GRANDMASTER · TRADITION AND TRANSMISSION

GrandmasterNamAnh.

Archive photograph: kung fu training at the wooden dummy

SCHOOL ARCHIVES
THE WOODEN DUMMY

A life's journey.
A heritage in motion.

Explore his journey ↓Explore the styles ↗

FROM VIETNAM TO QUÉBECSHAOLIN NAM ANH · PASSING ON THE TRADITION

01 / THE ROOTS

A life devoted
to martial arts.

Born into a family with a long martial arts tradition, Grandmaster Nam Anh was introduced to the Shaolin martial path by his grandfather from a very young age.

His journey took him from Wu Tang to Wing Chun and then orthodox Pak Mei. Through these encounters, he deepened his understanding of the martial, philosophical and spiritual dimensions of these traditions before continuing to pass them on in Québec.

Grandmaster Nam Anh seated with his son in a white uniform and red belt, January 2026 — GRANDMASTER NAM ANH AND HIS SON · JANUARY 2026Original photograph: Vanessa Fortin

02 / THE MARTIAL JOURNEY

Learn.
Deepen.
Pass it on.

From the first lessons
to passing on two lineages.

1959
The beginnings of Wu Tang
He began studying Wu Tang under Grandmaster Kwan Say Ming. After a selective admission to the Ching Woo International Martial Arts Association, a series of circumstances led him to meet the great Taoist Chuong Tchong Fu.
WU TANGGrandmaster Kwan Say Ming and Nam Anh.
1967 — 1969
Intensive training
This encounter led him to undertake intensive Wu Tang training in a pagoda in the mountains of Vung Tau.
1969 — 1975
Studying Wing Chun
He became a disciple of Master Ho Hai Long, whose birth name was Nguyen Duy Hai, himself an heir to Grandmaster Nguyen Te Cong's teaching. During this period, Nam Anh and Ho Hai Long founded the Chan-Chi-Tao school, whose name means “the path of meditation.”
THE LINEAGEGrandmaster Nguyen Te Cong
THE MASTERMaster Ho Hai Long
1975 — 1977
A karmic encounter
At Chi-Hoa camp, he met Grandmaster Hang Van Giai. The two political prisoners, united by a shared fate, soon became companions. During this difficult period, Nam Anh was introduced to the esoteric sciences of geomancy, physiognomy and divination.
1977 — 1983
Deepening Wing Chun
After his release, on Hang Van Giai's recommendation, he was accepted as a close disciple of Grandmaster Nguyen Minh to refine his knowledge of Wing Chun.
He then received the rank of ninth-degree red belt. The Diamond Temple delegation selected him as Grandmaster of the sixth generation of the orthodox Shaolin Wing Chun school in Vietnam, notably for his knowledge and close ties with modern society.
1978
A spiritual guide
He met Liu Ping, a colleague of Chuong Tchong Fu, who welcomed him as a trusted disciple and became his spiritual guide.
1979
The path of orthodox Pak Mei
An act of kindness towards the son of Grandmaster Chong Wai Bac, also known as Chong Bi Tac, the blind master, allowed him to meet the head of the orthodox Pak Mei school, Grandmaster Loo Ping Woon.
To deepen his martial knowledge and continue his quest for ultimate combat, Nam Anh began studying Pak Mei.
1980A gathering in 1980 including Grandmaster James Cheng (Praying Mantis), Grandmaster Loo Ping Woon (Pei Mei), Master Ho Hai Long and Grandmaster Nam Anh (Wing Chun).
1986
The final form
Before his departure for America, Grandmaster Loo Ping Woon passed on the final Pak Mei form to him.
1997
The Loo Ping Woon lineage
After Grandmaster Loo Ping Woon's death, Nam Anh became the Grandmaster leading the Pak Mei school of his lineage. This succession marked the beginning of the end of hostilities between the two schools in Vietnam.
ORTHODOX PAK MEIGrandmaster Loo Ping Woon and Nam Anh.

THE LINEAGE / ORTHODOX WING CHUN

The roots.
The transmission.

A tree of masters and encounters.
Grandmaster Nam Anh's lineage in red.

Nam Anh lineageBranches of transmissionView full size ↗

Wing Chun transmission tree: Hong Mei, Ung Mui, Yim Wing Chun, Wong Wah Bo, Fok Bo Chuen, Grandmaster Te Cong, Master Ho Hai Long, Grandmaster Nam Anh and Master Nam Dung. Les maîtres Hang Van Giai and Nguyen Minh rejoignent également Nam Anh.

Transmission chart reproduced from the school's reference. Drag to pan and pinch with two fingers to zoom. On a computer, click inside the tree and use the mouse wheel or the + and − keys. Home resets the view.

03 / CAREER AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Knowledge
beyond the dojo.

Alongside martial arts,
a career in law, literature and teaching.

While pursuing his martial arts career, Grandmaster Nam Anh also worked in several professions.

Qualifications: A master's degree in public international law and a bachelor's degree in French and German literature from the Faculty of Education at the University of Saigon.
1969 — 1973: Member of the Vietnam Journalists' Union and deputy editor-in-chief of “Vo Thuât” (“Martial Arts”), then the country's only magazine of its kind.
1973: Member of the Vietnam Bar.
1973 — 1975: Legal adviser to the French Embassy in Vietnam.
1977 — 1986: Member of the Vietnam Lawyers' Association.
1986 — 2004: Upon arriving in Québec in 1986, he became the professor in charge of the Wing Chun Kung Fu program at the Université de Montréal's sports centre (CEPSUM), while continuing graduate studies in international business law at the Université de Montréal.

04 / TRANSMISSION AND ARCHIVES

A heritage
that lives on.

PRESERVE THE KNOWLEDGE.
PASS ON THE MOVEMENT.

Black-and-white photograph: wooden dummy training with arms extended and one leg raised — 01 Practising movement at the wooden dummy.

Grandmaster Nam Anh is the founding president of the International Shaolin Wing Chun Nam Anh Kung Fu Federation and the Nam Anh Orthodox Pak Mei Federation. He also founded the Ordre des anmanathérapeutes du Québec.

He is the author of more than sixteen books on martial arts, languages, architecture, Eastern medicine and Chinese astrology, published in Vietnam between 1969 and 1975.