1980: Anthony Moy Tung Dandridge begins Moy Yat Kung Fu training
From age ten, when he began martial arts training, Anthony Dandridge was on a quest to ‘find the source of the martial arts.’ Ten years later, in 1980 at age 20, he began training directly under Ving Tsun Grandmaster Moy Yat at his school in Manhattan, NY.
From his first day, Dandridge recognized the power of Ving Tsun as a martial art, and he respected the authentic Kung Fu lineage of Moy Yat. At his first class, Grandmaster Moy Yat was away on a trip to Hong Kong, but that made no difference. He recalls the sound of the ‘Pak Sao thunder’, and being impressed at how smoothly the class was running in the absence of the Sifu. His only questions were, ‘How do I sign up?’ and ‘How do I start training?’
From the beginning, Dandridge called Moy Yat ‘Sifu’, and he’s the only man he’s ever considered his Sifu. Within a year or two, he set aside his other martial arts training, and dedicated himself to training exclusively in the Ving Tsun system under his Sifu, Grandmaster Moy Yat.
On Grandmaster Moy Yat’s birthday, June 28, 1984, Anthony Dandridge joined the Moy Yat Special Student Association (SSA), his Sifu’s inner circle. He devoted himself to the Ving Tsun system as a true disciple, even doing live-in Kung Fu training with his Sifu for two years.
His Kung Fu name, Moy Tung, was given to him by Moy Yat, who said it means ‘Man from the East’, and represented his SSA disciple’s character, understanding and dedication to the Ving Tsun system.
In 1985, when family obligations made it necessary for Moy Tung to move to Richmond, Va, Moy Yat directed him to begin teaching, in his name, as a Sifu. In March 1986, Anthony Moy Tung Dandridge founded the Richmond Moy Yat Kung Fu Academy.
Today, the Moy Tung lineage has grown through three generations of Sifus teaching the Ving Tsun system, in more than 20 locations around the US and Europe.
Grandmaster Moy Yat with his young SSA disciple, Anthony Moy Tung Dandridge, in front of a portrait photo of the great Yip Man
