Leung Bik (born Leung Bik-wo with the

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Tai-wah; 1845 – 1911), also known as Mr. Bik (), was a

Wing Chun Wing Chun (Chinese: 詠春 or 咏春, lit. "singing spring"), sometimes spelled Ving Tsun, is a concept-based fighting art, form of Nanquan (martial art), Southern Chinese kung fu and close-quarters system of self-defense. In Mandarin, it is ...

martial artist. He was one of

Ip Man Ip Man, also known as Yip Man, ( / 叶问; 1 October 1893 – 2 December 1972) was a Hong Kong-based Cantonese martial artist and a grandmaster of the martial art Wing Chun when he was 20. He had several students who later became martial art ...

's teachers.

History

He was born in

Foshan Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the ...

in 1845 as the second of the nine sons of

Leung Jan Leung Jan (born Leung Tak-wing; 1826–1901) was a Chinese martial artist and Wing Chun practitioner from Heshan, Guangdong. He was known in Foshan as ''Mr. Jan of Foshan'' and ''King of Wing Chun Kuen''. Leung Jan is one of the earliest well ...

by his second wife with the surname of Cheng (). At the young age he practiced

under his father and grand-teacher

Wong Wah-bo Wong Wah-bo was a martial artist and an opera singer of the late Qing Dynasty. Wong Wah-bo is a notable figure in development of martial art Wing Chun, which is known for its poorly documented history, and is recognized as being part of various co ...

(). By then, Leung Bik's Wing Chun skill sets were in its most completed forms, which three forms includes

Mu ren zhuang ''Mu ren zhuang'' (), also known as ''The Wing-Chun Dummy'' or simply ''The Wooden Dummy'' internationally. This athletic equipment is used in Chinese martial arts training from being associated with the martial art of Wing Chun and other kung f ...

, Eight-cut knives and Six-and-a-Half Point Pole, as well as

Qigong ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...

. Due to the political situation in the late

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

, Leung left Foshan for

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, where he made a living running a silk and satin business at Cha Wai Street () (present day

Jervois Street Jervois Street (, formerly ) is a street in the Sheung Wan district of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. History On 28 December 1851, a fire broke out and burned down Sheung Wan Market and hundreds of Chinese houses all around it, resulting in 30 dea ...

) in

Sheung Wan Sheung Wan is an area in Hong Kong, located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island, between Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Western District. The name can be variously interpreted as ''Upper Dist ...

. In 1909, Leung was introduced to

by Ip's classmate Lai, who was also a son of Leung's friend. Leung challenged Ip to a friendly sparring match at Lai's house, Leung defeated Ip twice and Ip left without a word. Impressed by the young man's skill, Leung requested Lai for the disheartened Ip's return and trained him until his own death in 1911.

Known descendants

Leung had two sons: * 1st son: Leung Shiu-hung (), courtesy name Sam-pei () – Born in 1880, also skilled in martial arts, he was a businessman, due to an economic downturn, he died of depression in 1929. **Grandson: Leung Man-lok (): son of Leung Shiu-hung, a 7th generation Wing Chun practitioner, currently resided in Hong Kong. ***Great-granddaughter: Leung Lai-ngor () – currently resided in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. ***Great-granddaughter: Leung Choi () – currently resided at

Nanhai District Nanhai District (), is a District (PRC and ROC), district of Foshan, Guangdong, China. Its government is the first to have developed e-government informatization at the county level in China. History Establishment of Nanhai is traditionally at ...

. * 2nd son: Leung Shiu-kau (), courtesy name Ting-pei () – Born in 1886, no known information, presumed deceased.

In popular culture

In the 2006 television series ''

'', he was portrayed by

Nicholas Tse Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and chef.EEGmusic.EEGmusic." ''Nicolas Tse profile.'' Retrieved on 22 April 2008. As multi talented celebrity, he became a TV ch ...

. In the 2010 film '' The Legend Is Born: Ip Man'', he was portrayed by

Ip Chun Ip Chun (born Ip Hok-chun; 10 July 1924), also known as Yip Chun or Yip Jun, is a Chinese martial artist in the style of Wing Chun. He is the elder of two sons. Chun's father Ip Man was the Wing Chun teacher of Bruce Lee. Early life He was bo ...

, the eldest son of Ip Man. In the 2013 television series ''

'', he was portrayed by

Bruce Leung Bruce Leung Siu-lung (born Leung Choi-sang; 28 April 1948) is a Hong Kong martial artist and actor who has appeared in many Hong Kong martial arts movies. He often appeared billed as "Bruce Leung", "Bruce Liang", "Bruce Leong", or "Bruce Leung Si ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bik, Leung 1845 births 1911 deaths Wing Chun practitioners from Hong Kong People from Foshan Cantonese people Sportspeople from Guangdong