He was born in Foshan in 1843 as the second of the nine sons of Leung Jan by his second wife with the surname of Cheng (鄭).
At the young age he practiced Wing Chun under his father and grand-teacher Wong Wah-bo (黃華寶).
Due to the political situation in the late Qing Dynasty, Leung left Foshan for Hong Kong, where he made a living running a silk and satin business at Cha Wai Street (乍畏街) (present day Jervois Street) in Sheung Wan.
Impressed by the young man's skill, Leung requested Lai for the disheartened Ip's return and trained him until his own death in 1911.
[1][2] Leung had two sons: In the 2006 television series Wing Chun, he was portrayed by Nicholas Tse.