As I ponder and research Wing Chun Kung Fu through my 27 years of experience, it became clear to me that most of the confusion comes from the word "modify". To modify means to innovate, make better or change. Thus, what must have happened! Someone put this "modified" name on the altered Wing Chun.

Now, let's examine why Wing Chun was altered. The 5th generation grandmaster Mr. Leung Jan caught his neighbor Mr. Chan Wah Shun spying on him teaching his two sons Leung Cheun and Leung Bik traditional Wing Chun, in the original state, in which it was passed down from the Shaolin Temple. Intelligent as Leung Jan was as grandmaster, he knew Chan Wah Shun would dispute grandmastership with his sons, after his death to become the leader of the system. Therefore, he wouldn't have been the heir to the system because he wasn't a family member. Leung Jan did not know how long Chan had been watching or how much he had learned. Therefore, Leung Jan had Chan fight his younger son Leung Cheun.!

To his amazement Chan defeated Leung Cheun. This means Chan Wah Shun learned quite a bit of the traditional Wing Chun. In order to keep Chan Wah Shun under control, Leung Jan accepted Chan as the first outside student. Now, being that Chan Wah Shun was a moneychanger (one who changes gold to currency), his ability to interpret what he sees was excellent. Chan taught himself how to use Wing Chun. Leung saw Chan's Wing Chun was good. Leung cleverly altered Chan's Wing Chun by withholding key elements and principles from Chan. At that point, martial arts combined: balance, footwork, reflexes, punches, kicks, concentration, sensitivity and most of all, having the heart to be a martial artist. Leung Jan and his youngest son Leung Chuan died, leaving Leung Bik as the heir to the traditional Wing Chun system. Leung Bik moved to Hong Kong. Chan Wah Shun proclaimed himself Grandmaster of Wing Chun King Fu and went to work for the Yip family estate as chief security guard.

Let's expound on the effectiveness of the altered Wing Chun. Like all fighting arts it uses linear attack circular defense or vise-versa, shuffle footwork on one side, blocking kicks with kicks and various weapons of strikes. So what made Chan Wah Shun Wing Chun superior? Chi Sao! This is the core of the system. Chi Sao gives optimum prowess. Sensitivity, contact reflexes, striking at close distance and trapping are some of Wing Chun's key factors. With my experience of meeting masters, students, and practitioners, everyone's emphasis is Chi Sao. Through the years Chi Sao became a fighting art. Its purpose is an exercise to develop contact reflexes. Si-Gung Bruce Lee was hindered by not knowing all of the altered Wing Chun. He became frustrated on using Wing Chun at a distance. This made him to become eclectic. The late Grandmaster Yip man fought Grandmaster Leung Bik at a distance and lost. Most Wing Chun practitioners that I've seen in my lifetime have never fought from a distance.

With all the techniques and applications in the system I never saw them applied by anyone other than GM. William Cheung, Sifu Anthony Arnett and myself. I must add that, pre-arranged fighting and grappling do not count, nor do self- defense techniques. Thanks for listening to reasons.