Wing Chun School

Here is an excerpt of a recent post on my Sifu Bill Graves' blog. I began training Wing Chun with him 17 years ago (in 1995) in Jacksonville, Florida. To this day, I feel extremely lucky to continue to have the chance to train and learn from him. -Sifu Adam Williss

The Wing Chun School......Family or Cult??

By Bill Graves

I was raised with family values. I believe in the family way of life. I've been married for 31 yrs to the same woman, my wife Michelle. When we started Wing Chun, we started it because it was something we could do together. Michelle became pregnant with our son, Josh, after about 7 months of training in Wing Chun and had to stop. I finished my initial Wing Chun training with my Sifu and was certified to teach. I had a vision of how I wanted my Wing Chun school to function, like a "family". I truly wanted to convey the essence of the true nature of the word Sifu, Father Teacher. I wanted a nurturing atmosphere were people truly wanted to be there involved and learning this great system of martial arts. I wanted real sibling interaction between the sihings and sidais... protective and caring, like a true family. I stamped out all egotistical mindsets, and allowed only the most sincere and constructive rapport between my students. I believed in an "open door" policy where everyone was influenced by the good nature of open and honest training. This belief has now transpired into one of the strongest and most pure lineages found in martial arts today.

Now, I have certified a very specific group of Sifu's under me. I am now the "Sigung" and interact with a very large yet tight knit family of practitioners spread across the United States and Europe. Like any family, we've had our trials and tribulations. And like families do, we've had to work them out, and in one single case, had to let them go. I'm proud and humbled to be involved in this line of the Leung Sheung lineage of Wing Chun. The specific line of which I speak...

Florida Wing Chun

My Sigung - Ken Werner (trained under Ben Der)

My Sifu - Karl Godwin (Seminole Wing Chun, Karl Godwin Wing Chun)

Me - Bill Graves (The System Wing Chun Gung Fu) (still train with Karl to this day)

Sifu's Certified under me:

Scott Mullen - Texas Wing Chun, Arlington, Texas

Kevin Reid - Combat Arts, relocated back to Jacksonville, FL.

Jonathan Petree - Atlantic Warriors, Jacksonville Beach, FL.

Jesse Moon - North Florida Wing Chun, Jacksonville, FL. (Also a recognized student of my Sifu Karl Godwin)

Armando Sainz - No longer affiliated with this lineage

Adam Williss - The Dragon Institute, Dana Point, CA.

Guido Stingel - Tong Lu Wu Shu, Bergdietikon, Switzerland

Roger Quendoz - Tong Lu Wu Shu, Bergdietikon, Switzerland

Pia Stingel - Tong Lu Wu Shu, Bergdietikon, Switzerland

This lineage offers the best Wing Chun offered today anywhere in the U.S. and Europe. We keep it real and we keep it true. We teach a no-nonsense system of self-defense oriented martial art. Predicated on the effort to preserve one's life, not a sport to take into a ring, but an art to protect yourself in the chance that you're attacked for real!