Wong Shun Leung

Wong Shun-leung (; 8 May 1935 – 28 January 1997) was a Hong Kong martial artist who studied Wing Chun kung fu under Yip Man (葉問)Ving Tsun Athletic Association (1990)
The development of Ving Tsun Kungfu in Hong Kong: 1954-1960
Retrieved on 24 June 2009. and was credited with training Bruce Lee.Castrounis, L. (1997)
Wong Shun Leung (1936–1997)
(''sic''). Retrieved 4 July 2009.Peterson, D.

Retrieved on 25 June 2009.Montaigue, E.
Interview with Wong Shun Leung
Retrieved on 6 July 2009.Ving Tsun Update: Interview with Wong Shun Leung
Retrieved on 6 July 2009. In interviews, Wong claimed to have won at least 60, and perhaps over 100, street fights against martial artists of various styles, though these numbers cannot be independently confirmed.Poon, D.
Interview with Wong Shun Leung
(originally published in ''Qi Magazine''). Retrieved 6 July 2009.Peterson, D. (2001)

(originally published in ''Fight Times'', October 2001, New Zealand). Retrieved 15 March 2009.Wong Shun Leung Ving Tsun Kung Fu Association UK
Retrieved on 4 July 2009.Smith, J. (16 November 2006)
Yesteryear Ving Tsun by Yuen Yim Keung
(interview). Retrieved 5 July 2009. Due to his reputation, his students and admirers referred to him as 'Gong Sau Wong' (講手王 or 'King of Talking Hands').
Retrieved on 6 July 2009.Peterson, D., & Verratti, E. (1998)
Ving Tsun by definition: Getting it right ... the "Wong Way"!!!
(originally published in ''Martial arts legends: Wing Chun'', November 1998, USA). Retrieved 7 July 2009.Peterson, D. (2001)
Get out of the way, ... and make them pay: The street-effective footwork of Wing Chun
(originally published in ''Fight Times'', December 2001 and January 2002, New Zealand). Retrieved 6 July 2009. Wong recorded one instructional film entitled ''Wing Chun: The science of in-fighting''.Anonymous (2003)

Retrieved on 4 July 2008.

Early martial arts training

Wong reportedly trained in several martial art styles in his youth, primarily in Tai Chi and either boxing or kickboxing.Peterson, D. (1990)
Wong Shun Leung: Wing Chun personified
(originally published in '' Inside Kung Fu'', vol. 18, no. 2). Retrieved 25 June 2009. He abandoned boxing because of two incidents: one with his boxing coach and one with Ip Man. The first incident apparently occurred because Wong accidentally struck his boxing coach during sparring. The angry coach attacked in earnest, only to be eventually knocked out by Wong; the incident caused Wong to leave boxing.Bayer, P.
Ving Tsun Update: Wong Shun Leung
Retrieved on 25 June 2009. In another account, however, Wong said he had defeated his boxing coach with wing chun techniques: "I was sparring with my instructor and I hit him very hard, he got real mad and came at me very hard. I fought back with wing chun and he ended up bleeding. Boxing was over for me!"

First encounter with Ip Man

The second incident came about from Wong's fascination with the stories of legendary wing chun figures, such as Chan Wah-shun (陳華順) and Leung Jan (梁贊). This interest led Wong to look for a wing chun teacher. Friends of his older brother took him to meet Ip Man. According to one version of events, after defeating at least two of Yip's students, Wong had a match with Yip himself and was defeated easily. Another version is that after Wong faced Lo Man-kam, later Yip Po-ching dealt with Wong. In any case, Wong joined the wing chun group and eventually came to assist Yip with teaching, with students including Bruce Lee.

Behind the scenes teacher of Bruce Lee

Grandmaster Ip Man once spoke to Wong after Lee achieved superstardom ''"如果没有你的多方鼓励和指导，李小龙断无今日的成就"'' (Without your guidance and encouragement, Bruce Lee wouldn't be having such achievement").

