Tse Qigong

Wing Chun is suitable for everyone, since it does not rely on physical strength. If we use strength to win in Wing Chun, we are going against the skill principles. The higher level of Wing Chun Kuen is to use less energy to defeat the strong energy. Traditional Chinese martial arts do not use a grading system for skill. In Wing Chun Kuen, it is our Chi Sau that proves our level of skill. Nor does Wing Chun require a uniform, only comfortable clothing and footwear that we can easily move in.

History
Wing Chun Kuen is named after a woman, Yim Wing Chun, and its roots go back some 400 years to the Southern Shaolin Temple. At that time the Shaolin Temple was home to some of China’s best martial artists and a refuge for freedom fighters who opposed the ruling Qing Government. Its strength grew and this aroused the concern and fear of the government and so an army was sent to attack the monastery and wipe out the monks. At first they were unsuccessful, then with the help of some traitors within Shaolin, the temple was finally burnt down. Many of the monks were killed but among those who survived was the Abbess Ng Mui.

Ng Mui found refuge at the White Crane Temple onTai Leung Mountain near the Yunnan-Szechuan border. In a town nearby lived a bean-curd seller called Yim Yee. Yim Yee had a young daughter called Yim Wing Chun. It was father and daughter were selling their bean-curd that they met and befriended Ng Mui. Later, as they knew each other more, Ng Mui taught Yim Wing Chun the martial art skill that she developed so that Yim Wing Chun could defend herself against a local bully who was harassing her and her father and trying to force her hand in marriage. Ng Mui was proud of her student and decided to call the skill after her.

Grandmaster Ip Chun
There is much more to the legend and there is some debate over its accuracy, but certainly Wing Chun Kuen has become one of the most popular styles of Kung Fu in the world. Its widespread popularity can be credited to one person, the late Grandmaster Ip Man. During his younger days, whilst living in Foshan, South China, he became famous for his Wing Chun Kung Fu and was undefeated in any attacks.

He refined and developed Wing Chun, but it was only when he moved to Hong Kong that he began to teach and spread his knowledge. Ip Man taught many, the most famous being the film star and martial artist Bruce Lee. Ip Man died in 1972 when he was over 70 years old. He was still practising his Wing Chun up until his death. Since that time his eldest son, Ip Chun, has carried on his father’s teaching. He has kept the skill he inherited true, following the principle of using less strength and energy to defeat an opponent.

Michael Tse
Hong Kong born Michael Tse began studying Wing Chun when he was 14 years old with his uncle who was a student of Grandmaster Ip Man. His uncle, Tse Chiu Hong, taught him until his death and then Master Tse began studying with Grandmaster Ip Chun. He completed the Wing Chun system with Grandmaster Ip Chun and developed his Chi Sau skill to another level. Already fast and light, he learned how to use sensitivity and footwork to defend against larger attackers.

In 1988, he moved to England and began teaching full time. He retired from the Royal Hong Kong Police force soon after, having been a policeman for eight years. Today, he teaches in London as well as travelling around the world teaching, helping to pass on the traditional Chinese skills that he learned to the next generations.