International WingTsun Association - North American Section

Sidney Yik

I couldn’t have imagined that I will be a Wing Tsun Technician back then.  At the age of 53, this is one of my greatest accomplishment so far. Initially, I was looking for something to do to reduce my stress from work.  I am glad that I found Wing Tsun.  I still remember the first time I met Sifu one Friday night at the gym more than 3 years ago.  I always wanted to learn martial arts and I wasn’t sure I will do it, but Sifu’s friendliness and sincerity made it an easy decision to join.

I like the training because I can work out and at the same time learn something practical and unique.  Once you get into senior level, you begin to appreciate Sifu Lau’s in-depth knowledge of Wing Tsun and self-defense.  It is a great privilege for me to learn from Sifu Lau, the highest ranked IWTA instructor in North America.

I would like to thank Sifu for his guidance and I will need it more in the coming future for the advance level.  Also, I would like to thank all the Si-hings, Si-dai, Si-Je, Si-mui for their support throughout the years.  We are just like a big family, helping each other out.  Of course, I won’t forget to thank my wife and my kids as they allow me to go to Wing Tsun.  Lastly, the red stripe pant and golden WT logo T-shirt really look better in style.  Folks, please keep up the good work and if I can do it, so can you!
 
 

Alan Tang

After 3+ years of Wing Tsun training, I have finally reached an important milestone(Primary technician). I am so excited and happy, that I have an opportunity to learn more advanced WT skills.

Wing Tsun was the Martial Art I always dreamed to learn when I was young, but lack of schools in Canada, instead I had the Taekwondo training.

Wing Tsun training has provided me an opportunity to exercise regularly, and more importantly enhanced my self-defense/hand fighting skills. But this is not possible without SIFU’s instructions, and support from all my training partners.

Thank You SIFU and all SI-hing/dai/Je/Mui.

Let’s all train hard, have fun and progress.

We are so pleased to announce that Edwin Lau and Marcus Joo have passed the First Level Technician exam!

Both of them would like to share some of their thoughts and experiences, in their WingTsun journeys.

Edwin Lau

Thinking back to the day of my first Wing Tsun class, I was a beginner with no prior knowledge of kungfu. The learning curve seems steep, and I would never dare to think that one day, I may reach the Technician Level.

Insurmountable odds can be overcome through hard work. Today, I have proudly become a Wing Tsun Primary Technician. Not only is this possible because of the mentorship of SIFU Lau - North America’s highest ranked IWTA Instructor - throughout these years, but also, I received tremendous amount of helps from my Wing Tsun brothers and sisters. They are not training to compete against each other to see who the best fighter is. Instead, they are there to help each other improve, as we all seem to believe that helping others achieving their goals is equally as important as achieving our own goals.

Without my WingTsun family where each memeber is always willing to give up his/her own training time to help me with my practice, I would never have been received sufficient training to become a Primary Technician. Thank you very much all.

Marcus Joo

After over 10 years of martial arts training in a variety of styles, I was introduced to WingTsun in Fairfield, Iowa, USA. There I trained with Sihing Sam Shary and my Sihing and Sidai in that school. The philosophical concepts of WingTsun made so much sense that I took every opportunity I could to travel the 3 hours to see my Sifu Mike Adams in his school in Bloomington Illinois. After attending the 2007 GGM Leung Ting seminar in Toronto, I realized that I wanted to be a part of Sifu Lau’s WT family.

