Testimonials About Samuel Kwok
Article by Dan Knight added on 11 Nov 2013. Last updated on 9 Jan 2016.
What instructors and students have to say
This page contains some testimonials from various students and instructors under Samuel Kwok. There is no order to this page, I have just added them as they came along.
Cesar Olavarria
This was the day I became GM Samuel Kwok's Disciple in the Art of Wing Chun.
He has always been Extremely Generous both Personally and Professionally. My experiences with him has been nothing but Positive. But not all can say the same. We as Human Beings can be very sensitive. Bruce Lee said, "Life is an overflowing process and somewhere on the path some unpleasant things will pop up - it might leave a scar, but then life is flowing, and like running water, when it stops it grows stale. Go bravely on because each experience teaches us a lesson....."
JoJo Garza
My name is JoJo Garza. I am the bass player for the band Los Lonely Boys and a student of Samuel Kwok. I met Sam in London around one year ago. In the year that I've been training in Wing Chun I have learned most of the system. My understanding of it all will take more time than it has to have learned the forms. The only reason I learned so quickly is because of the man I learned from. My Sifu Samuel Kwok! He's been there every step of the way for me. He continues to reach out to me to make sure my progress is constant. His understanding of the system is that of a true master. Not only is he concerned with how his students progress in Wing Chun, he is a very concerned Kung Fu father and a caring person. He cares about how his students progress in life just as much as Kung Fu. He has shown this to me and many many others over the years. I feel blessed to have him in my life and part of my family as well. He says JoJo, teach your loved ones what I have taught you about Wing Chun, but show them what I have spoken to you about wisdom for everyday living. He says follow God because God loves you! He says love your children and your wife and always respect your mother and father. Priceless advice for any son or daughter!!!! He has been one of the most amazing people that has come into my life and for that I will always be grateful. We've laughed, we've cried, and we've shared life stories. He is a very humble man. By the way I am only one of thousands of people he has coached. I must also give thanks to Sifu Bryan Talbot, Sifu Angela Minerva, Sifu Sung Choi and quite a few other brothers and sisters of the family who have helped to lead me in a positive direction by allowing me to learn some things from them as well. It's because of Sifu Kwok that we can all be assured that Ip Mans Wing Chun will have a long and prosperous life. I just want to say that I love you Sifu and thanks for being who you are! God bless you always!
Love your Son,
Kwok Chung Mo
Jeffrey Alexander Sutherland
Dedicated to my Sifu Grand Master Samuel Kwok.
I started training martial arts in 1977 and took up Wing Chun in 1999.
In 2007 When (my Sifu at the time) Ronald Koh moved back to China I decided to ask GM Kwok to assist me with my training. Somehow people got to know about this and I had a few people (on Youtube) try to discourage me from training with him. I am a dedicated martial artist with experience in multiple styles. I believe I know a true master when I see one and GM Kwok seemed to be the person best placed to inform me of Ip Man's interpretation of Wing Chun Kuen.
GM Kwok took me into his home almost every weekend, (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) for three years. His family members looked after me providing food and drink and a comfortable room in which to sleep. He sat me down and pointed out various aspects in the 8mm movie footage of Ip Man and he encouraged me to do my own research into Wing Chun. He trained me very hard often striking me with precision and control to encourage an increase in the speed of my reflexes. On one occasion saying to me "You think this is a game?"
The fee he charged was so nominal that I felt I should bring a contribution towards the food and drink his wife gave me each weekend. So I would present Sifu with a red packet from time to time to say thank you for looking after me so well. He told me off saying I should not spend so much money and thereafter would not allow me to pay anything extra yet he would regularly give me gifts of dvd's, signed books and Chinese calligraphy.
I had the honour of assisting Sifu on Seminars in Singapore where on the Saturday he started training us at 1pm and was still teaching (non stop) and imparting knowledge at 3am Sunday morning and he only stopped then because it was starting to rain! I also assisted Sifu at seminars in New York where I watched him sweat as he worked the students hard on the focus pads at Cesar Olavarria's school in Hoboken.
Since he retirement GM Kwok has intensified his dedication to promoting Ip Man Wing Chun. Obviously he makes mistakes on occasion and sometimes his behaviour, whilst pleasing some, may displease others. After all, he is a human being and, like the rest of us, may have failings and character traits that some find challenging.
Unfortunately one Wing Chun person has, in recent weeks, decided to express his frustrations concerning GM Kwok online and engaged in behaviour which, at the end of the day, simply serves to make the Wing Chun community look bad in the eyes of the martial arts world in my opinion. I sincerely hope that the younger Wing Chun practitioners do not take his actions as a good example of how to deal with challenges faced regarding our Sifu's.
I am a dedicated disciple of Grandmaster Kwok. I hold his family name. I am keen to learn as much about Wing Chun Kuen as I can and that includes the cultural, philosophical, historical and theoretical elements as well as the combat element. I love my Wing Chun family and friends and am very proud of our lineage and Wing chun cultural heritage.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank GM Kwok for all he has done for me and my students. Thanks also to GGM Ip Chun, GGM Ip Ching, Sifu Ronald Koh, Sifu Randy Williams, Sifu Anton Van Thomas, Sifu Marc Davies, all my Sihngs, Sidais and my students for all the support they have given me over the years. I am eternally grateful.
With love and respect,
Jeffrey Alexander Sutherland.
Steve Vallie
Dedicated to my Sifu GM Samuel Kwok
I started learning Wing Chun in the mid 1980's. Since that time, I have studied off and on mainly because I was young and I moved around the U.S. I have been fortunate to study under a number of teachers over the course of the last 25 years. This has given me multiple points of understanding. I can say, I have respect for all that I have had a chance to study with.
I first met GM Kwok in 2008 at a seminar. More recently, I became his direct student and I have now been with GM Kwok for almost 2 years. His level of knowledge and ability to convey his message is unmatched. If I were to say my previous teachers had their Bachelor's degree in Wing Chun, I would have to say that GM Kwok has his Ph. D. He has explained aspects of Wing Chun in such a simple way that I have seen other's struggle to comprehend. Simply put, he makes it so easy.
Not only is his knowledge so far beyond others, he cares more about his students than anyone I have ever seen. Sometimes he just calls me randomly to see how I am doing and how things are going. It's very clear that he cares and I am part of his family. Anyone in his system will benefit from his selflessness. When he comes to town for his yearly seminar we all go out to dinner. He often gets up and goes from table to table talking with everyone and truly getting to know them on a personal level. He never stops teaching. I have been to dinner with him and we have moved the chairs and tables around just for him to show me something I was asking in Chi Sau. If there is an opportunity for him to teach and me to learn, he takes it. He just doesn't hold anything back.
This year, GM Kwok invited me to become part of his family in the Bai Si. I am now the first Native American disciple of GM Kwok. I have since invited him to attend a Sundance I am dancing in next year and he is rearranging his schedule to attend. I have never had a Sifu so dedicated to me. GM Kwok is not only dedicated to my development in Wing Chun but as a person and in life as well. My father has passed from this world and I feel that GM Kwok is there for me if I need him in all aspects that my father now cannot be. He is my father, and I am his son. I am very blessed. Learning from GM Kwok is an honor. Teaching for GM Kwok is an honor. If anyone is offered the chance to become his student, they will know very quickly that they are also blessed. Sifu, I am forever grateful that you have accepted me as your student, disciple, and son.
Thank you!
Your son,
Steve Vallie 郭 志 成
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