By Richard J. Loewenhagen

The Ving Tsun Museum in Dayton, Ohio made history in 1995 at its groundbreaking by bringing the world’s three top Ving Tsun Kung Fu Grand Masters (Yip Chun, Yip Ching, and Moy Yat) together for the first time to address students in the Western World. On May 2nd through May 5th, 1997, the Ving Tsun Museum, under the leadership of its Chairman, Grand Master Moy Yat, and Vice-Chairman, Master Benny Meng, made martial arts history again by bringing together some of the 20th Century’s greatest martial arts teachers and practitioners from across the globe to teach the first hands-on Ving Tsun Workshop sponsored by the museum. Heading this high-powered teaching team were Grand Masters Yip Ching and Moy Yat. Assisting them (from around the world) were Master Jeffrey Chan (world renowned fighter and Dai Sihing of the Moy Yat Ving Tsun family), Master Henry Moy (New York), Master Sunny Tang, Master Mickey Chan, Master Pete Pajil, Master William Moy, Master Miguel Hernandez, Master Benny Meng, and Master Leo Imamura. The credentials of this renowned group of teachers read like a page out of "Who’s Who" in the martial arts world.

Grand Master Yip Ching: Yip Ching is the second son of Great Grand Master Yip Man and one of the principle founders of the Ving Tsun Athletic Association in Hong Kong. For many years, he was the caretaker of that historic gathering place of Ving Tsun practitioners. Following retirement from his private business in 1994, he began teaching Ving Tsun full time to students from around the world. Of all the students of Yip Man, he was the only one living in Yip Man's home from the early years on. Grand Master Yip Ching and Grand Master Moy Yat have been very close life-long friends as well as Kung Fu brothers. They took private lessons together from Yip Man and set up the first wooden dummy in Yip Man's school. When Yip Ching was married in 1966, Yip Man selected Moy Yat over many more senior students to be the formal (signing) witness. This was a great honor representing a special tribute to the two of them from the Great Grand Master. Yip Ching and Moy Yat are among a very small, elite group of students who actually completed the entire Ving Tsun system of training under Yip Man. Their objective was to preserve the true roots of Ving Tsun and purity of the system itself. Today, as elder statesmen of the artform, that objective remains the same.

Grand Master Moy Yat: Moy Yat was born in Toi Shan, in the Province of Canton. He moved with his family to Hong Kong in 1953 where he had the good fortune to study Ving Tsun under Yip Man. He was a very close follower of the venerable teacher, being a frequent companion as well as a dedicated student. At age twenty-four he became the youngest Ving Tsun Sifu ever promoted by Yip Man. Today his students number in the thousands and include good many of the world's well-known Sifus. He currently resides in the New York City area and teaches in his Chinatown school. He also visits his branch schools scattered throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Kung Fu is not the only art Sifu Moy Yat has mastered. He is also a dynamic and versatile artist. His art works have been exhibited in England, Hong Kong, Australia, and Canada, as well as in America. Moy Yat is on of the foremost seal makers in the world, and has been a consultant to both The Academy of Chinese Arts and The Museum of Natural History. His most famous works include the BLUSH STROKES, ingenious, simplistic abstractions that are extremely fluid and subtle. A master with the brush, he is still making a profound impact on contemporary American art.

Master Jeffrey Chan: Jeffrey Chan was educated in Hong Kong in the same secondary school, at the same time, as Bruce Lee, and Eddie Chan. In the early 1960's he worked together with Grand Master Moy Yat in the Hong Kong Housing Department. When Moy Yat opened his school in 1965, Jeffrey was one of the very first students. He is the Dai Sihing of the Moy Yat family and is recognized as one of the top fighters in the style. In 1967 he successfully represented the Ving Tsun style in a formal Gong Sau (challenge match -- no holds barred) with a Pak Mei (White Eye Brow) Master at Prince Edward Road in Kowloon. He repeated that success again in 1969 in a formal Gong Sau with a Lo Hung Mun (Northern Shaolin) Master in Yuen Long (the new territories.) Today he continues to further the practice of the artform as Chairman of the International Moy Yat Ving Tsun Federation.

