History of
Siu Lam Wing Chun

From Fujian Province in southern China, the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma (Damo) first traveled to Qingyuan in Guangdong Province and from there to northern China, in Henan Province.

Damo meditated for 9 years in front of a wall, founded Chan Buddhism1, and with it the Shaolin School2. Until then, the monks had practiced the Daoist martial art of Taiji Quan (Cantonese Tai Gik Kyun).

The temple in Henan itself was built as early as 496 AD. However, it was only with Damo’s teachings and the connection to Chan Buddhism, which is inseparable from the culture of Shaolin, that the Shaolin School in Henan was founded around 527 AD.

Gradually, the teachings of Chan spread throughout China, and several temples affiliated with the Shaolin School were established.

The Ming Emperor managed to flee with two bodyguards.

Allies of the Ming government increasingly came under pressure and fled.

During the Qing Dynasty, the Shaolin Temple in Henan was destroyed several times.

It is widely acknowledged that the "Chinese Freemasons" were founded by a group of Shaolin monks with the goal of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the rule of the Chinese Han people. After this time, the Chinese Freemasons spread widely and developed into many groups/lines. One of these was the Heaven and Earth Society.

A slogan of the Chinese Freemasons was passed down in the lineage of Siu Lam Wing Chun:

Speak always with determination,
Do not forget the Han people,
Spring will return

永言矢志；
毋忘漢族；
大地回春

Wing yun chi jee;
Mo mong Hon juk;
Dai dei wui chun¹

When they spoke this motto, they could clearly identify their brothers. To make it easier to use and to hide its revolutionary character from the Qing, the motto was eventually shortened to just the first and last words: 永春 (“Wing Chun”, meaning "always Spring" or "eternal Spring"). This became the name for their combat methods.¹

In the transmission of the Loeng Zaan lineage, there are some differences. Firstly, there is an additional third verse: “give us back our homeland” (還我河山, waan ngo ho saan). Secondly, the whole saying was abbreviated differently, combining the first two words 永 (always) and 言 (speak) to form 詠, which means "sing a song" (also pronounced "Wing"). Thus, in the Loeng Zaan lineage, the full abbreviation and therefore the name of the martial art became 詠春, meaning "sing a song of Spring." From this lineage, the now very well-known Yip Man Wing Chun eventually developed.²

The distinction between 永春 - "eternal Spring" - of Siu Lam Wing Chun and 詠春 - "sing a song of Spring" - of Loeng Zaan Wing Chun can, however, be easily overlooked because, on the one hand, both pronunciations sound relatively similar in Cantonese, and on the other hand, both names are often written the same way in the Romanized spelling: Wing Chun.

The emperor of the Liang Dynasty commissioned the construction of the Feilai Temple in Qingyuan, Guangdong Province. The temple was inaugurated in 524. Damo himself passed through here on his journey from southern to northern China, and there is a stone at the site engraved with the words "Damo's Stone."

According to legend, the Shaolin monk Zi Sin sought refuge at the Feilai Temple after leaving the Red Boat. Here, he is said to have taught the Wing Chun Kyun hand form, parts of the pole techniques, and the wooden dummy form to the merchant Tang Bun, whose trade route passed by the Feilai Temple. When Zi Sin decided to move on, he sent Tang Bun to the Red Boat to learn further from Wong Wa Bo and Loeng Ji Tai. Tang Bun later sought out Loeng Ji Tai and found that the techniques and forms of the pole and wooden dummy differed slightly from what he had learned at the Feilai Temple. He eventually passed on both versions to his son Tang Zau.

The Feilai Temple was destroyed three times after 1850 and was rebuilt in the 1970s.

In 1997, a landslide washed everything into the river. Only the old gate of the original temple remains today. The reconstruction was completed in 2004.

The first written records of our martial art date back to 1852. However, due to the temple's destruction and the landslide, no records of Zi Sin's presence could be found at the Feilai Temple. Similarly, during our 2018 research, no one at the site knew of a stay by Zi Sin.

After multiple destructions during the Qing Dynasty, the Shaolin Temple in Henan was again destroyed in 1928, this time by the Republic of China. The temple's final end came after 1949 when the Communist Party took power.

During the "Great Leap Forward," the Party forced the monks to leave the temple and reintegrate into "normal" life. The remaining Buddhist books and study materials were destroyed. The lands of the Shaolin Temple were nationalized during the four-year Great Famine, and the remaining monks could no longer sustain themselves there. Then came the Cultural Revolution. Because the temple had previously owned land, the abbot was criticized as a landlord and an enemy of the working class. By this time, only the abbot and his assistant monk were living in the temple.

It was not until after the worldwide success of the movie "Shaolin Temple" in 1982, starring Jet Li, that Shaolin regained importance for the Communist Party. The temple in Henan was rebuilt and staffed with Buddhist monks. Within the temple is the state-run Wushu school "Wushu-Guan." The acrobatic performances serve as a tourist attraction.

In the 1960s, the father of the famous dramatist Lam Ka-Sing, Lam Heung Wing, admired Tang Yik's Siu Lam Wing Chun and his skill with the long pole. He invited Tang Yik to teach the artists in his theatre club on Nathan Road. After several years of teaching, the students made good progress. However, the club was closed for renovations, and the lessons were discontinued.

From then on, Tang Yik no longer taught Siu Lam Wing Chun publicly, but he gave private lessons to a few kind-hearted, talented, and long-time students like Chan Hoi Syun, Yung Tai Long, Kwong Chak Cheung, and Wong Wing Keung.

By the late 1960s, Michael Tang Chun Pak, Tang Yik's grandnephew, was also one of his students.

Chan Hoi Syun created an extensive set of 8mm recordings of Tang Yik, Kwong Chak Cheung, and others. Most of the recordings were taken on Yung Tai Long's rooftop in Northeast Kowloon, as shown in the still image here.

Tang Yik's longest-standing student, Chan Hoi Syun, who studied under him for 25 years, does not teach himself.

Kwong Chak Cheung moved to Canada in the 1990s and died in a car accident there.

Wong Wing Keung now lives in America.

Master Peter Scholz learned from 1997 to 2008 from Sifu Jörg Weidner of the lineage of Andreas Hoffmann, Cheng Kwong, Way Yan, and Lo Chiu Wun; in 2012 from Apolo Chiu of the Ignatius Siu, Chan Wing Yue, and Chu Chun Man lineage; from 2009 to 2018 from Michael Tang Chun Pak; and from 2018 onward from Peter Wong Wing Keung.

Bettina-Pela Scholz trained from 2001 to 2010 with Sifu Jörg Weidner, Sifu Michael Enzinger, and Sigung Andreas Hoffmann, all from the Cheng Kwong, Way Yan, and Lo Chiu Wun lineage.

Our school was founded in 2010 by Master Peter Scholz and Bettina Pela-Scholz at the Berlin location on Conrad-Blenkle-Straße 2 and expanded in 2023 to include the spaces at Conrad-Blenkle-Straße 3.

Since 2015, Peter Scholz has been working with his student, Hong Kong native and journalist Janet Yuen, on translating the handwritten records of the Siu Lam Wing Chun lineages.

In 2020, we established the online academy "Vade Mecum" to provide ongoing support for students and to assist teachers with their didactic methods.

Since 2019, our school has successfully participated in international competitions in the areas of hand forms, weapon forms, wooden dummy, point fighting, and Sanda.

Since 2023, the Open Ci Sau Workout has been held three times a week in our Powerbox, following the philosophy of open exchange seen in the Feilai Temple, the Red Boat, the Jyun Wo Percussion Shop, and the Dai Dak Lan.