Ving Tsun, Wing Chun, Wing Tsun China/Hong Kong Autumn Tour November, 2005

[BennyMeng]

The Ving Tsun Museum is proud to announce our China/Hong Kong Autumn Tour, scheduled for November 2005.

On this tour you will have an opportunity to see, meet, and train with different lineages and families of Ving Tsun, Wing Chun, Wing Tsun.

The tour starts with participation in the Ving Tsun Athletic Association’s Second World Conference, November 19th and 20th.

While in Hong Kong, you will visit the Ving Tsun Athletic Association’s Headquarters and many historical Wing Chun sites.

From Hong Kong, you will then visit the Mainland. Visit sites include:
1) Ko Lo Village, home of Leung Jaan
2) Foshan, home of the Ip Man, Yuen Kay-San, and many other lineages
3) Foshan Ip Man Museum and Jing Mo Wui
4) And the home of the Chan Wah Shun lineage
5) Plus many other site-seeing opportunities

During each of these visits, you will have the opportunity to learn and train with Chinese practitioners in an open, friendly environment.

More about the Second World Conference:

This is a follow-up conference to the VTAA's First World Conference in 1999, which brought together over 800 martial artists from around the world. There will be live demonstrations, lectures, workshops, and many opportunities for friendly interaction.

This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to meet World Renown Ving Tsun Grand Masters, Masters, and Sifu. Whether you've been training for 10 years or 10 days, this is an historical event you won't want to miss!

Two new books from the VTAA will also be launched at this event:
- Ip Man Ving Tsun Genealogy
- Ip Man's 50th Anniversary - with more than 40 articles on Ip Man Ving Tsun Kuen

All are welcome to participate in this event - come join the VTM's continued efforts at genuine friendship exchanges, meetings, and get togethers.

Contact the Ving Tsun Museum for more details on the VTM Tour and the VTAA Second World Conference:
Ving Tsun Museum
5715 Brandt Pike
Dayton, OH 45424
(937) 236-6485
host@vtmuseum.org
www.vtmuseum.org

[BennyMeng]

VTAA Second World Conference Trip

Day 1: After the flight we landed approximately 8:30 P.M. After dealing with the luggage issues we headed off to the apartments that we were going to stay at until the conference. Later that night we met up with the Hung Fa Yi Grandmaster, Grandmaster Gee. We then went to check out Hong Kong. First we went to a little bar in the, what seemed like the party district of Hong Kong. We got there via the subway system. I was glad that we had people that knew there way around town. After that we decided that we were hungry and went to a restaraunt. It was at this point that I knew that I never had authentic Chinese food before. It was an eye opening experience.

Day 2: We ate until 3:00 A.M, which to me stretches into day two. After the late meal, we went to Grandmaster Gee’s hotel room. There I was privileged to a deep insight of Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun. I felt very fortunate because I realized that moment would not occur again for anyone, even for a Hung Fa Yi bai si. That lasted until 6:00 A.M. Day 2 continued on for the rest of the students that were there but not for me.

Day 3: This day we traveled to the new territories. It was here that we checked into the YMCA. We had a few moments to spare so we wondered around town and had a French Lunch. Afterwards we were able to check into the rooms. I was the only one that had a different room. After the room situation was settled, the conference started. There were plenty of demonstrations of Sil Lum Tao, Chum Kil, and Bil Gee. I was amazed of the amount of interpretations of each of these forms. Even Chi Sao had different perspectives from each group, though all were from the Yip Man lineage. After the demonstrations they released us for dinner and then the seminars. After the seminar we were released for the night. At night there were a lot of people doing Chi Sao. I happened to chi sao with my flat mates. They were from England and they came with the Sam Kwok folks. My experience with them is that they had no forward energy and that they would sacrifice structure for a technique. After a few hours of chi sao day 3 ended.

