Roots of Wing Chun from its Inception - part 2

Sifu Garry’s Blog

Development of Wing Chun

Red Boats Opera

1800’s onwards

Prior to the formation of the Red Boat Opera Troupe, wing chun was only a concept…………

After the Shaolin Temples were destroyed by the Manchu’s, the surviving Monks fled south, mainly to Canton and Foshan, in southern China.
During this priod of revolution, many secret society rebel groups were formed. The most notoriuos being the "Red Boats"

The Red Boat Opera Troupe was a legendary rebel group attacking and fighting the Manchu’s, so they could rid the Qing and restore the Ming.

According to wing chun martial traditions, Red Boat duo, Wong Wah Bo and Leung Yee-Ta were chosen by Yim Wing Chun and her husband, Leung Bok Chow to teach the pair concepts and principles of wing chun kung fu.

Leung Yee Tai and Wong Wah Bo had as many as 11 peers in Wing Chun among their colleagues at the Red Boat Opera Company. For example, "Dai Fa Min" Kam, who played the role of the martial painted face, is the ancestor of the Way Yan lineage. The Yuen Kay-San and Pan Nam branches descend from both Wong Wah-Bo and "Dai Fa Min" Kam. Gao Lo Chung ("Tall" Chung) and "Hung Gun" Biu, also of the Red Boat Opera Company, both passed the art on to relatives, respectively, his son-in-law Yin Lee-Chung and the Wang family. Outside the Red Boat Opera Company, a monk who had taken the name "Dai Dong Fung" is named as its ancestor by the Pao Fa Lien lineage of Wing Chun.

In this cohort of the Red Boat Opera Company, the role of the virtuous "female" was played by Leung Yee Tai and Yik Kam, better known as "Ching-Deng" Kam because of the role he played. Cho Shun, who played the "Little Martial" role, was a student of Yik Kam. By passing the art on to his son Cho Dak-Sang, Cho Shun established the Wing Chun lineage of the Cho family of Panyu village.

Leung Jan is as far back as the lineages that descend from him Yip Man, Yiu Kai, Pan Nam, Tam Yeung.

Fung Sing can reliably verify their genealogy. He was a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine in the city of Foshan in the 19th century. Leung Jan is said to have learned from Wong Wah Bo and Leung Yee-Tai, respectively the male and "female" martial leads of the Red Boat Opera Troupe, each of whom is said to have been an expert on different aspects of Wing Chun.

According to legends from the Yip Man lineage, Leung Yee-Tai was a poler, that is, he used a pole to steer the Red Boat away from rocks and shoals, and was therefore chosen by the legendary Shaolin master Jee Shim himself to learn the six-and-a-half point pole.

Leung Jan's students included his sons Leung Chun and Leung Bik as well as "Wooden Man" Wah and Chan Wah-Shun nicknamed "Moneychanger Wah", from whom the Yip Man, Yiu Kai, and Pan Nam lineages descend. When Leung Jan was 70 years old, he moved back to his native village of Gulao, where he taught 3 people a synthesised version of his wing chun.

In my next Blog, I will discuss Leung Jan’s influence on wing chun and his direct descendants around China.

Sifu  Garry’s wing chun kung fu in melbourne

garry baniecki facebook wall

wing chun kung fu greensborough martial arts

linda baniecki’s wing chun manual

 sifu garry’s youtube channel

sifu linda’s youtube channel

sifu garry’s google+

sifu linda’s google+

Roots fo Wing Chun form its Inception - part 1

Sifu Garry’s Blog

“Roots of Wing Chun” China Trip

2006 - 2012

 Over the years, there has been much controversy about my wing chun lineage and whether the people referred to, ever existed. Being involved with wing chun for over 27 years, I found this quite intimidating. To think that all the stories and history of the martial art system that I have dedicated my life to, were false.

I decided to find out for myself.

In 2006, I started my quest to discover the “roots of wing chun” and since then I have compiled ample information about my lineage, the history of wing chun and its grass roots.

Firstly, where does wing chun originate from. Some say the Northern Shaolin Temple and others state categorically that wing chun comes from the Southern Shaolin Temple.

Me? I believe wing chun emanated from both Temples, at different times.

