International Academy of WingChun

Berkeley, United States

4.9

Closed now

11 reviews

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Telephone:
+1 510-214-2987
Website:
wingchunus.com
Address:
1380 University Ave, Berkeley, CA, 94702
b/t West St & Acton St
West Berkeley
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
220 ftUniversity Av & Acton St
870 ftUniversity Av & Bonar St
980 ftUniversity Av & Sacramento St
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Bussiness info

Good for Kids
Yes

Today

Today 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Closed now
Local time (Berkeley) 09:12 Saturday, 14 June 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Wednesday –
Thursday 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Friday –
Saturday 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

We specialize in one thing:

WingChun Self-​Defense.

400 years ago, WingChun mixed the best styles of the day. Today, it’s evolved into a seamless, user-​friendly system. With our special training curriculum, your goals are clear and accessible. The full theory and real practice of WingChun Self-​Defense is all open to you.

You can join a professional Academy which offers you a part or full-​time study at your own pace. Our teaching methods are tailored to you as a unique person. Just come as you are to quickly grasp the functional logic and dynamic action of this movement art.

Learn to Defend Yourself.

History

Established in 2003.

We started as UC Berkeley students with an interest in physiology, psychology, and philosophy. Amazed to find these fields integrated in WingChun, we dedicated to study it as the Art and Science of Self-​Defense.

As its practical effects unfolded in ourselves, our friends, and our students, this interest and hobby became a passion and profession. We committed to a broader and deeper expression of this multifaceted system.

Our vision is to create a community of WingChun artists. One that has as its mission to develop skillful everyday warriors. We are a diversity of normal people who apply a better way to deal with daily battles.

WingChun helps and improves us at all levels. To efficiently defend against common stress. To avoid threats and survive danger. To protect our health and well-​being. In short, win more than fight.

If you’re interested in a modern lineage that applies proven wisdom, don’t hesitate to visit us. You’ll find WingChun relevant, and refreshing, to your life.

Meet the Business Owner

Sifu Paul W.

Business Owner

As Academy Leader, my role is to inspire passion and instill patience in our members. Those two ingredients, along with a vital third — practice — ensures that you will actualize your potential.

WingChun is a path for you to examine and enhance all your abilities. It is the study of holistic Self-​Defense. Our staff transmits the art with a focus on you as an individual practitioner. Our community advances together with a shared intention of mutual progress.

We have over 30 years of collective experience, but you can begin simply with a little interest, a mere curiosity. Soon, you will realize your body getting stronger, your emotions feeling calmer, your mind running sharper. Plus, less stress and more fun.

These benefits, and many more, are yours with a modest investment in yourself. You’re worth the value because the returns are guaranteed. Over time, the power and confidence you gain become permanent.

Look forward to meeting you soon!

Best,

Sifu Paul Wang

IAW-​US Leader

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11 reviews of International Academy of WingChun

