Sifu David Peterson – Chief Instructor ‘WSL Ving Tsun Combat Science (Malaysia)
“It has been my extreme pleasure to know & to train with Sifu John Smith over a great many years, and I can confidently say that he is a man of great integrity, an excellent teacher with skills to match, and an outstanding representative for the ‘WSL Ving Tsun Kuen Hok’ method of Chinese Gung Fu. As such, I have no hesitation in recommending anyone to train at the ‘Illawarra Ving Tsun School’ under his guidance.”
Sifu Morten H. Ibsen – Chief Instructor DVTF
If you are looking for flashy and over-complicated Ving Tsun, then Sifu John Smith ISN’T your man. However, if you want an instructor who teaches simple, direct, and efficient, then he’s your absolute best choice!
Sifu Archimede Tentindo
When I talk about Sifu John Smith, everyone can see it’s with great enthusiasm.
During the summer of 2012 in Malaysia while on a break from training, Sifu David Peterson spoke really well about him to me, telling me that if I had the possibility to take WSL Ving Tsun lessons from him it would be awesome. Between May and June 2013, knowing Sifu John Smith had to do a series of seminars around the world, passing through The UK, Denmark, and up to Canada, concluding his tour in Hong Kong, I managed to get him to come by and do them also in Rome.
When I rethink about those days, what comes to mind first is the wonderful atmosphere during his lessons. My students were fascinated by the very pragmatic and absolutely essential way he exposed Ving Tsun. His outgoing character blended in with his great combat ability. In restaurants or while sightseeing in Rome, he would tell us of his experience in Hong Kong with his Sifu Wong Shun Leung and of his personal Martial Arts experience. And clearly, there could not have been some typical Roman dinners lavished with some good wine, in the company of his wife Lisa and my Violeta. I made it a promise to see him again, be it for the friendship, be it for his Ving Tsun.
The following summer I had the pleasure of spending a week with him and his wife Lisa in Rome. It was Awesome! We trained everyday for at least an hour and then off we went to tour the town! Then one evening my Todai, Maurizio Petri organized a great dinner at his place and we also trained in his backyard. Actually, we trained everywhere we could, on the beach, in the living room… Once, while we were at the thermal baths Sifu John was explaining to Violeta how to punch me pretending to be in combat. I smiled and kept everything under control as she attacked me. How we laughed when she landed a punch right on my sternum!
Other people had talked to me about his efficiency in combat, pointing out his remarkable structure and the power of his punches more often than not. It’s not only about that though: from a purely Martial Arts point of view, the thing that impressed me the most was the way he dodged his opponent’s punches through his footwork intelligently integrated with pivoting.
Without a doubt I can surely say his boxing is excellent.
Sifu Greg LeBlanc – LeBlanc Wing Chun
Sisuk John Smith delivers an authentic, realistic and systematic presentation of the WSLVT system.
His knowledge of the practical application of Ving Tsun is second to none; he is a dedicated, generous and dynamic teacher. WSLVT is characterized by specific skills related to angle, ground connection and driving towards the opponents center of mass; these skills and more you will find in abundance and clearly presented by Sisuk Smith at his school and in the many seminars he teaches throughout the year.
Sifu Eric Lilleør – Publisher & Editor-in- Chief of Wing Chun Illustrated Magazine
Sifu John Smith is very humble, approachable, and an extremely experienced WSLVT coach, whose power and knowledge is phenomenal. No matter what level you are at in your training, he can guide you to your fullest potential. If you are interested in learning authentic Wong Shun Leung Ving Tsun Kuen Hok, you have come to the right place!