It is accepted today, wing chun found its way from the Temples to the southern province of Guangdong, in China.

In the south of China, a group of Opera performers, named the Red Boat Opera Troupe, were responsible for developing a structure of wing chun still being practised today.

After the destruction of the Northern Temple, the Temple Masters found their way south to avoid persecution from the Manchu Tyrants, whom were conquering China at that time.

The principle persons were Ng Mui and Jee Shin.

Jee shin eventually made his way south and joined the Red Boats.

Ng Mui fled south and hid in mountains near Foshan. She eventually met a lady whom she taught the concepts of wing chun to. In turn, Yim Wing Chun  and her Husband were instrumental in Teaching wing chun to several Red Boat members.

After the destruction of the Southern Temple, a kung fu Master named Cheung Ng, aka, Tan Sao Ng, fled to the southern province of Guangdong, and settled in Foshan. Records state that Cheung Ng also introduced the principles of wing chun, to the Red Boats, to rebel against the Manchu.

“Rid the Ching and return the Ming”

Through records and data, history suggests that certain members of the Red Boats were influenced by descendants from the Northern Temple and other factions of the Troupe were influenced by Southern Shaolin Temple Monks.

At this stage of wing chun’s development, remember, wing chun was only an idea about a new martial system. The Red Boats were responsible for creating a definitive structure.

In my next post, I will discuss Wing Chun’s direction after the Red Boats and its development.

sifu garrys facebook wall

 sifu lindas facebook wall

sifu garry wing chun kung fu

wing chun kung fu for children

medical qigong sifu garry sifu linda

sifu linda’s wing chun manual

martial arts sports coaching courses

Sifu Garry’s Blog

“Roots of Wing Chun” China Trip

Guangzhou – Foshan - Shunde

4^th Leg

After several days in Guangzhou, we were ready to move on. In Canton, we visited Chimelong Safari Park, Yuixie Park, Pearl River Cruise and visited Sifu Wong’s Wake.

The Bus trip to Foshan was very comfortable. The Bus driver had his Cousin as a Jockey, so we had a driver and a tour guide, per say. We nicknamed the two, Cheech and Chong.

The drive to Foshan was relatively quick. After checking in, we walked to the Ancestral Temple and Yip Man Tong, which were only about 300 meters from our Hotel complex. Very convenient!

Unbeknown to us, the next day of our tour would be monumental as we would be visiting Bruce Lee and Chan Wah Shun.

For Dinner that night, we all decided to eat in the Hotel’s Bistro. The food was basic but very palatable.

That night, we all split up and some went shopping while the others went partying.

The prices were again very expensive, so needless to say, I saved my money for shopping in Shenzhen.

The next day we all jumped into the Bus and headed for Shunde to see the Bruce Lee Paradise. While paying our entrance fee at the main gate, a Lady led our group away from the Paradise and headed down a narrow alleyway through an ancient village. Low and behold, we came across a small abode and on the front entrance there said a sign “Bruce Lee Ancestor House”.

WOW! Did that blow my mind! We were all in agog as this was not on the itinerary or planned in any way.

We took some group photos at the entrance then silently walked into the house. The first room we passed was the kitchen, which still had a wood stove with two Woks on top. All the walls were ornate with photos of Bruce Lee and his Family. There was a wooden dummy in one corner, so we all had a go on it, performing several moves and postures. Off to the side of the main room was a bedroom. After some time, we all reluctantly left and walked around the village and back to the Bruce Lee Paradise.

The Paradise was empty, believe it or not!

In 2010, when we arrived the place had thousands of people in attendance. It was actually a Bruce Lee Festival.

This time, in 2012, we had the whole place, about 200 acres to ourselves. What a buzz!

Just a short ride down the road we came across a restaurant surrounded by a lake, so we stopped and had a group banquet. How beautiful was that? The food was so unique. We even had boiled milk and warm Corn juice. Yummmmm!

We located Chan Wah Shun ancestral grace site with relative ease. The driver parked the Bus opposite the grave site in a little village called “Ma Tang Chun”. Walking around the village, we came across Chan Wah Shun’s Ancestral Temple. What a bonus.

The best was yet to come!

