My story starts like a lot of people's. I saw my first martial arts TV. show Kung-Fu and was hooked. There was that way the martial arts moved and the way he fought that made me say, "I want to do that." That transitioned into an interest in Ninja's and with enough pestering of my parents, I signed up for my first Karate lesson at the Dipasquale school at my local community center. I liked it and it was fun enough. It did make me understand the true amount of work that one has to put in if they really want to succeed at martial arts. But there was something lacking for me. Learning to jump over blocks and learning a bunch of forms was fine and all, but I wanted to learn to fight. I just wasn't feeling what I was being taught would make me a better fighter. Looking back it was because it was sport Karate, and not the real art of fighting. I guess I wanted to learn to use a gun, but felt like I was only being taught how to use a squirt gun.

In high school I played football and wrestled a bit, but I knew I still wanted more. I knew there was an art out there if I looked hard enough. Well, like a lot of good things, they happen when you least expect it. I was standing in line for a movie and I saw an old friend from high school. We were catching up on things and he told me he was taking this martial art called Wing Chun. I never really heard about it. He told me it was the art that Bruce Lee took. I knew I had to go check this out. I went over to the school and new this was the art I had been looking for. The teacher, while a bit crude, was effective. I knew he had something to offer me. I signed up and loved every bit of it. I practiced all the time. I got a friend involved in it too. After some time there I was really feeling like I was learning how to fight. I knew this was the art for me. A martial art that made sense? Was it possible? Yes. My first sifu was a good teacher. I do credit him with helping build my aggressiveness and confidence to apply Wing Chun. He always encouraged me to seek out other martial arts. To be opened minded to other possibilities. He always said that he was no master. I always respected those virtues in him. It was at this school I would meet my future training partner Ed Cruz. I knew had skill right away. But, what really clicked was I knew he had the passion too. He wanted to take Wing Chun as far as it could go. We practiced together a good amount of time. But a funny thing started to happen. We wanted to get deeper into the art of Wing Chun. Going to different seminars of the elite of wing chun, I saw them all. None of them made me a believer that they were the one to take me to the next level of Wing Chun.


Ed had gone to a seminar with Sifu Fong. The next time he came back, he said I should go with him. I did and at that time a lot of things were over my head, but there was something there. Ed suggested we go down to Tucson for one of Sifu's week long seminars. By this time we had meet our other training partner Ed Basile. The three of use and another friend went down to check it out. WOW! Talk about blown away. At long last, I could honestly say I was being taught by a true master of martial arts.



5 identical questions were given to each of the 3 instructors in Windy City Wing Chun, see how each one responded to them.



Why Wing Chun over other martial arts?


Wing Chun is a complete art that makes sense.  Let me break that sentence down into two parts.  First, the “complete art” part of the sentence.  Wing Chun is a martial art that teaches you how to defend yourself from a standing position, to a ground fighting position and everything in-between.  The more I understand of Wing Chun, the less I see a need to look elsewhere.  Wing Chun teaches you how to fight on two feet.  Wing Chun teaches you how to defend against punches, kicks, take downs, joint locks and ground fighting.  I’ve talked to a lot of people who say you should take a little boxing for punching and ju-jitsu for ground fighting.  Well, what does that day for that individual art?  It’s lacking something, is what it’s saying.  In Wing Chun you don’t need to cross train, because it contains the answers of how to deal with the force no matter the size, speed or strength of the enemy.  To me, martial arts are like learning a foreign language.  If you want to learn to speak Italian, learn Italian before you try to speak Chinese.  If you try learning the two at once, you’ll end up jumbling them together into gibberish that no one will understand?  How effective is that if you want to speak to someone?  Now for the second part of that original sentence.  Wing Chun “makes sense.”  What does that mean?  Everything in martial arts should make sense.  Your teacher should be able to logically explain why they are teaching you something.  If they can’t explain it to you they are either holding back (which means they have a big ego) or they just don’t know the answer.  There’s nothing wrong with admitting you don’t know something, but teachers are usually afraid to loose face in front of their students.  Again, another sign of a big ego. 



Any suggestion towards students thinking about joining?


For students that are thinking about joining, I would say come to a class to observe.  I can explain Wing Chun all you want over the phone, or on an e-mail.  But that’s like explaining how to catch or throw a ball over the same media.  It’s just something you have to see to really get the feel of it.  The other great thing about coming to observe a class is that you can watch the instructors teaching method.  Is this someone I could learn from?  Does this person know what they are talking about?  Can this person actually do what they are saying?  These are all important questions to ask yourself.  Come in with an open mind.  Wing Chun is unlike other martial arts.  What you have seen in movies and on TV is not like the real world of martial arts.


What’s your approach to teaching students?


Me personal philosophy of teaching is to teach through motivation and not intimidation.  When you’re a young kid you need that drill sergeant of a parent or person to train you on what’s right and wrong.  But as you mature you naturally tend to get away from that.  When I took classes on things I was interested in after my college years, I never paid any respect to some drill sergeant who was yelling in my ear.  I’m not a kid.  I’m paying you for your services to teach me a skill.  I don’t respond to that and I don’t teach that way.  If you want to come learn Wing Chun from Windy City Wing Chun, we’ll give you all we have.  I’ve really come to enjoy teaching.  I know that what I teach will make you more confident when the time comes to use that self-defense skill.


Can anyone learn from you?


This is where Wing Chun is truly special.  I genuinely believe that anyone, no matter their height, weight or gender can learn the skill of Wing Chun.  Wing Chun is the art of skill.  What does that mean?  It means that no matter how big you are, how fast you are, or how strong you are, learning the skill of Wing Chun can let you compensate for these physical differences.  In some martial arts, you’ll only succeed if you’ll able to jump certain heights or distances.  In some martial arts you’ll only succeed if you can break twenty boards.  But Wing Chun is a true skill.  What does that mean?  Skill is something that you learn and continue to learn and refine with the only boundary being you.  If you can learn to catch a ball from a child you can catch a ball from a pro football player.  You just have to learn the skill of catching.  If you want to play the piano, you have to practice.  If you want to learn a language, you have to study that language.  If you want to get good at Wing Chun, you have to practicing.


Why choose Windy City Wing Chun?


At Windy City Wing Chun we want our students to learn all aspects of Wing Chun.  Our students learn how to defend themselves from attackers who are different sizes and may employee different fighting styles.  The atmosphere of the class is a secure and positive experience where a student can learn how to develop and apply Wing Chun.  We don’t hold back on our students.  I’ve had people come to observe a class, and they’ve asked me to perform the sword form.  I did, and when I was done, the student was amazed that I did that.  He had gone to another Wing Chun school and the teacher told him that he wouldn’t do because he had to wait ten years to learn and he wouldn’t show it to some outsider.  What an egotistical answer.  A student can learn all six forms with in a year.  If you practice, you will be amazed in what you get out of Wing Chun.