The lack of written information on this ingenious combat system sparked the motivation to do something about it. Forty years later, it's here. A must-have for every Ving Tsun practitioner, this book is a step-by-step approach through the entire Ving Tsun system. It provides all the tools you'll need to take your existing skills to the next level. From the basics to in-depth knowledge, this book details a complete overview of Ving Tsun’s unique concepts and techniques, as well as how to master them. Being a concept-based system makes Ving Tsun ideal for fighting because it simplifies your thinking to make you more effective. With the aid of forms and exercises, we explain how to turn these concepts into routines. Ving Tsun will help you reach your full potential both as a fighter and a human-being. With this in mind, we describe the most important physical, psychological and interactive skills you need to develop for combat. Even if you practise other martial arts, the universal thinking outlined in this book will contribute to your further development. Evolved over the course of centuries, the Ving Tsun system is the result of the collective experiences gained by the many generations that preceded us. However, it was Yip Man who opened up the Ving Tsun system to the world by bringing it from mainland China to Hong Kong in 1949. One of Yip Man’s most skilful students, Wong Shun Leung (cover picture), was instrumental to the continued development of Ving Tsun. This book is our opportunity to honour him and all those who went before us. We are extremely proud to continue to spread the Ving Tsun legacy.

Gert-Jan Ketelaar My first notes date back to 1980 when my own Ving Tsun journey started. Immediately, I was struck by the logic of this amazing combat system and I was surprised there wasn’t more written information available on such a technical system. This was when I first considered writing a book. Many of the notes I jotted down over the years seem irrelevant now as my progress has changed my views. Only recently, did I feel ready to complete the task. A little late, but I have taken the time to think it all through. Passing on information verbally can lead to gaps in shared knowledge. My main motivation for writing this book is to document my knowledge of the Ving Tsun system for future generations. Personally, Ving Tsun gives me physical and mental strength, but my first obligation as a coach is to help others progress. When it comes to loyalty and honesty towards my students and coaches I am old-school, although this isn’t always obvious to everyone. In the Ving Tsun community, people often say that their old coach got it all wrong, but that their new coach really knows what he’s talking about. However, new developments are often less spectacular than expected and people tend to forget who actually taught them their skills. You must be aware that fight training is not an exact science and knowledge alone won’t make you a winner. At some point, you must acknowledge your drive and the effort you have put into your personal growth. All my coaches contributed to the person and coach I have become. Then again, there isn’t one particular coach who I aim to copy. The positive influences of all these coaches are still present in my training method. My first coach was my five-year-elder brother, Henk-Johan Ketelaar Sr, who actually founded the school in our hometown of Hilversum, he Netherlands. Despite his early age, he taught me many things about life including a mixture of martial arts. Unfortunately, he passed away in a car accident when I was just nineteen. After dealing with this terrible shock, it was clear to me that I wanted to continue the school. Not because I felt it was my duty, but because I enjoyed training martial arts and socializing with the students. At the time, I was the youngest coach in the Netherlands. Sharing my passion with others had already become part of the fun to me. Several years prior to that, I had read the book “Wing Chun Kung-Fu,” by J. Yimm Lee. At the time, it was one of the few available books and it stirred my curiosity. Soon after that I came across an advertisement for Ving Tsun lessons by Rob Vogel Sr. in The Hague. He became my first Ving Tsun coach and he took me in like a son. He introduced me to his method of sparring and showed me how to inspire others. A few months later, Rob introduced me to his coach Wang Kiu: “This Dutch guy is dedicated to Ving Tsun, but he has so many questions.” In the many seminars and meetings that followed Wang Kiu shared his knowledge with me and I was able to get familiar with his system. In 1992, the opportunity to meet Wong Shun Leung arose when he came to visit his long-time friend Wang Kiu. We spent a full weekend sightseeing the Netherlands while constantly talking about Ving Tsun. I was intrigued by his skill and knowledge. Several months later, one of Wong’s students, Ernest Höfler, organized a seminar in Mannheim, Germany. Quite surprisingly, Wong only allowed me to participate with Wang Kiu’s permission. Being the gentleman he was, Wong didn’t want to interfere with Wang Kiu’s teachings in the Netherlands. Fortunately, Wang Kiu didn’t want to hinder my personal growth in any way. The impact of the knowledge shared during this single weekend was immense. It covered all three forms and the long pole. It was clear to me that I had found what I had been looking for and I returned to Germany for more training at the very next opportunity. Over the following years, I rediscovered Ving Tsun and it fundamentally changed how I trained. Of course, Wong had seen this coming all along. In one of my very first conversations with Wong Shun Leung he made a remarkable statement: “The thinking is most important; the movements don’t matter that much.” It took me quite a while to fully understand the meaning of these words. Normally, when we think about fighting we think of physical actions and booking results. After all, you cannot defeat an