As we ambled our way through the village and back to the Coach, a little Lady appeared from nowhere and ushered our group to come and have a look at a kung fu house. She noticed the chinese writing on our club windcheaters, so invited the group to have a look.

As I walked through the front entrance, I noticed a wooden dummy leaning against a wall over to the side. The courtyard was magnificent. So ornate with beautiful flora. The lady led us inside and uttered that this was Wing Chun Grand Master Chan Wah Shun's residence. I am not sure what everyone else thought, but my wife and I were stunned, shocked and blown out.

We were actually standing in Chan Wah Shun's lounge room. Mind boggling!

The lady told us she was the resident cleaner and had been for many years.

She escorted Linda and I upstairs to peer around his private room. What an honour!

Then, to our surprise, she led us to her bedroom where she brought out Chan Wah Shun's long pole and chopper. Linda and I looked at each other in disbelief.

Linda and I gladly took them down stairs to show the group. The lady organized the wooden dummy to be mounted in the middle of the courtyard.

I was in wing chun heaven. Playing with Chan Wah Shun's wooden dummy, long pole and chopper.

Finally, we all walked through the village and crossed the road to climb the 108 steps up to Chan Wah Shun's ancestral grave site.

Walking through the village I realized many kung fu signs on front doors, which led me to believe that this village was a true wing chun village.

next post.........Foshan to Hong Kong, our last leg!

sifu garrys facebook wall

sifu lindas wing chun manual

sifu lindas facebook wall

sifu garry wing chun kung fu

wing chun kung fu for children

medical qigong sifu garry sifu linda

wing chun greensborough martial arts

How to prevent Cancer - Sifu Garry Medical Qigong Theory

Sifu Garry’s Blog

How to prevent against Cancer

 “Tense body, tense Psychology, tense Heart”

“Prolonged excesses lead to malignancy’

Medical Qigong Philosophy

The above cliques are probably the 2 most important comments to inspire an individual to make life style changes to avoid the onset of disease and sickness as we age.

Tense Body, Mind and Heart.

With today’s fast paced society, technology and quick fix solutions to today’s problems, our population is regressing further away from Nature than at any other time in our History.

The more we walk and relax, the more we get outside and interact with Nature, the more Killer Cells the body produces to fight off Cancer germs from proliferating.

As a consequence with Technology, people are becoming more aggressive, impatient, tense,   unhappy and lazier.

Having a tense body includes stress in the muscles, tendons, joints and bones.

We must learn techniques to relax the muscles, tendons and bones. Remember, our blood and oxygen run through our muscles, tendons and bones. If those organs are tense, then circulation will be impeded, leading to under nourishment of the cells, tissues and organs.

Cancer Germs love a hot, sweaty, dark and angry environment to survive. A cancer cell cannot survive in a rich, happy, oxygenated environment.  

To experience unimpeded circulation and to increase our circulation the body must be happy and relaxed. The happier our body is, the more abundant our blood will be and then the circulation will be unobstructed.

Practising medical qigong can assist in eliminating tension from the body, mind and heart.

The more we laugh, the happier the body, mind and heart will become.

Laughing produces lymphocytes from the thymus gland, which is a very powerful hormone. To activate this hormone all we have to do is laugh. The thymus gland’s hormones are very strong Cancer preventative hormones.

The happier our mind is, the clearer our mind becomes.

The negative emotion of the Heart is sadness and sorrow, so we must fill our Heart with love and happiness.

Children laugh over 400 times a day, while Adults only laugh up to 10 times a day.

We must practise to be happy. It does not come naturally. Learning to smile makes the difference between spreading endorphins or toxins around the body.

Our Internal Organs store negative emotions.

Liver – anger

Heart – sadness and sorrow

Spleen – Pensiveness

Lung – Grief

Kidney – Fear and anxiety.

As is evident, smiling and being happy can and will dispel and balance negative emotions and replace them with positive energy.

Practise smiling. How?

You must be aware of the state of your psychology all the time and adjust it accordingly. For example, I am driving on the freeway and due to concentrating too much, I notice I am frowning. I say to myself, “smile, smile” and “be happy” “you are going to have a good day today”. Use Positive affirmations.

Be happy; uplift your spirit by donating to a Charity.

