One of the most important aspects of a Ving Tsun practitioner is that of giving importance to the legacy transmistted to one’s self. Honoring the ancestors is one of the most significant characteristics that Senior Master Julio Camacho brought to himself, demonstrating that significance through his transmission as a 11th Generation Legatee of the Ving Tsun System.
Come learn about the Legacy of the Ancestor Lineage!
Stamp of the name Yim Ving Tsun
Having received an ancestral heritage from the Siu Lam monastery of the legendary monk Ng Mui, Yim Ving Tsun is considered the first ancestor of our legacy.
When structuring the Ving Tsun System, the founder became the emblematic master of Kung Fu, symbolized by the Chinese idea of “Feminization of War”.
In building the Ving Tsun System, Yim Ving Tsun established herself as a mentor to a valuable legacy of Chinese strategic intelligence.
She secretly passed on her knowledge to her husband, Leung Bok To.
Stamp of the name Leung Bok To
Yim Ving Tsun’s husband, it was Leung Bok To who named the art name “Ving Tsun Kuen” in honor of his wife.
A merchant active in southern China, Leung Bok To was involved in classical Chinese arts. Also fond of Cantonese opera, he went to see a play in the city of Fat Shan and there he met Wong Wa Bo, the one who had come to receive the inheritance of the Ving Tsun System from Leung Bok To.
Stamp of the name Wong Wa Bo
The figure of a warrior-like leadership of the opera company King Fa Wui Gwun (“Jade Flower Society”), Wong Wa Bo performed itinerant shows in southern China, on vessels that became known as Red Reed.
The cultural influence of these shows ended up bringing together leaders of a revolutionary political movement, which fought to restore the Chinese Ming dynasty, then overthrown by the Manchurians (Ching).
It was in this context that Wong Wa Bo met Leung Laan Gwai and passed on all the knowledge of Ving Tsun to him.
Stamp of the name Leung Laan Gwai
Coming from a traditional and wealthy Fat Shan family, Leung Laan Gwai was a leader of the revolutionary movement against the Ching Manchu Dynasty.
He became a disciple of Wong Wa Bo and later a revered martial artist.
In old age, he gave up everything and started to dedicate himself to monastic life, becoming known by the name Toey Am. Before doing so, he transmitted the Ving Tsun to the rower of the Red Reed, Leung Yi Tai.
Stamp of the name Leung Yi Tai
A member of the opera King Fa Wui Gwun, Leung Yi Tai began his career as a simple reed rower but eventually became the main actor, playing the role of Dai Fa Min. This remarkable trajectory within the company caught the attention of the great Leung Lan Gwai, who chose him as a disciple.
In 1855, a year after the decree banning the exhibition of the opera, Leung Yi Tai dedicated himself to transmitting the Ving Tsun to Leung Jaan, on an exclusive basis.
Stamp of the name Leung Jaan
Heir to a family with a high reputation in Chinese medicine, Leung Jaan was a famous doctor in the city of Fat Shan.
From a young age, he also dedicated himself to martial arts, with his father employing several Kung Fu masters at his son’s disposal. However, it was only after his father’s death that Leung Jaan found his great mentor, Leung Yi Tai, receiving the entire legacy of Ving Tsun.
He then became the most famous martial artist of his time, becoming known as “The king of Ving Tsun” and also as “The great lord of Fat Shan”.
Stamp of the name Chan Wah Sun
He made a fortune as a money changer, becoming known as Jau Chin Wa, or “Wa, the money changer”.
This financial tranquility allowed Chan Wah Sun to dedicate himself to two of his passions: medicine and martial arts. That was how he became a follower of Leung Jaan, even taking over his master’s pharmacy and transmitting Ving Tsun to a select group of only sixteen practitioners, among them the young Ip Man.
Chan Wah Sun was the one who enshrined the name of Ving Tsun as Siu Ye Kuen, that is, the art of the young lords, who were in fact the heirs of the traditional aristocratic families of Fat Shan.
Stamp of the name Ip Man
Heir to a traditional family of Fat Shan (Foshan), Ip Man began his apprenticeship with master Chan Wah Sun at the tender age of six.
In 1908, he resided in Hong Kong and learned Ving Tsun from the great Leung Jaan’s son, Leung Bik. He returned to his hometown in 1913 and, due to the death of his master, continued his apprenticeship with Ng Chung So, the oldest student of his master Chan Wah Sun.
In 1950 he started transmitting Ving Tsun in Hong Kong, producing until his death, in December 1972, a large number of renowned practitioners, who were responsible for the internationalization of Ving Tsun from the 1960s.
Photo of Moy Yat
Born in South China, he moved to Hong Kong and in 1957, he became a disciple of the patriarch Ip Man.
In 1962, he was the youngest leader of a Kung Fu Family recognized by Ip Man. In 1973 he moved to New York – USA, founding the Moy Yat Ving Tsun Special Students Association. In America, it has gained worldwide prestige.
He was the only Grand Master established in the West who received an honorable mention at the Ip Man Tong, the official museum of the Ving Tsun in the city of Fat Shan – southern China.
At the same time, he established himself as a plastic and literary artist of classical Chinese culture, under the name of Moy Go Yan.
Photo of Leo Imamura “Moy Yat Sang”
Léo Akio Imamura was born in the city of São Paulo, on March 18, 1963. After eight years of dedication to Japanese arts, he found himself in Chinese martial art, Ving Tsun.
He followed the Chinese master Li Hon Ki, but due to stopping in NY during a trip to China, he met the legendary Patriarch Moy Yat. He became his disciple, resuming his studies in the art of Ving Tsun, and receiving the Kung Fu Name Moy Yat Sang from his new master.
In September 2000, Leo Imamura created the Moy Yat Ving Tsun Martial Intelligence Program, to safeguard the Ving Tsun System in the 21st century.
He introduced the Denominação Moy Yat Ving Tsun institution in Brazil, on August 8, 1988.
Today, Leo Imamura has hundreds of disciples and followers in Brazil, Argentina, the United States and Europe.
Photo of Julio Camacho “Moy Jo Lei Ou”
Julio Camacho was accepted by Leo Imamura as a member of the Moy Yat Sang Family, in 1992, in the city of São Paulo.
In 1995, Julio Camacho founded his first transmission center with the Denominação Moy Yat Ving Tsun, in the Jacarepaguá neighborhood of the capital of Rio de Janeiro.
In May 1996, he held his discipleship ceremony, receiving the Kung Fu Name of Moy Jo Lei Ou from Patriarch Moy Yat, at the request of his master, Moy Yat Sang.
On March 15, 2003, he was part of the 1st group of Qualified Masters by Moy Yat Ving Tsun Martial Intelligence in Latin America, and in 2014 he was part of the first group of Senior Masters qualified in national territory.
In 2020, at the request of his master, Julio Camacho goes to the United States and brings with him the legacy of Ving Tsun.