Day 4: The morning began with pictures before breakfast. To which most of the meals were pretty good. Again demonstrations started the show along with a lion dance and then seminars. I attended Sifu Meng’s seminar on “Wing Chun in relationship to Shaolin,” and it was well received. After the seminar with Sifu Meng we had lunch and there I encountered my Si Suk Loi Meng Fai. It had been two years since I saw him last. He was there as the photographer. I then asked if anyone else from the Ho Kam Ming lineage was there. He said I was the only one. After lunch we had our conference photo taken. It was an interesting experience because it was there were all the Grandmasters let there strict ways go and interacted with the students. After the photo we were released to go back to the main hall where more demonstrations were going to be performed. This is where VTAA demonstrated the new competition form. It seemed that it was a compilation of all empty hand forms. My opinion on the form is that there better be a strict standardization on it if it is going to be used for competition or testing. After the end of the day, we went back to Kowloon to meet up with Philip Ng. We got to see the side of Hong Kong that not everyone gets to see.

Day 5: The trip to Foshan. The buses were crowded but the trip alone was worth the experience. Crossing over into China wasn’t as dramatic as I thought it would be. When we arrived in Foshan we went to a nice restaurant and then to the Yip Man Tong. It was like seeing a storybook unveiling itself before my eyes. The place was very pretty. The next stop was to another restaurant that wasn’t as appetizing as the first. After dinner was stopped at our hotel. It was a five star place for a three star price.

Day 6: Before the return trip to Hong Kong and after breakfast we stopped for a meeting with the Chin Woo organization. There were at least 4 different styles of Wing Chun. I must say it was an eye opening experience. There was an exchange of pleasantries and Chi Sao. We had a friendly competition between the Chinese and Foreign Guests. Mostly the Foreign Guests was Samuel Kwok’s students, from the UK. The only person to represent the US was Dac Lam from the VTM Group. We went to lunch at our 5 star hotel and would have left to go to the Treasure Garden right away but due to immeasurable patience and hospitality of the Hosts, we stopped to satisfy one the guest’s request. The next stop was treasure city, to which the name does not do it justice. This place was a heaven on earth. The scenery was beyond compare.

Day 7: This day was started off with a trip to Yip Man’s gravesite and a Buddhist temple. It was a good learning experience since Sifu Meng was so knowledgeable with the history and culture. We went back to Hong Kong and did a little bit of shopping. After the shopping Sifu Meng took us by the VTAA Headquarters. This is where I would like to say that my trip was complete.

In summation, the VTAA Second World Conference alone would have been worth the trip. Due to Sifu Meng’s knowledge and experience, it made the trip priceless. I would not have learned as much if I went by myself to Hong Kong. Nor would I have had such a pleasant experience.

Jose Martinez

[BennyMeng]

Greetings Sifu Meng,

First I wish to thank you very much for a very unforgettable trip, I enjoyed myself immensely
I thought the whole trip in Hong Kong and China was great and was put together very well. There seemed to be a very good turn out for the Wing Chun Conference in Hong Kong and a nice turn out for the China trip as well.

For myself I learned several things on this trip, I have an even much more appreciation for not only the Yip Man lineage but for other Wing Chun lineages as well.

I met a lot of great people on this trip and made a lot of good friends, the guys that I met from your organization I would consider to be all gentlemen. They all carried themselves as gentlemen and were very respectful of others plus they were a lot of fun to hang out with. I can honestly say that I never had a better time with a great group of guys ever and then I had with you and your students.

You were absolutely great, I can't say enough about the great time I had with you and your guys. All of you made me feel very comfortable & very welcomed. I felt like I had fit in well with your group and that I had possibly found some new Gung Fu brothers.

I really like the Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun system that you and GM Garrett Gee spoke about. It makes a lot of sense both from a historical aspect and from a training aspect. I would really enjoy training in Hung Fa Yi, but the distance makes it kind of hard to do so. I hope that both you and GM Gee do a possible future seminar in NYC, I would love to attend and start training.

