Sifu Michael Mehle was born in 1971 in Germany and began his martial arts journey at the age of seven with Judo, and later trained in Western boxing, Muay Thai Boran and Hapkido.
Working as a doorkeeper at a discotheque and training as a bodyguard, Sifu Mehle gained practical experience in street fighting. In the early 1990s, he fell in love with Wing Chun and has been teaching Gary Lam Wing Chun since 2011.
SIFU ALTON MILLER IS A DESCENDANT OF THE YUEN KAY SAN/SUM NUNG WING CHUN LINEAGE. PERHAPS IT WAS INEVITABLE THAT HE WOULD STUDY MARTIAL ARTS. IN THE 1930s, HIS GRANDFATHER STUDIED AIKIDO IN JAPAN—A DECADE IN WHICH MORIHEI UESHIBA WAS STILL DEVELOPING THE ART.
Sifu Miller met Lee Chun Ming in 1974—a meeting that marked the start of a lifetime in Wing Chun. His 45+ years living the art includes several trips to China and Hong Kong, training with Sigung Kwok Wan Ping and Yuen Kay San’s only disciple, Sijo Sum Nung.
WE SAT DOWN TO TALK WITH THE CHAIRMAN OF THE FATSAAN WING CHUN ASSOCIATION, MASTER GWOK WAI JAAM, TO DISCUSS ITS BACKGROUND, MISSION AND FUTURE INITIATIVES.
Please tell us something about the background of the formation of the Fatsaan Wing Chun Association?
In the past, there was great unrest here in Fatsaan among the Wing Chun community. There was a lot of conflict between the different schools and lineages, and challenge fights were a rather common occurrence in those times. So, because of this situation, the various Sifus was very restrictive with their teachings, and wouldn’t share and discuss their knowledge and experience with peers—a practice which was detrimental to the development and retard the growth of Wing Chun.
THE FIRST TIME I MET GRANDMASTER CHU SHONG TIN, KNOWN AS THE “KING OF SIU NIM TAO”, WAS IN 2003. I HAD ALREADY BEEN AN INSTRUCTOR AT A WING CHUN SCHOOL IN SYDNEY OWNED BY SIFU JIM FUNG, A SENIOR STUDENT OF CHU SHONG TIN, FOR A FEW YEARS, AND HAD ONLY HEARD STORIES ABOUT CHU SHONG TIN’S ALLEGED “EFFORTLESS POWER”.
In those years, I was working as a bouncer at Sydney’s nightclubs including those in Kings Cross, which was the red light district of the city and well known for its roughness. Also, in my late teens, I was weight lifting consistently and believed that the stronger my muscles, the more power I could generate with my body. Therefore, even though I went along with the legendary stories and was proud to be part of the lineage, I was certainly a sceptic regarding the Internal Power of Kung Fu.
IN FOSHAN, THERE ARE MANY GREAT MASTERS OF WING CHUN. ONE OF THE MOST EMINENT MASTERS IS SIFU GWOK WAI JAAM, WHO IS THE SON AND SUCCESSOR OF GWOK FU—IP MAN’S MOST EMINENT STUDENT IN FOSHAN.
Sifu Gwok has been training in Wing Chun for over 55 years and for many years his whole life has been centred on Wing Chun. Since the early 1980s, he has been actively involved in promoting Wing Chun and held many important positions in the Foshan martial arts community.