Master Sunny Tang: Sunny Tang was also an early student of Grand Master Moy Yat in Hong Kong. Today he is the leader of the Moy Yat Ving Tsun family in Canada and has been involved in Ving Tsun for over two decades. He is the founder of the Canadian Chinese Kuo Shu Federation and currently President of the United Wushu Federation of Canada. Master Tang has performed for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth 2nd, and at numerous events in support of the Canadian-Chinese community. He has been invited to many seminars in the United States, England, and Canada, published books on Ving Tsun, and continues to support Ving Tsun and the Kung Fu family at home and abroad.

Master Henry Moy: Henry Moy is another senior student from Grand Master Moy Yat's Hong Kong school. He has helped develop many of the later students in the Chinatown, New York Ving Tsun headquarters. His devotion to Ving Tsun, as well as his involvement in other martial arts encompasses more than twenty years of dedicated effort and teaching. He is well respected in Kung Fu circles and has trained some of the well-known Sifus in New York City’s Chinatown where he still teaches today.

Master Mickey Chan: Mickey Chan is one of the first U.S. students who studied with Grand Master Moy Yat in Brooklyn during the early 1970's. As an American Dai Sihing (or eldest brother) he has more than twenty years of kung fu teaching experience with highly developed communications and hands-on skills. He has become one of Grand Master Moy Yat's top disciples and has helped groom many of his later students. He presently teaches at and runs the Bayside, New York branch school in conjunction with Master William Moy.

Master Pete Pajil: Pete Pajil’s given kung fu name is "Moy Bah Hugh." He became a disciple of Grand Master Moy Yat in 1982. In 1985 he opened the first Moy Yat Ving Tsun School in Philadelphia. Master Moy Bah Hugh was the youngest person (agewise) to ever teach in the Moy Yat family. He has traveled to Hong Kong, China, and Europe with Grand Master Moy to research and document the history of Ving Tsun for future generations. In 1993 he held the grand opening of the Voorhees Moy Kwoon. In addition to his two branch schools, he is well known in the Moy Yat Ving Tsun family for the knowledge and skill he has developed from his devotion to understanding Ving Tsun.

Master William Moy: The son of Grand Master Moy Yat, started his training in the Ving Tsun system eighteen years ago and has twelve years of teaching experience in the Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu Family. Presently, he instructs at the branch school in Queens. His involvement in Ving Tsun ranges from Chairman of the Moy Yat Special Students Association to a prominent committee membership of the Ving Tsun Museum. Master William Moy's generosity and support of Ving Tsun family members in producing books, video tapes, etc. has served as an example for - and a testament to - the true nature and definition of Kung Fu family values.

Master Miguel Hernandez: Miguel Hernandez started his Ving Tsun training in 1977 under the tutelage of Sifu Jason Lau. In 1980, Master Hernandez competed in the first Overseas Koushu International tournament held in Honolulu, Hawaii. Afterwards, he continued his studies under Grand Master Moy Yat. Over the years He has developed a very close relationship to Grand Master Moy who frequently speaks openly about Master Hernandez's knowledge and achievements. Miguel Hernandez has traveled extensively to Europe, Brazil, China, and throughout the United States assisting and/or giving seminars on Ving Tsun Kung Fu. Presently he is working on instructional video tapes of the system. He has also authored two upcoming books, Mental Skills in Martial Arts, and Beginner's Guide to Ving Tsun Kung Fu, both due out during the summer of 1997.

Master Benny Meng: Benny Meng possesses a vast base of experience in martial arts, including study in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, and Korea. He began his study of Ving Tsun in Hong Kong in 1982, going on to finish the system in 1986 as a disciple of Grand Master Moy Yat. After a successful competition career and successful entry into a teaching career in 1987, Master Meng has become a Ving Tsun family leader in the Midwestern United States. He recently published a first-of-its-kind book entitled The Voice of the Ving Tsun System, which presents the teachings of Grand Master Moy and his most experienced and knowledgeable disciples. He has participated in numerous seminars at home and abroad and is currently leading the development of the International Ving Tsun Museum and spearheading the first gathering of leading Ving Tsun figures for the support and promotion of Ving Tsun around the world.