Once again Sifu Meng I want to thank you very much for allowing me to make this trip with you and your group and it is my honor and pleasure to have met and to know all of you. I hope that we can all keep in touch and be good Gung Fu Brothers. Please Thank Jeremy for me on the great job he did with the VTM tour, it was great. Take Care.

Sincerely,

Sifu John May

[BennyMeng]

2005, November 17 to 26
Hong Kong and China Trip
VTAA Second World Conference

Wednesday, November 16th – Start of the Trip

The day started by John Lambert and myself picking up Sifu John May and Tae Hayden from the school around 7:30 in the morning. Sifu John came in the previous night from New Jersey. We met Mark Gerhard and Leon Dennis at Dayton International Airport. From Dayton, we flew to Chicago. We met the entire group in Chicago, where we enjoyed each others company during our long layover.

The Ving Tsun Athletic Association hosted the First World Conference by in 1999. Over 800 people participated in that conference and it was the first time a formal event was held for the international Wing Chun community in Hong Kong. The VTM group consisted of 15 people. You can read about the whole report by clicking here. The Second Conference attracted even more than the first one with more than 900 people but the overall activities were shorter: 2 days in Hong Kong and 2 days in China as compared to 1999’s 2 days in Hong Kong and 3 days in China. Of course, being the VTM group, we had opportunities to engage in Wing Chun activities outside of the Conference as well. The VTM trip was also designed for tour participants to experience Chinese Culture and the Kung Fu community.

Thursday, November 17th – Day One

Because of flight delays in Chicago, we did not arrive in Hong Kong until 8:00 PM on Thursday, November 17th. We were more than 3 hours late. The flight itself from Chicago was 15 hours. Everyone was impressed with the Hong Kong airport.

The VTM Group consisted of 8 people:
· Myself (Benny Meng) – Hung Fa Yi / Ip Man
· Sifu John May – Ip Man
· Sifu Dac Lam – Hung Fa Yi / Ip Man
· Sifu John Lambert – Hung Fa Yi
· Instructor Tae Hayden – Hung Fa Yi / Ip Man
· Instructor Jose Martinez – Ip Man
· Leon Dennis – Hung Fa Yi
· Mark Gerhard – Hung Fa Yi

We used a limo service to go straight to the hotel, which took 30 minutes. The hotel we stayed at featured rooms almost like an apartment – 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, and bathroom. As soon as we checked in, we went to meet Grand Master Gee in Kowloon. Since it was the first time for everyone to be in Hong Kong except for Grand Master Gee and I, we decided to take the group out to see the nightlife in Hong Kong. We went to a place on Hong Kong Island called Lan Gwai Fong. This area features a lot of restaurants, bars and clubs. We took the time to relax with a few drinks while we were there. Hong Kong’s transportation is very modern and efficient. You can get around everywhere. Basically, you purchase a transportation card that you can use on everything from the subway to busses to the train to the ferries.

After Hong Kong Island, we went to Kowloon for a late supper. This time, we didn’t have the traditional HFY training at 3 AM but we did eat dinner at 3 AM. Hong Kong is basically a 24/7 city. At 3 in the morning, the restaurants were still full. During dinner we discussed about different lineages of Wing Chun and politics. After dinner we went back to Grand Master Gee’s hotel and had more kung fu life. The Grand Master gave us a lot of information on history and traditions dealing with the Hung Gun Boxer’s Society. It was a special treat and honor for us to hear from an inside point of view rather than listen to some self-proclaimed expert that gets information from common history books that don’t have a direct link to Wing Chun. That was our first day in Hong Kong. We went straight from the airport and didn’t go back to the hotel until 6 AM.

Friday, November 18th – Day Two

We met up with Grand Master Gee again around 12 PM. We had two groups. One group decided to sleep in plus Jose lost his luggage so he had to wait in the hotel. The weather was nice so we went to Kowloon Park after lunch where we witnessed people practicing Qigong and various types of Kung Fu.

