Origins of the Ving Tsun (wing chun) system
According to ancient legends, the roots of the Ving Tsun system extend to the Shaolin Temple in feudal China, over 300 years ago. A group of Kung Fu masters remembered as the Venerable Five pooled their knowledge of Kung Fu, and were training Southern Han Chinese to fight against the Northern Manchu invasion and occupation. The Temple was betrayed and burned, and the Venerable Five went their separate ways.
The Buddhist Nun Ng Mui went to White Crane Temple, and became friends with a local merchant and his daughter, Yim Ving Tsun (Beautiful Springtime). Ng Mui taught her Kung Fu so she could defend herself from a bully who wanted to force her to marry him.
It’s said Ving Tsun beat the bully after training a short time, and in defeating a larger, stronger opponent, personified the system. She passed her Kung Fu on to others who did the same, and the simple centerline system became known as Ving Tsun (wing chun) Kung Fu, what we practice today.
An important lesson from the legend for us in modern times is that, with training, size and strength can be overcome by technique and relaxed power.
Yip man
In the modern era, Yip Man (Ip Man) is the now almost-legendary Grand Master of the Ving Tsun (wing chun) Kung Fu system, with over a half-dozen films made and many books written about him.
He was the first to teach Ving Tsun publicly, in 1950’s Hong Kong. For generations before Yip Man, Ving Tsun was secret Kung Fu passed down only from master to select students, and training in the system was not available to the general public.
In his life, Yip Man taught thousands of students in China and produced some of the most renowned Kung Fu masters, including Bruce Lee and Moy Yat. The late Grandmaster Moy Yat was one of Yip Man’s most dedicated disciples, and is the grandmaster of our Kung Fu lineage.
Moy yat
Grandmaster Moy Yat began Ving Tsun (wing chun) training under Yip Man in 1958 at age 20, and four years later became the youngest sifu (teacher) authorized by him. Moy Yat continued his studies with Yip Man while he lived, spending time (Kung Fu life) with him, gaining extraordinary insight into the Ving Tsun Kung Fu system, and preserving critical details in his own teaching.
In 1973, after Yip Man had passed, Moy Yat moved to New York and founded his US school, and he continued teaching Ving Tsun until his own passing in 2001. During his life, Moy Yat produced 6 books and over 30 videos on Ving Tsun. In addition to being a respected Kung Fu master, he was an accomplished calligrapher, painter, sculptor, massage therapist and acupuncturist.
A Master of masters, Grandmaster Moy Yat achieved a profound understanding of the Ving Tsun system, and how to pass it on - in his lifetime, he taught Ving Tsun to thousands, and tens of thousands more have learned from those who learned from him. He created his Special Students Association (SSA) for his most dedicated disciples; those that teach Ving Tsun Kung Fu in his name throughout the world.
Moy Tung
One of Moy Yat’s own closest disciples is SSA member Grandmaster Anthony Moy Tung Dandridge. After a decade of martial arts training in search of mastery, he began training Ving Tsun (wing chun) directly under Grandmaster Moy Yat in 1980. Having found what he was looking for, he dedicated himself to mastering Ving Tsun Kung Fu, and became a Moy Yat SSA disciple in 1984, receiving his Kung Fu name, Moy Tung, meaning ‘Man from the East’. In 1986, at his Sifu’s direction, he founded the Richmond Moy Yat Kung Fu Academy, to give Kung Fu to the community, and to teach people how to teach the Ving Tsun system.
Grandmaster Moy Tung maintained a close relationship with his Sifu, Moy Yat, until the great grandmaster’s passing in 2001. He would host Grandmaster Moy Yat for annual workshops with his students in Richmond, Va, and made many trips to New York every year, often bringing students with him.
Today, there are well over 20 branches in 3 generations teaching in Grandmaster Moy Tung’s own Kung Fu lineage, and thousands have learned his Kung Fu over more than three decades of his teaching. A list of official Moy Tung Kung Fu lineage schools can be found on the website of the Moy Tung Athletic Association (MTAA).
Erik larson
Sifu Erik Larson founded Kung Fu Fxbg in January 2020 to bring Moy Tung Ving Tsun Kung Fu to the community in Fredericksburg, Virginia and the Northern Virginia (Nova) Rappahannock region, including Stafford, Spotsylvania, King George, Caroline, Orange and Culpeper counties.
A student of Grandmaster Moy Tung at the Richmond Moy Yat Kung Fu Academy since 1991, he teaches the Ving Tsun (wing chun) system as he learned it from his Sifu, Moy Tung. People can learn as a hobby, for health & self-defense, and also for mastery and teaching the system to others.
Larson is a member of Grandmaster Moy Tung’s MY3 Association for personal students, as well as the Moy Tung Athletic Association (MTAA) for branch schools. He’s served as an instructor under Grandmaster Moy Tung for over a decade, and is an administrator for the MTAA.
Sifu Larson teaches Ving Tsun Kung Fu in group classes and private lessons, in-person and via live web video.