thumb|Dr. István Simicskó, a member of the Hungarian National Assembly and former Minister of Defence for the Hungarian Government recognizing GGM Leung Ting’s contributions.
Leung Ting (; born 28 February 1947) is a Hong Kong martial artist, publisher, choreographer, screenwriter, director, and former actor. He is the last direct 'closed-door' disciple of grandmaster Yip Man. He is also the founder of International WingTsun Association.
In April 2025, Leung Ting received an award from Dr. István Simicskó, a member of the Hungarian National Assembly and former Minister of Defence for the Hungarian Government recognizing GGM Leung Ting’s contributions to the spread of WingTsun Kungfu in Hungary.
Background
Born in Hong Kong in 1947, Leung began studying Wing Tsun aged 13 from Leung Sheung, the most senior disciple of Yip Man, then later directly under Yip Man as his last direct 'closed-door'
Appointed by Grandmaster Ip Man, Leung served as head instructor on the board of directors for the Ving Tsun Athletic association between Dec 1969 to May 1970. When the Ving Tsun Athletic association moved from its former premises of 438 Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei, Leung Ting remained at the location to found his own Wing Tsun Gymnasium (1970) and later Association (1973).
Leung Ting is the founder and president of the International WingTsun Association. Leung chose the spelling of Wing Tsun to differentiate his teachings from those of other Wing Chun schools, and to keep them from passing off their style as his own. (There is no standard romanization of Cantonese; the Chinese characters remain the same.)
Among the achievements in his career outside of teaching and writing about Wing Tsun, Leung has been a fight director in some Hong Kong films. Leung was the director and screenwriter for It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Kung Fu World! (大踢爆), a humoristic documentary on the history and culture of kung fu. Leung appeared on episode 1 of the first season of the BBC show Mind, Body & Kick Ass Moves; a 10 part series on martial arts masters of the east hosted by Chris Crudelli.
Filmography
- Fight choreographer: Stranger from Shaolin (1977)
- Fight choreographer: Five Deadly Venoms (1978) distributed by Shaw brothers Studious
- Fight choreographer: The Brave Archer Part II (1978) distributed by Shaw brothers Studious
- Fight choreographer: Invincible Shaolin (1978) distributed by Shaw brothers Studious
- Fight choreographer: Ten Tigers of Kwangtung (1979) distributed by Shaw brothers Studious
- Fight choreographer: Life Gamble (1979) distributed by Shaw brothers Studious
- Fight choreographer: Heaven and Hell (1980) distributed by Shaw brothers Studious
- Director and screenwriter: 'It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Kung Fu World! (大踢爆) (2000)'
Career
In 1968, he was admitted to the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature of Hong Kong Baptist College, majoring in Chinese Language and Literature. In the same year, Yip Man accepted Leung as his closed-door disciple. Leung opened a WingTsun martial art class at Baptist College, becoming the first person to introduce Chinese martial arts to a Hong Kong tertiary institution. In response to Ip Chun's accusations, Leung Ting organised a public press conference in Hong Kong in May 2010 to showcase photographic evidence of his own close direct relationship with Yip Man. Existing photo evidence shows that Leung Ting did appear with Yip Man in numerous high-profile events, including the only 2 interviews Yip Man ever conducted, private lessons, Leung Ting's wedding, and public martial art demonstrations. Leung Ting publicly threatened to initiate a defamation claim against Ip Chun if an apology and withdrawal of accusations was not received. Ip Chun has since been quiet on this matter.
In other evidence, in one of the only 2 interviews Yip Man ever conducted before his death, Leung Ting was mentioned by Yip Man as one of his closed door disciples in New Martial Hero magazine 1972, copy 56, page 31, paragraph 2, line 5 - 教師梁挺係其一位封門弟子 (Instructor Leung Ting is a closed door disciple). Photos from the interview show Leung was with Yip man during the time.
The controversy had been in part fuelled by past allegations that a photo Leung presented showing him with Yip Man was altered from a photograph that shows Yip Man with the chief editor of the New Martial Hero magazine. Leung has denied the head change, claiming that the editor of New Martial Hero had pasted his own head over Leung's for the article. Evidence shows Leung's photo to be uncropped and at a higher resolution to the magazine's published photo. Other photo evidence shows Leung at Yip Man's funeral with an armband that apparently denotes a rank other than first generation (i.e., an armband that indicates that Leung was a grand-student of Yip Man's rather than a direct student). On 29 April 2010, the conviction was quashed by Court of First Instance Judge Darryl Gordon Saw. Judge Saw ruled that the medical reports did not support Lip's testimony but did support Leung's. Leung was cleared of all charges.