing Chun

Our History

The Southern Temple Burns

Wing Chun (詠春) was invented in the early days of the Qing Dynasty (清朝).
The tales we have state that during the Qing Dynasty, the Southern Shaolin Temple (南少林) hosted a number of revolutionaries determined to restore the Ming Dynasty (明朝) to power. Due to this, the Qing convinced a member of the temple to betray their brothers (stories differ on who), and the temple was burned.

During this time, the 5 Elders (少林五祖) fled to various parts of China. 4 of them are credited with the founding of much of Southern Shaolin Gung Fu.

The Venerable Yi Sin (至善禪師) taught the founders of the Hung Ga (洪家), Choy Ga (蔡家), Lei Ga (李家), and Mok Ga (莫家) styles. Down the road, Choy Ga, Lei Ga, and Fut Ga (佛家) would be combined to form another famous Southern style, Choy Lei Fut (蔡李佛). The Venerable Yi Sin would also later teach the Red Opera Boat practitioner Leung Yi Tai (梁二娣) the 6 and 1/2 Point Pole (六點半棍), which would become an invaluable contribution to Wing Chun.

Ng Mui Dai Si (五梅大師), as the legend goes, founded Wing Chun by distilling her extensive knowledge of Southern Shaolin to rapidly teach a young woman, Yim Wing Chun (嚴詠春), to defend herself against a local bully. Wing Chun was the daughter of Yim Yi, a local tofu seller, who’s cart Ng Mui frequented. Ng Mui is also credited with founding other styles, such as Five Pattern Hung Fist (五形洪拳), Southern Dragon (龍形摩橋), and Ng Mui Paai (五梅派) – often called Wu Mei Pai in Mandarin.

The Red Boat (紅船)

Yim Wing Chun eventually married Leung Bok Chau (梁博儔), a salt merchant, who is credited with naming the style after his wife, calling it Wing Chun Kuen (詠春拳), Wing Chun’s Fist.

Together, they taught the Opera performer Wong Wah Bo (黃華寶), who traded his open-hand skills with fellow performer Leung Yi Tai, and together they created the Wing Chun we know today, comprised of 3 empty-handed forms, the wooden dummy, the knives, and the pole.

Many of their fellow performers, such as Dai Fa Min Kam and Yik Kam, learned from these two, and later founded their own branches of Wing Chun.

Fatsaan (佛山市)

Eventually, Wong and Leung would come to teach a young doctor from Fatsaan named Leung Jan (梁贊). Dr. Leung was a skilled herbal doctor, who would later teach much of his Dit Da (跌打) knowledge, along with his Wing Chun skills, to both his son Leung Bik (梁璧和), and the young currency exchanger Chan Wah-Shun (陳華順), both of whom taught the young Yip Man later in life, with Chan taking on the primary bulk of Yip Sijo’s teaching, and Yip Sijo only having met Leung Bik after Chan’s passing.

Sijo Yip Man (葉問 師祖)

The late Grandmaster Yip Man brought Wing Chun to Hong Kong while he was fleeing mainland China, due to having served in the Republic of China police force, prior to the establishment of the current PRC government. Though he came from a wealthy family in Foshan, upon reaching Hong Kong, Yip Man was destitute. He was eventually approached by Leung Sheung, who witnessed his prowess, and invited to teach the HKRWA. Many of the Wing Chun practitioners in the world today trace their lineage to the late Grandmaster.
For more information, feel free to visit the Ving Tsun Athletic Association 詠春體育會

Sitaigung Leung Sheung (梁相 師太公)

Leung Sheung was the Senior-most Disciple of the late Grandmaster Yip Man, and his 1st student in Hong Kong. As a Wing Chun practitioner, Leung Sheung’s kung fu brothers knew him for his unquestionable talent. He was referred to as the “King of Biu Zi”.
Leung Sheung was an immensely humble man. He was overly modest about his own Wing Chun abilities. As a student and teacher, he consistently chose to promote Yip Man’s abilities instead of his own. Despite being one of the few students that Yip Man ever encouraged to teach publicly, Leung Sheung made sure to keep a very low profile. He never once advertised his school. One of Leung Sheung’s most famous sayings was, “If you find me, you are lucky.”
Leung Sheung’s Wing Chun teaching philosophy was to visualize students as driftwood. Picturing himself living along a river, he imagined driftwood washing up in front of his home. At times, he would look at the driftwood and find a piece that he found interesting. He would continue to collect driftwood and eventually pick one piece that he found interesting enough to begin to shape. As he would learn, some driftwood could be shaped and some could not, due to faults or imperfections. Once Leung Sheung determined that a student was worthy of his teachings, it was then when he became highly demanding of them.
For more information, please visit:
Worldwide Leung Sheung Tong Wing Chun Confederation 《世界梁相堂 詠春同學總會》

