LINEAGE

Thornton’s lineage to Grandmaster Moy Yat begins with his initial Sifu, Brian Alex Carruthers and his initial Si-Gung, in the system, Rex Aperauch. He trained primarily with them from December, 1983, through 1989. His initial exposure to the system was through them.

It was in 1989, that Thornton began traveling to New York and training there. He went up there, multiple times a year, for around 10 years, and also visiting many other schools frequently.

For some reason, Grandmaster Moy Yat decided to treat Thornton like a direct student, resulting in his having exposure to the concepts and principles of Wing Chun from his perspective and the students in New York and the northern region. Multiple times a year, Thornton would go to New York and spend full days and nights with Grandmaster Moy Yat. Grandmaster Moy Yat called it Kung Fu life. During these trips, Thornton received a much more in depth understanding of the Wing Chun system.

Of course, Grandmaster Moy Yat’s senior students were an integral part of Thornton’s development. But for this interaction, he would not have the understanding that he has today.

Words cannot express the gratitude, for what Grandmaster Moy Yat and his students did to enhance Thornton’s understanding of the system we call Wing Chun Kung Fu.

In 1996, Thornton traveled to New York and became grand indoor to Grandmaster Moy Yat. Thornton stayed at Grandmaster Moy Yat’s house on that trip, as he had done on many other trips. That night, Thornton and Grandmaster Moy Yat returned to his house, around two in the morning, and Grandmaster Moy Yat carved his chop and gave Thornton his Kung Fu name, Moy Don.