Testimonials

From Ceri Littlechild

I would recommend Cambridge Kung Fu to everyone I know and find it especially empowering as a girl. It's a great way to keep active and will inspire you to take greater care of your body if you don't already. I've been so inspired by the people I've met and have really come to love this form of martial art. I've never been particularly sporty, which is ok since the focus of the classes is not so much on physical fitness but on practising coordination and the underlying philosophies of the system. Physical fitness will complement your Kung Fu, and is needed at the higher levels, but is not a prerequisite.

If you are completely new to martial arts, I think it's a great self defence system to learn since it encourages efficiency of movement (so you don't need to be super-bendy-flexible) and at Cambridge Kung Fu they have devised a syllabus that breaks everything down into manageable chunks. Everything is demonstrated, explained and your classmates are always willing to help. It's a friendly atmosphere in which to learn a very fulfilling new skill. Once you've been at the club a while, it feels like a family. I am so glad I gave Wing Chun a try - it's become a massive part of my life and I've met some truly great people through it.

(June 2010)

From Matt Dunn

Firstly, I'm really enjoying the classes and the structure of each weekly lesson. They are challenging but at the right level of intensity and I never feel like I'm patronised because I'm still relatively new to the concepts of Wing Chun. The information is always delivered in a digestible manner and I never feel like there is any 'information overload'. All the instructors are incredibly patient and you can tell you guys enjoy teaching us!

The initial attraction to the class was mainly an interest in martial arts as a whole having dabbled in Karate and Judo at various points of my life. As well as it being a far more interesting way to excercise than going to the gym, of course self defence and the way it can help enforce a different way of thinking.

(May 2010)

From Dave Cogan

I have to say that the amazing array of instructors within such close reach of students at CKF is absolutely fantastic. I can't believe how lucky I am sometimes - I've never had this much quality access to so much martial arts experience before.

(July 2009)

From Lee Moden

Just to say that I’m really enjoying it – I like the pace/variation between form/application/partner-changing and the class length is just right.

There’s a great atmosphere at the club and I’m happy to continue exploring Wing Chun to give me another perspective!

(April 2009)

Testimonial by Nicole, Student grade 1.

I was interested in martial arts since ever but never had the chance to really start with it. I got to try Tai chi, Kick boxing and Aikido but each for a very, very short time, so I couldn´t say more than that I do like martial arts. Inspired by my sister´s boyfriend, I decided last September to look for a Kung Fu school here in Cambridge.

I have decided to join Cambridge Kung Fu mainly because Ross and Col are really good teachers and their style of teaching made me feel comfortable and motivated from the very beginning on.

Since I started training Wing Chun I realized that this style really fits me most. It is a highly effective method of self-defense that overcomes the need for a lot of force by precision and speed.  I also started training Escrima at the same time and I enjoy it as much as training Wing Chun.  I am now training three times a week and I hope my PhD studies will once allow me to additionally join the Tai chi lessons which I also tried at the Cambridge Kung Fu club and find it a perfect supplement.

Although I started training with Cambridge Kung Fu only a short time ago, Kung Fu has already become a part of me. I personally gained a lot out of it and like it with every training more. Not only that it allows me to relax and have fun but also that it I learn something new every time and am highly motivated to practice to become better.

(November 2008)

From Jonathon, Reflections on a grading (Grade 8)

It was 2007, and I had travelled to North Africa only to find it was snowing sideways and upwards. My hair was covered in ice and my snot was beginning to freeze. I could barely see my guide ten feet ahead through the blizzard and the altitude made every single breathless step a disorientating battle: A lonely battle with myself (what am I doing on this icy ledge? I have a wife, plans, things left unsaid. Why don’t I just turn back, head for the warm refuge a thousand feet below, and a cooked meal?), and a battle against the mountain; its peak, my intended destination, obscured by the excitable and ubiquitous storm. The wind howling gleefully around my ears trying to whip me off my feet and send me down into the valley as an unwelcome surprise for the rest of the party; who had turned back hours ago when I had chosen to carry on.

Fourteen months later, and five hours into my 8th grading at Cambridge Kung-fu, I was again in the airless disorientation between turning back and going on. Maybe it’s a tired old metaphor, perhaps it’s the only one that will ever suit, but I was back on that mountainside and it was tough.

A grading is not a revision lesson; it’s not just about what you know and how well you replicate your Wing Chun on specific days. It is a test. A test of understanding, a test of patience, and a test of adaptability and grace beyond the level at which you currently sit. Gradings are a mental and physical challenge, and at Grade 8 – to really earn that new shirt – you have got to work hard.

