Sunny Tang is a Canadian practitioner of

wing chun kung fu Wing Chun (Cantonese) or Yong Chun (Mandarin) (, lit. "singing spring") is a concept-based martial art, a form of Southern Chinese kung fu, and a close-quarters system of self-defense. It is a martial arts style characterized by its focus on ...

and

wushu Wushu may refer to: Martial arts * Chinese martial arts, the various martial arts of China * Wushu (sport) Wushu () (), or kung fu, is a competitive Chinese martial art. It integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern ...

. He was the 2003 World Traditional Masters champion and is the founder of Wushu Canada, as well as the Sunny Tang Martial Arts Centre chain of martial arts centres in Canada. He is a recipient of the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...

and an inductee into the Canadian Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

Early life

Sunny Tang was born in Hong Kong on September 3, 1946. In 1960 Tang began his training under

Ip Man Ip Man (born Ip Kai-man; 1 October 1893 – 2 December 1972), also known as Yip Man, was a Chinese martial arts grandmaster. He became a teacher of the martial art of Wing Chun when he was 20. He had several students who later became martia ...

and

Moy Yat Moy Yat (梅逸) (June 28, 1938 – January 23, 2001) was a Hongkongese, Hong Kong martial artist, painter, seal maker, teacher and author. He was a student of the legendary Wing Chun Kung-Fu teacher Yip Man (also romanized as Ip Man) from 1957 ...

in his home city. He is a practitioner and teacher of both wing chun kung fu and modern wushu.

Career

Tang emigrated to England in 1971 to open a Wing Chun school in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

. He then moved to Toronto in 1973, where he was one of the first practitioners of wing chun in the country, opening the Sunny Tang Martial Arts Centre. The business became a chain, numbering ten centres across Canada. In 1993 Tang founded Wushu Canada, the official national federation representing Canada to the

International Wushu Federation The International Wushu Federation (IWUF) is an international sport organization and the governing body for wushu in all its forms worldwide. The IWUF is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and is also a member of the ARISF, ...

. Tang was also the team leader of Team Canada for the Pan American Wushu Championships in both 1996 and 1998, as well as the

World Wushu Championships The World Wushu Championships (WWC) is an international sports championship hosted by the International Wushu Federation (IWUF) for the sports of wushu taolu and sanda (sanshou). The tournament has been held biennially since 1991 and is the p ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. In 2003 Sunny Tang won the gold medal at the World Traditional Masters competition in China. In 2009, he was then the organizer of the 10th World Wushu International Championships in Toronto. Today, Tang is a board member of the International Executive Board of the International Wushu Federation, President of Wushu Canada, and the President of the International Moy Yat Wing Chun Federation.

Books

* ''Pah Chum Do of Wing Chun Kung Fu'' (1986) * ''Pah Chun Do of Wing Chun'' (1986) * ''Wing Chun for Young Ladies'' (1986) * ''Advanced Wing Chun Kung Fu'' (1991) * ''Wing Chun Chi Sau/Bui Chee'' (1993)

Recognition

In 1989 a video interview with Tang about Chinese-Canadian culture was included in the collection of the

Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...

. He then received the Canada Day Achievement Award in 1990, and performed before Queen Elizabeth II in 1992 on the occasion of Canada’s 125th Anniversary. Tang received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and in 2016, he was inducted into the Canadian Martial Arts Hall of Fame. Tang has also appeared on the cover of ''Wing Chun Illustrated''.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tang, Sunny 1946 births Businesspeople from Toronto Martial artists from Toronto Living people Wing Chun practitioners from Hong Kong Hong Kong wushu practitioners Hong Kong emigrants to Canada Canadian company founders Canadian Wing Chun practitioners