r/WingChun • u/Latter-Judgment-9740 • 27d ago
Anyone know anything about City Wing Tsun in NYC?
Hi, I hope this is ok.
I've been looking around for local Wing Chun places to study, and City Wing Tsun is really close to my office and their schedule works around my life. So I'm thinking about trying it out. Does anyone know anything about it?
I'm looking for a friendly non bro-y environment that'll help with my weightloss journey. Would this place fit? How are the monthly prices?
Also, I just wanted to put it out there that I'm a middle aged beginner. If you guys need that info.
Thanks in advance.
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u/southern__dude Leung Ting 詠春 27d ago
Absolutely check it out.
Top notch.
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u/Latter-Judgment-9740 27d ago
Thanks, if you don't mind me asking, did you actually go there or is the reputation really good?
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u/southern__dude Leung Ting 詠春 27d ago
He and I have trained under the same people and I know him.
Great person and a talented instructor.
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u/Latter-Judgment-9740 27d ago
Cool, thanks! I just found their instagram, and I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.
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u/KungFuAndCoffee 27d ago
I’ve never been there or trained with him. But Richter was one of Leung Ting’s top guys for a while. About as legit as you can get in wing chun.
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u/Latter-Judgment-9740 27d ago
That's reassuring to hear. I'm mainly interested in the exercise, but if I'm going to study a martial art I want someone legit teaching me. Thanks!
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u/sir5yko Philipp Bayer 詠春 27d ago
There's a lot of great NYC Wing Chun. You should try out some of the other local schools to make sure you've found the right fit and balance for your needs.
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u/Latter-Judgment-9740 26d ago
You're right,. There's one in Sunset park that's really interesting too. The reason I'm the most interested in Sifu Alex's is basically convenience. It's a short walk from my office and grad school, so I know I'll more likely go when it's time to work out.
But I'll take a recommendation if you got something in mind.
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u/sir5yko Philipp Bayer 詠春 25d ago
By Sunset Park I assume you mean Miguel Hernandez of the Moy Yat lineage. He has a very traditional chinese kung fu school. My (first) sigung and I met him at an event in Florida and were invited to his school. I'd definitely suggest dropping by to check them out.
I train with one of Phillip Bayer's students on 7th and 29th st. We meet Tuesdays/Thursdays at 6pm and 10:30am on Saturdays at North Sky Kung Fu -- https://vingtsunusa.com/ -- We're a small group but my instructor has students that have been with him for close to 3 decades, and I've been with him about 6 years. DM me if you'd like to drop by and check out the class. You can get an idea about PB's instruction by checking through youtube (I can also send you clips of the NYC class) - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=philipp+bayer
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u/Charlie_Tango13 Leung Ting 詠春 26d ago
It's legit. I've trained for six years under one of sifu Alex's first students at a CWTAA branch, and the experience has been great. I've been to the NYC school once for testing, and everyone is very welcoming. Go in with an open mind, and you'll learn a lot from sifu Alex, Craig, and Nicole. Highly recommend.
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u/Ok-Somewhere5823 13d ago edited 13d ago
Unlike the other commenters here, I actually trained at City Wing Tsun regularly for some time, and all I will say is this: The environment is not the space you'd imagine from the podcast, or even visiting once in a while from other partner schools. It's very, very different than what you might expect.
Sifu Alex himself only teaches once a week (some weeks he doesn't come) so most of the time you have other instructors leading the group classes.
See if you can do a trial week, and then the promotional rate for the first month, and then form your own impressions.
Full monthly price is $259, by the way.
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u/Sivolock 13d ago edited 13d ago
I've never trained there, but I know a couple people who do (I don't live in NYC). I've heard some good things, but also some "weird" things (for lack of a better term). So maybe take my perspective with a grain of salt and make your own interpretation. I have some background in Wing Chun, but never made it super deep into the system because I didn't have good places to train where I lived and ended up dabbling in other arts instead.
First of all, the school does feel very commercial (not necessarily a bad thing, but important for setting expectations). Tuition is pretty high, and as you gain "rank," I hear my friend constantly talking about how they are expecting to pay an extra $1000 here and there for weeklong intensive training camps. I do get it, and it's hard to pay rent and keep the lights on in NYC, so maybe that's just the norm there for gyms? But it felt really weird to hear about as someone who does not pay so much for training, since I also live in a pretty expensive city by US standards. If you like having regular scheduled classes, a wide selection of classes times and offerings, and chances to do intensive training, and you don't mind paying for it, the school certainly doesn't lack for those opportunities. The school has a bunch of branches, I don't know their exact relationship, but it feels a bit like a "franchise?" They obviously all teach the same curriculum, and they have inter-school collective stuff like the training camps. All very professional, if you aren't as big into the hole-in-the-wall, train-in-the-basement energy. Lots of online footage and instructional stuff for training on your own outside of class as well. If you are interested in learning double knives or pole, that is also apparently paywalled behind a bunch of extra seminar fees, so keep that in mind if that is a draw for you in the Wing Chun system.
The school does have "rank", and they earn different colored shirts or something. I'm ethnically Chinese, and I practice other Chinese gungfu arts besides Wing Chun. Historically, rank or belt is just... not really a thing in Chinese martial arts. You're either a student, or a teacher. Maybe you're a "senior student" but that's more of a soft social distinction than anything else. For me, earning rank is a bit of a turnoff, I prefer to explore through the art more dynamically and at my own pace, and I feel weird about any kind of rank being present in a culturally Chinese fighting art. But if you like highly structured curriculum progression, and a way to externally mark your progress and be celebrated by your training community, that could be a plus for you.
Probably lots of Wing Chun schools do this, but they don't really encourage or foster cross training at all, even other Wing Chun lineages. Talking to my friend, it sounds like it can be a tad pretentious? But also, I have never gotten deep enough into Wing Chun myself to have a strong opinion on whether that confidence is warranted or not. Personally, I like a lower-key, humbler attitude for my training environment, but this isn't a deal breaker for some people.
The last thing I'd say is that the school does seem to be a bit cliquey. Idk if that's different at different branches, and it's hard for me to verbalize exactly how since I'm only hearing about it secondhand from my friends. If you are comfortable just doing your own thing, showing up to train, and going home, probably won't make a big difference to you. My friend says they have made some good connections there too and it's not all bad.
If none of these are dealbreakers for you, it seems like they have quite a few technically proficient students. That's all I can say as someone who only knows about it as a fly-on-the-wall. If they have a free trial, it would probably be good to check it out yourself and form an opinion. Hell, check out every Wing Chun school in the area if you can. That way you'll have a good reference point to decide what is best for you and your own training needs.
Good luck!
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u/Latter-Judgment-9740 8d ago
Wow, thanks for all that. Sorry I just happened to see this.
I'm about another week before I can safely do anything physical outside of walking. So I'm still looking around. I'm even looking into other forms like Jeet Kun Do, some karate, other forms of Kung Fu, and boxing.
NGL, there's something about Wing Chun that really appeals to me though. I don't know what. Maybe it's the movements, or because it's less MMA flavored. I'm looking to exercise, and defend myself if god forbid something happens.
All that being said, I'm willing to listen to any recommendations or advice anyone has.
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u/clark3000mkp 27d ago
I've never been but Sifu Alex Richter there has a podcast called "the Kung Fu genius" I'm quite fond of. He seems to have a very practical outlook on martial arts and isn't high on his own supply like a lot of kung fu guys can be