In July 1999, Master Ip Chun travelled to the UK to deliver a series of seminars alongside his senior Western student, Sifu Shaun Rawcliffe. These events gave dedicated practitioners a rare opportunity to experience instruction directly from a leading figure of the Ip Man Wing Chun tradition.
At that time, The Wing Chun Collective — then operating as Cheltenham Wing Chun Kuen and part of the Midlands Wing Chun Kuen — had the honour of hosting one of these seminars. It marked the fifth occasion that Grandmaster Ip Chun had visited Cheltenham to teach, reflecting a valued and ongoing connection.
During this visit, Sifu Steve Woodward and Sifu David Akroyd-Jones received a particularly meaningful gift: a handwritten Chinese poem composed by Grandmaster Ip Chun himself.
The poem uses the image of a mature tree in full growth and bloom to express the spread and vitality of his teachings. The flourishing branches symbolise the development of Wing Chun across the world, while the flowers and fruit represent the skills, understanding, and character being cultivated by practitioners everywhere.
The poem appears as a traditional Chinese couplet. As is customary, it is read vertically from top to bottom, beginning on the right-hand column and then continuing on the left. The first line begins with the character for Wing, and the second with Chun.
Singing a song
The old tree whirling (dancing) in the wind.
The leaves flourishing, the branches lush
and the flowers in full blossom
Spring Breeze
The peaches and the plums resplendent
Beautiful flowers brilliant reds and purples
and the fruits sparkling greens