AWCAOnline - Sifu Phil Bradley

I began training in the martial arts in 1976 in the H.K.Kim style of taekwondo. Joining the United States Army in 1983 and attaining 2nd degree black belt in 1985, I was introduced to a variety of various fighting methods. One of them was Wing Chun, and it changed my entire outlook on martial arts.

Sifu Phil Bradley being awarded Instructor Level 3
on July 1, 2001, by Dai-Sifu Don Grose, President - IVTKFF

I moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1986 and found Sifu Keith Sonnenberg, the first American disciple of Grandmaster Leung Ting's WingTsun style. I feel very fortunate to have found WingTsun in that it focuses on attaining useful protective skills very quickly. It is straight-forward, to the point, and does not include 'fluff' like many other arts I had previously experienced.

From 1986 through 1990, I was honored to attend a variety of seminars hosted by Master Leung, as well as Sifu Emin Boztepe. The opportunities for training in the greater Phoenix area were exploding, and I was fortunate to have had the opportunities to experience WT taking hold here.

During this time, I also began learning of other lineages and styles. Admittedly, my knowledge of Wing Chun was quite limited outside of the WT lineage, but the more I learned, the more fascinating it became. Eventually, I left the WT organization in 1990 and began seeking out practitioners from these lineages to expand my understanding of where Wing Chun comes from and how it developed through the years. I was fortunate to make a lot of friends within these families, and to experience a wide variety of excellent practitioners.

I founded the Arizona Wing Chun Association in 1993, teaching small, semi-private classes in the Phoenix, Glendale and Peoria areas. In 1998 I was honored to reconnect with a WingTsun brother, Dai-Sifu Don Grose, who was now the headman of the internationally-acclaimed Tucson Ving Tsun Academy and President of the International Ving Tsun Kung Fu Federation. The AWCA became an Arizona affiliate of the IVTKFF and our training has excelled ever since.

Since founding the AWCA, the 'environment' of what we do has seen the art tested on quite a few occasions. From single to multiple challenges - both armed and unarmed - Wing Chun has seen me through. I am still here, still training and still passing on the art. I know first-hand what Wing Chun is capable of, that it works efficiently and for everyone who puts in the time to train it. It is not a bullet-proof vest, of course, but it certainly is reliable.

In 2001, Phil was appointed as Chief Director for the Commission of Technique and Member of the Director Committee, European Ving Tsun Kung Fu Federation (EVTKFF). Various martial arts he has trained in since 1976 include:

Wing Chun

Ving Tsun

WingTsun

Western boxing

Muay Thai kickboxing

American eclectic kickboxing

Jeet Kune Do concepts

Escrima (Rene Latosa system; trained during WingTsun training)

Arnis

Fencing

Judo

Jiu-jitsu

Shorin-ryu karate (3 months during research)

Fred Villari's Shaolin Kempo (4 months during research)

Tae kwon do (H.K.Kim style, 9 years)

Savate (French kick fighting)

Military combatives training (including the basics of Krav Maga)

Various ground fighting and grappling concepts

In addition to teaching Wing Chun, Phil is an avid fitness enthusiast and Certified Fitness Trainer (CFT) through the Internation Sports Sciences Association, Santa Barbara, California. He is also preparing to test for certification as a Specialist in Martial Arts Conditioning (SMAC). As a result, Phil is working on a variety of fitness-related publications directed at improving the health and fitness levels specifically for Wing Chun practitioners.

In addition to teaching and writing about Wing Chun, Phil works full-time as a technical writer and multimedia developer.