History of Wing Chun

and our origins

In the 1970s, Wing Chun came to fame through its well-known practitioner the actor Bruce Lee. More recently, it was also brought into the spotlights by the “Ip Man” movie franchise.

However, Wing Chun was created over 300 years ago by a buddhist nun called “Ng Mui”. Legend has it that she escaped from a fire at the Shaolin monastery set by the Manchus government in the 18th century. Since the Manchus had been made aware of the Shaolin Temple martial arts from renegade monks, Ng Mui devised a new system while observing a fight between a crane and a snake. This new system was passed on to a young girl called “Yim Wing Chun”, giving the name to this martial art. It is thought that because Ng Mui and Yim Wing Chun were of small build, the system was designed to be direct, focused, physically economical and efficient.

Ip Man

Ip Man and Chu Shong Tin

Chu Shong Tin

Yim Wing Chun passed the system to her husband Leung Bok Chao and it was subsequently passed through the generations down to grand master Ip Man who passed away in 1972. In the 1950s, a young man named Chu Shong Tin (a.k.a. Tsui Sheung Tin) became Ip Man’s third student in Hong Kong. He trained with him full time for six years and was recognised and praised by Ip Man for his ability to apply the core principles of Wing Chun contained in its first form (see training section). In 1964, Chu Shong Tin set up his own school in Hong Kong and taught Wing Chun throughout his entire life until he passed away in 2014.

William Lai, our teacher, trained full time under Chu Shong Tin for 8 years between 1970-1978 before coming to the UK in the 1990s. He is a recognised instructor from the Vin Tsun Athletics Association (VTAA) originally founded by Ip Man.

William Lai and Chu Shong Tin

William Lai and former student Frank Markham

WLA-Wing Chun is led by Nicolas Viphakone (a.k.a. Niko). He started his martial arts journey with a few years of traditional Ju-jitsu (original blend that led to Aikido, Judo, Karate) at “Mushin Ryu Ju-Jitsu” and northern style shaolin kung fu at “L’école des Dix Epées”. In 2008, Niko started to learn Wing Chun with Sifu William Lai and then trained with him for 12 years until 2020 when our Sifu retired from teaching.

Niko then founded WLA-Wing Chun with Sifu William Lai’s blessing. Our logo and the name of our group were created by Jamie Duke, with input from Niko. It embodies Sifu William Lai's teachings by highlighting the importance and synergy of circular and triangular shapes in the practice of Wing Chun, supported by a relaxed body structure and a focused mind.

(2019) (2025)

Top: James Baglio, Aristide Nabais-Ganito, Karl Buckland, Jamie Duke, William Lai and Nicolas Viphakone

Nicolas Viphakone, Tat Ming Lou

Bottom: Sira, William Lai, Karlos Lee

Origins of WLA Wing Chun

Note:

This diagram only highlights the lineages of Grand Master Chu Shong Tin and Sifu Wiliam Lai within the Ip Man's branch of Wing Chun. There are in fact at least 8 branches of Wing Chun. Moreover, Ip Man's and Chu Shong Tin's other students have themselves had numerous students. Curved arrows indicate additional sources of teaching and corresponding recipients.

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