William Cheung

William Cheung
William Cheung
Born	1940 (age 70–71) Hong Kong
Other names	張卓慶, Cheung Cheuk Hing
Residence	Melbourne, Australia
Style	Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu
Teacher(s)	Yip Man
Rank	Grandmaster
Notable students	Keith Mazza, Phillip Redmond, Anthony Arnett, Ian Protheroe
Website	http://www.cheungswingchun.com/

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Cheung.

William Cheung or Cheung Cheuk Hing (張卓慶, pinyin: Zhāng Zhuóqìng), born ? October, 1940, is a Chinese Wing Chun kung fu practitioner and currently the Grandmaster of his lineage of Wing Chun, entitled Traditional Wing Chun (TWC). He also heads the sanctioning body of TWC, the World Wing Chun Kung Fu Association.

In 1951, at the age of ten, Cheung started his training in Wing Chun kung fu under the late Yip Man. According to Cheung, it was from 1954 to 1958 that he was a live-in student of Yip Man and inherited the complete system of Traditional Wing Chun.^[1]

William Cheung was also a close friend and senior and training partner to Bruce Lee in the Wing Chun system. He was responsible for personally introducing Bruce Lee to Wing Chun in 1953.^[2]

Accomplishments

Martial arts

Duncan Leung, a Yip Man student, says it was William Cheung who first made Wing Chun famous in Australia. "In 1957 another early student of Yip Man, William Cheung, immigrated to Australia. On the way there an incident occurred when he locked himself in the sailor cabin and fought more than 10 sailors. This got into all the newspapers and so Wing Chun was even known in Australia then."^[3]

Cheung is known for using "Egg Standing" to demonstrate his skill in weight distribution and overall control of his body. ^[4]

Teaching accomplishments

After moving to Melbourne, Australia to teach Wing Chun professionally in 1973, Cheung began operating a martial arts school. In 1976 he was elected the President of the Australian Kung Fu Federation.

Writings

• Cheung, William (1983). Wing Chun Bil Jee, the Deadly Art of Thrusting Fingers. Unique Publications. pp. 160. ISBN 9780865680456. 
• Cheung, William; Mike Lee (1986). How to Develop Chi Power. Black Belt Communications. pp. 192. ISBN 9780897501101. 
• Cheung, William; Mike Lee (1989). Kung Fu Dragon Pole. Black Belt Communications. pp. 128. ISBN 9780897501071. 
• Cheung, William; Mike Lee (1988). Advanced Wing Chun. Black Belt Communications. pp. 256. ISBN 9780897501187. 
• Cheung, William; Ted Wong (1990). Wing Chun Kung Fu/Jeet Kune Do: a Comparison Volume 1. Black Belt Communications. pp. 192. ISBN 9780897501248. 

Cheung has produced a number of videos, including The Wing Chun Way, Tao of Wing Chun, My Life with Wing Chun, Wing Chun – Advanced Training and Applications, City of Dragons, CMT – Cheung's Meridian Therapy and PRO-TEKT: A Personal Protection Program.

Controversy

Challenge

His fight with Emin Boztepe, then a student of Keith R. Kernspecht, in 1986, at a seminar in Germany, caused controversy in the wider Wing Chun community.^[why?][5]

Notes and references

1. ^ "The William Cheung Story Part IV". Black Belt (Active Interest Media) 21 (4): 21–29. 1983. 
2. ^ Thomas, Bruce (2005). Bruce Lee: Fighting Words. Frog Books. p. 156. ISBN 9781583941256. 
3. ^ Leung, Duncan. "Duncan Leung Home Page Intro". http://members.tripod.com/~Wing_Chun/. Retrieved 2007-09-08. 
4. ^ Koller, Randy. "Image of Cheung standing on Eggs". http://www.pawingchun.com/assets/teachers/cheung_eggs.jpg. Retrieved 2007-09-08. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ Jim Coleman & Jane Hallander (July 1995), "Royce Gracie vs. Emin Boztepe: Who would win this matchup of Jujutsu and Wing Chun fighters?", Black Belt 33 (7): 52–54, 57, http://books.google.com.au/books?id=GtIDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA52&dq=%22Emin+Boztepe%22&hl=en&ei=aflcTJfUHc6PcfHzpNoO&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Emin%20Boztepe%22&f=false 

See also

• Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu

Persondata
Name	Cheung, William
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1940
Place of birth	Hong Kong
Date of death
Place of death