I am a Wing Chun green bean and was a private student of Sifu Ben Der for 2 continuous years and regular seminar attendee of Sifu Kenneth Chung in the Bay Area. Being a Cantonese speaker and private student, I have many 1-on-1 chitchat occasions with both Sifu Ben Der and Sifu Kenneth Chung about the knowledge of Wing Chun Kung Fu, as well as the politics behind Wing Chun. Indeed I do know the person, Mr. T, another private student of Ben Der who was responsible for causing the commotion and misunderstanding between Chris Chan, Ben Der and Ken Chung which ended up with 3 of Chris Chan's student paying a visit to Ben Der's school. Now that I no longer live in the Bay Area and no longer study martial arts due to job relocation, I like to take this opportunity to say a few things about what I have heard and observed from these gentlemen. Please note that these are just my own personal opinions based on my encounters and what these gentlemen told me.
My Observation of Sifu Ken Chung
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Ken Chung is a well-educated gentleman in both western science and eastern classics. Ken talks with a mild and sometimes humorous manner and was never agitated. He came from a wealthy background and had amassed a fortune from his successful family business, i.e. he doesn't need to teach martial arts to make a living. Thirty years ago, when young Ken was teaching Ben Der and his Wah-Ching gangs, and others in San Francisco, there were bloody noses, cut lips and bruised chests during every class practice. His first generation students comprise of many good Wing Chun fighters such as John Ho, Eddie Chong, Patrick Au, and etc. Now, at the age of 50s, Ken doesn't believe in street fighting or causing trouble with hoodlum-type people. His philosophy when dealing with confrontation is that he is not greedy (to reach out to start fights and establish a reputation), yet he is not afraid (to passively return fire when cornered). Ken is 5' 9", weighs 200 lbs, stands solid on both feet, packs a heavy punch with his Popeye-like forearms, and he knows it. As of today, he resides in the San Jose area and conducts small Wing Chun classes to mostly college students, engineering professions, office ladies, doctors, or lawyers alike. In contrast to his previous street fight approach, Ken now focuses on researching and refining the training methods of Chi Sao and Wooden Dummy. Meanwhile, a few of his first generation students left him to either continue their pursuit of Street fight Wing Chun approach or other martial art interests.
From the perspective of applying Wing Chun energy, Ken is on the same path with Tai Chi's Chen Xiao Wang or Feng Zhi Qiang because he pursuits the soft touch approach, and he has been doing it for at least the last two decades. Ken claimed he doesn't even know a single Tai Chi form, yet Feng said Ken has good absorbing energy when they touched hands. But that doesn't necessary mean Ken can absorb everything. No human can. Ken always says he's not the best but is always working on getting better. I have seen several occasions when he was casually touching hands with some young boxers, wrestlers, or Muay Thai kickers in seminars and these guys (half his age) suddenly went ballistic and attacked him with full force. Like any other well-manner elders, Ken simply swallowed his ego, and chose to tapped out or took the hit. Then he suggested that the other guy relaxes a bit and continues. Usually after the so-called tough guy felt Ken's energy and high level of self-control, he would "wise up" and realize that the scene could have gone ugly should Ken decided not to forgo his ego and chose the option of "Mutually Assured Destruction". Just call me Ken ... as Ken always humbly told to his students.
My Observation of Ben Der
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First and foremost, Sifu Ben Der is only 5' 3" and weighs only 110 lb. Yet he has been actively working out in Wing Chun for the past 40 years. Yes, he works out with his students every day and makes sure he burns out the shoulders, arms and legs of each and every one of them. At the age of 60s, most teachers would simply sit back and let his senior students do the work, yet Ben chose to give each and every one of his students, from beginners to advanced, a hands-on experience in every class. Many of his students, such as Sandy Wong, Steve Wong, Vince Lee and others, choose to stay with Ben for over 30 years because of this little giant's wonderful work ethics.
Prior to meeting Ken in America, Ben and his friend Hawkin Cheung and Bruce Lee all learned from Yip Man during their highschool years. Ben also had the occasion of partying with Bruce Lee at his home in Hong Kong and working out with Bruce Lee in San Francisco when he vividly recalls how Bruce Lee roundhouse kick him in the face from a stationary position without touching him. I asked Ben how he thought of Bruce Lee's Wing Chun back then and he said Bruce Lee got good horses too. Before Ben met Ken in San Francisco, Ben was already teaching a group of Wah-Ching gangsters. After they met, Ben decided to move all his students under Ken including himself, learning everything again from scratch, even Ken was 7 ( or 9?) years younger than himself. That's how serious Ben is about Wing Chun and this attitude has kept him working out everyday for the past 40 years.
Ben is very good with the 3rd set. He was assassinated once in San Francisco with a gun at point blank and he used Biu Jee to save his life. Many students weighing over 200 lbs have "tried" to push little Ben around during Chi Sao practice, and soon realized that Ben really knows real Wing Chun. Like Ken, Ben does not rely on a lot of head punches or striking techniques, he prefers to upset the other guy's balance and let him waste all his energy until exhaustion. Ben said the other guy will respect him more if he beats them this way.
There was once upon a time a guy who is a former Green Beret, a martial art enthusiast, and UFC contender who went to Ben for private lessons. He was primarily impressed with how a little man like Ben can be so difficult to push around and with arms that felt so heavy upon contact. Out of curiosity to ask a lot of questions about Wing Chun, this kung fu aficionado asked Ben how he would pitch Ken against Chris Chan. Ben casually commented that, given equal skills, due to size difference Chris Chan would not fair well against Ken. And that's a commonly known maxim in Kung Fu. This private student, I call him Mr. T, went to Chris Chan's school for a visit some time later and somehow Ben's comment slipped into Chris Chan's students and got interpreted as hostile gesture. Chris Chan got upset and called Ben at home the other day and left strongly worded voice messages. Mr. T, in an attempt to settle the matter and defend Ben, offer to fight Chris Chan and/or his students. This movement of Mr. T further stirred things up. Chris Chan later on sent three students to pay Ben a visit as a gesture of challenge. At Ken's advice, the fight never happens. Nobody met with nobody since then. Mr. T and I were having dinner one evening after practice and he told me the whole story. Mr. T left Ben shortly afterward to pursuit other martial art styles. The last time Ken and Chris Chan ran into each other was probably at the opening of the Yip Man Museum in China.
My Observation of Chris Chan
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I have never met the gentlemen, other than seeing his demo pictures (with many of his students wearing forearm tattoos and body piercing) and his interview on KRON4's Bay Area Backroads. The clip is available for download at http://wm.on24.com/media/news/corporatevideo/ryan/ryan.wmv
Mr. Chan looks like he is about 5' 5" and a very intense, dynamic and outspoken individual.
Final Words: Why are there Undisputed champions in Boxing, Olympic Champions in Judo, Taekwondo and Wrestling, but never-ending disputes in even a single style of Chinese Kung Fu regarding who's the best?