At Dim Sum (a type of Chinese brunch featuring lots of snacks ala cart), it so happened that our waitress from the 3 AM dinner happened to be sitting next to us. Mark took the chance to ask her out. It was his excuse to learn Chinese. We decided to do some site seeing so we took the group to the Star Ferry and went across Hong Kong Harbor. I took everyone to the top hotel in Hong Kong, where we had desserts and afternoon tea. Then, I took the tour participants to the Ving Tsun Athletic Association to get copies of the schedules for the weekend’s conference and check our registration while Grand Master Gee went to a bookstore. Along the way we did a little bit of shopping as we walked our way through the busy streets of Hong Kong. The VTAA World Headquarters is quite small by US standards – only about 20’ by 30’. Sifu Siu Yuk Men was there. We got the information on the Conference and took some photos. There are approximately seven Sifu that teach out of the VTAA at different times: Sifu Ip Ching, Sifu Ip Chun, Sifu Siu Yuk Men, Sifu Ng Wah Sum, Sifu Yuen Yim Keung, Sifu Ma Kee Fai, and Sifu Wong Hong Chung. Students in the US are spoiled – imagine having 7 different instructors all sharing a space about the size of a living room!

After more site seeing, shopping and eating we met up with Grand Master Gee again. For dinner we had the world-famous Hong Kong Buffet. It’s a mixture of Western and Chinese food. From there, we went back to Grand Master Gee’s hotel and had more Kung Fu discussion and training. The Grand Master discussed the difference between technique focus and time/space/energy focus. He also went into detail dealing with energy, particularly Qigong. We left the room at 2 AM.

Sifu John May was impressed with Grand Master Gee. Sifu May has a great attitude and an open mind.

Over the next four days, we went to World Conference activities while Grand Master Gee headed to China.

Saturday, November 19th – Day Three

We got up early and went for an authentic Chinese breakfast. We checked out of the hotel around 10 AM. We took the subway and then transferred to a train for a total of 45 minutes, going out to what is called the New Territories. Back in the days when I was growing up in Hong Kong, the New Territories were considered the countryside. It turns out that much of the HFY Training in those days also took place in the New Territories.

Let me give you some background. What we call Hong Kong consists of four major parts. First are the 200-some small islands. Second, is the big island called Hong Kong Island. The third and fourth parts are the peninsula that connects to Mainland China: Kowloon (nine dragons) and the New Territories.

Our journey went out to the New Territories. In the old days it was considered the countryside but nowadays it’s all developed. We arrived around 11 PM. We were the first group, the earliest. We went to a nearby shopping plaza for lunch. We ended up having a French meal. Everyone said it was better than French restaurants in the States. The official conference started around 3:30 PM. There were more people than the first World Conference back in 1999. There were about 900 people total. This was the schedule:

2:00 PM Registration
3:00 PM Welcome Speech by the Organizing Committee Chairman Mr. Patrick Leung at the Main Hall
3:30 PM Kung Fu Performance / Lectures / Seminars
6:00 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Kung Fu Performance / Lectures / Seminars
9:30 PM End of Daily Program

For the foreign participants, most came from England. The location was a giant YMCA complex called Wu Kwai Sha. There is a main hall, a dining hall, 5 dormitories, swimming pool, basketball court, football (soccer) field, bbq zone, billiards building, TV hall and more. It’s also right by the ocean so the scenery was very impressive, too.

On the first day of the conference, everything went well. I saw a lot of familiar faces. There were less Grand Masters (direct student of Ip Man) in attendance than last time. The organizing committee were mostly 3rd Generation from Ip Man. The organizing committee for the event was Chairman Mr. Patrick Leung, Secretary Mr. Cliff Au Yeung, and members Mr. James Jar, Mr. Tat Yu, Mr. Eddie Yau, Mr. Tangent Cheung, Mr. Buick Yip, Mr. Leung Pui Chung, and Mr. Kong Chi Keung. I guess most of the Grand Masters are retired or have moved on. The four most active direct students of Ip Man at the conference were: Sifu Ip Chun, Sifu Ip Ching, Sifu Chu Shong Tin, and Sifu Siu Yuk Men. There were other VIPs that attended such as Wu Bin, coach of the Beijing Wushu team and coach of Jet Li.

