Martial Arts Keithco

I have trained in Martial Arts for most of my adult life (and pretended to for most of my juvenile life). Currently I am studying Wing Tsun under Sifu Simon Mayer of the Bay Mountain Wing Tsun school. The previous art I studied was Aikido under Sensei J.D. Sandoval at Marin Aikido. Previous to that I studied Hung Gar under Sifu Yew Ching Wong in Chinatown, San Francisco. I have also trained in Wing Chun from Derek Kolchak in Marin, and under Chris Cunningham out of Syracuse, NY who studied Hung Gar and Wing Chun in New York City. I also have rankings from the East West Karate association, and have trained under accomplished Tai Chi, Aikido, and Shoto-kan Karate instructors.

I have experience using Nunchaku, Bo Staff, Sai, the Chinese Broad Sword, Japanese Katana, Shuriken, Butterfly Knives, Daggers of almost any length, and Foil, Epee, & Saber Fencing. I may start taking Escrima, since my Wing Tsun instructor teaches it as well. And the style's Grandmaster, Rene Latosa, is local.

Click here to read a collection of my thoughts on Fencing Strategy. (still under construction)

Wing Chun / Wing Tsun

Although I was familiar with Wing Chun from reading all about Bruce Lee, I was first introduced to a real instructor of Wing Chun while attending college. My freshman and sophomore year, there was only Karate, but my junior year I met an extremely talented martial artist (and fighter), Chris Cunningham, who wanted to get good at teaching, so he decided to start a relatively informal class for serious students.

I first started taking Chris Cunningham's Wing Chun class because one day after my Karate class, I saw an impressive looking instructor starting to teach a different class in the other part of the gym at Syracuse University. I told him that I recognized the style and he offered me the option to stay, train, and get an idea of his class. I joined before his class was even halfway over.

Compared to the 'style over fighting substance' form of Karate the school was offering, it was clear which of the two would truly benefit me. He taught Wing Chun because he was permitted to by his instructor, but also was teaching some of the foundations of Hung Gar Kung Fu (another Southern Chinese style) because that was what he was currently learning out of New York City, under Sifu Yee. He hadn't trained long enough to be allowed to instruct Hung Gar, but pieces of it filtered into our training. From that introduction, when I returned home from school, I started taking Hung Gar from Sifu Y.C. Wong in San Francisco, but only got to do so for a few years.

Five years later, and for a little over two years, I studied Wing Chun under Derek Kolchak in San Rafael, CA. Starting in 2003, I have been learning the modified German version called Wing Tsun through Bay Mountain Wing Tsun, under Sifu Simon Mayer (and several high ranking students).

Following in the footsteps of Bruce Lee, I majored in Philosophy while learning Wing Chun. My original introduction to Wing Chun was from Bruce Lee magazines where he spoke of his own style, Jeet Kune Do as being an eclectic mixture of fighting arts with its foundation based on Wing Chun. My personal attraction to Wing Chun was that it is often considered to be both the most practical and the quickest style to actually gain fighting skills. I also like the fact that part of its practicality is that it doesn't require any flying or other elaborate motions. It is primarily a hitting art, with kicks below the waist, and strong defenses against grabs and grappling.

Derek Kolchak was once a member of the AEWTO, which used to be led by Emin Boztepe, seen below together from a magazine shoot. Derek was my teacher until 1996.

Now Emin is no longer a member of the AEWTO, and I am learning from Sifu Simon Mayer, at Bay Mountain Wing Tsun. Although taught all over the San Francisco Bay Area, I am learning at the San Rafael school, directly under Andy Johnson, my Si-Hing. The Germans have taken Wing Chun, and made it even more practical, both in technique and the structured method that it is taught. As of 2011 I have achieved Instructor level.

Bay Mountain Wing Tsun

Here are some very good Wing Tsun/Chun links:

• Bay Mountain Wing Tsun - My school's web site

Here is a picture of my old Wing Chun Instructor, Derek Kolchak (smaller guy), having moves demonstrated on him by Emin Boztepe, who is considered to be one of the best fighters in the World.

Hung Gar Kung Fu

Hung Gar Kung Fu is one of the most popular styles out of Hong Kong. It is also referred to as the Tiger-Crane style since these are the two animals the majority of its moves are based on. It was originally an art practiced by rebels against the ruling government and has many secret hand signals and terminologies hidden within it. The style consists of a low stance with small mobility, and focuses on short range fighting. The majority of straight punches involve body blows, and there are a number of longer moves that attack the extremities when offered. Hung Gar is a complete system that incorporates internal energy, chi gung, pressure points, joint locks, weapons and more.

I initially got started with Hung Gar because my original Wing Chun instructor was currently studying Hung Gar, and making it his primary art, while teaching me Wing Chun. He had gotten what he could from Wing Chun and was given permission to teach it, but not yet Hung Gar. So with the intention of becoming an instructor, he taught (for free) a Wing Chun class at Syracuse University, but there were a lot of Hung Gar concepts shown to us as well.

When I came back to the San Francisco area, I was lucky in finding one of the leading Hung Gar instructors, Yew Ching Wong, in San Francisco's Chinatown, and immediately took up training under him. There I studied for the summer, returned to Syracuse for one more Semester, and then returned here once again. Unfortunately due to a combination of a lack of money, a job that made it difficult to get to class on time, and general malaise, I stopped training after about a year.

I'll never forgive myself, not for stopping then because I really had to for the various reasons, but because I didn't start up again after I'd gotten my time and financial situation under control. If I hadn't found some other styles and teachers closer to home, I'm certain I would have returned!

Some Hung Gar Links:

• A Brief History of Hung Gar - A good history lesson on Hung Gar

• Cheung's Hung Gar Academy Web page - Okay page from the East Coast

Here is a picture of my Hung Gar Sifu, Master Yew C. Wong (far left) and four Wing Chun instructors.

Fencing

Another fighting sport I have trained for many years in is Fencing. Although much more of a 'sport' than a 'fighting art', it does teach many important fighting techniques, some of which are related to Wing Chun. The importance of minimal motion, starting with solid footwork, having a strong defensive line with every offensive attack, and others are examples of the major similarities. I was a foil fencer for most of my fencing career, but about four years ago, my current school started to really emphasize Epee, so I have been fencing more Epee than Foil since 2002.

For various reasons Saber has grown in popularity in the last several years, and thanks to a few key students, our Saber program has rapidly grown. It is perhaps with Saber that I am the most disappointed with how much fencing doesn't feel like a real fighting art, but it is still a wonderful challenge.

Click here to read a collection of my thoughts on Fencing Strategy. (Still under construction)

Some Excellent Miscellaneous Martial Arts Links:

• The Aikido FAQ - Very complete information source for Aikido