BEN DER

Simplicity Is The Key To Brilliance

- Adam Williss

 

SIFU BEN DER was attending St. Francis Xavier College in Hong Kong when he began to study Wing Chun in 1958. In this exclusive interview, he details his time as an Ip Man student and talks about his experience growing up with Bruce Lee in Hong Kong, as well as being his training partner in San Francisco. Last, he opens up about why he chose to give up his own school to follow Sifu Kenneth Chung in the Leung Sheung lineage.

What makes you love Wing Chun so much?

Simplicity is the key to brilliance. I love Wing Chun because we strive to make things simple. I also believe the world needs coaches that lead successful people to greater success and coaches that help unfortunate people see hope in life. Wing Chun is one of such vehicles.

Something many don’t know about you is that you began Wing Chun at Grandmaster Ip Man’s school in Hong Kong. Can you tell us what it was like?

I started under Ip Man in 1958, when he was teaching out of his apartment at the Lei Cheng Uk Estate. I would get out of school around 3pm and train there every day until dinnertime. Ip Man was having health and financial issues and was at a low point in his life after his wife passed away. Sihing Ng Chan and Chow Tze Chuen were leading classes, while Ip Man would correct us. The students were either from the Kowloon Motor Bus Company or from my high school, St. Francis Xavier College.

What are your most memorable moments when you were training at Grandmaster Ip Man’s school?