Infrazael
10-21-2008, 04:58 PM
Taken from Ali Rahim's Wing Chun website. I was doing some research into WC and I came across this. According to this article "Heung Chan, who is the Cousin of Woo Fai Ching." And also "Woo Yeun, who was noted as co-founder of the Choy Li Fut system."
Woo Fai Ching was born June 12, in the summer of 1915, in Zhuhai China. Fai Ching was the son of a Banking and Currency Chairman, of the Guomindang Government. By 1931 Fai Ching was 16 years of age, and was beginning to become a strong activist in the Mao Zedong Movement. By this time, he was starting to make enemies with his newfound beliefs, in the district of Wanzai.Wanzai is just miles across the harbor near the port of Macau, where he moved with his uncle, to help start a restaurant business, and to get away from all his troubles back home. At age 17, Fai Ching attended his first kung fu class. There he met Leung Sheung for the first time. Although Woo Fai Ching was older than Leung Sheung (3 years) Leung was much bigger than Woo. In fact Leung Sheung was bigger than all the boys in the class (held about 8 kids). Classes were held in the residential district area of Sun Yat Sen, where Leung and Woo lived as teenagers. The instructor’s name was Master Poon, who was a student of Heung Chan, who is the Cousin of Woo Fai Ching. Heung Chan learned from Woo Yeun, who was one of the co-founders of the Choy Li Fut system, and also Woo Fai Ching’s great uncle. As the years passed, Fai Ching was getting ready for college. His studies were business and economics. Fai Ching moved to the district of Wan Chai, on the island of Hong Kong, were he attended Wan Chai University, which is now Wan Chai Technical Institute.
They trained together for at least 4 years and 7 months, as fellow students in the Choy Li Fut system. Leung Sheung trained much longer than Woo Fai Ching, and therefore was a better fighter then Woo was. When Woo came home on the first visit from school, he discovered Leung Sheung was working in his place at the restaurant, and became quite attached to his family. It was then that Leung Sheung wanted to become a restaurant owner. Woo had wanted to go to Beijing University, to finish his master degree. There he found a new love, which was Shoalin Wushu. Woo Fai Ching moved with his uncle Woo Sun Bik, who was the older brother of Woo Fai Ching’s father. They lived in the residential district of Di’anmen, on Guloudong Street, just walking distant from the Jings Han Park. Woo Fai Ching, loved His uncle very much, they went fishing every Sunday afternoon, if the weather was good, because it seemed to rain all the time. "We fished at the docks of the Beihai Lake and spent a lot of time together, for it being the first time that we had met", quote Woo Fai Ching. Woo Fai Ching studied Wushu under his Uncle Woo Sun Bik who was a student of Woo Yeun, who was noted as co-founder of the Choy Li Fut system. Woo Yeun was a very skilled master in Shoalin Wushu. It amazed Woo Fai Ching at that moment, realizing that he came from a talented martial art family, at age 29 (to old to brag), so late in his kung fu life. "martial art is something my father never talked about, I guess because he was a politician or something"? remembers Woo Fai Ching. Years passed, and in 1951 Leung Sheung and Woo still kept in touch. Woo Fai Ching was 36 and a successful businessman in food imports, and owner of a restaurant at that time. Leung Sheung; Called about Yip Man; "When he said that he was learning from Yip Man himself, I didn’t believe him, it was like learning from a martial art god", quote Fai Ching. Woo and Sheung remembered being teased when training as young men, kids used to say," That’s no good, wing chun, Yip Man is the best." When they asked about this Yip Man, they heard things that sounded like a folk story. About a man, that was smaller than them, and couldn’t be defeated. Woo Fai Ching met Grandmaster Yip Man, on Chinese New Years 1952. "When I met Yip Man he was very nice and easy to approach, he seemed so harmless. The next day, I had the honor of watching Leung Sheung private class with Yip Man, it was amazing, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Leung Sheung body was bouncing all over the place, but it seemed as if Yip Man was not moving, and Yip Man’s moments were very small and hard to see, his hands were so fast, that his techniques looked liked a blur, it was amazing" says, Woo Fai Ching.
In 1953, Woo was lucky to expand his company to Hong Kong, to the district of Sai Kung. That year he became a private student of Yip Man, and was taught at the Three Prince Temple on Yue Chow Street. Woo Fai Ching studied under Yip Man privately for two years, and finished the rest of the system with Leung Sheung, from 1956-62. It was good news to the friends of Woo Fai Ching that he was studying under Leung Sheung. In the 50’s, it was hard to join a good Wing Chun Klan (direct Yip Man lineage), because they kept it among themselves, so you had to be a good friend of a friend, to even be considered a student of the Yip Man lineage.
In 1967 Woo Fai Ching moved to the United States, in the city of Oak Park, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. There he owned a restaurant called the How Kao Inn, on Nine Mile Rd. There he took on two disciples, Master Ali Hamad Rahim, who is the only, certified Master, of the Woo Fai Ching’s Hong Kong Wing Chun System, in the United States, and his grandson Victor Woo, who did not chose to make Wing Chun a career. There is no doubt, that this system (Woo Fai Ching) is a product, of the Yip Man and Leung Sheung systems. Grandmaster Woo Fai Ching has been retired for about 18 years now. He lives comfortably in West Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA. He is a business and spiritual advisor for the Silent Warrior Associaction. He still practices Yang Style Tai Chi Ch'uan and Wing Chun Kung Fu daily with closed door desciples.