Helping people will uplift the spirit of your heart and your psychology.

Through breathings exercises, Medical Qigong training teaches you how to dispel toxins, tension and negative energy from the body and mind, stimulate circulation around the body, and maintain and increase the flexibility of the joints and muscles.

A consistent routine of exercises will also keep toxins from proliferating by exercising the Lungs and dispelling “bad air” from the body, muscles, tendons and brain.

Excesses lead to Malignancy

Drink a bottle of Whiskey every day and you will probably die of Liver disease or Cancer.

Eat excessive fatty foods and become Obese generally leads to Diabetes, high blood pressure and Heart disease.

Overwork can also lead to excessive stress and then the family structure can break down, leading to arguments and disharmony.

The destruction of one internal organ leads to the demise of another.

Kidney promotes the Liver

Liver promotes the Heart

Heart promotes the Spleen

Spleen promotes the Lung

Lung promotes the Kidney

We must learn to keep the energy of our Internal Organs happy, abundant and balanced.

Colours of the Internal Organs

Heart – Red

Spleen – Yellow

Lung – White

Kidney – Black

Liver – Green

Incorporating the 5 colours of Nature into your cooking will help to nourish and strengthen the Organs and create a happy environment.

A breakdown of our DNA or Damaged DNA in a Cell will lead to Cancer.

We must eat a good balance of vegetables and protein and fibre.

We must exercise our Lungs to change the air in our bodies.

We must laugh a lot and not dwell.

We must learn to “take time out” and relax or meditate.

Stay happy, stay young at heart and do not get too serious about life.

Attitude is as important as genetics to maintain a long, happy life with good quality of living.

Stillness leads to stagnation.

Movement is essential to life.

wing chun kung fu sifu garry

sifu garry facebook

sifu linda facebook

sifu linda wing chun manual

medical qigong sifu garry sifu linda

wing chun kung fu grensborough

martial arts sports coaching courses

sifu garry youtube

Roots of Wing Chun China Trip - Sifu Garry 3rd leg

Sifu Garry’s Blog

“Roots of Wing Chun” China Trip – Guangzhou

3^rd Leg

Departing from the City of Zhengzhou was a blessing in disguise. The weather had been extremely cold; acceptable but gelid. Coming from Melbourne’s hot climate to Northern China’s winter climate was a bit of a contrast.

At last, we knew some warmer weather was around the corner.

Zhengzhou with a population of 13 million was an active City but very smoggy. Being in the “Country” one would expect a clearer, cleaner air, but not so.

The Shaolin Temple will be etched into my mind for ever. My spirit is there, now, forever.

We were all looking forward to arriving in Guangzhou, which was a 2.5 hour plane ride to Guangzhou Airport (formerly Canton), the capital of southern China, where the climate is much warmer.

Low and behold when we arrived at Guangzhou airport, it was raining, but still, much warmer!

Our Chartered Coach picked us up from the airport according to schedule. The Bus driver was waiting patiently for our group at the exit terminal. This was a huge weight of my mind. All these arrangements were made over the Net, so I did not see people personally to organize the trip.

We were scheduled to travel to Gulao Village to have dinner with GM Fung Chun, but due to his recent demise, I decided to cancel that leg of our trip. Instead, I organized a Ferry cruise along the infamous Pearl River of Canton.

The Pearl River was the water ways that the Red Boat Opera Troupe used to fight the Qing Soldiers, during the rebellions of the mid 1800’s.

What a trip to behold. The Ferries, the River walls, bridges and sky scrapers were all ornate with a magnificent array of coloured lights. This was an event I would recommend to anybody travelling to Guangzhou.

The next day we all visited Chimelong Safari Park. Wow!

The Chinese are so innovative. The open safari park is brilliant. The array of animals from all over the World, including Australia, did not leave anything to the imagination.

Then, there was the Jurassic Theme Park to walk through.

This was too magnificent to explain. Life like prehistoric full size monsters greeted us at every corner. The walk finished in a cavern with T Rex on one side and a Spineasaurus on the other. The Spineasaurus was the biggest Carnivore to ever exist, about 20 feet higher than the Rex.

