Seeking the Bridge Podcast Sifu Francis Der & Wilson Kong

We were very fortunate to get a chance to speak with Dr. Jack Ling a month prior to his passing. He graciously dives into how he learned Wing Chun with Sifu Leung Sheung for 6 days a week for 2 years starting when he was 12 years old. We get a rare perspective of how Leung Sheung’s classes were ran from his unique viewpoint as well as how life was in turbulent Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s. Dr. Jack Ling taught at San Jose Wing Chun for a bit when he was a dean down the street at Santa Clara University. We will miss him dearly as he was a close friend of San Jose, Stanford, and San Francisco Wing Chun schools. We will release Part 2 very soon.

Steve and Sandy Wong plus Vince Lee are our special guests this episode. Vince started learning Wing Chun from Sifu Ben at the San Francisco Bush Street school back in the 1970s. Steve and Sandy Wong own the property where San Jose Wing Chun classes take place. They give us the insight on how the school moved to San Jose / San Jose State in the 1980s and what it has blossomed into today.

John Ho, an early Wing Chun student of Sifu Ken Chung, joins us to discuss what it was like growing up in Hong Kong, participating and watching Kung Fu rooftop challenges, sparring with Bruce Lee in America, and his acting career post-retirement.

Sifu Ben talks about the importance of Huen Sau, his Wing Chun books, continues his stories about the first Wing Chun class of students he taught, interactions with his good friend Hawkins Cheung, his Tibetan White Crane instructor Sifu Quentin Fong, and Hong Kong action superstar student, Melvin Wong.

Welcome to our first episode! Today, we will be introducing our hosts, Sifu Francis Der and Wilson Kong.
Our inaugural guest is Sifu Ben Der, founder of San Jose Wing Chun and instructor for 50+ years. He will talk about growing up in Hong Kong with Bruce Lee and Hawkins Cheung, moving to the US, and how Sifu Kenneth Chung opened his eyes to the full potential of Wing Chun.