WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF SAMA WING CHUN
WING CHUN KUNG FU SCHOOL OPEN SINCE 1993 IN SOUTHAMPTON
About Us
chief instructor's story
I first became interested in Kung Fu after watching the 1970s TV show “Kung Fu” with David Carradine, and the 1973 Bruce Lee film “Enter the Dragon”. I was blown away by Bruce Lee as I had never seen anything like that before. It also coincided with an incident when I was set upon on my way home from work one day. It was a very frightening experience, and I had no idea how to defend myself.
I decided to learn a Martial Art and over the course of the next few years I tried Judo, Kwai Tai Chi Do, Wado-Ryu Karate, Shotokai Karate, Phor Kune Kung Fu, and Taekwondo. I enjoyed them all but there was something missing. I discovered that the katas and the forms were not realistic when it came to sparring. I realised this when one day I had a sparring session with a Chinese friend of mine who had learned Wing Chun in Hong Kong and he beat me. That experience made me realise that it was Wing Chun that I wanted to learn.
There were no Wing Chun clubs in Southampton at that time, so I went to London as I had heard about a man called Victor Kan who was teaching Wing Chun. I stayed with him for a while but then my friend Nathan Johnson saw a leaflet advertising classes for the Third Form of Wing Chun which was not well known at the time. The teacher was Robin Gardiner. I started lessons with him and have never looked back. He showed me how to understand the forms and put them into practice. All the moves for the Wing Chun Forms were relatable to actual situations, using entry techniques and against grabs and pushes.
After gaining my Black Belt I began teaching in various halls, clubs and sports centres until in 1993 I got the opportunity to open my own Gym here in Emsworth Road.
It has been a very exciting and eye opening journey, and along the way I have had the pleasure of teaching many students of all ages including the Marines based in Hamworthy, and some familiar names such as the Hampshire cricketer Adrian Aymes, former Saints player Reuben Agboola, Phil Norman who competed in the TV show Gladiators and actor Hon Ping Tang who was in the film the Fifth Element and is currently in the Netflix series Shadow and Bone. Strictly Come Dancing star Kai Widdrington also came to classes for a while when he was younger.
I look forward to sharing my knowledge with you and hope you enjoy learning Wing Chun as much as I have, and remember the hardest part is getting there!
Stephen Cox
6th Dan Wing Chun Chief Instructor