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At Kung Fu Academy, Defense Is Art

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By STEPHEN HAMMILL, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 12, 2008

TOWN 'N COUNTY - Kung Fu teacher Steve Lee Swift threw a flurry of quick punches into the air, followed by a kick and a flying elbow.

"This is not: Your Wheaties coupon expired yesterday and you want him to honor it," Swift said, as the students copied his movements. "This is a whole different situation."

Swift, 49, is the proprietor and chief instructor of the Wing Chun Kung Fu Academy, where students ages 4 to 66 train in the art of fighting in close quarters.

"Wing Chun is not an art which clashes force against force," Swift said, demonstrating blocking and counter-attacking techniques to his intermediate adult class. "It's about realistic combat for self defense."

Artist and New Tampa resident Brenda Hay started taking classes six months ago.

"It affects all parts of your life," she said. "My self-esteem has improved, I'm definitely more in shape and I've met friends here I'll probably have for a lifetime."

"I'm here a lot," she added, with a laugh.

Some stay all day. Mike Robles, 23, one of the academy's six instructors, comes six days a week.

"I did tae kwon do in high school but got really bored with it," he said. "With this, every single movement has a meaning."

Swift began learning kung fu at age 10.

"For 40 years - it's the only job I've ever had in my life," he said. After high school, he moved to Hong Kong to study from Yip Man, one of the modern masters of Wing Chun Kung Fu, and from Wong Shun Leung, one of Bruce Lee's original teachers.

Wing Chun was developed 300 to 400 years ago in southern China by a female Buddhist monk as a way to overcome larger opponents by using force as an advantage.

"With other arts, it's all about brute strength," Swift said. "We're not going to hit you in the arms or chest. We're going to hit you in the eyes, throat, groin, top of the knees - places no person can possibly strengthen."

Many aspects of Wing Chun are known to film-goers through the work of Bruce Lee, Jet Li and Jackie Chan.

"They incorporate the moves," Swift said. The wooden dummy - a staple of martial-arts films, originated in the Wing Chun school.

Ten years ago, Swift and his wife came to the Citrus Park area to shoot a martial arts movie. When funding fell through, they decided to stay and raise a family.

The treks to Hong Kong stopped when his children were born. Now, he spends up to 90 hours a week teaching in his nearly 4-year-old studio. Lessons cost from $135 to $185 per month, depending on the frequency of classes taken in a week.

Unlike martial arts such as tae kwon do, which is practiced by millions, Wing Chun has few recognized masters.

"It was passed down neighbor to neighbor, father to son," said Swift, one of 350 Wing Chun Hall of Fame Grandmasters around the world.

"Many of them don't teach anymore," he said. "I want everybody to learn straight from me, and I want the instructors to watch every day and absorb the art. That's why we have people coming from Orlando, Sarasota, Brandon - all over the place."

Rick Coleman will be 60 in May. He drives 30 miles from his home in Wesley Chapel to train with Swift. The West Point graduate began training in martial arts more than 40 years ago. "Back then it was karate and judo - nothing quite like this," he said.

With his military training, Coleman wanted something practical, something that worked in real-world situations. He underwent open-heart surgery in 2001 and five years later began practicing Wing Chun. He has lost 30 pounds in that time.

"My cardiologist loves it," he said.

"Wing Chun is not all about the flowery movements you see in movies," Robles said. "The economy of motion - you start to understand your own body. I'm 5 feet 7 inches, and I can use this against a guy who is 6-foot-4."

The 6-foot-4 guy is retired NFL player Shawn Hay, who trains with Swift and Robles regularly.

"It's the fastest art of hands and feet there is," Swift said. "It is not an exhibition style; it is not a sport; it is not a cultivation of health and breathing like tai chi. This is to save people's lives and to get them home."

Robles and Swift are busy readying a women's self-defense DVD to sell this year.

"Sometimes single moms like to do it with their sons or daughters," Swift said.

There are eight skill levels taught at the Wing Chun school, after which students can gradually begin to master the art. There are no tests and no competitions, however.

"Some places push people into tests for the income," Swift said. "I want people to go at their own speed and their own level."

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: Grandmaster Swift's Wing Chun Kung Fu Academy
WHERE: 5835 Memorial Highway

CONTACT: (813) 928-5386 or www.grandmasterswingchun .com

ADULT CLASS TIMES: Noon to 1:30 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. weekdays; 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturdays; 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. alternate Sundays

KIDS CLASSES: 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturdays

Reporter Stephen Hammill can be reached at (813) 865-1523 or at shammill@tampatrib.com.

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