The Pandas, white tigers, elephants, hippos, sam tucans, bears, lions, giraffes, apes, and so much more. You have to see it to believe it!

After visiting Chimelong Safari Park, our Coach driver – two cousins, which we nick named “Cheech and Chong”, drove us to Beijing Street in down town Canton for some Shopping. There were several Malls inundated with Shoppers, but I thought the priced were a bit inflated, so Linda and I saved ourselves for shopping in Shenzhen.

Our last day in Guangzhou led us to Sifu Wong Ni Yim’s anniversary party for his Father, Mei Gai Wong. There was plenty of food and entertainment while we were there. There were some wing chun students from Europe, plus the array of demonstrations were quite entertaining. There was a lot of pictures being taken over the day, also.

 We didn’t stay too long as half the group were suffering from food poisoning, so I thought it would be better to keep moving to our next destination, being the home of wing chun kung fu, Foshan.

The 4^th leg of the tour will cover out rips from Foshan, going to Shunde, home of legendary Bruce Lee and wing chun grand master Chan Wah Shun.

sifu garrys facebook wall

sifu lindas wing chun manaul

sifu lindas facebook wall

sifu garry wing chun kung fu

wing chun kung fu for children

medical qigong sifu garry sifu linda

wing chun kung fu greensborough

sifu garrys youtube

martial arts sports coaching courses

Wing Chun Sifu Garry's first trip to China

Sifu Garry's Blog

First trip to China

"Roots of Wing Chun"

In 2006 I decided to organise a “roots of wing chun” china trip with the students from Jee Shin wing chun academy.

In Australia, there is a lot of politics regarding wing chun kung fu.

My wing chun lineage was in question and one of my sifus credibility was also in question with innuendos being cast about his history and credibility. Over the years other wing chun masters around the World have publicly criticized his lineage and stories.

Once I branched out on my own, I deliberated for at least 10 years before I decided to do something about it.

I wanted to know the truth, first hand.

My own history and lineage were at stake, now.

How would I start this project? I decided to spend some time researching wing chun in china over the net and after a month or so I had accumulated a lot of information I deemed necessary for a successful trip.

Low and behold! My PC crashed and I lost all my data on China and wing chun, so I had to start again.

Would you believe; this time I found more pertinent information on wing chun in china and even came across some contacts in Hong Kong and China whom could assist me with an itinerary to travel around china and visit certain wing chun schools with notable lineages dating back to the Red Boats.

The Red Boat Opera Troupe were secretly known as "Ming Rebels". During the day they would act as Opera performers and at night would become "wing chun assassins".

Contemporary wing chun around the world can attribute their lineages back to the Red Boats.

Dr. Leung Jan was a 1st generation student of the Red Boats, taught by Leung Yi Tai and Wong Wah Bo.

WOW! How lucky was I?

Indeed, I felt comfortable that the trip was going to be even better than what I had envisaged.

I had established contacts in Hong Kong whom would take us into China, organise all the accommodation and transport, as well as take us to at least 6 wing chun kung fu schools around southern China, including visiting Chan Wah Shun’s ancestral graveyard in Shunde and the Yip Man Tong in Foshan.

I couldn’t wait!

The time had arrived to travel to China. I was so excited.

In Australia, I have read numerous stories and come across many rumours and innuendos regarding wing chun kung fu.

I needed to find out for myself, the real truth and history of wing chun kung fu.

What better way would there be? Just travel to the homeland of wing chun kung fu and martial arts.

I needed to know about the history of wing chun from the red boats to Leung Jan to contemporary times.

Unknown to me at the time, it would take another 6 trips to China to start to get the full picture and stories behind this magnificent martial art.

But, that is another Story!

Sifu Garrys Facebook

Jee shin wing chun kung fu

Wing chun for Children

Martial arts sports coaching

Greensborough Wing Chun Martial Arts

Sifu Lindas Wing Chun Manual

Qigong Breathing Therapy in melbourne

sifu lindas facebook

How to prevent Cancer - Sifu Garry

Sifu Garry’s Blog

How to prevent against Cancer

 “Tense body, tense Psychology, tense Heart”

“Prolonged excesses lead to malignancy’

Medical Qigong Philosophy

The above cliques are probably the 2 most important comments to inspire an individual to make life style changes to avoid the onset of disease and sickness as we age.

