Lineage of Man Sau Gwoon

[Awatea Piripi Edwin]

The Wing Chun Lineage of Man Sau Gwoon is Descended from Grandmaster Yip Man (Ip Man). During his Hong Kong Period Yip Man taught many students. Several of these have become famous in their own rights while establishing Wing Chun Kuen across almost the entire globe. In the 1960's a private student, of Grandmaster Yip Man by the name of Tsoi Siu Kwong (Greg Tsoi) moved to Australia and began teaching in Sydney. He had many students during the next ten or so years. Amongst them are Zopa Gyatsu, Y. C. Yeung and Kevin Earle. Tsoi was the first of Yip Man's students to introduce Wing Chun Kuen into Australia. Zopa Gyatsu has gone on to train in other none Yip Man versions of Wing Chun, notably Yuen Kay San Wing Chun and Gulao Wing Chun. Y.C. Yeung has returned to China and is involved in Fatshan Wing Chun Research Association. Through this work he has learned many variations of Wing Chun including Pin Sun / Gulao, Yuen Kay San, Pao Fa Lien and Pan Nam Weng Chun Kuen.
Kevin Earle was the first New Zealand born Wing Chun practitioner and introduced Wing Chun to Invercargill, New Zealand in the early 1970's. His first school was called Shiao Loong Kwoon and taught two arts - Wing Chun Kuen and Little Dragon Kung Fu. During this period Sifu Kevin trained Beau Bouzaid who has gone on to become one of the finest Wing Chun masters currently teaching in Sydney Australia. Later Sifu Kevin moved his school to Christchurch and changed the name to Earles Academy Ving Chun Kuen. The spelling of 'Ving' as opposed to Wing came about to honour his teacher Greg Tsoi and the spelling he used in the original Sydney VCK (Ving Chun Kuen) Centre.
I first became involved with Wing Chun Kuen in Wellington in 1985, with the Wellington Wing Tsun school, before moving to Timaru and commencing training with the Timaru Branch of Earles Academy under Sifu Kevin Earle.
The Timaru school began in 1987 with more than forty original students. Two months after it opened Awatea Edwin joined the school. Within a few months most of the original members ceased to attend and stopped training. Of the originals only Bryan Finn and Honty Morris (Whaanga) remaind. Awatea was then the third most senior of the existing students. Along with both Bryan and Honty, Awatea became a personal student of Sifu Kevin Earle and after a couple of years began to instruct the beginners and junior students. Over the next few years all three senior students opened branches of Earles Academy in Temuka, Ashburton and Oamaru. Greg Columb became Awatea's first personal student in Timaru in 1990. They participated in leading security teams to oversee various rock concerts and taught self-defence classes. Honty went on to establish his own 'Natural Self Defence business. Bryan continued to train in Timaru and Awatea moved to Oamaru and established the Oamaru Wing Chun Club.
In 1995 Awatea moved to Dunedin and after the urging of local martial artists established his own school - Man Sau Gwoon. He launched this school and immediately had a huge response, eventually sponsoring Master Kevin Earle to come to Dunedin and provde seminar for Man Sau Gwoon and introducing his own students to his Sifu.Many wonderful people have passed through Man Sau Gwoon since 1995 and several have made it to Instructor level. Now Man Sau Gwoon has established branches in Dunedin, South Canterbury, Kaiapoi, Blenheim and Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia. A new branch is to be launched in Bishopdale, Christchurch on the 7th of July 2009.

The Man Sau Gwoon Ving Chun Kuen Lineage 2009

Ng Mui

Yim Wing Chun

Leung Bok Chau

Leung Lan Kwai

Wong Wah Bo and Leung Yee Tai

Leung Jan

Leung Bik and Chan Wah Soon

Yip Man

Tsoi Siu Kwong

Kevin Earle (Earles Academy Ving Chun Kuen, NZ)

Awatea Edwin (Man Sau Gwoon)

Greg Columb (Timaru), Nathan Ferrier (Australia), Terry Rongo(Porirua), Kirsten Te Moananui and Lee Berry(Dunedin) and Dave Oberdries(Blenhiem)



This is a brief history of Man Sau Gwoon. A further more comprehensive history is currently being written along with a comprehensive history of Ue- Kaha No Roto Warrior Systems.