Hello friends,
Peter Lee, of the 本能詠春 Instinct Wing Chun School, here in Guangzhou, asked me to translate and spread a little advertisement for him. Unfortunately, I’m not really into many forms of social media, and was not able to spread this so far – or maybe the U.S. doesn’t use the same kinds as in China. Continue reading
Many of my letters are back-dated, due to the adventures described in them happening some time ago, and because I had written, or at least begun writing them at that time. Most of those initial adventures, in Zhuhai 珠海, Hong Kong 香港, and Foshan (Fatsaan) 佛山, took place during January. During the beginning of January I was afforded some spare time, due to my services at work being not needed; and then the end of January begins the approximately four week long Lunar New Year celebrations. At the time my situation in China was looking precarious, so I did my best to explore as widely as I could in a short time. Continue reading
Monday, 18 January, 2016
佛山詠春
I had had my adventures in Zhuhai 珠海, with Henry Ho 何英才 and the Ming Concept 銘念, and in Hong Kong 香港, though admittedly only visiting one school (and not being particularly motivated to see the others), in Yip Ching’s 葉正 class. I had one more lead to explore, and that was in Foshan 佛山. Continue reading
一個夜晚在香港
Sunday, 17 January, 2016
I planned the trip to Hong Kong 香港, through Shenzhen 深圳, stopping at Yip Man’s 葉問 grave, arriving in Kowloon 九龍, walking the streets, through the pet and flower market, and, finally, arriving at the building which housed one of the schools of Yip Ching 葉正, locating the entrance and entering the building.
A note: I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with some work lately, and that combined with the occasionally horrendous internet connection in my hotel home, have made posting at a regular interval a little bit difficult. I’m doing my best. There is a lot more to tell. We are only in January still.
一個夜晚在香港
Sunday, 17 January, 2016
For my first trip to 香港 Hong Kong I took the high-speed rail, which takes about two hours, and lands you, smack, in the middle of busy 九龍 Kowloon. For this second trip I wanted to try a different route, which was cheaper, and which would conveniently involve a stop at 葉問 Yip Man’s grave site. Continue reading
Sunday, 17 January, 2016
一個夜晚在香港
Expecting my free time for Wing Chun exploration in Guangzhou to be sparse, and not knowing what would come of any particular journey, I had already begun preparations for a trip to Hong Kong as well. I had done two things to prepare for this. One, I had researched a little about the schools there, partially on the web, and partially on foot during a previous short stay in Hong Kong. Continue reading
Tuesday, 12 January, 2016
銘念
Macau Visitor Pass
We pulled off of the main alley and on to a smaller alley, where Henry parked the motorcycle. Everything in 澳门 Macau is crowded, and finding a place to park can be tough, even with a motorcycle. However, there was a spot waiting for us. We quickly dismounted and headed to the school. A metal door to a small residential looking building – concrete, maybe eight floors – with a metal plaque next to it reading the name of the school: 雷明輝 詠春班 Lui Ming Fai Wing Chun Class. We were buzzed in, and proceeded up the tight concrete switch-back staircase to the sixth floor. Continue reading
Tuesday, 12 January, 2016
銘念
Now, I have some sad news: Henry’s father, Master 何金銘 Ho Kam Ming, has suffered a stroke, I believe last October (I will correct the date if I find it to be wrong). He is currently staying in a hospital in Toronto, Canada, where his other son lives. Continue reading
Tuesday, 12 January, 2016
銘念
Prior to heading to China I sent an e-mail to 方政荣 Augustine Fong, in Arizona. Though I’ve never had the honor of meeting him in person, I’ve always heard great things about his character. I come from a lineage primarily influenced by 何金銘 Ho Kam Ming and his student Augustine Fong, based in Tuscon, Arizona, with a bit of 梁相 Leung Sheung thrown in. This lineage, and even our school in Seattle, has a fairly distinct character, which I think is very much like Fong’s Wing Chun. I had corresponded with Fong once in the past, about some Wing Chun terminology, and he was very forthcoming. This time, I wrote him to ask about Wing Chun schools in or around 广州 Guangzhou (Canton), that he might know of. (If you’re new to the show, I’ve been living in Guangzhou for the past several months.) Continue reading
An interlude of media.
To be perfectly honest, I prefer to write, and I try to convey as much as I can through that medium. However, I’m not always great at writing, though I am practicing in the hopes of being better. Also, this being a blog, and not a book or essay, I try to keep things fairly short. Finally, I know that some people just want media. I’ve tried, in the past few posts, to play with the addition of media. This is not easy, mostly because it’s time consuming, and that’s time I’d rather be writing. Continue reading
Centreclash 中冲 