Tense Body, Mind and Heart.

With today’s fast paced society, technology and quick fix solutions to today’s problems, our population is regressing further away from Nature than at any other time in our History.

The more we walk and relax, the more we get outside and interact with Nature, the more Killer Cells the body produces to fight off Cancer germs from proliferating.

As a consequence with Technology, people are becoming more aggressive, impatient, tense,   unhappy and lazier.

Having a tense body includes stress in the muscles, tendons, joints and bones.

We must learn techniques to relax the muscles, tendons and bones. Remember, our blood and oxygen run through our muscles, tendons and bones. If those organs are tense, then circulation will be impeded, leading to under nourishment of the cells, tissues and organs.

Cancer Germs love a hot, sweaty, dark and angry environment to survive. A cancer cell cannot survive in a rich, happy, oxygenated environment.  

To experience unimpeded circulation and to increase our circulation the body must be happy and relaxed. The happier our body is, the more abundant our blood will be and then the circulation will be unobstructed.

Practising medical qigong can assist in eliminating tension from the body, mind and heart.

The more we laugh, the happier the body, mind and heart will become.

Laughing produces lymphocytes from the thymus gland, which is a very powerful hormone. To activate this hormone all we have to do is laugh. The thymus gland’s hormones are very strong Cancer preventative hormones.

The happier our mind is, the clearer our mind becomes.

The negative emotion of the Heart is sadness and sorrow, so we must fill our Heart with love and happiness.

Children laugh over 400 times a day, while Adults only laugh up to 10 times a day.

We must practise to be happy. It does not come naturally. Learning to smile makes the difference between spreading endorphins or toxins around the body.

Our Internal Organs store negative emotions.

Liver – anger

Heart – sadness and sorrow

Spleen – Pensiveness

Lung – Grief

Kidney – Fear and anxiety.

As is evident, smiling and being happy can and will dispel and balance negative emotions and replace them with positive energy.

Practise smiling. How?

You must be aware of the state of your psychology all the time and adjust it accordingly. For example, I am driving on the freeway and due to concentrating too much, I notice I am frowning. I say to myself, “smile, smile” and “be happy” “you are going to have a good day today”. Use Positive affirmations.

Be happy; uplift your spirit by donating to a Charity.

Helping people will uplift the spirit of your heart and your psychology.

Through breathings exercises, Medical Qigong training teaches you how to dispel toxins, tension and negative energy from the body and mind, stimulate circulation around the body, and maintain and increase the flexibility of the joints and muscles.

A consistent routine of exercises will also keep toxins from proliferating by exercising the Lungs and dispelling “bad air” from the body, muscles, tendons and brain.

Excesses lead to Malignancy

Drink a bottle of Whiskey every day and you will probably die of Liver disease or Cancer.

Eat excessive fatty foods and become Obese generally leads to Diabetes, high blood pressure and Heart disease.

Overwork can also lead to excessive stress and then the family structure can break down, leading to arguments and disharmony.

The destruction of one internal organ leads to the demise of another.

Kidney promotes the Liver

Liver promotes the Heart

Heart promotes the Spleen

Spleen promotes the Lung

Lung promotes the Kidney

We must learn to keep the energy of our Internal Organs happy, abundant and balanced.

Colours of the Internal Organs

Heart – Red

Spleen – Yellow

Lung – White

Kidney – Black

Liver – Green

Incorporating the 5 colours of Nature into your cooking will help to nourish and strengthen the Organs and create a happy environment.

A breakdown of our DNA or Damaged DNA in a Cell will lead to Cancer.

We must eat a good balance of vegetables and protein and fibre.

We must exercise our Lungs to change the air in our bodies.

We must laugh a lot and not dwell.

We must learn to “take time out” and relax or meditate.

Stay happy, stay young at heart and do not get too serious about life.

Attitude is as important as genetics to maintain a long, happy life with good quality of living.

Stillness leads to stagnation.

Movement is essential to life.