Bruce Lee once wrote in a letter to Wong, "Even though I am (technically) a student of Ip Man, in reality I learned my Kung-fu from you." Wong was believed to have carried the letter in his wallet. Perhaps the best-known letter from Lee to Wong is that of 11 January 1970,Lee, B. (1970)
Bruce Lee's letter to Wong Shun-leung on 11 January 1970
(scan). Retrieved 4 July 2009. which has been translated into English as an appendix to an article by Wong.Wong, S. L.

Retrieved on 4 July 2009.

In 1970 Bruce Lee wrote a letter in Chinese to Wong Shun-leung :

Official recognition by China in 1996 as Science of Ving Tsun Kung Fu

In October 1996, National Sports Administration of China invited Wong Shun-leung (together with 12 students) to Beijing to teach and to promote Wong's Ving Tsun to the Chinese peoples, the seminar turn out very successful with nearly 200 registered participants and among them were martial arts experts, enthusiast, police and army individuals. After the weeklong training with Wong and Wong's students, both organizer and participants unanimously acknowledged that Wong's Ving Tsun is not just an ordinary fighting skill but something deep, significant and highly effective, since then Wong's fighting system became known as 咏春拳学 in Chinese, Ving Tsun Kuen Hok in Cantonese of Hong Kong and Science of Ving Tsun Kung Fu in English, today WSLVT (Wong Shun Leung Ving Tsun) is widespread in mainland China and worldwide.

Fighting career

''Beimo'' (比武) competition

According to Wong and his students, he became active in ''beimo'' (比武): semi-organized bare-knuckle challenge fights in Hong Kong (sometimes known as 'kung fu elimination contests').
Retrieved on 5 July 2009. Supposedly there were no rules, protective equipment, or time limits. As Wong recalled in an interview, "When I competed, it was in secret. We went into a room, and the door was shut and there were no rules. The government did not allow them. They were illegal, but we didn't care. We fought until the other guy was knocked out." ''Beimo'' competitions were believed to be held anywhere that was found to be convenient. Some ''beimo'' competitions were held on the streets in Hong Kong.Cheung, H.

Retrieved on 6 July 2009.Peterson, D. (2005)
The Wong Shun Leung Method of Wing Chun Fung Fu
(''sic''). Retrieved 6 July 2009.

According to Yuen Yim-keung, there were three two-minute rounds with a one-minute rest in between. The ring was five meters in diameter, which was drawn in chalk, and as a result if the opponent went out of the ring more than three times he would be announced as the loser. There were also no attacks to the eyes, throat or groin, but everything else could be applied. Also if there was excessive blood loss, then the injured fighter would be announced as the loser.

In the early 1950s, compared to other kung fu styles, wing chun was hardly known.Leung, D.
The rise and fall of the Wing Chun (Ving Tsun) Family
Retrieved on 5 July 2009. It was a style of kung fu practiced by a minority—mostly members of the Association of Restaurant Workers of Hong Kong.Ving Tsun Athletic Association (1990)
The Development of Ving Tsun Kungfu in Hong Kong: 1950-1953
Retrieved on 5 July 2009. Different kung fu schools met secretly with each other for challenge matches. Wong was said to have faced opponents from many disciplines—"virtually every style of martial art in the colony." He defeated many opponents in ''beimo'' matches in Hong Kong between the ages of 17 and 32, and his reputation grew as he continued winning these matches. Some have attributed wing chun's fame in Hong Kong to Wong's ''beimo'' reputation.

Students from different schools sometimes visited each other's schools and issued challenge to their top students and instructors. If a student was able to beat the main teacher or master of a particular school, the school would close down. According to some of Yip's first-generation students, Wong "reputedly 'closed down' quite a number of schools in that way." Reportedly, Wong won most of these contests within a few punches.Martin, M. (2004)

(originally published in ''Combat Magazine'', September and October 2004). Retrieved 6 July 2009. Wong's prowess in ''beimo'' helped him convince his secondary school classmate, Wu Chan Nam, to become his first student—Wu witnessed his win in a ''beimo'' match.Wu, C. N.: Retrieved on 6 July 2009. In addition, he encouraged his junior fellow students and his own students to compete in ''beimo'' competitions and arranged matches for them. According to Yuen Yim-keung (袁炎強), Wong's student, Wong stopped arranging these matches because "his students were defeating not only other Kung Fu styles but also other students of Ving Tsun outside of the Wong Shun-leung family." Wong also reportedly had a ''beimo'' match with a much bigger Russian boxer called Giko. John Smith (a student of one of Wong's students),Smith, J. (2004)

Retrieved on 7 July 2009. reports that Wong defeated Giko,Smith, J. (2005)
Wong Shun Leung: The man and his method
(www.takeforum.com). and that Wong himself told Smith how he was able to achieve this victory.

