Ving Tsun or Wing Chun is a Chinese combat system that was developed about 300 years ago. There are various theories and legends about the origin of Ving Tsun, but it remains a guess as to its real origin. Our style of Ving Tsun comes from master Ip Man who was taught by Chan Wah Shun and Leung Bik who both were taught by Leung Jan. There are a number of different styles of Ving Tsun as well as different writing styles. Ip Man chose the spelling Ving Tsun with his Ving Tsun Athletic Association in the early 1950’s in Hong Kong. The teachers who taught us the system were taught by Wong Shun Leung, Victor Kan and Wang Kiu, who were direct students of Ip man. Even though they have all been taught the same system, there are still clear differences in their style.
Our instructors started Ving Tsun between 2004 and 2009 with sifu (master) Robert (Bob) Bruggeman. Bob started training Ving Tsun in the late 1970’s under Henk Roelofsen in the Netherlands, who was a student of master Wang Kiu. In the late 90's, Bob felt that his Ving Tsun was missing something and began training under master Victor Kan until Bob ended his partnership with Victor in 2013.
In July 2014 we first met master Philipp Bayer through Georges Weisgerber and Frutz Leurs (former students of Bob) at one of his seminars in Luxembourg. Philipp Bayer was a student of Wong Shun Leung, known for teaching Bruce Lee the system. Also known as "The King of Talking Hands" because he was regularly chosen by Ip Man to defend the school's honor in fights. In 1983 Philipp Bayer started his education with Wong Shun Leung in his school in Hong Kong. Philipp himself founded the Ving Tsun Kung Fu Association Europe in 1990. During the seminar in Luxembourg, we were so impressed with his practical application of the system that we decided to continue training under him. Despite continuing to attend the seminars in Luxembourg, it did not seem enough to make progress. As a result, we decided in January 2016 to take lessons with Hani Sabbagh in Liège who is also an instructor under Philipp Bayer. Hani Sabbagh started his training with Philipp Bayer in 2004 and became a representative of PBVT (Philipp Bayer Ving Tsun) in Belgium since 2008. In addition to teaching weekly, we also continue to attend seminars abroad to improve our skills.
