International WingTsun Association - North American Section

Warning: The action you are about to watch has not been digitally enhanced in any way; only edited and cut for suspense and drama!

More action can be found in the videos section.

Congratulations to Jaime Loo and Alex Lee on passing the 1st Level Technician’s test!

They both were being tested under a very rigorous testing scheme, which consist a form and sparring section. The sparring section was further divided into three parts, where the student has to demonstrate and apply the culmination of their WingTsun skills. The three sections included: Sparring against a single WingTsun practitioner, sparring against a single opponent in a street situation, and sparring against two opponents in a street situation.

Visit the photos section for additional photos from this event.

Thanks Sidney for putting together another amazing highlight video of the past 1st Technican Exam. A special award goes out to the White T-shirt Machine who took a punch to the face and still kept on going at 1:13!

Check out the rest of the videos!

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.

Congratulations to Fernando, Jacky, Gloria, Jason and John (same order in picture) on passing their First Technician’s test! Special honours go to Gloria, who represents the first Canadian woman to obtain 1st Level Technician status.

Similar to the previous 1st Level Technician test, the test involved 2 sections: A forms section and a sparring section. The sparring section was further divided into three parts, where the student has to demonstrate and apply the culmination of their WingTsun skills. The three sections included: Sparring against a single WingTsun practitioner, sparring against a single opponent in a street situation, and sparring against two opponents in a street situation.

None of the students had it easy. The Si-Hings and volunteers who stood in as opponents, also stepped up to challenge. Sometimes it was hard to tell who to cheer for, since both student and opponent put forth such impressive efforts! One of the highlights was during Gloria’s two-on-one challenge, where two opponents came at her at once, but after a blur of movement, she effectively had one opponent afraid to move while ducked, because Gloria and the other opponent were exchanging blows over-top!

In the end, IWTA Toronto now proudly boasts five new Qualified Instructors! I think everyone who attended the test, both spectators and participants, could not stop from getting caught up in the energy. With all the cheering and support of fellow students, it really hits home how much our school has grown, and how it feels very much like a WingTsun family.

Congratulations again to the new 1st Level Technicians!

The recent grading this past Saturday, September 27 at 7:30 P.M. and Monday, September 29 at 1:30 P.M., held at the Richmond Hill Branch of IWTA-NAS, not only resulted in the promotion of many students but also produced five new Primary-level Technicians!

Student exams are held every quarter-year in the curriculum-styled structure of the Leung Ting WingTsun teaching system. These exams serve as an opportunity for the review of a student’s abilities and techniques, so that they can advance to higher levels of learning.

Sifu Carson Lau (7th level Practician, the highest ranked instructor in North America) is an examiner who always surprises the students with creative exams. For example, the exam for 1st-level Technician was divided into four seperate tests.

The first test examined the student’s familiarity of the Si-Nim Tao and Chum-Kiu forms. Instead of just asking the student to perform the entire form, they were asked to perform excerpts of sequences chosen from arbitrary starting points.

The second part required the student to perform the first three Chi-Sao forms. Sifu Lau expected each form to be performed accurately, as they are fundamental for most of the Chi-Sao sparring movements.

The third part involved the famous WingTsun Chi-Sao sparring. In this part, examinees were required to apply all the Chi-Sao components learned thus far. Two students teamed up to spar in three, 1-minute sessions. Both students were expected to demonstrate their achievements in technique application, economy of movement, physical endurance, and the use and control of power.

The Chi-Sao sparring was both exciting for the spectators to watch, but also exhausting for the students — However, the exam did not stop there. It continued into the finale, which was the dramatic simulation of a 2 vs 1 ambush. This required two additional participants to simultaneously attack the examinee with a punch and/or kick, in a free-from environment. It definitely gave the gym a fight-club vibe with the spectators standing at the edges of the room, trying not to get caught in the middle. In this test, examinees were evaluated based on how well they controlled their attackers with angles by using WingTsun foot-work.

Special thanks go out to: Jaime Loo, Roger Lam, Isaac Lau, and Vahid Zolfaghari, who participated as attackers in the 2 vs 1 scenario. They did an excellent job and showed no fear, no pain and no mercy to the examinees. We have hence forth dubbed them the “Invincible White T-Shirt” team — a new breed in our gym.

Last but not least, all of the students from the Richmond Hill class would like to thank Sifu Lau for his dedication in teaching us what true WingTsun is.

Update! - Watch some highlights from the Technician test!

Good news!!! Our next student grading is here. It takes place on Saturday March 22 at 6:30 p.m. and March 24 at 12:00 p.m. For many of us, as we get a little nervous before a test, we may not always categorize it as good news, but more something that we have to do. But in reality, the grading is good news. Because it means we are moving forward (and of course we all know the importance of moving forward in WingTsun). Sure, it is always a little nerve-wracking before a test, but we have to try to change our mindset and look at it as a chance to get together and display what we have learned and how well we’ve progressed. Best of luck to everyone on test day!