Wing Chun Kung Fu Academy

It becomes obvious the more you learn from Sifu Stanley that there is a profound difference between the kung fu that you may think you have an idea of, and real kung fu. There are no unnecessary movements in Wing Chun. The art is rooted in directness with no frills.
Sifu Stanley is a kind and patient teacher who has a knowledge of and prowess in martial arts, physical movement, and well-​being that far surpasses anyone that you have ever (and will ever) come in contact with. Few incoming students realize this at first, but as soon as you see him demonstrate something, you’ll never have another doubt. Sifu Stanley is funny, good-​natured, and makes sure that you progress forward as you practice Wing Chun.
Class structure is atypical, in that, it is infrequently a total group activity. Sifu goes to each student and individually helps them with what they’re practicing, and corrects what is being worked on/​teaches new aspects of the art as he goes. A core practice mechanism of Wing Chun is a drill called Chi Sao, and this is done in pairs. As you go along, you will meet and make good friends with all the students. Good people study here.
The nature of kung fu is that there will be periods where you feel stuck, where you feel that you’ve plateaued, but with Sifu Stanley, you’ll also know that in time, you will feel unstuck, and that you’ll climb far higher than you’ll ever imagine.
I have been studying with Sifu for over five years now, and over those years, I have occasionally tried other martial arts and styles of kung fu (which he encourages), that piqued my interest, but I’ve never stuck with them long; I feel most comfortable with Wing Chun.

I’ve been with Sifu Stanley Jue for over 10 years. I’ve first studied under him when it was just a basement office space in Arlington, to the MIT track on Thursdays (ahh fun times.), to a closet-​like space near Harvard Sq, all the way to the current and much better-​equipped Ultimate Fitness gym in Chinatown. I have to say I never met a teacher that had that much passion and heart for his art and students. Please keep in mind that Sifu Jue’s style does not come from the main stream Yip Man system, rather this Gu Lao Pien Sun system descended directly from Leung Jan himself. Sifu Jue is the sixth generation from Leung Jan, this system does not have the 3 big forms but rather it’s formulized thru separate drills/​sets. Anyways to the teacher himself Sifu Jue is really a wonderful teacher with a sense of humor, a open mind and yes despite his jolly demeanor this man can really fight. He has the most dangerous hands I’ve known. He will teach you whatever you want to learn (not just WC, but even stuff from his Hung Gar, Karate backgrounds). As long as you’re hardworking and sincere, be it for fighting/​defense, or just simply health… you will learn something very useful and practical (yes, I’ve used what Sifu taught me). This man has decades in practicing and teaching his art. He also cares plenty for his students (old and new), and looks out for us far beyond from the class. As for the school itself, things are much nicer now with the wooden dummy, assorted weapons, and the ring available to use than before when I first started out. Old students tend to drop by and visit Sifu and join the class. Sifu’s students also regularly competes in sanshou, continuous sparring, stick hands, even traveling to other states for it. His school is not commercialized at all, just very-​close knit, friendly people from all walks of life training together. I have to say some of the greatest fun I had in my life was spent learning and practicing kung-​fu under Sifu, I never regret it. Sifu Jue’s school is a rare find.

What I loved about this school is the convenience of the location. I’ve always grew up around Chinatown, hitting up the restaurants on nearly every road. To know that this Wing Chun school was inside Chinatown was a plus for me.

Let me just start off by saying that Sifu Jue knows exactly what he is doing. Here is what I wasn’t a fan about, and this is based off how classes were run at nearly all the Asian martial arts academies I’ve trained at. It wasn’t until I discovered Wing Chun, and researched it locations that provide Wing Chun training. For instance, the very first discipline I studied was traditional Chinese Shaolin kung-​fu. From then on, since switching from school to school, the classes were run, more or less, the same. Typically, beginning of class would start on time, and it would involve a warm up doing numerous cardio exercises. During the first few days I studied at this school, class would normally start about 30 minutes later than scheduled. After I started noticing this pattern, I confronted one of the students about this learned that class usually never begins right on time. I was appalled to know that tuition is being received in full, and the students are not getting their money’s worth, not to mention the tuition wasn’t a friendly price either. So, already that was putting a shock to my system.
Secondly, there was no agenda to the class. Typically, after warming up in my Chinese kung-​fu classes, we would begin working on basics. Eventually, that would lead into a new direction from the Sifu, such as a new move being taught, new form, new drills, whatever. It was done as a class. Here, well… I’m not sure how to explain it… at the start of class, which already starts late enough… everyone goes off and does their own thing… whatever that is… I don’t think I even knew where I was. When class finally starts, everyone scatters off and does their thing. Sifu Jue then cycles between each student assisting them in whatever they need until the class is over. That was a shock to my system as well. He seemed as if he exhausts himself running from student to student.
On top of that, Sifu Jue was not even present during my first few days. As a result, I needed to be trained in the basics by the students. The thing that threw me off was that I was being fed different information from different students. I’m not against learning from students. I’d just appreciate it if I was learning the same thing from everyone, and not different things from different people.
Thirdly, what disappointed me the most was while class usually started 30 minutes late, I figured I would make up for the time, AFTER class was over. Not possible. While everyone seemed eager to leave, I just wanted to stay and continue working. I got about 10 minutes into extra practicing before Sifu Jue gave me the «time out» hand gesture, and said it was time to go home.
All in all, I think the reason I wasn’t enjoying the school was because it was different from how I’m used to learning Asian martial arts. On the first day I arrived, I noticed quite a few students of the school, so something is being done right. (Or they are getting ripped off, and not noticing it.) However, I’m just not used to learning the way Sifu Jue teaches. I’d rather follow the system that all the other Sifus’ in Boston do. Nothing against Sifu Jue and his excellent knowledge, nor the students, but I just wasn’t a fan of how class was run.

Sifu Stanley Jue is an outstanding martial artist, and is great at teaching his method. I have been attending his classes for 9 months, and I feel I have learned much more than I would have learned in 9 months at any other martial arts school. At a recent chi sao competition in Boston, and I beat someone who had been practicing for years at a school in New York. Sifu helps his students develop as complete people, and learning Wing Chun is part of that process. In addition to learning fighting skills and gaining strength, I have gained confidence and clarity, and my relationships with myself and all the people around me have improved.
Sifu has taught many students and is a very experienced teacher, so he can adapt to people who have different learning styles. If you are a person who wants to learn to fight, he can help you with that. If you simply want to be a more calm and relaxed person, he can help with that, too. He does not force anyone to do things that are beyond their skill level, and he never allows anyone to risk serious injury. I would recommend his classes to anyone.