American branch

Sifu KWOK WAI YIN

Sifu KWOK Wai Yin (William Kwok) was born and raised in Hong Kong. He began martial arts training in 1979 when he just turned 7. His father was a Physical Education Professor from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a martial art fan. Under his father's influence, Sifu Kwok experienced Wing Chun Kung Fu when he was 14. At that time, he was not impressed with the style of Wing Chun Kung Fu he studied. He could not see the practicality in it. The young Sifu Kwok decided to quit Wing Chun Kung Fu after a few months of training. Sifu Kwok moved to New York City in 1991. After visiting various martial art schools, he chose traditional Taekwon-Do to be his primary martial arts training. In 1998, Sifu Kwok began assisting his Taekwon-Do master in teaching traditional Taekwon-Do and learned the ways to teach martial arts most effectively. In 2000, he wanted to further improve his close-range combat skills. The martial art named Wing Chun Kung Fu appeared in his mind again. Sifu Kwok visited numerous Wing Chun Kung Fu schools and trained briefly in a couple of them but he could not find the answers he was looking for - the practicality of the Wing Chun Kung Fu forms. However, Sifu Kwok still strongly believed that Wing Chun Kung Fu could have a lot more to offer. He just had not met the right teacher. With his father's connection and assistance in Hong Kong, Sifu Kwok finally met the Wing Chun Kung Fu master he longed for - Grandmaster WAN Kam Leung, the founder of Practical Wing Chun. Sifu Kwok found Grandmaster Wan's Wing Chun theories were so logical and the self defense techniques were very practical. Ever since, Sifu Kwok has studied Practical Wing Chun and Qi Gong diligently under Grandmaster Wan's private instruction.

Being one of Grandmaster Wan's disciples and a native-born Chinese, Sifu Kwok felt obligated to promote this unique combat system and Chinese culture to the rest of the world. With both of his teachers' support and encouragement, Sifu Kwok co-founded Gotham Martial Arts - a martial art school that offers Practical Wing Chun and Traditional Taekwon-Do programs in 2007. In late 2008, Sifu Kwok became the regional leader of Wan Kam Leung Practical Wing Chun Kung Fu in New York and the first official instructor in the United States.

If you are interested in studying Practical Wing Chun in the New York Metro area, please visit www.NewYorkWingChun.com or email Sifu Kwok at kungfu1@gmail.com