Oregon Wing Chun

Henan Province, January 29. 2013 – The Global Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu Association (“G.T.W.C.K.F.A”) lead by its patriarch, Grandmaster William Cheung, announced today that a fund raising campaign is currently in place to generate the resources needed to erect a 20 foot historical marble plaque at the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province China.  The historical plaque will be on display for all see commemorating Wing Chun's connection to its Shaolin roots.   All lineages of Wing Chun Kung Fu are encouraged to participate.  In appreciation of the donations received, the names of organizations and individual contributors will be carved into the plaque, becoming forever, part of the Shaolin Temple landscape.  

Shaolin Temple was established in 495 A.D. during the Northern Wei dynasty, by its then-emperor to accommodate the Indian master Buddhabhadra. Later, another Indian monk Bodhidharma arrived at Shaolin Temple. Bodhidharma spent nine years meditating in a cave of the Wuru Peak just behind the temple, and initiated the Chinese Chan tradition at Shaolin Temple.  Thereafter, Bodhidharma was honored as the first patriarch of Chan Buddhism, now known to parts of the world as Zen.  Legend also had it that Bodhidharma found monks weak and unhealthy after long meditation practices, so he developed movements to strengthen them, which formed the basis of Shaolin Kung fu. Shaolin Kung fu later evolved into over 700 forms of martial arts including Wing Chun and became the cradle of much of the martial arts practiced in the world today.  In the 1,500 years since its founding, Shaolin has endured wars, famines, invasions and revolutions and also presided over times of great peace and prosperity.  Its large cannon of stories, practices, culture, personalities and historical data are the stuff of legend, and it has inspired countless adaptations in traditional and popular culture around the world.

His Holiness the Venerable Abbot Shi Yongxin is a tireless advocate for a wide array of measures toward the understanding, revival, preservation and sharing of the Shaolin legacy.  He is considered a spiritual head to more than 400 million practitioners of Chan Buddhism and an estimated hundreds of millions of practitioners of martial arts worldwide. Abbot Shi Yongxin's public honoring of Wing Chun's connection to its Shaolin roots in this way is a historical benchmark only preceded by the Japanese Zen Buddhism plaque erected over 50 years ago.

About The Global Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu Association (“G.T.W.C.K.F.A”) is headquartered in Melbourne Australia with branches all over the US, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia.  Established in 1984 by Founder and Chairman, Dr. William Cheung, GTWCKFA is the global voice of Traditional Wing Chun's more than two thousand member-based organization.  GTWCKFA represents the interests of TWC martial artists and TWC martial arts business owners worldwide.  GTWCKFA is focused on providing value to its members, as well as the tools and the resources to take their training and martial arts businesses to the next level.  The Wing Chun memorial plaque is one of several future ventures being collaborated on between the temple and Dr Cheung's organization.