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What is Wing Chun by Sifu Chow?
Wing Chun by Sifu Chow is a New York City Wing Chun school founded in 1972 and led by Sifu Chow, whose page describes more than 50 years of training and teaching in the Ip Man–Leung Sheung–Ng Wah Sum lineage. It is a compact, lineage-focused program rather than a large chain: the site presents one instructor, a Tribeca location at Modern Martial Arts, 78 Reade Street, and a single weekly class slot.
What the school offers
- Traditional Wing Chun instruction, open to beginners and advanced students.
- A free trial class, arranged by email.
- Private or small-group-style training is implied by the single Sunday session, though the site does not detail class size.
- A one-time starter kit with a T-shirt, sash, a DVD of two basic forms, a Wing Chun handbook with glossaries and theories, and additional reading material.
Practical details from the page
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Modern Martial Arts, 78 Reade St., Tribeca, NYC |
| Class time | Sunday, listed as 12 noon–2:00 pm in one place and 11:30 pm–2:00 pm in another |
| Fee | $90 monthly in one section, $99 monthly for the NYC location in another |
| Starter kit | $100 one-time |
| Payment | Cash on first payment; personal check accepted after the second month |
| Contract | None |
| Trial | Free, by email reservation |
Who it suits
This is likely a good fit for an adult in Manhattan who wants authentic, lineage-based Wing Chun and can commit to a Sunday session. The no-contract, cash-first payment structure lowers the risk of trying it. The trade-off is limited weekly class time and a schedule that depends on one instructor, so anyone wanting multiple sessions per week or a large training community should ask about that before joining.
The page contains conflicting fee and time figures, so confirm the current monthly rate, exact Sunday hours, and trial availability by emailing [email protected] before your first visit. For broader context on the style's Hong Kong lineage, Hong Kong Ving Tsun Athletic Association is the official body referenced in Sifu Chow's credentials.
What can I expect in a free trial Wing Chun class in NYC?
A free trial at this school is a low-commitment way to see whether traditional Wing Chun and the instructor's teaching style suit you. According to the school's own page, the trial is open to both beginners and advanced students, and you reserve a spot by emailing Sifu Chow rather than signing up through a form or paying online.
What the school says the trial involves
- The trial is free and requires no contract.
- You book it by email; the site lists [email protected] as the contact for reservations and questions.
- Classes are held at Modern Martial Arts, 78 Reade St., Tribeca, New York City.
- The listed class time is Sunday, with the page showing both 12 noon–2:00 pm and 11:30 pm–2:00 pm in different places, so confirm the exact start time when you email.
- The school describes itself as established in 1972, with Sifu Chow trained in the Ip Man–Leung Sheung–Ng Wah Sum lineage and later under Kenneth Chung and Ip Chun.
What a typical first session likely looks like
The page does not publish a minute-by-minute trial format, so treat the following as general advice for a Wing Chun beginner class rather than a confirmed schedule:
- Expect a warm-up, stance and footwork practice, and basic hand techniques such as the first form.
- Expect close-range drilling, often with a partner, because Wing Chun is built around contact and sensitivity.
- Expect corrections on structure and relaxation rather than hard sparring on day one.
- Wear loose athletic clothing and flat-soled shoes; bring water.
Practical decision criteria
Ask yourself after the trial: did the instructor explain the "why" behind each movement, was the room safe and welcoming for a newcomer, and does the Sunday-only schedule fit your week? If you want more frequent training or a larger beginner cohort, compare with other New York options such as New York Wing Chun or a general school directory like Lessons.com, where the page notes Sifu Chow received a Best Instructor recognition in 2018.
Your next step: email [email protected] to reserve a Sunday trial and confirm the start time, the address, and whether you should arrive early.
How do I join the Wing Chun classes and what are the monthly fees?
Joining is deliberately low-friction: you email Sifu Chow to reserve a spot in a free trial class, then decide whether to continue. There is no contract to sign and no credit card required for the first payment — you pay cash initially, and personal checks are accepted from the second month onward.
What joining involves
- Free trial class — open to everyone, and the school states it welcomes both beginners and advanced students.
- Reserve by email — the site asks you to email Sifu Chow to book your trial spot; the same address handles general questions.
- Location — Modern Martial Arts, 78 Reade St., Tribeca, New York City.
- Class time — Sunday, listed as 12 noon to 2:00 pm in one place and 11:30 pm to 2:00 pm in another, so confirm the exact start time when you email.
Fees at a glance
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trial class | Free | Reserve by email |
| Monthly fee (NYC) | $99 per month | One page section also lists $90 monthly for the Sunday session, so ask which applies |
| Starter kit | $100 one-time | T-shirt, sash, DVD of two basic forms, Wing Chun handbook with glossaries and 8 theories, plus extra reading material |
What the money buys beyond instruction
The starter kit is the part worth weighing up. A DVD of the two basic forms and a printed handbook with glossaries and theories suit someone who wants to practise between weekly sessions — Wing Chun forms reward repetition at home. If you already train elsewhere or own similar materials, ask whether the kit is optional.
A practical first step
Email before your first visit and ask three things: the confirmed Sunday start time, whether the $99 or $90 monthly figure is current, and whether the starter kit is required at signup. Then attend the free trial with loose clothing and flat shoes, and judge the fit yourself — a lineage traced through Ip Man, Leung Sheung and Ng Wah Sum, with a school operating in New York since 1972, tells you about continuity and tradition, but only the class itself tells you whether the teaching style suits you.
