My name is John Ho and this is the first time I am writing about Wing Chun. I have read a number of emails regarding who is the best Wing Chun instructor in this country. Understanding every practitioner has a bias opinion of his/hers instructor, I am no exception. By far, I believe Kenneth Chung is the best instructor in America.

I met Ken back in 1968 when he was attending Chabot College at Hayward, CA. At age 18, I was nothing but a young punk and considered myself a pretty good fighter. In Hong Kong, I studied a number of Kung Fu systems including White Crane, Hung Kai , Praying Mantis and Eagle Claw . In mid 1960’s, I did a lot of sparring (challenge matches between schools/systems on the roof tops) and never lost a match. I also sparred with a couple of Lok Yiu students and walked away with a smile. In all fairness, these two guys were not very experienced in fighting other styles and they let me get off early with some powerful White Crane punches (Pao, Kup, Chiung). In Wing Chun, if you hesitate by only trying to block the punches/kicks or backing away, you loose.

My sister introduced me to Ken and I invited him to my parent’s home for dinner. Ken has just broken his ankle from a ski trip and was wearing a cast. At first glance, Ken looked like a true athlete with a build resemble of a swimmer. After half an hour of chatting, I told him that I would like to have a friendly match with him upon his recovery from the injury. Ken replied was "let’s do it now but I just won’t use my horse". I was laughing inside and didn’t feel right picking on a handicap. But Ken insisted so I was happy to accommodate.

I started the match by throwing a Chiung (Chiung is a straight punch by turning the shoulders horizontally with power generated from the waist). It is a punch to induce your opponent to engage which evolve into multiple combinations. In my past experiences, my opponent would either try to block it or back away to neutralize my force. When he did that, it would give me the momentum to throw the second punch and build from there. To my surprise, Ken walked right into me and intercepted the origin of my force and next thing I knew, I was backed against the wall. Ken released his pressure and allowed me to try several times with other techniques. Each time, I found Ken’s fist in front of my face (with full control) and I was helpless. Two thoughts that came into my mind was "thank God he has control and, he is kicking my ass with a broken ankle".

I could surely relate to how Leung Sheung felt when he tried to use Choy Lay Fat/Dragon style with Yip Man in their first sparring match. Although I have worked out with several top martial artists before (including late Bruce Lee), Ken impressed me the most relative to his sensitivity to the opponent’s energy.

After this meeting, I was convinced that I have found the ultimate instructor and my respect in Wing Chun escalated tremendously. Well, I have been with Ken ever since.

Ken was teaching two classes (one at San Francisco and one at Union City with about 130 students in total) and we have some pretty tough guys in both locations. The SF class was made up with many Chinese belonging to several gangs. However, they held a high respect for Ken and never carried any weapons to class. All gang members treated each other in class with respect but once they left the class, it was a different story. The Union City was made up of mostly Caucasians and Hispanics and some of them were pretty big guys with background in Karate, Boxing and Wresting.

Ken was emphasizing more on the "take no hostage" type of Wing Chun. We had a very aggressive style with main focus on speed and power. Ken loved working with the big guys as he could shuffle them around like a bowling pin. As I recall, everyone in class always had cut lips because we seldom held back on punches. One question most often asked was "Ken, why don’t you open a real school to make Wing Chun famous?"

Ken always responded by saying "I am not doing this for Money nor Fame but rather, to pass on the true art of Wing Chun". I don’t think Ken’s philosophy has changed since that time.

Ken left US in mid 1970’s and returned back to Hong Kong. He continued to study under Master Leung Sheung and did not start teaching in US again until 1982. I noticed a considerable difference in his style when I rejoined in 1983. Even though the forms were the same as before, Ken was a lot more softer. He emphasized more on intention and position, rather than speed and power. However, his power was a lot more subtle and deep. Instead of focusing on striking, our goal now is to control the opponent and listen to his energy. Only with this approach, one can truly find the right path to Wing Chun. Anybody can claim he/she knows Wing Chun by learning the forms or doing Chi-Sau. The true artist is one who can intercept the opponent energy and capitalize on it. I have returned to Hong Kong several times and worked out at a number of Wing Chun schools. To date, I have yet found anyone that could match Ken’s ability to absorb/divert the opponent energy.

Leave your ego at home. Ken is extremely honest and it is not his style to criticize you to make himself look good. If you can keep an open mind, you will benefit tremendously from him. I am not writing this to solicit students for Ken because he does not need any advertisements. But if you truly want to know what Wing Chun is, you owe yourself an opportunity to meet him.

Please do not write to me to challenge this article. I am just stating my personal opinion in hope that someone would keep an "open mind" to seek out the true master. Please don’t get so wrap up with rank and seniority. After all, Sifu Ben Der started Wing Chun with Yip Man and he is Ken’s student. Keep in mind, it is not how much you know or whom you study under, it is what you can do with it that matters.

Best Regards,

John Ho