Pickled veggies with thorns that you eat, spicy sausages, warm and friendly people and Wing Chun kung fu… what more could one ask for?

My first trip to Cyprus to share our spin on this fantastic martial art was all of that and then some, as I landed in Larnaka Airport and was greeted by Sifu Yiannos Christoforou, of the Wing Chun Kung Fu Academy here. We had met earlier in the year when he came to meet me during my Venice seminars in February, where he extended an invitation to come and teach some of our methods to him and his students in Cyprus.

We spent two full days of training, exploring the Sil Lim Tao concepts, some footwork and Chi Sao drills. Learning how to move with proper structure, developing forward energy, and most importantly, learning how to train with each other were the topics of the day (or should I say, the weekend). Come Sunday, tired and spent, our Cypriot friends were buzzing with excitement and a renewed sense of purpose in their training.

The weather was perfect and warmer than expected for this time of year, but Sifu Christoforou and his students were the perfect hosts for my first (of hopefully many now) trip to Cyprus, where I can honestly say, Wing Chun is well and truly prospering!

Click here for all the fun!

The Academy’s Dragon Dance Troupe was an integral part of the 2012 Melbourne Great Amazing Race. The race has become an annual event raising needed funds for Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital. Our dragon troupe was asked to perform and to create a dragon dancing challenge for this year’s competitors.

Simo La-Wren and Trevor combined their imaginations and skills to design and create the dragons for the participants to use for the challenge. Kudos in particular, to Simo La-Wren, for yeoman work above and beyond the call of duty, to get the dragons finished in time for the race.

Over 700 participants entered this year’s competition and we had our hands full, coaching the teams and then encouraging them to fulfill the challenge. The weather was a bit unstable in the morning, with cool winds, clouds and some light showers. But the day cleared to a pleasant and mostly sunny day.

Thanks to all who helped out on the day – Steve and Matilda Colebrook, Russell and Emma Gill, Matias Sandonato, Susie Roczo-Farkas, Jeremy Yeo, Wesh Tobin, Trevor Cook, and of course, Simo La-Wren Wong. Special thanks for support from members of the Gill family and Logan and Alex too. And of course, thanks to Ellie, Natalie and Gemma, staff members of Uplift Events, for helping to keep the flow of competitors moving along.

To find out how the event turned out and how much was raised for the Royal Children’s Hospital, click here.

Click here to visit our photo gallery of the day’s activities.

It has come to our attention that there may be those who claim to have trained with, and/or have been given authority by me or the Qian Li Dao Academy, to teach Wing Chun the way it is taught by me/us. In response to such queries and concerns, we state in this post the current people, clubs/schools that are officially connected with Sifu Dana Wong and the Qian Li Dao Academy.

Sihing Geoff Wheeler – Qian Li Dao Academy – Caulfield, Victoria, AUSTRALIA

Sifu Kelly Knight – Martial Arts & Fitness Center – Malvern, Pennsylvania, USA

Sihing Stu Dunn – Qian Li Dao Academy – Kapiti Coast, Wellington, NEW ZEALAND

Sifu Mirco Zago – Wing Chun Songshan – Musile di Piave (Venice), ITALY

No other persons/schools are currently authorised to claim any affiliations with me or the Qian Li Dao Academy. Should anyone have knowledge of such claims and wish to clarify their authenticity, please contact me here at the Academy.