To view artwork by Grand Master Moy Yat, please join us for an exhibition at our school (1324 W Main St) on Friday March 5, 2010. For additional information on Kung fu classes please call 804-497-7555 or contact us on the web at www.kungfurichmond.com.
The Renaissance era, 1300-1600, was a time in history when the human spirit evolved, creating and communicating a deeper understanding of life. The complex and dynamic observations in art and science of this period stretched the limits of human perception and abilities. Likewise, Ving Tsun (pronounced “Wing Chun”) kung fu uses a scientific approach in training, maintaining a relaxed and natural feeling that is both visual and physical art.
To view artwork by Grand Master Moy Yat, please join us for an exhibition at our school (1324 W Main St) on Friday March 5, 2010. For additional information on Kung fu classes please call 804-497-7555 or contact us on the web at www.kungfurichmond.com.
The Renaissance era, 1300-1600, was a time in history when the human spirit evolved, creating and communicating a deeper understanding of life. The complex and dynamic observations in art and science of this period stretched the limits of human perception and abilities. Likewise, Ving Tsun (pronounced “Wing Chun”) kung fu uses a scientific approach in training, maintaining a relaxed and natural feeling that is both visual and physical art.
Martial art creates a refinement of human motion that trains the mind and develops an automatic protective instinct. It is the pursuit of freedom and harmony with others that drive the martial artist to practice, affecting positive change in their self and their environment. The combat training of the Ving Tsun system enables the human body to develop a centerline and the ability to navigate through obstacles and opposing forces. The centerline is a guiding principal, and core to the practice of forms and two person exercises. Students begin studying the symmetry of the human body and develop a visual and graphical means of understanding different motions.
This idea of visual training is reinforced by the use of symbols in the form of “chops”, Chinese characters carved in stone. These seals are used to communicate important information about kung fu, such as family lineage and important principals. These “chops” were carved by the late Grandmaster Moy Yat, also a master seal maker, after being commissioned by his teacher, the Hong Kong Grandmaster Yip Man (famous teacher of movie legend Bruce Lee). Yip Man sought to preserve the Ving Tsun lineage and the Kuen Kuit (core teachings and sayings) by having Moy Yat set them in stone for future generations. Our kung fu family prides itself on this person-to-person connection that allows us to trace our origins back ten generations to the Shaolin temple in southern China.
In addition to bringing the Ving Tsun System from Hong Kong to America in 1973, Moy Yat was an accomplished painter and sculptor. His works, created under the name Moy Go Yan, included oil and water color paintings, Chinese calligraphy, as well as stone and wood carvings. His art served to communicate Chinese culture and history and to show the simple beauty of nature and the human form. The instructional quality of his artwork can be seen in pictures of training devices and weapons, as well as the striking portraits of himself and his teacher Yip Man. Moy Yat proved himself to be a Renaissance man, and authored several books on the Ving Tsun system, including blue prints for construction of the wooden dummy and long pole.
Ultimately, it is the quality of martial arts practiced in today’s generation of students that is Moy Yat’s legacy. By passing the system down, unchanged by one’s own limited experience and ideas, it has passed intact from human to human over hundreds of years. Each and every practitioner creates living art in their kung fu practice and application of the Ving Tsun system to their daily lives. Becoming a better human being and working to help the community is the key to living as both a Martial and Renaissance artist.
