Leung Sheung was Grandmaster Yip Man’s best student. Leung Sheung’s best student was Sifu Kenneth Chung. Ken’s best student was Sifu Ben Der. The Leung Sheung lineage is very good because it focuses on position, relaxation and technique over brute force and speed. Good for older martial artists. It’s almost like stand-up grappling. It must be felt to be appreciated. It doesn’t have all the answers but it has a lot of solutions for in-close applications, especially when there’s the element of surprise and the other guy doesn’t know what to expect. It’s also part of your classic culture, pre communist revolution–and worth preserving.
I haven’t done it in a long time but still retain a lot of the natural reactions I developed when I was training, especially Chi Sao. My muscle memory is still there. Check out the Leung Sheung lineage if you are in Hong Kong. Not sure what the mainland has to offer as far as the Leung Sheung school. Perhaps Ken Chung can make a visit if you’re interested. He used to hold Stanford University classes as well as in San Francisco. He is amongst the best in the world, even at an advanced age.
Sifu Ben Der of San Jose