We were presented with I.D. Badges, a Genealogy Book, a 50th Anniversary Book, and memorabilia. The activities began on Saturday the 19th with the Welcome Speech by Sifu Patrick Leung and continued with Kung Fu performances, lectures, and seminars throughout the day. Throughout the weekend there were many lectures and seminars. The topic of the seminars ranged from Chi Sau for Self Defense to Spiritual Cultivation in Wing Chun.

The seminar schedule was set up for 2 hours, allowing about 4 seminars to be conducted simultaneously. This meant that it was only possible to attend one seminar per day. I attended a seminar on Chinese Traditional Philosophy Connecting Wing Chun by Pang Yiu Kwan. The speaker was apparently well educated and really knew what he was talking about in terms of Chinese philosophy but it was my point of view that he was only generally applying those philosophies to Wing Chun without supporting the connections with direct examples from within the system. The overall thrust of the lecture was more from the speaker’s interpretation of Wing Chun teachings rather than anything specifically taught by the late Grand Master, Ip Man. The rest of the time was filled with demonstrations of different aspects of the Ip Man system. I think the VTAA tried to be diplomatic by allowing the Foreign Guests to demonstrate their skills – so it was kind of redundant to see Siu Nim Tau, Chum Kiu, Biu Ji, Weapons, and Chi Sau demonstrated many times. As we all know, Wing Chun forms aren’t too much fun to watch – much more fun to apply instead. Sifu Ip Ching and Sifu Chu Shong Tin also gave demonstrations; it’s always great to see Sifu Ip Ching and Sifu Chu Shong Tin showcasing their skills and understanding.

After the first day’s conference, we took some free time to enjoy the scenery. This year’s Conference site was right next to the ocean. Afterwards, we went back to our rooms and discussed and debriefed on our experienced of the day. I think everyone was happy to be in Hong Kong to experience everything directly, for themselves. There were a lot of people out in the courtyard practicing and playing Chi Sau with each other.

Sunday, November 20th – Day Four

This was Sunday’s schedule:

8:00 AM Breakfast
8:30 AM Registration & VIP Reception
9:30 AM Opening Ceremony
9:45 AM Lion Dance
10:15 AM Speech by Honorary Guest
10:20 AM Speech by the Ving Tsun Athletic Association Chairman Prof. Lewis Luk
10:30 AM Kung Fu performance (Main Hall)
11:30 AM Kung Fu Seminars (Classroom)
1:00 PM Lunch
2:00 PM Group Photographs
2:30 PM Kung Fu performance & Introduction of the “Ving Tsun Excepts” (Main Hall)
4:00 PM Kung Fu Seminars (Classroom)
5:15 PM Presentations
6:00 PM End of Conference (Hong Kong part)
6:15 PM Dinner

The first half of the morning was dedicated to the formal Opening Ceremony and Speeches by honorary guests:
· Dr. Lam Ping-Yan, JP (Commissioner of the Auxiliary Medical Service)
· Mr. Wu Bin (Vice-Chairman of Beijing Wushu Association Supervisory Committee)
· Mr. Lam Kin Ming (Chairman of Hong Kong Chinese Martial Arts Association)
· Mr. Checkley K.L. Sin (Vice-President of Hong Kong Wushu Union)
· Prof. Lewis Luk (Chairman of Ving Tsun Athletic Association)
· Sifu Ip Chun (Senior Consultant of VTAA),
· Sifu Ip Ching (Senior Consultant of VTAA)
· Sifu Chu Shong Tin (Senior Consultant of VTAA)
· Sifu Siu Yuk Men (Senior Consultant of VTAA)

