Famed Kung Fu grandmaster coming to suburbs for rare Western appearance

Great Grandmaster Leung Ting, a famed martial artist with ties to Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, is traveling from Hong Kong to the suburbs this week share his knowledge with local students.

Wing Tsun Martial Arts, 1724 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Glenview, will host Ting and International Wing Tsun Association instructor Robin Tsang at seminars Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 19-22.

Wing Tsun — the second word pronounced, “chun” — is a practical discipline geared toward self-defense rather than other martial arts, such as karate, used in competition.

“The main thing about Wing Tsun is to try to be very efficient, and we attack and defend at the same time using the opponent’s energy against him,” said Eric Galicia of Des Plaines, the owner, president and an instructor at Wing Tsun Martial Arts.

“You’re kind of using what your opponent does against them to create your openings. You let them be their own worst enemy, essentially,” he said.

Shrouded in legend, Wing Tsun dates to the mid 1600s in China, where some believe it was founded by a woman named Yim Wing Tsun.

Leung Ting, 77, worked with martial arts-based actor Jackie Chan to lend authenticity to his movies, Galicia said, and has served as fight choreographer on many other martial arts films.

Other Wing Tsun practitioners include actor Robert Downey Jr., Galicia said.

Bruce Lee practiced Wing Tsun in Hong Kong with Leung Ting’s own instructor, Ip Man, before coming to the United States.

Galicia and his instructor — or “sifu” — Guerman Atanassov have trained with Leung Ting in both Hong Kong and Europe.

The last time Ting taught seminars in the Chicago area was in 2015, Galicia said.

“To get the instruction from the masters, they don’t offer remote training. That’s why this seminar is a super-huge opportunity for people,” he added.

Due to small class sizes and the instructor’s renown, some of the seminars already are filled. The Thursday and Friday seminars are reserved for instructors and senior students, while sessions on Saturday and Sunday are open to International WingTsun Association members of all grades and levels.

There also is a session for children ages 6 to 12 from 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 21.

The deadline for signing up for the seminars is Thursday, said school manager Rachel Galicia. Visit martialartsglenview.com for information.

Eric Galicia can vouch that while Great Grandmaster Leung Ting is a septuagenarian, he’s still got the chops.

“He threw me across the floor just last year,” Galicia said.