A Tale of Two Wings

Leung Bok-Lao remembered, of course, how Choy Biu had taken over his Choy Ga Kuen school in Siu Hing. At first, thoughts of revenge crossed his mind and he was tempted to return there, but with that thought he realized that Choy Biu's father had taught him a lot and it was perhaps best not to seek out trouble. If he did fight Choy Biu, people would say he was no good. Choy Biu's brothers would hate him and say he had forgotten his root. Bok-Lao decided not to return to Siu Hing but instead to go to the bustling city of Guangzhou. He traveled by boat and a few days later he was in Guangzhou.

Because Guangzhou was a big, crowded, city and not small like the villages, Leung Bok-Lao thought it would be a better place to start the expansion of Wing Chun. Bok-Lao had originally learned Choy Ga, but seeking more he had found Wing Chun. Believing Wing Chun to be better than Choy Ga, he wanted to spread it. He decided to again do a demonstration, in hope it would attract people and allow him to make acquaintances. Buying a small gong, he began the demonstration, and soon attracted a small crowd. He performed the Siu Lin Tao set, but because it was quiet and not flashy, again no one gave him any money at the end. Since he only wanted to meet people and wasn't interested in the money, and knew that the audience did not understand the style, he wasn't concerned with this.

Everyday Leung Bok-Lao repeated the demonstration in a different place. One day, he performed in front of a temple. He announced the style he did was Guangxi Wing Chun Kuen. One young man of about 30, wearing a small cap and long robe and looking very studious, seemed particularly interested in the demonstration. When the performance was over, the young man came forward and gave Bok-Lao a great deal of money. He told Bok-Lao that his martial arts were very good, but that most spectators would not realize this. He asked Bok-Lao if, since the demonstration was over, he had time to talk. Bok-Lao said yes, but added that his martial arts were not very good. Bok-Lao said that if the young man was really interested, they could find a place to have a conversation but he hoped he wouldn't be wasting his time. The young man said he was sure it would not be a waste of time, and helped Bok-Lao pack up his things. He then introduced himself as Leung Lan-Kwai and invited Bok-Lao to his house. Bok-Lao was happy to find out they were both of the Leung family, and agreed to accompany Lan-Kwai. Lan-Kwai lived alone with his elderly mother, but said that she liked guests. The house was very rich looking and Bok-Lao was taken to the sitting room.

Leung Lan-Kwai said when Leung Bok-Lao had introduced his martial arts, he had called it Wing Chun (Praise Spring). Lan-Kwai found this strange, thinking it should have been Weng Chun (Forever Spring), and asked if Bok-Lao could explain. Bok-Lao said that the style came from Ng Mui, but was mixed by Mui Sun with other techniques and taught to Yim Yee. He elaborated that Yim Yee had taught him and his wife Wing-Chun. He informed Lan-Kwai that he had named the style after his wife. Lan-Kwai, after hearing the story, stated that though the names of their systems sounded similar, he thought they must be different. Bok-Lao was surprised and, noting how gentle and thin and studious Lan-Kwai was, asked him if he practiced martial arts. Lan-Kwai explained that he was wealthy and had liked martial arts from a very young age, so he sought out a famous sifu and managed to learn Weng Chun. Lan-Kwai continued, admitting he was curious since the names of their systems were so similar. Bok-Lao asked him to explain how Weng Chun came about.

Leung Lan-Kwai said that Weng Chun was a Shaolin system. Jee Sin, in Shaolin, taught Hung Hay-Gung, Fung Say-Yuk and others in the Weng Chun hall. Hung Hay-Gung later graduated and left, marrying a lady named Fung Wing-Chun, they mixed their techniques to create a new style. Lan-Kwai said Weng Chun was popular on the Red Junks because Jee Sin taught Wong Wah-Bo, an opera performer. On the Red Junks the performers practiced martial arts, since many of the roles required such skills. Everyone needed this training and many began at a very young age. Some learned as children before even beginning to learn opera. Wong Wah-Bo began as a child and practiced for a long time. His best skill came from Jee Sin. Jee Sin did not support the government and very much wanted to overthrow the Qing and return the Ming. He taught Shaolin martial arts throughout China so that people could fight.

Jee Sin came to the South three times. He was very secretive and hid from the government. He came to Guangdong where the opera members learned martial arts. Wong Wah-Bo was not an attractive guy, playing the second "Painted Face" role, but his martial arts were the best. He was tremendously strong and was also the best poler on the boats. His fame was great and everyone knew of him, so when Jee Sin came to Guangdong he naturally heard Wong's name. One day Jee Sin went to the opera to watch Wong Wah-Bo. He saw that Wong was very powerful, but he also noticed that Wong made many mistakes in his martial arts - mistakes which Jee Sin thought he could correct. Two days later, the opera had finished their shows and were preparing to move on. As the poler readied to push off, Jee Sin approached and asked for passage aboard the boat to Guangzhou. Since he was in hiding, Jee Sin looked dirty and disheveled. The poler replied they were an opera boat, not a passenger ferry, and said they could not take him along. Jee Sin continued, pointing out he had no money for a passenger boat and that was why he wished to travel with them. The poler chided that if he had no money, he'd better start walking and made to push off. Jee Sin put one of his legs on the boat, the other on the dock, and took his stance. He stated that if they would not take him to Guangzhou, no one would leave.