After all the speeches, it was off to more demonstrations and seminars. I had the opportunity to present a seminar. The topic was “Wing Chun in relationship to Shaolin.” We had about 15 local Chinese participants and about 10 Foreign Guests along with our own members so it was a good turn out. I gave a comprehensive lecture on the Three Treasures of Shaolin, how the nature of Wing Chun originates in Chan Buddhism and the connections between Shaolin and Wing Chun. I also had the opportunity to touch upon the Shaolin Wisdoms and how Wing Chun is a concept & principle based system instead of a style. I believe it was well received. A lot of people came up to me and had a lot of questions and showed a lot of interest. They also bought a lot of Mastering Kung Fu books.

In the room next to mine was a seminar on Wing Chun Self Defense. Apparently egos got involved and people were exchanging Chi Sau skills and reactions. Chairs and tables ended up flying around the room, which resulted in a third party coming in to calm the situation down. There was a group from Eastern Europe. Just the way they conducted themselves, it was obvious they were looking to test their skills. Most everyone that came into contact with them agreed that they were rather “rough around the edges” in terms of how they conducted themselves as martial artists. But then again, they were the only group that had real energy behind their techniques. Most of the physical exchanges I saw were lacking in forward energy, which in turn makes the training unrealistic.

After all the excitement, it was time for lunch.

to be continued...

[duende]

Master Meng...

I'm curious as to who this group from eastern europe was??? Ha! Anyways, thanks for sharing your experiences at the VTAA conference.

I look forward to hearing more.

Alex

[sauchi]

Hi Benny,

Sounded like everybody had a good time and the energy was very high.

From your comment -
"Apparently egos got involved and people were exchanging Chi Sau skills and reactions. Chairs and tables ended up flying around the room, which resulted in a third party coming in to calm the situation down. "

The crowd got a little excited. Can you get more into detail? Did anyone get hurt and how did it all get started?

Would love to hear the story

Sauchi

[mario bava]

Hello Master Meng

Sounded like a great trip again. I would love to hear about the commotion in the room beside your lecture, and I would also love to hear how people reacted to your lecture as well. Was there anyone from Ireland in your group? - one of my old sihings was supposed to approach you with a letter - did he turn up at all?

Cheerio, Gary

www.hungfayiireland.com

[Cang Long]

Master Meng,
Yes indeed sounds like a great trip and fun for everyone involved. Hopefully more and more of these conferences will be scheduled and the different families will eventually start moving toward a common goal. Looking forward to hearing more about your travels here as well as the next time you visit our kwoon.

More info on the conference is being discussed here
http://www.cyberkwoon.com/new/viewto...=15403&start=0

[BennyMeng]

Sunday, November 20th – Day Four
continued...

After lunch, we gathered as the track field for group photos. After the group photos we went back to more performances and lectures at the main hall. One of the new ideas the VTAA had was to create a new form for the purpose of standardizing Wing Chun competitions. A few performances and demonstrations were made of the new form which mixed techniques from SNT, CK, BJ, and the Wooden Dummy and putting them together in different patterns designed to demonstrate speed, power, accuracy, balance and other attributes. A survey was passed around about the new form. Personally, I didn’t like the idea because it creates the opportunity for more confusion and variations down the road. It might also lead people to a focus on techniques instead of concepts and principles. The day ended with presentations to all the Sifu and Leaders in the Ip Man Wing Chun Community. The Second World Conference officially ended around 6:00 PM. We didn’t stay for the dinner because we had an arrangement with Sifu Philip Ng from the Wong Shun Leung family in the Ip Man lineage, a good friend of mine from Chicago that is currently acting in Hong Kong.

