OUR PHILOSOPHY 

The Southern Temple Burns

Wing Chun (詠春) was invented in the early days of the Qing Dynasty (清朝). The tales we have state that during the Qing Dynasty, the Southern Shaolin Temple (南少林) hosted a number of revolutionaries determined to restore the Ming Dynasty (明朝) to power. Due to this, the Qing convinced a member of the temple to betray their brothers (stories differ on who), and the temple was burned.
During this time, the 5 Elders (少林五祖) fled to various parts of China. 4 of them are credited with the founding of much of Southern Shaolin Kung Fu. The Venerable Yi Sin (至善禪師) taught the founders of the Hung Ga (洪家), Choy Ga (蔡家), Lei Ga (李家), and Mok Ga (莫家) styles. Down the road, Choy Ga, Lei Ga, and Fut Ga (佛家) would be combined to form another famous Southern style, Choy Lei Fut (蔡李佛). The Venerable Yi Sin would also later teach the Red Opera Boat practitioner Leung Yi Tai (梁二娣) the 6 and 1/2 Point Pole (六點半棍), which would become an invaluable contribution to Wing Chun.

Ng Mui  (五梅)

As the legend goes, Ng Mui founded Wing Chun by distilling her extensive knowledge of Southern Shaolin to rapidly teach a young woman, Yim Wing Chun (嚴詠春), to defend herself against a local bully. Wing Chun was the daughter of Yim Yi, a local tofu seller, who’s cart Ng Mui frequented. Ng Mui is also credited with founding other styles, such as Five Pattern Hung Fist (五形洪拳), Southern Dragon (龍形摩橋), and Ng Mui Paai (五梅派) – often called Wu Mei Pai in Mandarin.

The Red Boat (紅船)

Yim Wing Chun eventually married Leung Bok Chau (梁博儔), a salt merchant, who is credited with naming the style after his wife, calling it Wing Chun Kuen (詠春拳), "Wing Chun’s Fist." Together, they taught the Opera performer Wong Wah Bo (黃華寶), who traded his open-hand skills with fellow performer Leung Yi Tai, and together they created the Wing Chun we know today, comprised of 3 empty-handed forms, the wooden dummy, the knives, and the pole. Many of their fellow performers, such as Dai Fa Min Kam and Yik Kam, learned from these two, and later founded their own branches of Wing Chun.

Fatsaan (佛山市)

Eventually, Wong and Leung would come to teach a young doctor from Fatsaan named Leung Jan (梁贊). Dr. Leung was a skilled herbal doctor, who would later teach much of his Dit Da (跌打) knowledge, along with his Wing Chun skills, to both his son Leung Bik (梁璧和), and the young currency exchanger Chan Wah-Shun (陳華順), both of whom taught the young Yip Man later in life, with Chan taking on the primary bulk of Yip Sijo’s teaching, and Yip Sijo only having met Leung Bik after Chan’s passing.

Grandmaster Yip Man (葉問宗師)

The late Grandmaster Yip Man brought Wing Chun to Hong Kong while he was fleeing mainland China, due to having served in the Republic of China police force, prior to the establishment of the current PRC government. Though he came from a wealthy family in Foshan, upon reaching Hong Kong, Yip Man was destitute. He was eventually approached by Leung Sheung, who witnessed his prowess, and invited him to teach the HKRWA. Many of the Wing Chun practitioners in the world today trace their lineage to the late Grandmaster.

Grandmaster Leung Sheung (梁相宗師)

Leung Sheung was the Senior-most Disciple of the late Grandmaster Yip Man, and his 1st student in Hong Kong. As a Wing Chun practitioner, Leung Sheung’s kung fu brothers knew him for his unquestionable talent. He was referred to as the “King of Biu Zi”. Leung Sheung was an immensely humble man. He was overly modest about his own Wing Chun abilities. As a student and teacher, he consistently chose to promote Yip Man’s abilities instead of his own. Despite being one of the few students that Yip Man ever encouraged to teach publicly, Leung Sheung made sure to keep a very low profile. He never once advertised his school. One of Leung Sheung’s most famous sayings was, “If you find me, you are lucky.”Leung Sheung’s Wing Chun teaching philosophy was to visualize students as driftwood. Picturing himself living along a river, he imagined driftwood washing up in front of his home. At times, he would look at the driftwood and find a piece that he found interesting. He would continue to collect driftwood and eventually pick one piece that he found interesting enough to begin to shape. As he would learn, some driftwood could be shaped and some could not, due to faults or imperfections. Once Leung Sheung determined that a student was worthy of his teachings, it was then when he became highly demanding of them.

For further information, please visit
https://leungsheung.com/

Sigung Kenneth Chung (鐘萬年 師公)

Sifu Ken, as he prefers to be called, began studying with Leung Sheung in 1965 and was regarded as an outstanding student. In 1968, he left Hong Kong to further his studies in the US, where he met his first student, Sifu Ben Der. While in San Francisco he taught Wing Chun for several years. In 1973 Ken returned to Hong Kong for 5 more years and recommenced training under Leung Sheung. During this time, his Wing Chun improved vastly as he gained valuable insights, leading him to focus on developing a soft and relaxed style.

Sifu Stephen Elaimy 

Stephen Elaimy began studying Wing Chun in 1990 and has been the instructor at Seattle Wing Chun since 1998. He was introduced to Wing Chun by Sifu Joy Chaudhuri in Tempe, Arizona while attending Arizona State University. Joy is a student of Augustine Fong in the lineage of Ho Kam Ming and Yip Man. In 1993, he moved to Los Angeles and studied with Sifu Hawkins Cheung for a short time until he moved to Seattle in 1994. Hawkins was a direct student of Yip Man and a classmate of the late Bruce Lee. He met Sifu Carl Dechiara and was excited to find a traditional Wing Chun teacher in Seattle with great fighting and teaching skill. Carl is a student of Sifu Kenneth Chung, who is among the very best Wing Chun practitioners in the world. Ken was a student of the great Leung Sheung, Yip Man's first Hong Kong student. Stephen studied with Carl for over two years from 1994 to 1997. Stephen began teaching in Seattle in 1998 when Carl moved to California and then on to Ohio. 
He continues to train with Master Kenneth Chung. He loves Wing Chun, and it shows in his approach to teaching.

For further information, please visit
https://seattlewingchun.com

Instructor Karl Winter 

Karl began studying Leung Sheung Wing Chun in 2013 under the guidance of Chris Hanson, a student of Wong Siu in Los Angeles who was a direct Disciple of the late Grandmaster Leung Sheung. Karl Studied with Chris until 2018 and then began visiting  Seattle to enrich his perspective and conceptional understanding under the tutelage of Sifu Stephen Elaimy of Seattle Wing Chun who is a student of Sigung Ken Chung. 

Karl refers to himself as a "Forever Student" and continues to grow in both conceptual understanding and practical application.


Class Schedule:

Tuesday
5:00pm - 7:00pm

Thursday 
5:00pm - 7:00pm

Address: 

Camden Grange & Community Center
7 Camden Rd, Elk, WA 99009