The Tang family in Hong Kong in 2025
Gallery

Hong Kong, a second family.

For nearly thirty years, Hong Kong has been far more than a destination. It is a place of learning, transmission and deep friendships, where every journey strengthens the bonds that unite the Tang family.

Discover the first chapter ↓
Training at Ip Ching’s home in 2014
Hong Kong · 2014

A privileged teaching experience.

Receiving instruction directly in Grandmaster Ip Ching’s apartment is a rare privilege. These moments of exchange go far beyond technique and reflect the trust built over the years.

VTAA · 2012

A gesture of respect.

During this visit to the Ving Tsun Athletic Association, Sifu De Beil, accompanied by Tang Shun Ping, presented Belgian chocolate to Grandmaster Ip Ching.

A simple gesture symbolising respect, friendship and the bonds between two cultures.

Belgian chocolate presented to Ip Ching in 2012
With Tang Shun Ping at the Ip Man Tong in Foshan in 2010
Foshan · 2010

At the origins of Wing Chun.

Visiting the Ip Man Tong in Foshan alongside Tang Shun Ping means returning to the roots of Wing Chun and appreciating the exceptional legacy passed down from generation to generation.

“A lineage is more than a list of names. It lives through gestures, encounters and years shared together.”
Tang Hau Min, Tang Shun Ping and Sifu De Beil in Belgium in 2011
Belgium · 2011

A relationship that endures through the years.

Shared meals hold an essential place in Chinese culture. They naturally extend the teaching, allowing conversations, memories and values to be passed on with simplicity and authenticity.

Over the decades, these moments have become as precious as the training sessions themselves.

At the heart of the lineage

Moments that stand the test of time.

For nearly thirty years, every journey to Hong Kong has offered privileged moments within the Tang family and the Ip Man lineage. Ceremonies, demonstrations, grading examinations and encounters with practitioners from across Asia bear witness to a living heritage passed down from generation to generation.

2010
Ceremony at the Ip Man Tong in 2010

At the roots of the lineage

In 2010, Sifu De Beil took part in a ceremony at the Ip Man Tong in Foshan, an emblematic place dedicated to Grandmaster Ip Man. A powerful moment experienced at the very heart of Wing Chun history.

2014
Demonstration at the Yuen Long Theatre in 2014

Sharing Wing Chun

In 2014, Sifu De Beil took part in an official demonstration at the Yuen Long Theatre in Hong Kong’s New Territories. Presenting Wing Chun before a Chinese audience was a tremendous honour and a sign of the Tang family’s trust.

2015
Judge during a grading examination in Hong Kong in 2015

A responsibility entrusted

In 2015, Sifu De Beil was invited to serve as a judge during a grading examination in Hong Kong. This responsibility reflects the trust placed in him by his masters and his commitment to transmitting the lineage.

2025
Celebration of 75 years of Ip Man’s teaching in Hong Kong in 2025

75 years of transmission

In 2025, Sifu De Beil joined several of his Belgian students in Hong Kong for the celebrations marking 75 years of Ip Man’s Wing Chun / Ving Tsun teaching. Representatives from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and other countries gathered around a shared heritage.

Always learning

The humility of a lifelong student.

Ving Tsun is the guiding thread of a lifetime, but learning also means being willing to discover other disciplines, other methods and other ways of understanding combat. As the years pass, one truth becomes increasingly clear: there is always more to learn.

High kick en Hung Gar Kung Fu en 1995
1995

Hung Gar Kung Fu

Long before becoming a Ving Tsun teacher, every discipline was an opportunity to learn. Hung Gar, in particular, developed power, stability and a deeper understanding of body mechanics.

Pratique du Muay Boran en 2011
2011

Muay Boran

Discovering other approaches to combat also helps one better understand one’s own discipline. Every encounter enriches the reflection without ever replacing the roots.

2013

MMA seminar in Taiwan

Deliberately stepping outside one’s comfort zone is essential to keep progressing. Whatever the rank or experience, there is always something to learn when one is willing to become a student again.

Stage de MMA à Taïwan en 2013 Groundwork during an MMA seminar in Taiwan in 2013
Boxing training with Youssef Afkir in 2025
2025

Boxing • Kickboxing • Muay Thai

In 2025, I began studying boxing, kickboxing and Muay Thai more intensively.

After more than thirty years devoted to Ving Tsun, I felt the need to step outside my comfort zone once again.

This new stage does not replace Wing Chun. It enriches my understanding of combat, movement and myself.

Discover this new journey →
“A master is not someone who believes he knows everything. It is someone who continues learning throughout his life.”
Another side
Close protection officer in 2011
2011

Close protection officer

For nearly a decade, Sifu De Beil took part in numerous close-protection assignments. Some required carrying a firearm and demanded preparation, risk assessment, composure and discretion.

The role of a protection officer is not to fight. The true objective is to ensure that nothing happens.

24 March 2016

The Belgian Red Devils after the Brussels attacks

Two days after the attacks that struck Brussels, Sifu De Beil joined the security detail responsible for protecting Belgium’s national football team.

In an exceptionally sensitive context, every movement was subject to heightened security measures. This photograph, published in the Belgian press, bears witness to a period of constant vigilance.

Protection of the Belgian Red Devils in 2016
“The best intervention is often the one no one notices.”
The Tang Family

Bonds that go beyond training.

Wing Chun is not transmitted only in a kwoon. It is lived around a table, in the streets of Hong Kong, during birthdays, reunions and simple moments that weave a true family.

Tang Shun Ping Ving Tsun Belgium
2013

Tang family meal

Each journey is also an opportunity to share long meals where masters, students and families gather around the same table.

Tang Shun Ping Ving Tsun Belgium
2014

Bonds that grow stronger

Meals extend the training. They provide time to talk, laugh and transmit far beyond Wing Chun.

Tang Shun Ping Ving Tsun Belgium
2024

A growing family

New generations naturally find their place. The bonds now reach beyond borders and generations.

Tang Shun Ping Ving Tsun Belgium
2025

The Tang village restaurant

Sharing a meal in the Tang village restaurant remains one of the most precious moments of every stay in Hong Kong.

Memories that bring a smile

Serious in practice. Not necessarily in photographs.

Behind the demonstrations, seminars and ceremonies are also the endless journeys, long meals, jokes, reunions and bursts of laughter. Because a family is not built only in the kwoon.

Departure from Hong Kong in 2013
2013

The hardest part is never arriving…

After three weeks with his masters and Hong Kong family, the moment of saying goodbye always comes. Fortunately, it never lasts very long.

Meal at home with students in 2023
2023

The family grows

Some students become friends. Some friends become family.

Fun group selfie in 2022
2022

Wing Chun… with considerably less seriousness

We do not always take ourselves seriously. And that is exactly as it should be.

Group photograph in front of Man Mo Temple in 2025
2025

Between two visits…

A visit to Hong Kong would not be complete without showing its iconic places to those travelling with Sifu De Beil. And sometimes, the best memory is simply an improvised selfie.

“In the end, we remember not only the techniques we learned, but above all the people with whom we shared them.”

“Photographs fade, memories remain. But what matters most is neither a title, a medal nor a journey. It is the people met along the way, the students who became friends, the masters who became family, and the responsibility to pass on what I was given.”