Article written by Wong Shun Leung
http://www.wongvingtsun.co.uk/wslbl.htm
Some excerts regarding William Cheung (Chang)
. . . .One day, about twenty years ago, I practiced my kung fu in Master Yip’s institute. I also helped my fellow learners in their practice. At that time, Chang (Cheung), brought in an Elvis like youngster. He leaned his body to one side with his hand on the wall. The other hand was in the back pocket of his trousers. His body was supported by one of his legs only. He swayed his body continuously. His manner was very frivolous as though he thought that he was smart. I really did not like his appearance. After he went away, I told Chang (Cheung), that I did not welcome this young man. . . A few months later, he came for the second time. This time, he dressed properly and was more polite. Master Yip liked him very much, so he took him to be his disciple. He immediately came over and greeted me. This was so sudden that I just could not understand. We became fellow learners and friends. From then on, he brought me a lot of trouble. That young man was Bruce Lee, the famous international star.
At first, when Bruce learnt the fundamental boxing form of Wing Chun Kung Fu, he seemed to have a sense of suspicion towards it. It was true that the boxing form was a bit dry, so he did not seem to have much interest in it. However, he had seen how Chang, a youngster of the same age, won over his opponent. He also knew that his history of learning Wing Chun Hung Fu was not long. Therefore, he began to develop confidence in the style.
Chang’s (Cheung’s) father was a police inspector and enjoyed some special privileges, so when Bruce had troubles, he usually found Chang (Cheung) to solve them. Thus the two young men always came and went together. Two or three months later, Bruce began to understand the principles of Wing Chun Kung Fu and his interest grew simultaneously.
A short time passed. Chang (Cheung) had to go to study in Australia. He wanted me to teach and practice with Bruce, so he brought Bruce to my house. It was because at that time Master Yip’s health was not very good and I was five or six years older than Bruce. . . . Bruce Lee often asked me whether he could win over Mr. X or Mr. Y. I frequently analyzed the strong and weak points of his imagined opponent for him, and told him the way to win.
Later, he asked me when he would be able to win over Chang (Cheung) and me. He asked too much. I felt that he had fallen into the state of bewitchment. His competitive character caused me to worry for him. I feared that he would lose the aim in learning Kung Fu. I said to him, "To win over me is not difficult. I’m only the commonest of the commons. My history of Kung Fu learning, is only a few years longer than yours. There is nothing great in winning over me. I compare with other people not because I have good Kung Fu. It is only because I am not satisfied with the superstitious and mysterious elements people uphold in Chinese Kung Fu. I am young, I have an ideal. I want to alter people’s attitude towards Chinese martial arts in my own effort. In fact, Chinese martial arts is simply a kind of sport. Your potential is better than mine. Some day you will win over me. As to Chang (Cheung), it is difficult to say. You two are of the same age, but his physique and combat experience are better than yours. You will not be able to subdue him now. Whether you can win over him in the future or not depends very much on your progress and your training. . . .
