Читать книгу Complete Wing Chun. The Definitive Guide to Wing Chun's History and Traditions онлайн

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If nothing had changed, Yip Man probably would have remained in Foshan and Wing Chun would likely never have attained the fame it currently enjoys around the world.

The winds of change, however, soon swept over China in the form of Mao Zedong’s Communist Party seizing power in 1949, after the defeat of the Nationalists and their retreat to Taiwan. Under Communist rule, Yip Man lost his wealth and property and had no choice but to flee his homeland.

In late 1949, fate brought Yip Man once again to Hong Kong. No longer young or wealthy, Yip took shelter at the Restaurant Workers Association in Kowloon, to which he was introduced by his good friend Lee Man. Teaching at the association at the time was a man named Leung Sheung. Although Leung Sheung taught Choy Lay Fut, he had also been exposed to lung ying mor kiu (dragon-shape rubbing bridges style), Bak Mei pai, and the Jee Shim Wing Chun of Dong Suen. Age had not dampened Yip Mans feistiness and, according to one account, he critiqued Leungs performance rather sarcastically in front of his class. Yip’s slight build emboldened the larger Leung Sheung. Leung threw down his challenge, the end result of which saw Leung asking to become Yip Mans disciple and Yip starting his career as a professional Wing Chun teacher in Hong Kong.