Sigung Kenneth Chung Maan Nin (鐘萬年 師公)

Sifu Ken, as he prefers to be called, began studying with Leung Sheung in 1965 and was regarded as an outstanding student. In 1968, he left Hong Kong to further his studies in the US, where he met his first student, Sifu Ben Der. While in San Francisco he taught Wing Chun for several years. In 1973 Ken returned to Hong Kong for 5 more years and recommenced training under Leung Sheung. During this time, his Wing Chun improved vastly as he gained valuable insights, leading him to focus on developing a soft and relaxed style. Sifu Ken still teaches today in San Jose, CA.
For more information please visit Stanford Wing Chun Students Association

Sifu Ben Der Wing Yan (謝永恩 師父)

Sifu Ben Der first began studying Wing Chun under the late Grandmaster Yip Man in 1958, while attending St. Francis Xavier College in Hong Kong. In 1959, he moved to the United States at the same time as his good friend, Bruce Lee, with whom he would often practice his Chi Sao. In 1968, Sifu Ben was introduced to a young man who had just arrived in America from Hong Kong. After 15 minutes of discussion about Wing Chun, the newcomer said, “Enough talk. Let’s work out.” They went over to a tailor shop, and went in back to work out. Ben was first. Trying his best moves, Ben saw that this newcomer could deftly blunt every attack. At that point, Ben was convinced this was his new teacher, and placed his seven students and himself under the tutelage of this newcomer, whose name was Kenneth Chung. In 1974, Steve and Sandy Wong, Sifu Ben’s first Disciples, started learning Wing Chun from him. In 1976, Ken introduced Ben to Leung Sheung, and they immediately became close friends, which they remained until Leung Sheung’s death.
Sifu Ben still teaches to this day, and in August 2022 celebrated the 50th anniversary of San Jose Wing Chun.
For more information, please visit San Jose Wing Chun

Rain (謝詠雨)

Rain leads the Fort Collins Wing Chun Kung Fu Club, under the guidance of their Sifu, Ben Der. They began with boxing, at the age of 17, before branching out into styles like Krav Maga, Jujutsu, and Karate, and holds various ranks within these arts. Upon meeting Sifu Ben, however, they began to realize the effectiveness of the Leung Sheung Wing Chun style, and eventually stopped training anything else, choosing to dedicate all of their training time to the Leung Sheung Lineage Wing Chun and Sifu Ben. Wing Chun is one of their foremost passions in life, and they hope to share this amazing, effective, and historical martial art with you as well.

You

Come join us, and be a part of the next generation of this beautiful and effective martial art. Wing Chun is for everyone, no matter your age, your gender, or past experience in martial arts! As Sifu Ben says, “there is more than enough depth in our 3 sets to fulfill you for a lifetime. Wing Chun can be your lifelong hobby.” Having trained for over 60 years every single day, he’s done exactly that.

We invite you to start that same journey here, and look forward to meeting you!

Reviews

“Learning Wing Chun Kung Fu with Rain was an amazing experience. They are a talented teacher who is well versed in the proud history of Wing Chun and a dedicated soul to the art of their craft. I actively trained for six months before the fire smog last year took a toll on everyones lungs. I can honestly say it was the most fun I’d had in a while. If you’re debating on whether this martial art is worth trying, I can promise you it is.”
– Phoebe P.

“I had the chance to observe a class my friend attended. I am not a Wing Chun practitioner myself but I was there supporting my friend however I found myself paying closer attention than I honestly had intended to. The instruction was clear and engaging. Rain was extremely attentive to detail, explained everything in easy steps, and really knows their history with the art.
If you are in this area and are looking for a martial art to try, I would definitely recommend Carbon Valley Wing Chun.”
– Daniel S.

“This is a great class if you want to learn and practice Wing Chun. Expect a focus on precision and form along with practical illustrations on why they are important. If you are looking for a large school in some strip mall this isn’t for you. Classes are small, which fosters a more personal experience. This is also great if you have a goal of learning forms in Cantonese.”
– Vinessa W.