Wong was believed to have had over 60, and perhaps over 100, ''beimo'' matches and never lost. This reputation earned him the name 'Gong Sau Wong' (i.e., 'King of Talking Hands'). Once asked if he was the best fighter in the world, he replied, "No, only the second best"; when then asked who was the best, he said, "I have not met him yet."

Retirement from ''beimo'' competition

In what was to be Wong's last ''beimo'' match, he unintentionally blinded his opponent's eye; he then decided to quit ''beimo'' fighting.LeBlanc, G. E.
Wing Chun Qi Sao training
Retrieved on 7 July 2009. Lee Hang Cheong (李恆昌), one of Wong's students, recalled that Wong had insulted his intended opponent (apparently a well-known kung fu instructor) to coerce him to fight, but regretted both instigating the fight and accidentally blinding the other man in one eye.Lee, H. C.

(''The legendary Master Wong Shun Leung: His young and strong age'') . Retrieved 7 July 2009. There is a discrepancy between Lee's account and others about Wong's age when he retired from ''beimo'' competition. A few sources claim that Wong competed in ''beimo'' until the age of 32. Lee, however, said that Wong was around the age of 24.

Another view is that Wong's last ''beimo'' match was actually a different kind of incident. In ''beimo'' competition, according to Yuen Yim-keung, "There were also no attacks to the eyes, throat or groin, but everything else could be applied." Yuen also said that there were three two-minute rounds in a ''beimo'' match. In contrast, others have said that there were no rules and no time limits. Moreover, some question whether or not a referee was present. When Wu Chan Nam fought in a ''beimo'' match, there was a referee present—Wong Kiu.Wu, C. N.: Retrieved on 7 July 2009. According to ''Life and Legend of Bruce Lee'', there was always supposed to be a referee present at a ''beimo'' match, as Wong re-enacted the scene of a 1950s ''beimo'' match on a rooftop and played the role of the referee.IMDb: Life and Legend of Bruce Lee
Retrieved on 7 July 2009.

Other competitions

On 22 November 1957, the inaugural Taiwan–Hong Kong–Macau Open Chinese Kung Fu Competition (台港澳國術比賽) was held in Taiwan. Thirty-two competitors from Hong Kong and Macau formed a team and participated in this competition,Li, P. (July 1998). 李小龍: 神話再現 (''From limited to limitless: The ways of Bruce Lee'') . Hong Kong: Oriental Resources Company (東方匯澤公司). but only two Hong Kong competitors scored a victory.Longley, K.

(originally published in ''Impact International Martial Arts Magazine''). Retrieved 7 July 2009. Wong competed in his weight class and had a preliminary match with Wu Ming Jeet (吳明哲), a Taiwanese fighter known for his powerful kicks, but was knocked out and eliminated. A documentary film covering the competition was played in Hong Kong, with a first-day showing on 12 February 1958. In 1974, Unicorn Chan (小麒麟) recalled that it was in 1958 when Bruce Lee took him to watch a documentary film on kung fu competitions, and that Lee had watched it seven times before within the last four days.

Wong once defeated a fencing champion on television with his wing chun butterfly knives.Lam, G., & LeBlanc, G. E.
The Wing Chun double knife training: Baat Jaam Do
Retrieved on 7 July 2009. Gary Lam recounted that "several years ago my Sifu, the late Wong Shun-leung, sparred with a champion western fencer on television. Wong easily beat the fencer, and when the fencer complained Wong had an unfair advantage with two swords, Wong offered him a second blade and beat him again."

