The very beginning…

1994-2000

Like many first-generation American Born Chinese, my life started in a multi-generational household. Born to two Cantonese immigrants from Hong Kong and raised primarily by my two paternal grandparents from Toisan 台山, it was their sentiment and persistence in ensuring that I maintained my Chinese identity that allowed me to attain native-level fluency in Cantonese. As Cantonese was the only language I spoke and understood (and growing up poor), Kung Fu and Stephen Chow 周星馳 movies on VHS were pretty much my only source of entertainment.

One of the first Kung Fu films I ever saw was The Prodigal Son (敗家仔) - 1981. I watched the VHS until it stopped spinning and memorized every line as a child. To this day, I still consider it my favorite martial arts movie of all time, and it was probably the very start of what would eventually become, well, this.

Ironically enough, I had no clue that it was about Wing Chun until my teenage years. I just remember loving the characters, the production, and the movements.

The early days…

2008-2012

When the first Ip Man movie came out in 2008, I (among millions) watched it. I was with my father when I saw it for the first time. While I was very captivated by the film, I very vividly remember my father and I remarking that The Prodigal Son was kind of better in almost every way other than picture quality. We talked at length comparing the two films, and my father would eventually suggest that I should probably learn some sort of martial art rather than just playing video games. He looked around and decided we should go check out a school in North Jersey in late 2009.

Plans changed when, coincidentally, a family at a local Chinese School was trying to garner interest for a Wing Chun class that was significantly closer to my home in Central Jersey. There were quite a few who winced at the news that this teacher was Caucasian. Unfortunately, there are many narrow-minded Chinese who firmly believe that Non-Chinese cannot teach a Chinese Martial Art in its entirety. While some have good reasons, most of them are just simply ignorant. Wing Chun is not genetic.

My father was very open-minded to the idea of me possibly learning from non-Chinese, so when I asked him why, he said,

“Anyone who knows anything, knows more than you right now.”

Little did I know that my father’s open-mindedness at the time would eventually form a large part of my teaching ethos, but this is how my journey into Wing Chun began. It was at this time I met 師傅 Kevin Gledhill in Matawan, NJ and began my Wing Chun journey in 2010 once a week on Sundays. Looking back now, as a high school student, I really didn’t appreciate what I was learning at the time. I didn’t have the patience, nor did I have the work ethic to truly be good at the system. It was something I liked doing, but I didn’t dedicate nearly enough time to it (especially not during times where my grades were terrible).

Meeting philipp bayer (2013-2017)

I think it goes without saying that there’s nobody in my entire lineage who doesn’t think Philipp Bayer is the best Wing Chun Practitioner alive. He was all we seemed to talk about in class at Matawan. Having no clue who he was, I was told to go on YouTube to see what all the fuss was about. Having never seen someone move lightning fast, consecutively, while maintaining such a high degree of control and accuracy, I was very quickly blown away and became obsessed with watching whatever I could find on repeat.

It is always a treat to be able to meet world-class people, especially when you have the rare opportunity to meet someone who is the best at something. I met Philipp when I was 18 years old. It was somehow even more impressive than all of his YouTube videos that I would watch in my room instead of doing homework. I remember very vividly that he was somehow even faster in real life, and his strength was immense (something that the videos can’t show you). I was very enamored with his display of immense skill, and I remember asking him what I would have to do to become as good as him, and he simply replied, “You just have to train hard, and you must never stop.”

From July 2013 onward I took his words to heart. I endeavored to attend some form of class, private lesson, or training session every day of the week just to get all the practice hours and reps in. Having just started working an office job in Manhattan around that time, I was fortunate enough to be able to alternate between New York (Gleason’s Gym) and New Jersey for training. I also took every opportunity I could to go to learn from Philipp. Whether it was stateside, in Canada, or the many multi-week seminars held in Europe alongside the Ving Tsun Kung Fu Association Europe, I went. These led to some of my fondest memories and experiences in my early 20s.

The First School - Old Bridge, New Jersey

2017-2018 (22-23 years old)

Shortly before 2017, I was running a non-profit location in Freehold, New Jersey. This free session was held on Friday nights as a way for me to get extra practice in without having to spend more money. While that was happening, I was told that I should go out and actually start teaching. I was a bit hesitant, since I felt that 22 years old was a bit too young to be teaching people, but I also felt enthused since I liked what I was doing so much. In March of 2017, I opened my first official location in Old Bridge, New Jersey teaching once a week on Saturdays from 2PM-5PM. To this day, Saturday 2PM-5PM is still my most popular class.