I spent a long time doing the Si Nim Tao for my grading. To begin with there is the meditative complacency of repetition which comes from doing the familiar. I have been doing this form regularly for years… But then Ross comes along and invites me to approach particular movements in a more nuanced way, perhaps concentrating on my shoulder rather than my elbow. This is where the grading begins. What I thought I knew – I didn’t really know after all. Like a prisoner in Plato’s cave, I have been looking at the shadow of a model and thinking that it’s all there is to reality. Not only do I now have to admit to myself that I don’t really know the Si Nim Tao, but I also have to do what Ross has asked, at this very moment – and at Grade 8 level…
This continued, from the beginning of the Si Nim Tao to the end of the Chum Kiu, for six hours over two days.

All gradings happen mentally as well as physically. It is not always easy to find the humility to accept it when you are wrong, and truly learn from your mistakes. It is even more difficult when you are five hours into a grading, your arms and legs feel like lead, you don’t know if you are heading for a pass or fail and Ross is picking up on every single little thing. But of course he is. It’s a test.

If someone had offered me a helicopter ride to the top of that mountain I would not have taken it. Not just because there was a blizzard, but because that day was about doing it myself, and my joy at reaching the summit was commensurate with the effort of getting there. Cambridge Kung-Fu does not offer short cuts, and there is no free ride to any grade; the integrity of the club depends on it. I know this, and so I know that I earned it.

In my experience, nothing beats that.
Jonathan (Nov 08)

From Mark

As a thirty-something father of three, with a busy job and home life, the thought of returning to the world of martial arts after an eight year break was far from my mind. After seeing my daughter enjoy the Cambridge Kung Fu Tiny Tigers class so much, I was spurred into action, and came along to the Wednesday beginners class which I loved. Six months on and I still enjoy the classes a huge amount. In many years of martial arts training, I have never been to a friendlier class, and one with less collective and individual ego. This attitude starts at the top and percolates down. The teaching is excellent, the style really is suitable for all, and the atmosphere is great. I recommend it to all.

(Nov 08)

From Jordon

I have been training at Cambridge Kung Fu for over five years now. I have always been interested in martial arts but started a little too young with Karate and gave it up after only 2 years or so. Since I started with Cambridge Kung Fu I have loved every minute of it and there isn’t one lesson where I don’t learn something new. Now that I train at the higher level I feel each lesson just gets better and better. You are able to train with the pressure that you feel comfortable with. For example if you don’t like being hit then that’s fine, but if you want a little more pressure then that’s also fine. You are never forced into uncomfortable situations that make you fearful of the class.

Ross and Lol are both fantastic instructors and always able to answer any questions I have and demonstrate them to us also. The classes are like a big group of friends learning a fine art. There isn’t anyone in any class that tries to be ‘Macho’ and the classes offer a lot to all ages for guys and girls.

I truly hope this club continues to grow strong, and the group of friends that are there are able to increase as this is a fantastic activity to do that gives you internal strength and confidence. I now feel a lot more confident than a few years ago when I started, as I feel I am able to look after myself, my friends and my family in most situations.

Thanks to Ross and Lol for the last few years of great learning and fun!!

Come and see the classes for yourself – you won’t regret it that’s for sure!

(April 2008)

From Jon

It's been 4 years since I started training in kung fu and it's been a journey that I would gladly take in a heart beat all over again. Every bruise, bead of sweat and drop of blood has been something to remember. I may have started out with fear but it has changed my out look on life. All the skills that I have learned have influenced my life. I have control focus and form (well almost).

I have learned many things about the way that I can move and fight but most striking of all is the way that I have been taught. It's unique and inspiring. Every lesson something new is taught to people of every level. From the students training for their technician, to a student on their first day, you are channeled from day one to excel in your own way and at your own speed. I can say no more than I have found the experience of training with Ross, Col and the other teachers amazing and I can safely say that I am completely hooked. It has become a part of me and opened a way of exercise both physically and mentally that I can never look back on without amazement on how far I have come. It's seriously amazing!

(Jan 2008)

From Alex, 5th Student Grade Wing Chun, 3rd Student Grade Escrima Concepts

About a year and a half ago, looking for something new to do, I decided to get in contact with Cambridge Kung Fu. Within a week, I had attended an introductory class, and have never looked back. Cambridge Kung Fu is unique for a number of reasons, though personally I have found the relationship between instructor and student the most striking. With only very few exceptions, they are human. Highly adept at establishing your individual needs and learning styles, I have felt a sense of personal commitment to my progression as a marital artist from day one. This relationship has been one of the major factors in my continuing Wing Chun and Escrima with Cambridge Kung Fu. Secondly, the ease with which I've joined has been hugely encouraging. I've visited clubs where new members were greeted with a wall of testosterone and a punch in the face; this simply isn't the case with the Cambridge Kung Fu. From day one I met people who were either at my level, or willing to work at my level, actively helping me improve. Finally, the dedication of the club to a martial art that is, in many ways, itself unique, is remarkable.

