Over the years, our school has been located all over Portland. When I first started learning Wing Chun, I trained at the Professional Martial Arts building that had been on 92nd and Ramona since 1972. A brief dispute with new management at the school led us to hold classes in the PSU dressing room at the Theater Arts department where my Sifu, Randy Lewis worked. From there, we trained at parks, in students’ backyards and, for a time, in my very own living room. We returned back to the building on 92nd when the management stabilized. We trained there until just a few years ago when the building finally closed down. In the spirit of our small school, we became the wandering kung fu class once again. We found a Jujitsu dojo to train at for over a year, but it just didn’t feel right to us. No room for growth. I had to limit the number of students I took in due to space and the dojo only having one day for us to practice. So the search continued until we found a place on the Westside, a Tae Kwon Do studio called Way of Life. From 2013 until Fall of 2017 we trained and grew at that location, then added two SE Portland Locations. For a time, we taught out of all three locations until the tides of change approached once again. Way Of Life’s location changed, and in true Wing Chun, nature decided to simplify things by moving the school once again.
All the movement from studio to studio really solidified my understanding that Wing Chun is a concept-driven martial art that can be practiced anywhere. I have spent over 20 years of my life with this style of kung fu and it never ceases to amaze me. I continue to look forward to learning more about this style.
~Sifu Ray