No registration required
Place rating: 4
Berkeley, CA
My friend persuaded me to try it out, so I emailed them and they were really nice about letting us drop by and take a free class.
It’s very meditative, and they really care about being in the proper form and stance. Everyone there is really dedicated to the martial art, and believe in its benefits. Personally it wasn’t my thing so I didn’t go back (I was expecting more cardio/​activity, and there IS a lot of standing around learning the form and all that). That being said, if you DO like it I think it’s a small, intimate atmosphere that will provide lots of one-​on-​one help.
If you’re considering it, I would drop by and give it a try.
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
Unilocal filtered out my review for no apparent reason. although they left it alone long enough for me to get «compliments» on it. It looks like they filtered out A LOT of people’s reviews. for no apparent reason.
I’ll just repost it here:
I started taking class here over a year ago and then took a break to explore other styles of martial arts (was always more interested in the internal arts). Being a dancer I’ve always been all about form and the aesthetics of the movement. IAW is very serious about self defense — not in a «hey let’s spar and see who wins» kind of way but in a «do what’s necessary to take down your attacker immediately» kind of way. So at the time I started, I didn’t really appreciate it for what it was. After trying other things, for whatever reason, my goals shifted, which brought me back. I started to become more interested in actual self defense, rather than just the art; and out of everything I’ve tried, IAW really stands out.
The instructors are really amazing. Sihing Paul (who recently just became Sifu after more than 15 years of training) is really a rare and extraordinary being. You’ll have to experience him yourself to understand, and I’m sure you’ll agree.
I’ve had a chance to learn from Sihing Tom, Sihing Carl, Sihing Chris and Sihing Brandon. Their styles are surprisingly very different from one another considering the fact that they’ve all been learning from the same teacher for many years, but anyway are all very effective teachers and talented practitioners who have dedicated many years to the form.
Place rating: 5
Oakland, CA
I discovered Wing Chun A few years ago and have had lots of fun, learning many practical self Defense skills. No matter what age or size you are, you can learn to defend yourself against a bigger opponent using your arms and legs. Not only is Wing Chun self defense, but also an art form that is always improving your coordination and reflex skills. I look forward to many more years of training and improving my self defense skills.
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
I waited for a year and a half to be able to take part in this WingChun Academy. I was busy during the time I discovered IAW WingChun but I knew it would be worth the wait only after a 5 min conversation with Sihing Paul. I took a 2 week intro class and have been going ever since. I was blown away by how effective and realistic this style of WingChun is. The environment that we work in could not be any better. The students are friendly but they will challenge you to become better every time you step into class. Sihing Paul’s break down and teaching of the style is one of a kind. I find myself liking the philosophy of the IAW WingChun style as much as I like the style itself. If you want to learn a unique self defense style, and love challenging yourself I would definitely recommend IAW of WingChun.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Wow, I don’t even know where to begin.
I have been training here for over a year and the benefits and skills I’ve gained seem too numerous to mention. Primarily, I have learned many useful techniques in regards to Self-​Defense and feel very confident using them if I ever had to physically defend myself. Training here has certainly enhanced my mind/​body coordination and I feel more connected with myself and aware of my surroundings. Also, training has increased my patience and improved the way I handle stressful situations in every day life, such as driving in traffic, certain scenarios at work, etc (not to mention training WingChun is a great way to alleviate stress!).
The International Academy of WingChun in Berkeley is lead by US IAW Leader, Sihing Paul Wang, a long time private student of our Grandmaster and IAW founder, Sifu Klaus Brand. Sihing Paul is not only an extraordinary WingChun practitioner, he is also an amazing teacher/​mentor with a vast knowledge of physics and body mechanics and their relation to Self-​Defense. In addition, he has a great teaching style that is friendly, humorous, down-​to-​earth, and encouraging. He is not one of those martial arts instructors that will tell you to do something without a logical explanation. Instead, he will explain in detail the reasons for each of our techniques.
So, if you are interested in a unique, practical, and intelligent system of Self-​Defense unlike any other wing chun style out there, check out the International Academy of WingChun!
Place rating: 5
Hercules, CA
Ive been a student at this academy for about 8 months. I started out coming to class about once a week, and eventually wanted to come as much as possible. The students and instructors at this academy are all very friendly, very helpful, professional but still know how to have a great time and a good sense of humor. Their are kid classes as well as adult classes. You can be young, old, small, tall, or of any size or shape. Come join and check out the us academy of wing chun. It is great for learning self-​defense and gives you much more confidence in the real world. I would highly recommend this academy.
Place rating: 5
Oakland, CA
I’ve been a student at this academy for almost 8 months now. I’ve trained at different martial arts academies and highly recommend this one for several reasons. WingChun is a very effective martial art that has been evolving for hundreds of years. The IAW style of WingChun has taken a self defense approach which is originally what this art was intended for. With this idea Sifu Brand Klaus (international grandmaster) and Sihing Paul (US leader) deliver an very applicable curriculum for self defense. The academy has a friendly atmosphere with humor and a great community. At the same time, the academy has a profession setting that allows for focused training. Highly recommend this academy for what it teaches and for the high level of the instructors who teach there.
7÷16÷2015 — I’m still training there and loving it!
Place rating: 5
Hayward, CA
I’ve got motivated to learn wing chun after watching the movie Ip Man, which is about the story of a grandmaster of wing chun who helped the Chinese community to resist the Japanese invasion of the land of China during World War II. He’s also the grandmaster of the well known martial artist/​super star Bruce Lee. So I went online and searched for the nearest wing chun school, and here I am. I’ve been joining IAW-​US for only less than a year, and I found myself totally enjoying what I am learning and looking forward to become a technician in the years to come.
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
I teach a course on «Street Smarts» to middle school kids, and twice I brought a group of kids in to Paul’s dojo to have a special training session with him on the personal, physical aspects of being street smart. He was absolutely awesome. He has the perfect blend of seriousness and humor, of professionalism and an ease connecting with people. Even 1 hour with him made a profound impact on the kids (and myself!). We learned (and embodied) some very important principles, along with some very powerful tools that we could put into practice immediately. I highly Paul’s mentoring to anyone looking to grow themselves mentally and physically.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
Got introduced to martial art through a friend who has been to the studio for more than a year now.

The studio is medium size and has good atmosphere (the plants around the room really help!). There are mirrors on one side of the room so you can pretty much see how your movement if you would like to).
Everybody there was so nice and helpful. If you’re a new student, one of the senior students will come and help you. Very different from TAs from university who hum… were put into class that might not be related to their specialty. The senior students are very knowledgeable and helpful. They will lead you enough for to practice but not to the point where you would burn out. They would go with you step by step. I also often saw the main instructor came over to teach the students as well. So you do spend time with both the senior students and the instructor.
Wingchun is actually my first martial art practice. After seeing a female student in class practicing, I thought I could do the same. I wouldn’t say she was small, but she wasn’t big either. However, she looked very strong and fit. So I decided to give it a try. And it was actually very fun. They have people of all sizes and genders in the class. Some were really big and some were not so. So you get to practice not only with people of your size and weight but also with others. This I think strengthens the ability to practice flexibility. I am quite small in comparison to most people in class. The guy that I practiced with was probably a foot and a half taller. Not to mention, he also did other types of martial arts before. So in comparison, I was at the disadvantage. But I feel that the concept behind each move was to help defend myself first and to attack later was very useful. So even though the opponent was bigger, using each move appropriately would be very beneficial. All benefits come with a price. There was a little bit pain after the first class, but it wasn’t bad.
There was also a kid who practiced there regularly as well. So I think they do have an on going kid class. The instructor for the kid class was also very nice and attentive.
The studio was not big but offered great comfort. There was a small changing room in the back if you would like to change into your outfit. There were also bins in the room so you can store stuffs that you carry with you. The bathroom was conveniently located in the back.
Overall, I was very pleased with the experience. Too bad that I had to leave the area, I would have come and practiced a few more times. I would recommend it to anyone regardless of gender. Martial arts are just not for guys, females can also come ;-)). Imagine you get to practice with the bigger guys, it will be very helpful in needed time. :)
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
WingChun is a fun way to get body and brain exercise while learning something practical. I have found the students here to be supportive of one another’s progress and the instructors are excellent.