After a year of hard work he’s doing pretty well – he has his own lead role in a TV Series and Movie as well as acted in movies with Jackie Chan. The whole VTM group met up with him for dinner. He took us around town afterwards and we did an interview as part of a Wing Chun Documentary that’s in the works. I mentioned that I saw an episode of the new Kung Fu Soap Opera on TV about the story of Dr. Leung Jaan. I said it was disappointing because it was quite fictional – I saw a scene where Chan Wah Shun was trying to kill Dr. Leung Jaan when they were young – and the martial arts skills are anything BUT Wing Chun. My first Sifu, Lee Hoi Sang from the Jiu Wan family in the Chan Wah Shun lineage, was supposed to be the technical advisor but due to movie politics he didn’t get the chance to share his expertise. I’m sure that with his input and influence there would have been a stronger Wing Chun element instead of the typical flips and high kicks of Hong Kong entertainment martial arts. After experiencing the nightlife of Hong Kong, we took a minibus back to our hotel in the New Territories.

Monday, November 21st – Day Five

Most of the Foreign Guests were amazed just by the sights and sounds of China – especially the traffic. Driving in China is like playing Chicken. Wherever they’re space, you just have to go for it. You have to watch for pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, and trucks – all at once.

Monday began the second portion of the World Conference, which took us to Mainland China. In total there were three tour busses with about 150 people on the trip. Our trip began at 8:00 AM. Our group was big on shopping so we had to leave some of our things in Hong Kong but still ended up dragging along a lot of luggage. It was quite an experience in itself just going through so many checkpoints and custom’s stations. Once we arrived in China, just like the First World Conference we stopped at a special restaurant and had our first of many(!) Chinese banquets in China. I remember back in ’99, the lunch banquet was a seafood feast – it was like 10 courses of seafood. This time we visited a special teahouse so everything was prepared in some way that involved tea.

Faatsaan (Foshan in Mandarin) is a major metropolitan city of commerce and is quite different from when Ip Man lived there and grew up. After lunch they couldn’t decide if they were going to the hotel first or the Ip Man Tong first. Eventually it was decided to visit the Ip Man Tong first, which is in the Jo Miu (Ancestor’s Park). As a martial artist, the main attractions were the Ip Man Tong and the Wong Fei Hung Museum. But to most visitors, Jo Miu is a special park and museum that showcase all types of ancient arts and crafts of China including one-of-a-kind architecture. In one area of the park, it’s possible to see buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. On one wall, you can see the change in quality of brickwork. In the Ming Dynasty the craftsmanship is of a much higher quality than in the Qing Dynasty. The difference is visible as the mortar that holds the bricks together in the Qing Dynasty are very sloppy and uneven. There were also examples of woodwork and metalwork, too.

Also in the Jo Miu were many souvenir shops – some offered martial arts supplies – as well as memorabilia from the Ip Man Tong. I’ve been to the Jo Miu many times. I knew about the memorabilia so I took my group to get them immediately before everything sold out. They still had the collectable books from the Ip Man Tong Grand Opening as well as fans, t-shirts, and miniature dummies. Our group just about bought all the stock. It was a special visit this year because it was the first time there was a traditional Cantonese Opera performing on an actual stage used by the Hung Syun Hei Baan (Red Boat Opera Troupe) back in the 1830s to 1850s at the same time as a Wing Chun event was going on in Faatsaan. Our group went through the Jo Miu as well as the Ip Man Tong. The local media were there and took the opportunity to interview some of the Grand Masters and Sifu. Tour participants – including the VTM Group – were asked to perform some Chi Sau for the local media groups.

After the Jo Miu visit we went to a martial art supply store. Afterwards we went for our second banquet of the day. We finally went to the Hotel and settled it. It was Faatsaan’s top hotel, a four-star place, called Gamsing (Golden City). I told the VTM Group that it was a top hotel and they had a top Spa, which gave 60-minute massages for only $10. I think about half of the group went for massage first while the other half toured the city and then came back for massages.

to be continued...