It is very important for all kung fu practitioners to understand and respect each other’s lineage, although it is more important to judge a practitioner or instructor on the quality of his or her kung fu.
I could map out charts showing you my lineage with Bruce Lee, Yip Man, Leung Bik, and so on, but that is not my goal. What is important to understand of our past lineage and history is why this art was created.
Wing Chun was created by five masters as a combat martial art for defense against Manchu warriors. These masters pooled the entire common concepts and principles of each other’s formidable systems to come up with one ultimately effective system. This system had to be learned in a short period of time and it had to be a system that could defeat all other existing styles, as the Manchu warriors were trained martial artists. The system could not rely on strength while the Hans were being repressed. These are the key elements that each practitioner extracts from the history. The major focus should be on the concepts and principles which are the foundations of your training. From lineage to lineage, Wing Chun’s key concepts and principles are the same.
Sifu Wahnish