International WingTsun Association - North American Section

Mini seminar concerning Siu Nim Tau theory and foundation of Wing Tsun.

Siu Nim Tau is the first form that every WingTsun students learn from day 1. If we all pay attention enough, then we will notice Siu Nim Tau did help us emerge into the Wingtsun’s main concept instantly and effectively. First of all, it tells us we need a strong solid stance. Secondly, the centerline theory is implanted in most of the movements. In order to achieve successful, lasting and effective WingTsun practice, all students should begin by focusing on a strong foundation. An important attitude to develop is attention to small details. During this mini seminar, Sifu Lau revealed some key details of Siu Num Tau and demonstrated how it is implemented in WingTsun training. All students gained so many insights and benefit from Sifu’s teaching.

Below are the testimonial from the students who attended this mini seminar :-

	Ki Nosworthy: Back to basics, the fundamentals. Sifu Carson Lau takes us through a detailed step by step look at the first form of Wing Tsun vital to the training. Whether you’re at a beginner level or an advanced level the Siu Nim Tau is a key to Wing Tsun training, and will help open future doors towards a WT skill set. I highly recommend any future seminars put on by Sifu Carson Lau.

Fumi Chan: As a feather weight female Wing Tsun student,I know how important it is for me to perfect my technique with speed,viciousness,accuracy and power to compensate for my lack of physical strength. Siu Nim Tau Seminar provided me with the perfect opportunity to acquire accurate knowledge of the most fundamental form. With this defined understanding,all I need to do is practice over and over again until I attain perfection. In time,the other three elements will develop with hard work and will power.

Daniel Cheung: Too often, when training in a martial art, people rush to learn how to fight. Although we start off with the fundamentals in various forms, it is all too easy to get sloppy and forget rudimentary details that make any given martial art unique. Like any language, every martial art has its own grammar; for Wing Tsun, that grammar is contained in practicing Siu Nim Tao. For this reason, the Siu Nim Tao workshop is invaluable not only to reinforce the basics, but to also remind students of its benefits for healthy living, not just for fighting. The basic advice is to not rush and make every move precise. If someone takes their time and does it correctly with proper breathing, they can actually become healthier. The precision required can make offensive and defensive movements that much more effective. I highly recommend that students of Wing Tsun at any level seriously consider the Siu nim Tao seminar.

Edwin Lau: I highly recommend this seminiar to all Wing Tsun members who already know the entire Siu Nim Tau form. SIFU explained each Siu Nim Tau movement in great detail in a very clear manner. Using the information gained from this seminar, I can improve my own Siu Nim Tau form, for I now have a much better understanding of what my body position should be at the end of each Siu Nim Tau movement. The better is my Siu Nim Tau form, the stronger will be my Wing Tsun foundation.

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.

Sifu Lau interviewed by Fairchild Television News about MMA sport in Canada.

Goal setting is a very important ingredient to be success in our lives. It can be personal like giving up smoking or losing weight. Or it could be a professional goal such as achieving a particular level in your workplace. Below is a story of Vahid Zolfaghari-kondori who dream of open a WingTsun school in his mother country Iran.

Migration to Canada marked a turning point in my life. Despite of ups and downs of adapting to new environment and culture, I was determined to excel in both education and martial arts. Having practiced in different martial arts styles, I knew that it would be a great means to overcome to the obstacles in my new life both physically and spiritually. I started to search for a practical and straight forward concept which allows me to keep practicing regardless of flexibility and age; after scrutinizing amongst styles, concepts and arts the conclusion was Wing Tsun.  Coming across with Sifu Lau changed my entire perspective about martial arts. Practicing under supervision of highest level instructor in North America and even in the world is not an easy chore. A detail oriented person that even the smallest mistakes of his students would not be ignored from his sight. Reaching to technician level would not be made without enormous amount of patience and dedication from Sifu Lau’s side and personal effort and practice from my side. It was not an easy journey without all my Si Sok, Si Hings, Si Jes and Si Deis cooperation. I am thrilled and very proud of this accomplishment. Hereby I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Sifu Lau and my lovely Wing Tsun family.

Vahid Zolfaghari-kondori

Which is fun and sweat filled seminar taught by Sifu Lau.  All the attended students had have a great time on practicing some special WingTsun techniques.

Sifu Lau is featured in the May 2010 issue of Inside Kung-Fu, discussing the practical application of WingTsun in ground-fighting.

According to the Chinese Zodiac, Year of 2010 is the Year of a Golden Tiger, which begins on February 14, 2010 and ends on February 2, 2011.  Tiger is a symbol as energy and power.  IWTA Canada also started this year of Tiger in a energetic way, which we had historical high frequency of demonstration.  In the past two months,  we had been invited to participated four Wing Tsun Kung Fu demonstrations.  Here is the order of the organizations which we had participated in their events.

1. SEAS Support Enhance Access Service
2. International Day @ Seneca College
3. Judo Club @ Scarborough
4. P&G Canada

Check out the rest of the pictures in the photo album.

We have just concluded our first 4-day Women’s Self-Defense seminar, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results. The seminar content focused on simplicity and caters to a woman’s physical abilities. We had a gym full of women, eager to learn, and who quickly picked up each technique as it was taught.

The basic goal of this seminar was to empower women with self-defense techniques, turning helpless women into women with options in a dangerous situation. The seminar covered many solutions to escape from various scenarios, which were practicing in a fun, safe and controlled environment. To be realistic, techniques are only as effective as how often they are practiced. We don’t expect every woman to walk away a fighter, however we do make sure that every woman walks away more confident and secure about themselves.

Special thanks go out to Alex Lee, Gloria Wong and Edwin Liang, the instructors who helped assist Sifu Lau during this seminar. They all accumulated many wounds and bruises from being beaten up by the students, however still maintained big smiles throughout. The war wounds are actually a good sign though. I wouldn’t trust the effectiveness of any self-defense course if the assistants didn’t get a little injured :).  Be sure to watch the testimonials from this past series of seminars, along with demos of some of the techniques that were taught.

Check out the rest of the pictures in the photo album.

December is getting cold. Training is a great way to keep warm!

Please check the calendar for the holiday class schedule. There are changes in schedule due to the holidays, etc.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from Sifu Lau and all the instructors at IWTA Toronto!

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.