Happy New Year of 2019!

I wish you are all well and enjoying the wonderful new year.  Do you know what?  As entering 2019, the Academy of WingChun Berkeley at the University Avenue location is engaging into 10th year anniversary.

Many things changed since then, many people comes and goes, as life happens as expected, and often unexpected ways, as always. Changes and renewals are themes in life.  No matter what happens, we keep eyes wide open and growing throughout life.

As a part of the anniversary celebration, and yes, we could say that it’s been overdue, we initiated the academy renovation project in early January 2019. Did you already have a chance to step onto the beautiful cork floor we installed recently?  Isn’t it awesome?  More improvements are on the way.  Let’s build more of wonderful memories together on this new floor, keep training with passion and love, and tough up ourselves inside and outside.

WingChun Lineage

While passing the lineage to next generation, adapting and surviving through generation after generation, each of us here is the bridge. We train together, meet as strangers and become a family.  Every experience: excitements, learning, adrenaline, uplifting, mistakes, and sometimes overwhelming pains, they are all parts of us, let’s embrace them, accept our emotions, either positive or negative, and move forward.

WingChun “詠春”  literary means “Praising Spring“.  Like you feel whistling, with full of sweet days and roses and a treasure box where awesome techniques and flows compacted in.  WingChun is a concept-based Chinese martial art and form of self-defense, originally developed in southern China approximately 300 years ago.

According to legend, the martial art style that came to be known as Wing Chun (詠春) was originated by the Buddhist nun Ng Mui in a period of civil war that marked the transition between Ming (明) and Qing (清) Dynasties. The rebellious monks of Shaolin were haunted down and killed as the temples burned to the ground.  The escaped rebels trained underground, synthesized a compact form of Kung Fu (功夫) to exploit weaknesses inherent in the other combat styles of their time and give an advantage to smaller fighters, who did not have the advantage of size and strength.  It was one of the very direct and short-range fighting systems.

This new system was well-guarded and passed on to only a few, very dedicated students, then evolving as it was adopted into various groups.  Gained popularity when Ip Man (葉問) began to teach openly in China and Hong Kong.  Some of his students, (i.e. Bruce Lee – Jeet Kune Do (截拳道), Leung Ting – WingTsun (詠春), to mention a few) continued the development, and spread Wing Chun all over the world.  It was further refined into our WingChun (詠春) of the present day.  Let’s express gratitude to all ancestors and instructors, who were passionate and patiently passed WingChun to us here.

WingChun Art Starts from Heart

One of the signs at our academy, written as “拳由心發” (Kuen Yau Sum Fut) can be translated as “Art Starts from Heart”. The framework of physical, psychological, and philosophical scales of Self-Defense was presented as primarily practical. (*quoted from sifupaulwang.com)

As we get trained more, we gain more experience and power.  Along with the martial art system, techniques, and skills, the lineage is also the descendant of our characters, which matter a lot to many of us. Integrity, honestly, kindness, generosity, compassion, moral courage, like, and love.  More than anything else, it is about how we treat each other; instructors, students, alumni, and prospects (of course your friends and families included!).  Never underestimate the influence you have on others.  Dare to be the one to let others believe that good things are possible.

“The very spring and root of honesty and virtue lie in good education” -Plutarch

Sije Yuka Yoshioka