Today we’d like to introduce you to Sifu Bryan Talbot.
Sifu Bryan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My preparation for becoming a Sifu began at a young age. Being small and weak, for my age, I was often the target of crime and bullying. I felt helpless and unable to control my environment. This created a strong desire to feel empowered and have the ability to defend myself, and so my martial journey began.
I spent many years training various combined styles of Kung Fu and Karate, the mixed martial arts of the time. It was during this experience that I found a lack of continuity between conglomerated forms of martial arts. This urged me to seek out a single, pure fighting system. In 1989, I began training Wing Chun Kung Fu exclusively. It wasn’t until 1990, after being accepted as a direct student of Master Ron Heimberger, that I realized that this was the art I had been seeking.
Sifu Ron Heimburger provided me with the physical, mental and spiritual training that would prepare me for my lifelong pursuit of Wing Chun mastery and for my successes as a teacher. He encouraged me to teach early on in my training, as he felt that to empower myself that I should learn to empower others. So, I began instructing the art of Wing Chun Kung Fu in my garage in Prescott Valley, Az. Traditional Wing Chun training equipment was expensive and difficult to get at the time, so we made Wooden Dummy’s out of old telephone poles and baseball bats. The practice of Wing Chun was obscure at best, never really reaching mainstream popularity, but I was passionate about the art and felt driven to improve myself and pass on what I had learned so I could help others.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
In 2008, my Wing Chun Master and mentor, Sifu Ron Heimberger passed away. Grief stricken and lost, I was at a crossroads, unsure if I would ever practice Kung Fu again. After a year, slowly with the support of friends and family, I moved forward and began to train again and ultimately found a new teacher, Grandmaster Samuel Kwok. Under Sifu Kwok’s guidance, my passion for learning and teaching grew once again. It was shortly after that, I started West Coast Wing Chun in the back room of a dance studio in Long Beach, CA. For the first few weeks, I had zero students and practiced solo. This was difficult to endure, but I knew in my heart, I had something valuable to share with people.
Today, West Coast Wing Chun has become one of the largest martial arts schools in the Long Beach area and one of the largest Wing Chun schools on the west coast, with additional locations in San Diego, Ca. and Layton, Utah. Being the full time Chief Instructor for all of the West Cost Wing Chun schools is much like being a student of Wing Chun. Every day, you show up, put the hard work in and do your best. And little by little, you improve. Your instructors improve. Your students improve. Your business grows. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Do what you love, work smart and do not give up on your dreams, and success will surely be yours.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with West Coast Wing Chun – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are a unique Martial Arts training facility specializing in Ip Man Wing Chun Kung Fu. Our school or “kwoon” is a second home for many of our students. At our school, the student always comes first which cultivates an ego free environment. This allows students to grow as individuals and excel at their art.
We provide a well thought out and organized path to educating our students. A linear western teaching approach to an ancient, once secret, eastern art allows superior comprehension and the building of strong fundamental skills, a quality absent in many traditional martial arts schools. In 2010, we trademarked this unique method of teaching Wing Chun Kung Fu and is known as Wing Chun Boot Camp™.
The cornerstone to our approach and training methods is effectiveness. Learned technique and acquired skills must work under duress in real world self-defense scenarios. Therefore, a synthesis of traditional and modern training methods, as well as equipment, must be used to allow full realization of our student’s potential.
Additionally, the unique design of our kwoon blending old school Hong Kong with 80’s arcade gaming has not gone unnoticed. In 2015, famed Hollywood stunt and fight choreographer turned director Art Camacho used our facility for his Sony pictures film “Assassin X” and as luck would have it, I got to appear in a brief scene with my Sifu Samuel Kwok!
We offer group classes, private training and seminars for adults and children ages 6 and above.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are focused on expansion of our organization and constantly improving and refining our curriculum and methods of training. As we grow as martial artists, we will pass on the knowledge to our students.
We are currently working on a complete video education series. Our aim is to offer supplemental training for existing students, and then use the online media format to reach the general public and people who do not have access to hands on Wing Chun training throughout the world.
Contact Info:
- Address: West Coast Wing Chun
2698 Junipero Ave, Suite 116
Signal Hill, CA. 90755 - Website: www.westcoastwingchun.com
- Phone: 562 426 1949
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @westcoastwingchun
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/westcoastwingchun
- Twitter: @ipmankungfu
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/west-coast-wing-chun-signal-hill-2
Image Credit:
Jason Salgado