Wan Kam-leung (溫鑑良) witnessed the fight Wong fought with Bruce Lee when Lee returned to Hong Kong from the United States. (25 July 2009). Retrieved 8 May 2010. Po-Wei Chen It took place at Lee's home in Kowloon Tong. Wong claimed that his hands were faster acting than Lee's, however Bruce retaliated by saying his kicks were much faster, thus provoking the friendly scuffle. Wan commented that Lee's kicks were fast and powerful whilst Wong's wing chun hand techniques were modified and practical. Wong and Lee only fought for a short period of time.

Ip Man Kwoon's new Jeung-Mun-Yan

1970s ''Kung fu'' magazine 17th issue "Who succeed the Jeung-Mun-Yan of Wing Chun" (Chinese: 香港《當代武壇》第17期《誰繼承詠春掌門之位》) published in Hong Kong, in December 1972 after Grandmaster Ip Man died, students of Yip found themselves without a leader, Ip Chun, Leung Sheung, Lok Yiu, Chu Shong-tin, Jiu Wan, Wong Shun-leung, Tang Sang and Bruce Lee among the candidates to succeed Yip, after 6 months of debates, Ip Chun and students of Yip officially appointed Wong as the new Jeung-Mun-Yan (president) of Wing Chun (Chinese: 香港咏春体育会主席).

Filmography

''Enter the Dragon''

Some sources claim that Wong choreographed some fight scenes in ''Enter the Dragon'' (龍爭虎鬥), saying that "... when shooting ''Enter the Dragon'' in Hong Kong, he ruce Leeinvited Wong to come on location to discuss the fight scenes" and that "Wong in fact had been invited to choreograph some of the fight scenes in ''Enter the Dragon''." The documentary ''Dragon since 1973'' consists of interviews with various Hong Kong personalities, mostly those who worked with Lee in his Golden Harvest days. None of the interviewees, including Bee Chan (陳會毅; one of Lee's most trusted assistants), Shek Kin (石堅), and Chaplin Chang (張欽鵬), mentioned that Wong had been invited to work as a fight scene choreographer for ''Enter the Dragon''.龍一九七三以後
(''Dragon since 1973''). Retrieved 8 July 2009.

A photograph of Wong, Lee, and Raymond Chow (鄒文懐) on one of the sets of ''Enter the Dragon'' (the weapon room) implies that Wong was present during filming. Wong appears in the same clothing in that photograph as he wears in the footage of himself sparring with an extra on that particular set,IMDb: Bruce Lee, the Legend
Retrieved on 7 July 2009. and thus could have been from the time when Wong attended a screen test for ''Game of Death'', as described below.

''Game of Death''

Wong received an invitation to appear in ''Game of Death'' (死亡遊戲), but declined. He was scheduled to attend a screen test on the set of ''Enter the Dragon'' after Bruce Lee had finished shooting the film and was working on dubbing. Lee returned to Hong Kong from his last trip to the United States of America in late May 1973. Thus, Wong would have attended the screen test sometime in June 1973. Wong recalled, "About two months before he (Bruce Lee) died he gave me a phone call ... After this he left Hong Kong to settle his film business. When he came back, he called me up and wanted me to participate in the making of ''Game of Death''. He had also invited me to the studio to attend a screen test. I did not promise to act in the film, yet I still went to attend the screen test to please him."Wong, S. L.
Wong Shun Leung on Bruce Lee
Retrieved on 7 July 2009. In a 1986 interview, Wong said, "I told him (Bruce Lee) that I didn't want to go and die in my first movie! ... I wasn't in dire financial straits at the time, so I didn't have to do the film (just) to make money." The role of Lee's final opponent was thus played by basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In another interview, Wong said, "It was for ''Game of Death'', but I declined because I thought that the moves of Wing Chun style wouldn’t look good on film. I think the Wing Chun method is ugly for movies but very good and very logical for real fighting."

Later film work

In 1973, shortly after Bruce Lee's death, Wong acted in ''Life and Legend of Bruce Lee''. In this Chinese film, Wong played the role of himself, an instructor at Ip Man's wing chun school who first met a teenager named Lee in the 1950s. In the 1993 documentary film ''Death by Misadventure'', Wong talked about his experiences with Lee.IMDb: Death by Misadventure
Retrieved on 8 July 2009. He also starred in a training video, entitled ''Wing Chun: the Science of In-fighting'', which was produced in the early 1980s.

