Since its introduction to the English-speaking world, there have been various ways of writing the name of the “Wing Chun” style. The difference in spelling lies partly due to the fact that there is no standard transcription of the Cantonese dialect of Chinese.

“Wing Chun” is the most common spelling of the style and most schools use this method today.

“Ving Tsun” was originally used by the Yip Man family and is therefore used to represent direct teachings from Hong Kong, specifically from the lineage of Sifu Yip Man. However, many schools with direct lineage to Yip Man still use the “Wing Chun” method of spelling.

“Wing Tsun” or “WT” is the registered trademark of Sifu Leung Ting and his International Wing Tsun Association (IWTA). Only schools that are part of the IWTA may use the “Wing Tsun” spelling. If you find a school or teacher using the “Wing Tsun” spelling method, you can be sure the teaching derives from Sifu Leung Ting.

Whether the spelling is “Wing Chun”, “Ving Tsun”, or “Wing Tsun”, it is still only a name. Many schools attempt to create their own unique name for their style of Kung Fu in order to distinguish themselves from others. However, the label of a school or style is only as good as those who represent it. It is therefore important for a practitioner to look beyond a trivial name, and examine the quality of teaching, and the school’s understanding of the style.

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