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Sifu Jimmy K. Wong began his
martial arts training at the Selangor Chin Woo Association (Malaysia) under
Mr. Yap Shu Shen. In 1977, Sifu Wong came to the United States to pursue
his university education at the University of Houston. Sifu Wong taught
Chin Woo Shaolin kungfu at the University. In 1981, he graduated with a
B.Sc. in computer science and took a position with Texas Instruments. In
1983, he moved to Dallas and continued his MBA at the University of Texas at
Dallas. In Dallas, he soon became acquainted with the 6th
generation Yang style taiji master, Mr. Tu Chun King and studied under his
tutelage. Sifu Wong subsequently traveled to Malaysia and Singapore Chin
Woo schools for several years to consult with school officials and to extend
his expertise in martial arts as well as in lion dance. The Chin Woo
authorities were favorably impressed with Sifu Wong’s dedication, hard work,
and extensive knowledge of kungfu, and provided enthusiastic support and
encouragement to Sifu Wong’s efforts to spread Chin Woo in America. These
efforts culminated in the establishment of the first officially sanctioned
Chin Woo school of kungfu in the United States on July 25, 1987. In 1990,
he gave up his engineering career to pursue his traditional Chinese medicine
studies in China. In China, Sifu Wong met with 5th generation
Wu(Hao) taiji master, Mr. Wu Wen Han and Mr. Chen Gu An and became their
disciple. In 1994, the World Chin Woo Federation was formed in Shanghai
Chin Woo, where Sifu Wong was the USA representative.
During his stay in the US,
Sifu Wong has trained a number of grand champions, nationally and
internationally. One of his top Shaolin students, Ms. Patty Sun, is the
1992, 1994, 1996, and 1997 female grand champion in traditional forms in the
USA National Martial Arts Championships. She was also awarded the 1997
Traditional Athlete of the Year by the USAWKF Hall of Fame. Ms. Sun also
competed in the 7th International Yongnian Taijiquan Festival &
Championship and received first place in Wu(Hao) taiji form, straightsword,
and broadsword. His taiji student, Ms. Kathryn Wong, won the Wu(Hao) taiji
forms/weapons champion at the 5th International China Yongnian
Taijiquan Championship. In 1991 and 1995, Sifu Wong was the coach and team
leader for the USA Chin Woo Lion Dance team in the International Lion Dance
Championship in Malaysia and Hong Kong. In 1996, he hosted the Malaysia
World Lion King Champions, Kun Seng Keng, in their US tour. This boosted the
lion dance culture in the Southwest. He is the USA executive board member
for the International Lion and Dragon Dance Federation, Beijing, China.
Sifu Wong holds many National and International
Advisory positions to various Kung Fu organizations and has given workshops
in many countries. Sifu Wong has taught Kung Fu at the University of
Houston, Tai Chi and Qi-gong at the Texas Hei Long Jiang College of
Traditional Medicine, Tai Chi and Qi-gong to doctors at the Beijing
International Acupuncture Center, Swedish Wushu Federation, Stockholm and
Singapore Chin Woo. On April 10, 1999, he established the North America
Wu(Hao) Taiji Federation, based in Dallas, Texas, with a strong belief in
preserving traditional Wu(Hao) taiji and in bringing this great style from
Yongnian, China to the rest of the world. Among many of his efforts in
promoting Wu(Hao) taiji, Sifu Wong was the first person to produce a Wu(Hao)
taiji instructional video in the United States which received the Dallas
Crystal Award for instructional television. This award is the most
prestigious award given to local video production. The video was broadcast
on local television in the Dallas area and gave Wu(Hao) taiji large exposure
to the public. In October 1998, the China International Yongnian
Traditional Taijiquan Association granted Sifu Wong the grandmaster title of
Wu(Hao) style, the only person outside of China to receive this title. His
teacher, Mr. Wu Wen Han, was granted the great grandmaster title. On
October 16, 2000, Sifu Wong organized a team of 24 competitors to attend the
7th International Yongnian Taijiquan Festival & Championship held
in Handan, China. During the same time, he also organized the construction
of 4 monuments in honor of the Wu(Hao) taiji founder, Wu Yu Xiang, and his
lineage at the Wu Yu Xiang’s home in Yongnian, China. This historical
construction was made possible by the contribution of the USA Chin Woo
Federation. On July 11-14, 2002, the USA Chin Woo Federation took great
pleasure and honor to serve as a host for the 2002 7th World Chin
Woo Championships and Cultural Festival.
Sifu Wong also had the privilege to study Water Boxing
(Liu He Ba Fa) during his stays in China from Master Lu Gui Yao, who is the
last disciple of Grand Master Wu Yi Hui. Master Lu Gui Yao honored him as
an overseas honorary president of the China Fo San Xin Yi Liu He Ba Fa
Association. Recently, Sifu Wong was inducted by the Inside Kungfu Magazine
Hall of Fame as the 2004 Instructor of the Year. He is also a licensed
Acupuncturist in Texas, and he is the Chief Organizer of the Taiji Legacy
International Martial Arts Championships held annually in Dallas, Texas.
Sifu Wong’s mission is to spread the traditional Wu(Hao)
taiji in the world and make it available to anyone who is interested. Thus,
the World Wu(Hao) Taiji Federation was established. Sifu Wong is the one of
the founders and is the current president. He is also the executive board
member of the USA Traditional Kung Fu Wushu Federation.
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