Secret matches

Wu and Wong's match in the 1957 kung fu competition in Taiwan is the only documented proof of Wong's involvement in fighting competition; the only records of Wong's ''beimo'' matches are from eyewitnesses. Since ''beimo'' competition was held secretly, the loser often denied involvement in the fight afterward, or both sides would claim victory after the fight. For example, in the match between Ni Yuk Tong (倪沃棠) and Wong, various accounts of the fight exist, and no one is sure of where the fight took place, how the fighters performed, and who won. Thus, while many of Wong's students have referred to him as "one of the greatest fighters of this century" (i.e., the 20th century), those outside the Wing Chun community could doubt the claim's authenticity.

Wong's participation in, and views on, tournaments reflected his philosophy on martial arts. When asked, "Did you compete in any organized tournaments with rules?" Wong replied, "Not in boxing. When I competed, it was in secret. We went into a room, and the door was shut and there were no rules. The government did not allow them. They were illegal, but we didn't care. We fought until the other guy was knocked out." When asked, "Did you ever consider competing in combat sports?" Wong replied, "I have always liked boxing, I like anything about fighting, but my kind of fighting is not the sport version, it is real fighting where there are no rules."

Students of WSL

Students of Wong Shun-leung include:

* Aeberhard Christoph
* Anthony Kan
* Attilio Reale: practiced Ving Tsun with Wong Shun-leung for 16 years; played the Ving Tsun Fighter in Bloodsport with Jean-Claude Van Damme; teaches advanced students in Munich, Germany
* Barry Lee
* Bruce Lee
* Chan Kim-man (陳儉文): one of the senior students who practiced and taught Ving Tsun with Wong Shun-leung since 1978 for 19 years until Wong died in 1997
* Chiu Hok-yin
* Cliff Au Yeung
* Clive Potter
* Cuorad Reto
* David Cheung
* Gary Lam (Lam Man-hog)
* Jerry Yeung
* Ko Kin
* Lam Kam-kuen
* Lawrence Leung Chee-sing
* Lewis Luk
* Li Hang-cheong
* Mariusz Cydzik
* Ng Chun-Hong
* Nino Bernardo
* Janusz Szymankiewicz
* Philipp Bayer
* Philip Ng
* Rolf Clausnitzer
* Tommy Yuen Yim-keung
* Tony Lee
* Victor Koo
* Wan Kam-leung
* Steven Girard (UK)
* Wong Hong-chung (son of Wong Shun-leung)

Death

On 12 January 1997, Wong had been playing few games of cards and Mahjong with a group of friends at the Ving Tsun Athletic Association, when he complained of feeling unwell. Soon afterwards he suffered a stroke, collapsed and went into a coma. Wong died on 28 January 1997 at the age of 61 years old.

In popular culture

He was portrayed by Chapman To in the 1999 film ''What You Gonna Do, Sai Fung?'' (a.k.a. ''1959 某日某'').

He was portrayed by Eric Chen in the 2008 Chinese drama ''The Legend of Bruce Lee''.

He was portrayed by Huang Xiaoming in the 2010 film ''Ip Man 2''.

He was portrayed by Wu Yue in the 2010 film ''Bruce Lee, My Brother''.

Notes

*a. Wong's date of birth is given as 8 May 1935 by Philipp Bayer (one of his students) and Roy Horan (in an article for Black Belt magazine in 1983),.Horan, R. (1983): "Wong Shun Leung: A Wing Chun phenomenon." ''Black Belt'', 21(9):28–35 Other sources give his date of birth as 8 June 1935.Auyeung, C., & Luk, L. (c. 2005)
Wong Shun Leung, the Legend
Retrieved on 8 May 2010.
(20 February 2006). Retrieved 8 May 2010. The discrepancy is attributed to Wong's date of birth under the lunar calendar, i.e., the 8th day of the 5th lunar month.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Shun Leung
1935 births
1997 deaths
Wing Chun practitioners from Hong Kong