I had trained in wing chun in the U.K. for many years and had even visited Hong Kong and trained with famous sifu there ... before I was introduced by a close friend to Sifu Joseph Lee in London over 20 years ago.
Sifu Lee introduced me to a totally different way of understanding and learning wing chun and I discovered had learnt effectively the two main systems of wing chun and not only the Yip Man popularised Foshan system.
Sifu Lee introduced me all those years ago to the Gulau or Kulo system of wing chun originating with the most famous wing chun practitioner Leung Jan and passed down to him one to one by GM Lee Shing.
Why, I hear you ask, was Lee Shing so important in the teaching and development of modern day wing chun?
Well The answer is long and complex, however the short answer to that question is that he was certified by Yip Man as the president of the Yip Man Athletic Association and was thereby authorised by GM Yip Man to teach Wing Chun in the West for the first time when he came to live in London in 1962.
Nevertheless, Lee Shing much like Yip Man promised never to teach non Chinese ( Gwailo ) students.
Lee Shing taught a who's who of British Chinese Kung Fu Sifu. Some learnt the whole system And others learnt only a part, depending upon a whole range of factors and circumstances.
These Sifu included amongst others -
• Sifu Joseph Cheng
• Sifu Kune
• Sifu Joseph Lee
• Sifu Austin Goh
• Sifu Joseph Mann
• Sifu Sam Kwok
• Sifu Simon Lau
• Sifu Eddie Yeoh
• Sifu Nigel Fan
These Sifu in turn were the foundations of the growth and spread of wing chun kung Fu in the U.K. throughout the 80s & 90s.
Some were and remain very famous and yet others remain largely secretive and in the shadows. Always remember that popularity and fame as well as social media pressure has nothing to do with ability and or knowledge.
Sifu Joseph somewhat uniquely learnt the Gulau (Kulo) system from
His Sifu including most importantly the Dai Lim Tao ( Big idea form ).
Some Will argue that this is made up and or
Didn't exist however it was introduced and taught by Lee Shing since the early 60s having been taught this by the Fung family.
Gulau is rare and very different to the well known Yip Man ( Foshan ) Wing Chun.
Rather than being linear it is largely characterised by circular movements.
Similarly, whilst the movements in The Yip Man forms are often very compact and succinct the motions in Dai Lim Tao are larger and circular, indeed perhaps the reason for the title "Dai Lim Tao."
Certainly m the two systems appear to have a great synergy and compliment each other in many ways.
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