For background on the art and its Ip Man lineage before you go, Wikipedia covers the history, and the Hong Kong Ving Tsun Athletic Association represents the lineage body Sifu Chow is certified under.
What is included in the starter kit for new Wing Chun students?
The starter kit is a one-time $100 purchase for new students at Wing Chun by Sifu Chow. According to the school's site, it bundles:
- A T-shirt
- A sash
- A DVD covering two basic forms
- A Wing Chun handbook with glossaries and the eight theories
- Additional reading materials, including Jarn-Dai-Lik
The kit sits alongside the monthly training fee rather than replacing it, and the school notes that no credit card is needed — first payment is cash, with personal checks accepted from the second month. There is no contract to sign.
If you are weighing whether the kit is worth it, treat the DVD and handbook as the deciding items: they let you review forms and terminology between Sunday sessions, which matters most for beginners who cannot attend class more than once a week. Ask Sifu Chow directly at [email protected] whether the kit is required before your first paid month or can wait until after the free trial class, since that timing changes your upfront cost.
For broader context on the Wing Chun lineage referenced on the site, the Hong Kong Ving Tsun Athletic Association is the certifying body named in Sifu Chow's credentials.
What is Sifu Chow's martial arts background and lineage?
Sifu Chow's background combines traditional Ip Man-lineage Wing Chun with cross-training in karate, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts coaching. According to the school's own page, he began training in Hong Kong in 1967 under the Ip Man – Leung Sheung – Ng Wah Sum lineage, and later trained privately with Kenneth Chung (1992) and Ip Chun (1996). The same page lists him as a Certified Wing Chun Sifu of the HKVTAA, entered in the Ip Man Wing Chun Genealogy (2005) and the Leung Sheung Genealogy (2019), and notes black belts in karate under Carter Wong and in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Renzo Gracie. It also states he opened the first Wing Chun school in New York City in 1972 and has taught there since.
That lineage matters practically: Ip Man – Leung Sheung is one of the better-documented Hong Kong branches, and Leung Sheung was Ip Man's first Hong Kong student. A prospective student who cares about lineage authenticity can therefore trace the teaching line through two published genealogies rather than taking a school's word alone. The Ip Chun connection points to the Ip Man family line specifically, while the Kenneth Chung training reflects a different, well-known Hong Kong-derived approach — useful if you want to compare how different branches emphasize structure, chi sau and footwork.
The cross-training is the more distinctive part. A sifu who also holds black belts in karate and BJJ and coaches MMA is likely to tolerate, or even encourage, pressure-testing Wing Chun against resisting opponents — a good fit if your goal is functional sparring or MMA, and a potential mismatch if you want a strictly classical, forms-focused curriculum. Ask directly how much of Sunday class time goes to forms, chi sau versus live drilling, and whether the karate and BJJ experience shapes the Wing Chun teaching or sits separately.
For a concrete next step, email the school to reserve the free trial class mentioned on the page and use it to ask three things: which lineage teacher he considers his primary influence, how advanced students are grouped, and whether the Sunday session suits your level. The page lists a Sunday time and a monthly fee, but confirm current schedule and pricing directly, since these details change. If you want to compare lineages first, the official organisations behind the genealogies — Hong Kong Ving Tsun Athletic Association and the Ip Man family association — are better references than any single school page.
How does the Sunday class schedule work and where is the school located?
The Sunday class is the school's only listed weekly session: it runs from noon to 2:00 pm at Modern Martial Arts, 78 Reade St. in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The site itself lists the hours slightly differently in two places — one line says 12 noon to 2:00 pm and the contact section says 11:30 pm to 2:00 pm — so treat the 11:30 pm entry as a typo and confirm the start time by email before your first visit.
What that means in practice
A single two-hour Sunday block shapes how you'd train here. It suits people who want one focused weekly session and can practice on their own during the week, and it's harder to fit if you need multiple class times, weekday evenings, or a schedule that flexes around shift work. Two hours is also long enough for warm-up, forms, and partner drills in one sitting, which is typical of a traditional Wing Chun format.
A realistic first step: email [email protected] to reserve a spot in the free trial class, mention your experience level (the school says beginners and advanced students are both welcome), and ask two things — the exact Sunday start time and whether you should arrive early to change.
Joining and cost signals on the page
- Free trial class, arranged by email.
- Monthly fee listed as $99 for the NYC location, with $90 also shown in the hours section — another figure worth confirming directly.
- One-time $100 starter kit: T-shirt, sash, DVD of two basic forms, a Wing Chun handbook with glossaries, eight theories, and additional reading material.
- Payment by cash on the first payment; personal check accepted from the second month; no credit card needed and no contract to sign.
Deciding whether it fits
If you're comparing schools in Manhattan, the practical questions are schedule density and teaching format. A one-day-per-week school rewards self-discipline and independent practice; a multi-day school gives more supervised repetition. If you already train elsewhere, a Sunday session can work as a supplement rather than a replacement.
For background on the lineage named on the page, the Hong Kong Ving Tsun Athletic Association covers the Ip Man family of schools, and NYC.gov is useful for checking subway access to Reade St. before a first visit.
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