East Anglia Wing Chun

Yip Man Tong Grand Opening Ceremony - Page 3

Therefore looking at the life and achievements of Yip Man, and his recognition world wide, it is only right that the local community of Foshan remember him as one of their greatest sons. On returning to Hong Kong I was able to reflect on the event with Master Yip Chun.
Brian Desir
Sifu, how do you feel now that the Tong has finally been opened?
Yip Chun
I feel that this is one of the best things I have done with my life. Now that it's over I am very happy that the event was a great success, but even better I feel that a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
Brian Desir
How many people helped organise and plan out of your fathers Museum?
Yip Chun
There is a committee made of ten people who share opinions and ideas. But myself and my brother were mainly responsible for the carrying out of plans and transactions.
Brian Desir
So how long did it take form the first idea to the actual opening?
Yip Chun
We had the intention of building the Museum 5 years ago. In that time has taken much discussion and planning. One of the main obstacles was the location of the Tong. Originally we planed to be near the Ching Wu Association in Foshan National Park but because of the lack of space we changed plan and moved it to the Ancestral Gardens.
Brian Desir
Now I hear that the present location is not permanent?
Yip Chun
That is correct, the present location is not the final location. Later it will be moved to an independent position within the garden. At this time the reclaiming of land in the old residential areas is still going on and Foshan City is going through a redevelopment program. So it may take a couple of years. The present place is too small for all the artifact's that need to be in place. But it is down to Foshan council to choose a suited location and plan out the size of the building obviously to suit the requirements. I hope that my representatives from England can write to Foshan in support of advising the council all letters should be address to Foshan council, Foshan, Canton Province, South China.
Brian Desir
What is your vision of how the Tong will be in its final stage?
Yip Chun
The Yip Man Tong will only be a museum. Local authority does not want it to be a school. Therefore it will be a meeting place of discussion and research.
Brian Desir
What did you think to the response of the people who attended the ceremony from overseas? Though a few people came I noticed some of the our main Wing Chun people were not present.
Yip Chun
Great support was shown by the Hong Kong practitioners. But I felt that the overseas practitioners should have given more support by attending this remembrance. I must say this because the total in donations was $1030,000 Hong Kong Dollars. Which 80% of the total was donated by the Hong Kong practitioners. The rest overseas. Mainly those who attended the ceremony. In attendance maybe 3 out of ten were the overseas people, 60% minimum were from Hong Kong. So taking this into consideration I feel that the Wing Chun practitioners from around the world did not participate enough. But in my association the members have all contributed. The response has been 100 percent from both Hong Kong and abroad.
From my Association we contributed £15,000 $160,000 HKD in total between my overseas people $70.000 HKD was raised by my overseas members of which a large amount of this was raised by some of the Instructors who live in England, Michael Tse, Shawn Rawcliffe and Kwok Cheung. These 3 raised $60.000 HKD I would like once again to thank and congratulate them for their input.
What I have just said does upset me because in numbers there are a considerable more practitioners abroad in comparison to the number of Wing Chun practitioners in Hong Kong there for I feel that the Wing Chun practitioners form around the world should have contributed more.
Brian Desir
Speaking out to the Wing Chun world Sifu, could you explain the purpose of the Yip Man Tong?
Yip Chun
The Importance is that Master Yip Man came to Hong Kong and did not get the full recognition he deserved from China his place of birth. But now because of the Yip Man Tong he has gained the respect of China. And so now his achievements can be fully recognised by the people of his country and the local community of Foshan for generations to come. Because you cannot ignore the achievements of Yip Man.
Another point is that this finalises that Yip Man lineage is the truest form of Wing Chun because no other Wing Chun master has the same recognition as Yip Man. He is the most successful and most well known. Finally I would love to see overseas practitioners support the Tong. You are all welcome to visit Hong Kong and travel into Foshan China for the sight seeing, plus much more.

In the future the East Anglia Wing Chun Athletic Association will be planning group trips out to Hong Kong for training courses and sight-seeing tours around the sights of Hong Kong and Foshan. Visit the Yip Man Tong; see the old homes of Leung Jan and Chan Wah Shun. See the differences of other branches of Wing Chun. Take it from me it's a great experience. For those of you who wish to go out there you can contact Sifu Brian Desir for further details. I can put you in contact with the right people. Phone 01582 514246/ 0779 880 7567, e-mail briandesir@hotmail.com.
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