opponent with the correct line of thinking. It wasn’t until much later, when Ving Tsun became second nature to me and physical actions routine, that I started to feel the same way Wong did, which is that ultimately your mind affects everything you do. Different thinking leads to different results. Our mind is our most powerful source and tool. In a fight, our thinking is abstract and based on the concepts of Ving Tsun. At the seminars I attended in Germany and the seminars I arranged for Wong in the Netherlands, we had lengthy conversations on all aspects of Ving Tsun which would frequently last into the early hours of the morning. He was open to any question imaginable, and we discussed in a pleasant manner and as equals. Some of the queries on techniques which I felt had not been properly explained yet by previous coaches all fell into place thanks to his explanation. Wong struck me as a humble person. For instance, when I asked him about him teaching Bruce Lee he said: “Bruce trained hard and became exceptionally good at Ving Tsun. Because of that, I also had to work harder. By training with him, I further developed myself.” Wong was an amazing person and a highly experienced coach. As a coach and as a human being, Wong is the person who inspired me most. In 1994, Wong introduced me to Philipp Bayer, one of his most talented students. We continued to work together over the next ten years, during which I trained with him privately as well as in group training sessions. Training with Philipp helped me to rapidly develop my skills down to the tiniest of details. After this period, I visited and studied several of Wong’s other senior students to learn as much as I could. I studied their specializations within Ving Tsun and compared their knowledge. This refined some of my insights on the use of structure and technique. Training Ving Tsun can be a lifelong study. Even after forty years of practising Ving Tsun, the process of authoring this book has enhanced my insights by reflecting on everything we do. Once you see the shared elements throughout the system, it crystallizes even further and becomes even more interesting. Sparring with James, also on paper nowadays, has further honed my vision and strengthened our friendship. We have joined forces to create a book we are proud of. The most important message we want to convey in this book is that Ving Tsun is a unique and brilliant system and so much more than ‘just’ another combat system. Thanks to the many aspects involved with learning Ving Tsun, it offers an honest path to self development, especially mentally. It is an excellent instrument for growth. James ter Beek At the age of thirteen, my interest for the martial arts was sparked. Several Chinese friends took me to see a Bruce Lee movie. I loved it and wanted to learn to fight like Bruce. At the time, nobody in Europe was teaching Jeet Kune Do, the martial art style Bruce Lee developed, so I started taking Judo lessons. I didn’t really enjoy Judo because I always had to grab my opponent before being able to attack. My uncle introduced me to a friend of his who was a Taekwondo instructor. I started taking Taekwondo classes and really enjoyed it, particularly the spectacular kicks. It was also the time when I bought my first Bruce Lee publication, Kung-Fu Monthly, an illustrated magazine all about Bruce Lee. After reading how Bruce Lee practised Ving Tsun Kung Fu, I started looking for a Ving Tsun school. Several years later, I came across Rob Vogel Sr, a martial arts teacher located in The Hague in the Netherlands. He taught a combination of martial arts, and the final part of each training was reserved for a small group of students whom he taught Ving Tsun. I joined his school and started training. It so happened that students who trained Ving Tsun booked better results during sparring than students who did the mixed martial arts training. Before long, Rob Vogel Sr. decided to abandon the variety of martial arts and focus on Ving Tsun. Through Rob I got to know Wang Kiu, the founder of Ving Tsun in the Netherlands. He was a gentleman and a scholar and I was honoured to become one of his friends and train with him privately right up until he passed away. Ever since I started training Ving Tsun, I have collected books on the subject. Later on in life, as a librarian, my interest in books grew and I practically bought anything I could find that had to do with Ving Tsun. I was struck by the fact that very few books actually contained any concrete knowledge of Ving Tsun. Most books contained a lot of pictures of the forms, but usually lacked any technical explanation. That’s when I decided to author a book on Ving Tsun, a book containing in-depth knowledge of the system. In 2006, I met Gert-Jan Ketelaar who practised the Wong Shun Leung system. Meeting Gert-Jan profoundly changed my views on everything I had learnt so far. I started training with Gert-Jan and I still do. The desire to author a book always stuck with me and in 2013 I asked Gert-Jan whether he would be interested in writing it with me. He agreed and we shot the first photographs to illustrate the book. After that, not much happened until the Covid pandemic in 2020. We started writing the book that very same year. It turned out to be a demanding task. Neither of us are native speakers of English nor are we authors, for that matter. We’re just two guys with a passion for Ving Tsun. However, little by little the book started to take shape and I was convinced the end result would be unique, one-of-a-kind. This book provides a complete overview. During the writing process, my knowledge of Ving Tsun deepened once again as a result of all the research I did. Reading Gert-Jan’s contributions provided me with the perfect opportunity to pick the brains of one of Ving Tsun’s most skilled practitioners. Without Gert-Jan I would never have achieved the level of Ving Tsun I have. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for being “my pointing finger“.