The link is here:
http://www.louisvillewingchun.com/
Woo Fai Ching was born June 12, in the summer of 1915, in Zhuhai China. Fai Ching was the son of a Banking and Currency Chairman, of the Guomindang Government. By 1931 Fai Ching was 16 years of age, and was beginning to become a strong activist in the Mao Zedong Movement. By this time, he was starting to make enemies with his newfound beliefs, in the district of Wanzai.Wanzai is just miles across the harbor near the port of Macau, where he moved with his uncle, to help start a restaurant business, and to get away from all his troubles back home. At age 17, Fai Ching attended his first kung fu class. There he met Leung Sheung for the first time. Although Woo Fai Ching was older than Leung Sheung (3 years) Leung was much bigger than Woo. In fact Leung Sheung was bigger than all the boys in the class (held about 8 kids). Classes were held in the residential district area of Sun Yat Sen, where Leung and Woo lived as teenagers. The instructor’s name was Master Poon, who was a student of Heung Chan, who is the Cousin of Woo Fai Ching. Heung Chan learned from Woo Yeun, who was one of the co-founders of the Choy Li Fut system, and also Woo Fai Ching’s great uncle. As the years passed, Fai Ching was getting ready for college. His studies were business and economics. Fai Ching moved to the district of Wan Chai, on the island of Hong Kong, were he attended Wan Chai University, which is now Wan Chai Technical Institute.
They trained together for at least 4 years and 7 months, as fellow students in the Choy Li Fut system. Leung Sheung trained much longer than Woo Fai Ching, and therefore was a better fighter then Woo was. When Woo came home on the first visit from school, he discovered Leung Sheung was working in his place at the restaurant, and became quite attached to his family. It was then that Leung Sheung wanted to become a restaurant owner. Woo had wanted to go to Beijing University, to finish his master degree. There he found a new love, which was Shoalin Wushu. Woo Fai Ching moved with his uncle Woo Sun Bik, who was the older brother of Woo Fai Ching’s father. They lived in the residential district of Di’anmen, on Guloudong Street, just walking distant from the Jings Han Park. Woo Fai Ching, loved His uncle very much, they went fishing every Sunday afternoon, if the weather was good, because it seemed to rain all the time. "We fished at the docks of the Beihai Lake and spent a lot of time together, for it being the first time that we had met", quote Woo Fai Ching. Woo Fai Ching studied Wushu under his Uncle Woo Sun Bik who was a student of Woo Yeun, who was noted as co-founder of the Choy Li Fut system. Woo Yeun was a very skilled master in Shoalin Wushu. It amazed Woo Fai Ching at that moment, realizing that he came from a talented martial art family, at age 29 (to old to brag), so late in his kung fu life. "martial art is something my father never talked about, I guess because he was a politician or something"? remembers Woo Fai Ching. Years passed, and in 1951 Leung Sheung and Woo still kept in touch. Woo Fai Ching was 36 and a successful businessman in food imports, and owner of a restaurant at that time. Leung Sheung; Called about Yip Man; "When he said that he was learning from Yip Man himself, I didn’t believe him, it was like learning from a martial art god", quote Fai Ching. Woo and Sheung remembered being teased when training as young men, kids used to say," That’s no good, wing chun, Yip Man is the best." When they asked about this Yip Man, they heard things that sounded like a folk story. About a man, that was smaller than them, and couldn’t be defeated. Woo Fai Ching met Grandmaster Yip Man, on Chinese New Years 1952. "When I met Yip Man he was very nice and easy to approach, he seemed so harmless. The next day, I had the honor of watching Leung Sheung private class with Yip Man, it was amazing, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Leung Sheung body was bouncing all over the place, but it seemed as if Yip Man was not moving, and Yip Man’s moments were very small and hard to see, his hands were so fast, that his techniques looked liked a blur, it was amazing" says, Woo Fai Ching.
In 1953, Woo was lucky to expand his company to Hong Kong, to the district of Sai Kung. That year he became a private student of Yip Man, and was taught at the Three Prince Temple on Yue Chow Street. Woo Fai Ching studied under Yip Man privately for two years, and finished the rest of the system with Leung Sheung, from 1956-62. It was good news to the friends of Woo Fai Ching that he was studying under Leung Sheung. In the 50’s, it was hard to join a good Wing Chun Klan (direct Yip Man lineage), because they kept it among themselves, so you had to be a good friend of a friend, to even be considered a student of the Yip Man lineage.
In 1967 Woo Fai Ching moved to the United States, in the city of Oak Park, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. There he owned a restaurant called the How Kao Inn, on Nine Mile Rd. There he took on two disciples, Master Ali Hamad Rahim, who is the only, certified Master, of the Woo Fai Ching’s Hong Kong Wing Chun System, in the United States, and his grandson Victor Woo, who did not chose to make Wing Chun a career. There is no doubt, that this system (Woo Fai Ching) is a product, of the Yip Man and Leung Sheung systems. Grandmaster Woo Fai Ching has been retired for about 18 years now. He lives comfortably in West Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA. He is a business and spiritual advisor for the Silent Warrior Associaction. He still practices Yang Style Tai Chi Ch'uan and Wing Chun Kung Fu daily with closed door desciples.
The link is here:
http://www.louisvillewingchun.com/