Master Leo Imamura: Leo Imamura is the South American representative of the International Moy Yat Ving Tsun Federation, the President of the Sao Paulo State Kung Fu Federation in Brazil, a Martial Arts Professor of Santo Andre Physical Education College (FEFISA), and the author of Ving Tsun Biu Je. He has spread Ving Tsun throughout South America (from Brazil to Argentina) and has over 5,000 students and grand students. He currently runs his own school which is equipped with a library and a reading room, indoor and outdoor training areas, guest quarters for visitors, and a swimming pool. Master Imamura is promoting an exchange program in which Ving Tsun schools from around the world can visit one another to train and strengthen the Kung Fu family's unity. Both his school in Brazil and the Ving Tsun Museum in Dayton, Ohio fulfill that dream. In keeping with the historic nature of this event, the workshop opened with a celebration banquet which included a special Biu Je instructor’s certification ceremony establishing the Ving Tsun Museum as the Western World certification center for topflight Ving Tsun instructors. Biu Je is the highest level of Ving Tsun Kung Fu study and practice. The certification was accomplished by honoring the museum Founding Committee members with a historically unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate and certify their Biu Je skills in front of the world’s leaders of Ving Tsun. In all, nine Ving Tsun disciples of Master Meng formed the founding committee and spent over three years working to make the museum a reality while continuing their in-depth study of Ving Tsun. All were unanimously certified by two Grand Masters and eight of the world’s most renowned Masters of Ving Tsun. Those committee members receiving certification were: Raymond Crawford, Jeff Ramsey, Jason Oaks, Mike Patak, Hung Vuong, Rick Howard, Kathy Howard, Richard Loewenhagen, and Steve Langley.

The workshop itself spanned 28 instruction hours spread over two days. Teachers and students from all over North and South America participated. Many described the quality of instruction as the finest they had seen anywhere in the world. The curriculum was highly orchestrated and each presentation gave rise to the next. Grand Master Moy Yat opened the workshop with an intuitive discussion on the Nature of Ving Tsun and The Ving Tsun Idioms. Moy Yat is widely recognized as the most knowledgeable man alive on the nature of Ving Tsun and the system that surrounds it. Yip Man himself commissioned Moy Yat to carve the tenets and history of the artform in stone. The resulting masterpiece is known as the priceless "Ving Tsun Chops" which are housed today in the Ving Tsun Museum. Needless to say, the participants were spellbound with Moy Yat’s presentation. Master Leo Imamura followed with a detailed workshop on San Sau exercises for developing muscle memory and centerline orientation in beginning level students. Many participants acknowledged that they had never before seen these exercises highlighted to this level of detail.

Next on the agenda was a thorough discussion on Siu Nim Tau, the first level of Ving Tsun training, led by Master Meng. Meng skillfully broke down the extensive knowledge required at the Siu Nim Tau level into four categories: 1) Principles and Concepts, 2) Forms, 3) Techniques, and 4) Attributes. Again, students and instructors alike commented that they had never before seen the subject matter discussed to this level of detail. These comments prevailed for every one of the remaining workshop sessions conducted over the following two days.

Master William Moy headed up a hands-on workshop and lecture on Chum Kiu, the intermediate level of Ving Tsun development. Master Miguel Hernandez did the same with Chi Sao, the famous "Sticking Hands" training method unique to the Ving Tsun artform. Master Pete Pajil concluded the first day’s events with an evening session on Ving Tsun fighting techniques versus fighting abilities. His emphasis was on the ability to use Ving Tsun through attributal training and development.

Master Mickey Chan opened the next days sessions with a highly technical presentation on Biu Je, Ving Tsun’s highest level of training and development. Master Chan is recognized as one of the best communicators of technical knowledge in the Ving Tsun world. His session commanded the attention of Masters and students alike. Master Pete Pajil followed with another superb workshop that opened new areas of thinking for all Ving Tsun practitioners in the area of Health and Fitness in Kung Fu. His discussions on "Energetics" will open new frontiers in the coming years of Ving Tsun development.

The highlight of the entire workshop was a pair tandem of sessions led by Grand Master Yip Ching on the Muk Yan Johng (Wooden Man Dummy) and Luk Dim Boon Kwan (long pole) stages of training. His presentations were highly active and the participants received a real treat in being able to watch the Grand Master’s skill in action. In closing, Master Meng promised the workshop participants that were only seeing the beginning of what is yet to come. The Ving Tsun Museum will continue to grow in esteem throughout the world with this caliber of instruction. A continuous stream of internationally renowned artists will be sought to provide additional training and certification. Likewise, the treasures and knowledge of the Ving Tsun world will be made available for all to see and will remain protected and preserved on into the next century. In his words, "The trek to the Mecca of Ving Tsun has just begun!"