I started my martial arts journey when I was just five years old, training in Tang Soo Do. Back then, there were no special kids’ classes—you trained alongside the adults, and classes were strict. Martial arts wasn’t something you did just to kill time; it was serious, and it shaped who I am today. By the time I was eleven, I’d earned my black belt (1st Dan) and was the youngest black belt in Tang Soo Do in Australia at the time.

In 2012, I walked into my first Wing Chun Kung Fu class at the International Wing Chun Academy’s Morphett Vale branch. Straight away, I was hooked. Wing Chun’s simplicity, directness, and effectiveness just made sense to me, and I signed up on the spot.

I trained for years at both the Morphett Vale and Adelaide IWCA schools. In 2013, when the SA branches closed down, my teacher Sifu Geoff Stephenson didn’t want the Morphett Vale school to disappear. That’s when Southern Wing Chun was born.

Fast forward to 2018, and Southern Wing Chun was handed over to me and my best mate, Sifu Kenny Weston. We ran the school together, teaching and building the community for the next few years.

After four years of teaching, a new vision began to take shape. Seeing the rise of “McDojo”-style schools—where martial arts for children often became little more than glorified daycare—I made the difficult decision to step down from Southern Wing Chun. From this, the Australian Wing Chun Academy was born, a school dedicated to teaching authentic, traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu.

I still keep up my own training as much as I can, especially with Dai Sihing Albert Chong and our Wing Chun family in Adelaide.

Over the years, I have also had the privilege of visiting Hong Kong, training at several iconic schools, including Sigung Chu Shong Tin’s school, the champions at Mindful Wing Chun, Sisuk Ma’s school, and the Rooftop legends. I look forward to returning and deepening my connection with our Wing Chun heritage.