During the early seventies, Sifu Lee lived and trained full time in Hong Kong with master Wong Shun Leung. These arduous and intensive years were spent training up to fifteen hours a day, seven days a week.
Master Wong Shun Leung called him "The Machine" and "the quickest, with the most special understanding", "if you are hit by him you don't stand up".
During that time, Sifu Lee had many challenge matches and life-threatening situations. As a result, he has the necessary practical experience to teach the best technical responses in combat.
He has continuously trained with similar dedication since then, for up to seven hours a day every day even with a full career.
Sifu Lee has been an instructor to Police, Security and, Military personnel, and other specialist groups. He has also considerable experience teaching both in Australia, and overseas in both siminar and class situation, and thus is both a teacher and a fighter - an all too rare phenomenon in the martial arts world.
SIFU BARRY LEE REPRESENTS MASTER WONG SHUN LEUNG'S VING TSUN IN THE WESTERN WORLD.
LIFE MEMBER: Wong Shun Leung Ving Tsun Martial Arts Association.
RECOGNISED BY: HongKong Ving Tsun (WIng Chun) Athletic Association.
MEMBER: Federation of Australasian Kung Fu Organisations.
GOVERNMENT ACCREDITED: Australian Coaching Council.
Ving Tsun Kung Fu is a sophisticated form of fighting, which develops an ultra-high level of feeling and instinctive reaction... "if you have to stop and think it's too late!"
"If you have to always use your eyes, to see what your opponent is doing it's too late!". Ving Tsun teaches specific reactions to certain reactions to certain attacks (as do all fighting styles) but exactly how you move is dependent on the "feeling" developed throughout the body from a unique training method called Chi Sao.
Chi Sao is designed to increase feeling (sensitivity to changes in force and movement), flexibility, instinctive reaction, continuity and co-ordination of movement. It also teaches angles of attack, timing, distancing, footwork and above all, a principle called Lut Sao Jet Chung which refers to a continuous forward force, often misunderstood but invaluable once mastered.
In Ving Tsun very great force can be generated from close quarters and good practitioners are magnificent "in-fighters". Those who truly master the style are in no way disadvantaged by long range attacks. However in fact the specific training to fight close generally makes a distance attack appear slow by comparison.
Ving Tsun teaches conservation of energy and simultaneous block and attack. Economy of motion, the principle of using the right amount of force at the right time is one of the cornerstones of this exciting style. The kicks employed are usually very low, to the weaker areas and used in conjunction with the hands. Being a style which does not rely on brute muscular strength, but co-ordination of body movement, angles of attack, redirecting and using the opponents force and movement against them. Ving Tsun is particularly suitable to women wanting a truly effective means of protection.
The term "Self Defense" is often misunderstood. As my Sifu, Legendary Master Wong Shun Leung once said: "How can you defend yourself, unless you can fight and win?". Ving Tsun gives you the necessary tools (principles, techniques and practiced skill) to fight and win.
Understand the situation, know the technique, react without hesitation. "Feel, don't think!"