The workers, observing the exchange, began to laugh and said he didn't have the power to keep them there. When they tried to move, however, even with the assistance of more polers, the boat would not budge even an inch. Needless to say, they were all stunned. The other boat men came together and decided to call Wong Wah-Bo, counting on him to help them. Wah-Bo was still sleeping after a late performance the night before, but they decided to wake him and bring him over. They told him the man would not let them leave, and even the group of them could not move him. Wong thought this was very strange, and observed the man through the window, with only one leg on the boat. He became intrigued, thinking it could not be an ordinary man, and decided he would come out and try to push them off. Wong grabbed a pole and tried with all his might to move the boat without success, and was quite surprised. Jee Sin only smiled and used his leg to rock the boat, causing the water to flood over. Wong realized he was dealing with a very special man, and rushed forward to kneel before him. Calling him sifu, Wong apologized and asked if he still would like passage with them to Guangzhou. Jee Sin was pleased and came on board. The polers then pushed off with ease.

Wong Wah-Bo invited the man to dinner and asked his name. The man identified himself as Jee Sin of Shaolin, which made Wong extremely happy. Wong asked Jee Sin to stay with them and to teach them the martial arts while they traveled. Deciding to take the long route, Jee Sin spent three months with them on the way to Guangzhou. Jee Sin liked their interest, and thought their power was good, and that they could help him fight the Qing. He told them their skills were not complete, but he would fix their problems, but also told them they must keep it a secret. Thus Wong Wah-Bo became a student of Jee Sin.

Jee Sin taught Wong Wah-Bo the 6.5 Pole, but told him that not many of his students had learned this skill, so he said this too must remain a secret and reminded Wong he must not tell others these techniques came from Shaolin. Because they could not use the Shaolin name, and because Jee Sin's previous students learned in the Weng Chun Hall , they decided to call the style Weng Chun Kuen. Before Wong met Jee Sin, they all used Northern styles; now they all used Shaolin but called it Weng Chun. Wong did not demonstrate much, and since his students liked to pay for him and feed him, he no longer needed to work and retired from the opera, teaching only the martial arts from that point on.

Leung Lan-Kwai, however, was not a member of the Red Boat. But because he was rich and wanted to learn, he always made friends with people. He met some of the opera people and thinking Weng Chun was very good, asked to learn it. Wong Wah-Bo was quite old at that point, and worried that his 6.5 Pole would become extinct, so he decided to teach Lan-Kwai.

Leung Bok-Lao realized that Leung Lan-Kwai's skills came from Shaolin just like his own, and was called Weng Chun, close in name to his own Wing Chun. He asked Lan-Kwai what his current occupation was, and whether he had a school to teach Weng Chun. Lan-Kwai explained that on the Red Junks, many people learned Weng Chun. Wong Wah-Bo had two special students named "Dai Dong Fung" (Great East Wind) and "Fa Min" Kam (Painted Face Kam). They both followed Wong for a long time, and wanted to teach other students, but they were very careful not to teach the 6.5 Pole. Bok-Lao pointed out that if the skill were not taught, it would surely become extinct. Lan-Kwai agreed, but explained that Wong Wah-Bo had said that although the pole techniques were few in number, they were very deadly. If they were spread and commonly used, they could injure and kill people, so Wong did not teach them to many. Lan-Kwai said he had not taught anyone, not because he wouldn't, but because he hadn't met anyone he could trust with them. Bok-Lao asked Lan-Kwai to teach them to him.

At first, Leung Lan-Kwai doubted he could do a good job teaching, but since their arts were both from Shaolin and they were both of the Leung family, he agreed and took Leung Bok-Lao down into the garden. There Lan-Kwai began to teach him. First he showed him how to shake the pole. Bok-Lao understood that the power must go right to the end of the pole. Lan-Kwai said that with the pole every point was important. It could change and was very flexible. Lan-Kwai said Bok-Lao should use his knowledge and see if he thought the pole was useful. Bok-Lao said it was a very good Shaolin system, but wondered if he could ask a question. Lan-Kwai said they were family; of course he could. Bok-Lao pointed out that his own martial arts were simple, and the 6.5 was a very good technique, but asked if he could use his Siu Lin Tao to modify the pole method. Lan-Kwai thought this was a very good idea, so they agreed to exchange. From then on, every day in the garden the two exchanged martial arts.

One day, Leung Lan-Kwai introduced Leung Bok-Lao to "Dai Dong Fung" and "Fa Min" Kam. He told his friends that Bok-Lao wanted to open a school and spread his Wing Chun style. He asked if they knew of a good place for him to begin this expansion and they replied that they did: Foshan. Saying good bye to Leung Lan-Kwai, and telling "Fa Min" Kam he would meet up with him in Foshan, Leung Bok-Lao left Guangzhou.

These stories were translated by Rene Ritchie, and have been included here with his permission. Visit the Yuen Kay-San Wing Chun home page to see the originals.