International WingTsun Association - North American Section

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!

Walmart invited IWTA Richmond Hill to perform a demo at their Mississauga headquarters this past Friday, April 3, 2009, as part of their cultural fair. Our own Si-hings and Si-dais treated the Walmart employees to some intense WT action. The following pictures capture some of the fast-punching, high-flying action!

View the rest of the photos or visit the photos section for more pictures from the demo.

It’s hard to believe that 2 years has already passed since the opening of the Richmond Hill IWTA branch. Our WT family has grown and the Banquet Dinners keep on getting better and better. It was a good chance to celebrate the success of our school with Sifu Lau, friends and family as well as the personal achievements we have all made in WingTsun!

View the photos or visit the photos section for more pictures from the banquet.

It’s time for our annual Chinese New Year Celebration! On January 27th, 2009, come join us for a day of celebration at IWTA Richmond Hill. Members, friends, family and the rest of the world is welcomed to take part in the festivities!

Updated - January 27, 2009

View the rest of the party pictures in the Photos section

McMaster University has invited our school to participate in their Chinese New Year Festival, organized by the McMaster Chinese Student’s Association.

The event will take place on Monday, January 26th 2009 in the Student Centre from 11am to 4pm. In addition to the WingTsun demonstration, there will also be special Chinese dance and Wushu performances and much more.

Come by and watch our performance if you’re in the Hamilton area!

Directions to McMaster | McMaster Campus Map

Updated - January 27, 2009

View the rest of the demonstration photos in the Photos section

Merry Christmas!!!!  We had a great Pot-luck Christmas Dinner Party at the gym among family and friends!  Not only did everyone enjoy the huge dinner feast, but many gifts were also being given out (some missed out on this!) as part of our fun festive night!!!  

Special thanks to Sifu Carson Lau for hosting the party and the gifts, and Si-hing Richard Ngai for organizing and coordinating the party.  Thanks to all of our members and guest for making this years gathering such a success!

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In a cold afternoon of December 6, 40 IWTA WingTsun disciples gathered in Richmond Hill gym for an intensive, 4-hour seminar conducted by Sifu Carson Lau. It was a great opportunity to learn directly from Sifu Lau, who is the highest ranking IWTA WingTsun instructor in North America.

Click here to view the complete photo set

1/16/2009 - Update! New video clip from the Seminar.

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!

Radio Station AM1430 asked us to return for another action-packed WT demo during their Variety Show at the Splendid China Tower Mall.