Good morning.

 

Yesterday was a very special day for Wing Tsun. It concerned the opening of our new school in Dulwich. This in is itself was touching for myself, as it showed the development my instructors had gone through to be able to be in this position. Everyone one of the teachers had worked hard over the last few years to make this day possible. But, what made it so exceptional were the circumstances that surrounded it; Si-Mei Della became the first ever full-time female instructor of Chinese Wing Tsun in the UK. This is no small achievement, and is impressive not only because she is female, but because she had the courage to make the first step. There is no such thing as having an easy choice or situation to become a Wing Tsun teacher - not only does it require the requisite knowledge, skills and teaching ability but the confidence, self-belief and resolve to succeed. People often wish that they had done something more with their lives (one of the most common phrases you here as a master is ‘if only I hadn’t stopped’ or ‘if only I had taken that chance’) but few people actually have the determination to actually take opportunities when it comes along.

 

Crucially it also shows that Wing Tsun has gone back to its roots; one of the founding masters was female – but since then there have been very few female masters. I have had the pleasure of teaching Si-Mei since she was a beginner and im sure she won’t mind me saying that she was one of the most unlikely candidates of all my students to open a school. If you were to choose a hypothetical person that you think would never be an Kung Fu teacher it would someone that was 5ft tall, female and had never done martial arts before. But this only illustrates not only the determination of Si-Mei, but also shows how effective the Chinese Wing Tsun system is if you follow the governing principles, concepts and rules.

 

I am looking forward to working with Si-Mei and her students in the future and I have absolutely no doubt that she will have one of the most successful schools around. Im happy to say that she remains an important part of the Bromley school and will still be attending regularly.

 

Well done Si-Mei. Not only is your Sifu proud to have you as a student, but the people believe in you.

 

Sifu