The Second School - East Brunswick, New Jersey

2018-2022 (23-27 years old)

One of the biggest problems you face when you start out in business too young is that people who are significantly older than you or have more money than you tend to feel entitled to taking advantage of you. Having had a less-than-fair experience running my first part-time school, my students banded together at the time and I took the plunge into doing Wing Chun full time. In November of 2018, I signed my first commercial lease at age 23. I started teaching 6 days a week out of a warehouse office in the corner of town. Looking back, I definitely upgraded in every single way, but that location had a lot of charm. My students and I from that era still look back fondly. After being price gouged by my landlord during and after COVID, I decided it was time to go.

Rutgers University Ving Tsun Kung Fu Club

2018-Present

While the entire transition from Old Bridge to East Brunswick was happening, I was attending Rutgers University as a Philosophy Major. I wanted to offer a practical set of self defense skills to the students of Rutgers New Brunswick, who would probably have a really hard time affording my normal rates. The Rutgers Sports Club Department was not happy with the idea of there being yet another martial arts related club. They initially rejected our application, so we had to settle for meeting and training unofficially outdoors, in the basement of College Avenue Student Center, or in the hallways of the campus gyms. After a petition from the global Wing Chun community and a meeting with the board, RUVT was officially recognized in 2018 went on to become one of the biggest martial arts clubs on campus. I officially handed off the club and all of its operations in 2023.

The Third School - Milltown

The Buildout (July 2022-November 2022)

2022-Present (27-Present)

There’s no question that this location was the most difficult to set up, but it wasn’t actually harder of a period to live through than COVID. It was really just about applying the lessons that I learned. Nothing was going to happen unless if I put the work in, and it’s not going to be good unless if I do a good job.

The current studio is a much better location than a shitty warehouse district in the corner of town, it was Main Street, but there was literally nothing inside. I formed some business partnerships with South Street Salsa and Round Table Therapy, but none of us had money. We executed a fundraiser to purchase materials, but for 5 months, it meant 16 hour days of elbow grease as we built out the studio together.

The Branches

Philadelphia (April 7th, 2022 - Present)

After surviving through the pandemic, I learned that my community and my career is just one more global catastrophe away from possibly going under. This was the catalyst to me realizing that I will need to have a few branches if what we are doing is to survive.

Philadelphia started on a whim. I went there for the first time as an adult to hang out with some friends and I was pleasantly surprised that the city was not what I remembered it to be. Like myself, it had grown a lot. I had never taught in an urban center before, and I really enjoyed the vibe of the city overall, so I just decided to start talking to studio owners to see who would be interested in letting me start a school there. 2 years later, Kelly Ray, the owner of Dance Philadelphia Argentine Tango, has become a very dear friend of mine. I’ve recently handed off Philadelphia and said my goodbyes. I’m glad I got to ignite that flame over there in that city. Philly has a great crew of people and I’m sure that as the city continues to grow, so too, will they.

Jersey City was actually supposed to start before Philadelphia, but when I had the idea, I didn’t have the connections. I didn’t know anyone who lived there and I didn’t even know where to start looking. I had people in Philly, so that’s why Philly started first. Coincidentally, about a month after Philly, I made some connections and then just, kinda did it. Jersey City is also a great crew of people, and I’ve ran very successful seminars there. Like Philadelphia, Jersey City is also being handed off. Since I live in Jersey though, it wasn’t really much of a goodbye. Starting these two branches and then also building my own studio that has a Salsa school in it had kind of made me realize that I have a weird magnetism with dance studios for some reason. Mario B, owner of Salsa Fever On2 also throws a mean, monthly Salsa social. I highly recommend it.

Off-Shore Seminars

Puerto Rico (Annually in March)

Missing my annual 2-week stint with the Europeans, in 2022, I decided to try and replicate that experience on our own little Spanish-speaking island right off of the coast. Looking ahead, I would love to see people from all 50 states travel to meet in Puerto Rico for a week, where we train hard, form friendships, have a good time, and escape to paradise. Each year, the Puerto Rico seminar has grown, so I think we’re well on our way there.

Switzerland - December 2023

Certification after 10+ Years of Philipp Bayer Wing Chun

Return to Europe

The pandemic created a vacuum of a few years where I was unable to go to Europe at all. I was focused on training, my students, and trying to keep all my locations afloat and successful. Much of the early 2020s was just spent on trying to undo the damage that COVID brought upon us. In late 2023, however, I would finally be able to see the brothers and sisters in Europe again. For the second time ever, I brought my students over to Europe and trained.

On December 9th, 2023, 師傅 Philipp Bayer made me one of his certified instructors. We reminisced over the last decade. While it is stressed within our community that these certificates do not indicate rank or imply anything other than acknowledgement, that very acknowledgement is something that most of us strive for. While becoming certified by him was one of the highest honors I’ve ever received in my life, I’m even more honored for the relationship and support that I have with Philipp and our fellow students in Europe.

New York City

2024 - Present (29-Present)

After an extremely successful launch event in New York City, classes there will officially begin on the first week of May. If you have any questions, definitely contact me.