Ving Tsun Kung Fu International Association - Amsterdam - Ving Tsun, Ip Man - Wong Shun Leung - Philipp Bayer lineage

Written by: Han Kin Mui

For my study I traveled to Hong Kong for a few months. This city is a Mecca for Ving Tsun, and I would not want to miss that. My teacher Dave suggested me to train at 'Chan Kim Man' school (direct student of Wong Shun Leung and Philipp Bayer's 'Si-Hing'). He has more than 30 years of Ving Tsun experience and Philipp Bayer has a lot of respect for this man today. It would definitely be a chance, not to be missed. I therefore accepted Dave's proposal. Dave arranged this training for me and contacted one of Chan Kim Man's students, telling Chan Kim Man that I would come and train for a longer time. Study and Ving Tsun training arranged. What else do you need? ;-)

The flight was good and I did not suffer from the jet lag. After spending a few days in Hong Kong, the first training at Chan Kim Man was a fact. It looked good and it gave me a good impression. The facilities such as a mirror, bags, weapons and dummy were present. The dummy struck me right away, because it's a free standing dummy as in the movies of Ip Man ;-)

Furthermore, the 'Si-Hing' and 'Si-Dai' were training their 'Siu Lim Tao', the first form. Advanced could also do the 'Cham Kiu', the second form.

I trained the first form with the students to give my first impression and of course Chan Kim Man was also curious about my Ving Tsun qualities. This man himself has the best Ving Tsun qualities and a very kind personality. He was helpful, gave extensive tips and corrected the mistakes I made in the first form and in the 'Chi-sau'. Not only Chan Kim Man, but also his students were very helpful. Thus, 'sifu' has agreed with me that I can come and train twice a week (Monday evening and Thursday evening). Monday training starts at 18.30 until 21.00 and Thursday training starts at 18.30 until 21.15. The first training was over and I couldn’t wait for the next one.

The first month was the month of the Siu Lim Tao for me. Here I had a lot of experience and at that time self-discipline was very important. I stood in front of the mirror for the hours. It may be boring for many, but I think it’s very important. You will improve yourself. Chan Kim Man also gave a Siu Lim Tao seminar during my stay. At every move (Tan-sau, Fook-sau, Pak-sau etc.) he gave a comprehensive explanation. The next month was the Cham Kiu month. Again we trained a lot in front of the mirror and of course I asked many questions and got great explanations. The remaining days were all about training. Although the air conditioning was always on, it was hard work and sweating in the room.

Besides the training, I also traveled to Foshan with my family, the birthplace of Ip Man. Here we had visited the 'Ip Man Tong', the museum about the life of Ip Man. Unfortunately, we did not have time to go to the new museum of Ip Man. So that is scheduled for the next China trip.

These months have flown by and were actually way too short. Still, I learned a lot from Chan Kim Man and I had a lot of fun. A time that I will not forget soon. It’s a great experience and I'll be back soon with this amazing sifu!

Fotos; IP Man Tong, Foshan, China

Below is a video of Chan Kim Man at the time he was an assistant to Wong Shun Leung