Wing Chun is a highly effective means of self-defence, with techniques applicable from the beginning. I have personally gained a lot from practising Wing Chun. It has given me confidence, made me friends and even enhanced the rather meagre frame I possessed a year and a half ago.

Whether you want to simply get fit and have fun, or develop into a fully-fledged ninja, I couldn't recommend it enough.

(Dec 2007)

From Martin, 12th student grade Wing Chun, 2nd student grade Escrima concepts

Well I started my Wing Chun training back in October of 2003, I had been looking to do some kind of Kung Fu for a while, when I found a website for what is now Cambridge Kung Fu.

When I turned up for my first lesson I can still remember how nervous I was as I hadn't done any martial arts since I was at secondary school at the age of 13.

I was 25 at the time and I remember how at ease all the instructors and students made me feel, the teaching was and is still done in a very informal, fun way. This made me feel more relaxed and I feel helped me pick up the applications and techniques of Wing Chun much quicker. I felt as if everyone just wanted to help me get better.

Wing chun itself is a style of Kung Fu going back to as I believe it the Southern Shaolin temple in China.

It has 6 different sets of forms and many different and varied training exercises.

• Siu-Nim-Tao or little idea- this is the first form you learn it helps you co-ordinate your upper body and learn how to move it independently from your lower body.
• Chum-Kiu or seeking the bridge arms- this is the second, which teaches you to generate core strength and co-ordinate all your limbs simultaneously.
• Biu-Tze or thrusting fingers- this is the third and teaches you how to generate power from your body.
• Wooden Dummy
• Long Pole
• Butterfly Knives

Whenever I look back I have never regretted the day that I decided I would start training in Wing Chun with Cambridge Kung Fu, I now do 9 hours of Wing Chun every week, and 1 and half hours of Escrima, so as you can tell I really do love doing it and have got totally addicted. I am also now an assistant instructor.

Whether you are wanting to train your mind, body and spirit and become a grand master or you just want to get yourself fit then you should certainly come along and try a trial lesson with Cambridge Kung Fu

(Dec 2007)

From Andrea:

After only a month of attending the Cambridge Kung Fu classes on both Monday and Wednesday evenings, I am completely hooked.  It is a million times better than going to the gym, not only because of the fitness building, but also because of the mental angle and focus that Wing Chun develops.  You get pushed and are encouraged to work hard, but it is all done carefully and within your own level.  The group is friendly, the tuition excellent, and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone.

(Dec 2007)

From Jonathan:

Whether you seek a glimpse of Tao, a toned physique, a structured system or a system within which to flourish, the chances are you will discover at least one of these things at Cambridge Kung-Fu. It depends on what you bring with you and what you want to take away. I came to this club with no martial arts experience, a modicum of Yoga, and a head-full of half-thought philosophical thoughts. Or is that half a head of complete thoughts? Either way, I was in want of a bit of discipline, a learning curve that was not insurmountably steep and to be rewarded with moments of insight.

Just as learning to read can open the mind, learning the physical language of Wing Chun is like understanding the practical application of words. From the measured softness of a poet to the strident demands of a dictator, stringing together the movements and shapes of Wing Chun is like creating a world with no idle chat, but with enough vocabulary to make your point – if needed.

Those moments of insight that I sought happen regularly. After each lesson I take away something new, a new way of moving, a new understanding of when moving that way is beneficial, a new confidence, and very occasionally a new bruise. In beginning this Wing Chun journey I am discovering the energy, grace, and room for reflection in movement that I never anticipated, and I don’t even notice if my head is half-full or half empty, it just is.
And that is good.

(Dec 2007)

From Tom, 12th Student Grade

Since I started Wing Chun my life has changed.  I am more relaxed, happier, and move at ease with myself.  I have gained confidence and even some wisdom, here and there.  I have also learned that with hard work I can do almost anything.  My initial interest in self defence has become, for me, secondary to the other benefits of this martial art.  Despite it being highly practical, efficient and ruthless as a fighting skill.  I can only wonder what my life would be like without Wing Chun.  Fortunately that question is pointless to consider.

(Dec 2007)