Sifu Garrys Facebook

Jee shin wing chun kung fu

Wing chun for Children

Martial arts sports coaching

Greensborough Wing Chun Martial Arts

Sifu Lindas Wing Chun Manual

Qigong Breathing Therapy in melbourne

sifu garrys youtube

sifu lindas facebook

Sifu Garry's "Roots of Wing Chun" China tour - Zhengzhou - Henan

Sifu Garry's Blog

Roots of Wing Chun China Tour - 2nd Leg

Zhengzhou - Henan

Yellow River and Shaolin Temple

Just re hashing over some highlights from our 4 days stay in Beijing.

Snack street delicacies, being scorpion, star fish, silk worms, centipedes and tarantulas.

Wow, what a spectacle!

The Rickshaw ride around the Hutong, (narrow streets of ancient Peking) took me back in time.

Before the Hutong we visited the Bell/Drum Tower. The history surrounding this monumental structure was awesome. Atop the tower one had a straight line of sight to the Forbidden City, along the spine of the Earth Dragon.

Walking to Tian an Men Square, Forbidden City and Mao Tse Tung’s Tomb is a must for all who come to Beijing.  The size of the Square and Forbidden city is inconceivable. The grandeur and opulence of the Forbidden City is prohibitive. The Emperors certainly existed and ruled in a time of glory and achievement.

The Shaolin Kung Fu live show we attended at the Red Theatre. The story line was magnificent, along with the kung fu performances.

Last but not least was the journey to the Great Wall of China and the beautiful little village at the base of the mountain.

What can I say, except, what a humbling experience.

Now, for the second leg of our journey!

We all boarded the Fast Train from Beijing at 8am and headed towards Zhengzhou, home of the Yellow River and Shaolin Temple. The journey was 750 kms long and took about 6 hours.

Zhengzhou is a bustling City of 13 million. All the timing for our pre organized pick up from the train station, pre ordained booking of Coaches, Tour Guides and Hotel accommodation went to perfection.

We arreived at our Hotel, Holiday Inn around 3.30pm. After a speedy check in at our Hotel we all jumped into our Coach and drove to the Yellow River, before it became too dark.

The Yellow river is both historical and very spiritual. On the side of a Mountain overlooking the River are 2 monumental, large sculptures of the 2 most significant Emperors of China.

The Yellow Emperor Xuanyan-shi wrote the classis book of medicine “the Nei Jing” and the very First Emperor, Fu Hsi, watched a turtle emerge from the Yellow River and created the I Ching and Baqua.

So, being confronted with these majestic figures on the side of a mountain overlooking the Yellow river left me in total awe.

The next day our group travelled by Coach for several hours to Mt Songshan, to the Shaolin Temple.

Mount Shaoshi or Songshan Mountain is where the Temple is situated. We had to travel through Deng Feng to reach the Temple.

Inside the Temple, we were privy to a Shaolin Monk demonstration which was second to none. Their martial prowess has to be seen to be believed. The Temple itself was magnificent. We were lucky to go into their living quarters and see where they eat. The entrance of the temple is ornate with ancient trees full of bullet holes which, now, the monks use for iron finger training.

We spent several hours walking around the Temple grounds and on several occasions our group performed some wing chun forms. Sifu Linda and I also did some wing chun chi sao. As soon as one starts some form of demonstration, there is a crowd ready to take photos.

As one walks past the Temple, there is the Pagoda forest. In the past there were 289 pagodas commemorating past Monks from the Temple. Some have been shamefully burnt down due to Wars.

A cable car ride took us to the top of the Mountain which had some snow cover. At the top of the mountain there were some merchandising stalls and food for sale. As I peered cross the vast valley I could vaguely see a Temple built into the side of a sheer cliff face. It would take about 3 hours to walk there. Next time, though. What an amazing spectacle.

After we came down from the mountain, it was time to walk back to the Bus pick up point. On the way several student bought some local products to take home.

By the time we arrived back in Zhengzhou, it was night fall and time for another group banquet.

Well, after 2 days and nights in Zhengzhou, I think everyone was agog with anticipation for our next leg of our adventure travelling across China.

Photos on Facebook.

sifu garrys facebook

sifu garry wing chun kung fu

sifu linda facebook

sifu linda wing chun manual

wing chun kung fu greensborough

medical qigong sifu garry sifu linda

martial arts sports coaching courses

sifu garrys youtube