Description
Sifu Derek Fung is a Wing Chun master and the only direct student of the late Grandmaster Yip Man teaching in Sydney today. Beginning his Wing Chun journey in 1954, he was nicknamed “lighting hands” by his Kung Fu brothers because of his incredible stance, footwork, speed and willingness to showcase the Wing Chun system in no rules hand to hand combat. Now with over 60 years of experience, Derek is one of the top Wing Chun trainers in the world.
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Reviews
What an awesome place. My daughters and I felt comfortable and welcome from the first minute. Mike gives above and beyond most teachers. I highly recommend this establishment for anyone who wants to learn a martial art.
真功夫
I've been training here for over a year and a half and here are my thoughts...
TL:DR - I love training here.
If you want details why (and I am super detailed), keep reading.
I started out with these objectives in mind:
1. I wanted to be mentally stimulated as well as exercising my body
2. I wanted to do something that I can actually use in a fight if I had to
3. I wanted to do something that I can do for a long time without worrying about my body breaking down
4. I didn't want to be in a community of Neanderthal meat-heads
Here are some of the qualities that make me love to continue training here:
1. Tradition – our Grand Master, Derek Fung, is one of the original disciples of the legendary Ip Man and has dedicated his life to Wing Chun for 63+ years. What this means to me is this guy is the real deal - he does not teach from "something he saw over the internet" - he teaches from a deep pool of traditional knowledge passed down from generation to generation tempered with real life skills and experience.
2. Practical – our Instructor Mike Tran is the flip side of the coin who adds the more practical, "street" element of our Wing Chun training. He makes sure that we can take care of ourselves if we ever get into a position of having to fight. He is our leader of the beginner class and he, like the Grand Master is legitimate in both his Wing Chun and life experience.
3. Real growth – My biggest challenge with any martial arts is my lack of motor coordination and athleticism. However, Wing Chun has trained me to use both sides of my body equally as well as increase my balance and spatial awareness. Chi Sau and sparring exercises with pads and equipment is fun and educational. But more than that, it's the mental side. My mind is much more focused and I am learning things that I am applying to other aspects of life.
4. Great teachers – I am amazed at how fast I can learn things that I never thought I can do. The modules that were created by both Grand Master and Instructor Mike are accelerating our learning the “mythical” Wing Chun stance.
5. Traditional Values – Grand Master and Instructor Mike are both great people that I admire as people and are great role models for the community. I’m not saying that they’re perfect – they are human – but they both exemplify what’s best about traditional Chinese/Asian culture.
Here are the qualities that may or may not turn you off:
1. Culture – both Grand Master and our Instructor Mike does not need your money - they do it because they love Wing Chun and are dedicated to the art. This definitely creates a problem for who come in with an attitude like, "I pay you - so you need to teach me." The other type of people who will struggle is people who think they know everything about Wing Chun already. If you already know everything, why are you here?
On the other hand, if you come with an open mind and a willingness to learn, you will see that all of us are friendly and engaging and we welcome all potential students to come and try us out. We do have a lot of fun and we are laughing all the time but on the other hand, we do train hard and make the most of the time we have because...
2. Time commitment – this martial art is an ART. The super-effectiveness of the art is not something that can be learned in a few lessons. If I have to name a complaint, it's the steep learning curve to learn the really cool stuff and it takes a lot of hard work and practice.
3. The people – the people I train with are all good people who want to learn and grow together. We are a pretty diverse group, which includes me, a Japanese-American (I openly mentioned this to the Grand Master and Instructor Mike the first day - they looked at me like, so?). This is a tight knit community based on our commitment to Wing Chun and our community. However, we welcome everybody to come and try it out and see for yourself.
Again, it's not for everyone but for those who are looking for authentic, traditional martial arts, you've come to the right place.
One of the best Wing Chun Academies
