is Back!

FAQ
As with most martial arts, there are always questions surrounding the art, the school, philosophies and how these factors concern the particular individual. The following is a sample of the Academy's most frequently asked questions.

If you have any further questions which are not listed please don’t hesitate to ask.

Why Wing Chun compared to other martial arts?
While martial arts are a great way to improve health and learn self defense, Wing Chun is the easiest and fastest to learn, it's the most effective martial art for people of any size or fitness level and has clear fitness and energy level benefits you will see from the first class. Wing Chun is a system that was designed specifically by Shaolin kung fu masters to take less training time and be more effective than any other fighting style. See “Wing Chun History” in the LEARNING CENTER for the history of Wing Chun.
Everyone is busy and time is precious. A self defense system that can be learned faster and easier is a more effective and useful martial arts style. A system that allows you to progress to true confidence in less time saves you time and money since you advance quicker. Health benefits from Wing Chun are similar to Tai Chi and Qigong.

How should I start Wing Chun?
You can start any time. We offer classes 4 days a week. The more you attend, the faster you learn and your confidence will grow. You can start whenever you're ready to begin so now is the time to do something good for yourself! See our training schedule for days/times.

What do I wear to class? Is there a uniform?
Yes, there's a uniform for kung fu and it's ideal to have one. A basic training uniform is included in most of our membership options, but just wear comfortable clothes for your first class. The full uniform includes a kung fu jacket or shirt, pants and sash. All uniform options are available from us for various sizes. Please wear indoor running shoes or go barefoot, no outdoor shoes that could possibly track dirt in on the training floor. Also bring water to class because your body and mind work better when hydrated.

Hand Wraps & Footwear
Either hand wraps or wrist wrap punching gloves are a recommended purchase. They allow harder punching without damaging your hands. Special kung fu shoes are also available. They allow you to kick better than either running shoes or going barefoot. Special shoes and punching gloves aren't needed, but they do allow you to safely hit harder so it's more fun. Additional equipment is available for weapons training such as training butterfly swords, staffs and sticks.

I want to learn self defense but I'm not into fighting. Is Wing Chun for me?
Yes, Wing Chun is ideal for non-violent self defense. The best way to start is by booking a free introductory lesson. You will probably want to follow up with Wing Chun self defense classes. Wing Chun is the most effective self defense system that is very safe and easy to learn and we encourage a fun, teamwork-oriented environment. We take self defense very seriously, but our classes are also definitely fun and empowering. Our techniques do not meet force on force as some martial arts do. The best way to defend yourself is prevention. We teach you to avoid and prevent combat situations as well as move, deflect and turn an opponent's energy against them. Wing Chun also includes powerful ways to kick, punch and control attackers. All techniques are taught in a very safe manner. If you want to learn self defense but are nervous that it might be uncomfortable or difficult, definitely start with a free private introductory lesson. In no time, you'll feel at ease and start enjoying yourself. Ongoing private lessons are also available.

What will Wing Chun teach me to defend?
Wing Chun will allow you to dissolve almost any conceivable open-handed or weapon attack. Wing Chun improves awareness and teaches you positioning so that it's not easy to be attacked at all. However, we also teach people how to handle all manner of kicks, punches, knife attacks, club attacks, baseball bat and other weapon attacks as well as defenses for grappling techniques such as grabs, chokes and tackles, ground defenses and other variations. We start with the basics and build upon them as students progress through the levels. We teach joint lock control moves to non-violently control opponents as well as staff, wooden dummy and butterfly sword applications.
Wing Chun covers almost anything an attacker could try either with bare hands or with common weapons and is therefore an extremely complete system. Wing Chun will improve fitness, flexibility and energy level but one of its unique aspects is that it allows you to easily defend attacks from faster, stronger attackers. In fact many defenses are easier if the attacker puts a lot of energy into their attack. This makes it uniquely appropriate for women concerned about attacks from men, but as the system which Bruce Lee learned, it is also appropriate for men of any age.

Is there a belt system to Wing Chun? How long does it take to advance?
Instead of belts, Wing Chun has 10 levels, progressing from beginner to mastery of the entire Wing Chun system. All Wing Chun students wear a black sash. Level 7 is the time equivalent of black belt in most other North American martial arts schools. After coming to Wing Chun classes at least twice a week for 2-3 months, you will be ready for your first grading. At that point, you will be able to comfortably defend a good number of common attacks from any size of attacker. You do not need any previous experience with martial arts of any kind to progress this fast. Grading solidifies your achievement and allows you to progress to new more challenging material when you're ready.

Is Wing Chun a soft style or hard style?
There are variations of Wing Chun. What we teach is the best combination of soft style and hard style with simultaneous deflection and counter attack. By soft style, we mean that we use the opponent's energy against them and we use footwork as part of avoiding attacks instead of using force unnecessarily. The easiest way to defend oneself is to not be where the attack is headed instead of trying to do a hard block. A good Wing Chun practitioner need exert very little energy to defend attacks from bigger stronger opponents. This makes Wing Chun safe and uniquely practical. Any defense system that requires the practitioner to be superior physically to the attacker is not very useful. However, Wing Chun is not all deflecting energy. It also includes simple and powerful hard style techniques to maximize your strength and speed when we counter an opponent. We will show you how to maximize your power so that you can easily put down larger attackers when needed. As such it is a complete system for any defense situation.