When I arrived, there were large periods of time where I wasn’t learning anything new. I was used to training with protective gear, and was very unsure of the style of teaching at the Toronto Branch. I was asking myself questions like, “How could you learn to be an effective fighter if you weren’t even hitting your training partner?” These questions made me feel uneasy. I was having doubts on WingTsun’s efficiency and if the Toronto branch was in some way not as effective as other schools I had
trained in. But after a few months of training and starting to learn chi sau sections directly from Sifu Lau, I finally realized the intelligence in Sifu Lau’s teaching method. I was now in the gym long enough to be training with people in their 2nd - 3rd month of training and I couldn’t believe how good these students were after such a short period of time.
If we rush into learning WingTsun, we will inevitably be held back from attaining higher levels of skill. Starting WingTsun with quickly training in a full contact setting will undoubtedly instill elements of fighting spirit and toughness, but at the expense of slowing down one’s ability to reach the higher planes of skill and proficiency that we all aspire towards.
I am extremely proud to have reached the level of Primary Technician, I could not have accomplished this without the constant support of my Si-hing, Si-dai, Si-Je, Si-Mui, and of course Sifu Lau. Although I didn’t start my WingTsun training in the Toronto Branch, Sifu Lau and his students have opened their arms to me and I truly feel like a member of the family.

So everyone, let’s relax, take our time, and conscientiously train.

It was hard to imagine myself being a WingTsun instructor, let alone the first female WingTsun instructor in Canada!

It started out as an interesting alternative to my Taekwondo training. Then it began to appeal to me as an exercise that I can continue to practice into my retiring years. They say time flies when you are having fun. Three years has gone by, in a twinkling of an eye. It has been much more than moments of fun and learning. It has also been moments of hard work and endurance. But most important of all, it was a time to grow as part of a family, a WingTsun family.

I am thrilled to enter the rank of technicians. But this is just the beginning of real WingTsun learning.

Chapman Fu is a professional physiotherapist
In this video, Chapman shares his thoughts and experiences on learning LeungTing WingTsun from Sifu Carson Lau.

Fernando Gonzalez works as a bar tender in a local restaurant. He has been studying Martial Arts since he was eight years old. He shares his thoughts and experiences on learning LeungTing WingTsun from Sifu Carson Lau at IWTA Toronto, Richmond Hill school.

John McGrath is a professional voice actor who has had his voice featured in TV Commercials, promos and children’s programming. You can find John’s voice in popular children’s cartoons such as “Beyblade” and “Rupert”, as well as in the Daytime Emmy nominated PBS Kids’ “Super Why!” and Discovery Kids’ “Peep and the Big Wide World”.

In this video, John shares his thoughts and experiences on learning LeungTing WingTsun from Sifu Carson Lau.

Click to view more student testimonials and other videos.

You can visit John’s official website at: www.johnsvoice.com

Marcena Lau, 13 years-old talks about her WingTsun experience.

Click here to view other Student Testimonies and other videos

Confidence is one of the important ingredients for being successful in various areas of life.

In the context of martial arts, one cannot fully realize the potential of one’s skills and strength without the ingredient of confidence which brings out one’s mental strength. I have been practicing Wing Tsun for 3 years. My confidence in my skills and even own self-esteem have been slowly building up during the practices for the last 3 years. It is all thanks to Sifu Lau and the senior members of the club who constant encouragements and teachings allow me to gain my self-confidence.

The sticky-hand (Chi Sau) sparring training enables me to deal with adversity and test my ability to recover from it. My mental strength has increased due to this training which is my most precious reward from learning Wing Tsun.

Frank Yuen 

Wing Tsun - one of the Chinese Martial Arts; focuses on practical use of all your body parts to combat your opponents. However, WingTsun also gives you the necessary physical exercise - no matter what age you are in. I started practising WingTsun with Sifu Lau for 4 and half months now. Since I started, I’ve gained my self-confidence and have better physical conditions. I can better control my muscles and balances - you will discover muscles that you don’t know about!! I also learn from other senior members of the club (Si Hings) and Sifu about practical defence and “forms”. The friendly learning environment and atmosphere make me feel like working out with an extended family! All the Si Hings are very helpful and kind. They take time to show me and correct my mistakes.

For students like me, it is very important to have feed back on my progression on this martial art. Tests / exams are held regularly to give student feedback on how their skills are advancing - just like regular academic schooling.

In summary, it is my life biggest reward to learn (and keep learning) WingTsun from Sifu Lau and all the “Si Hings”.

*photo: from right to left Issac Lau (writer of this article), Sifu Lau, Allan Tang, Ah Chung, Sidney Yik