–Preface–

The following text is part of a series documenting my time in Tucson, AZ, in the Spring of 2025, for Augustine Fong’s Wing Chun Gung Fu Federation Annual Seminar. The series is broken into short digestible parts, some describing my experience in Tucson generally, and some with detailed notes from the seminar.

Thursday, 24 April, 2025 – I arrive in Tucson

I arrived in Tucson by plane. I am here to attend a Wing Chun seminar hosted by Augustine Fong’s Wing Chun Gung Fu Federation. These annual seminars have been held for over thirty years, and I have never attended one before.

I brought a copy of the Sun Zi Bing Fa (Art of War), translated by Thomas Cleary, to read during the flight and any other down time. I read the introduction on the plane, and appreciated the way in which the author brought context to the text, by relating it to other philosophical traditions in China. This seemed particularly relevant, as I was aware that Sifu Fong is a student of Chinese philosophy.

I am from the Pacific Northwest, and have spent most of my life there – cold, damp, cloudy, and green. Tucson, by comparison, is hot and dry, the sky was wide and blue, and the earth was red and barren.

The concrete near the airport had a red tint, perhaps from the desert sand that seemed to be everywhere. The streets were lined with cactus and tall palm trees. Large dead palm fronds littered the sidewalks. To the North of my hotel, iss a brown mountain range, which spans East to West. The map showed this to be Mt. Kimball and the Pusch Ridge Wilderness. I can’t imagine what venomous creatures must lurk there.

I spent my first day exploring the neighborhood and adjusting to the climate. The local water tasted flat, and masked the taste of the tea I brought with me. I purchased some bottle water for the rest of my stay. Everything feels far away. Is this because of the heat?

I found a local bubble tea place, which offered “cream cheese” tea, which I knew from China as “milk cap.” I hadn’t seen this in the states before, but I also rarely get bubble tea. I think there was a college or university nearby, as many young people were walking around with backpacks.

I walked to Fong’s school, and looked around. I saw vehicles there, but did not enter. I then located a good Vietnamese restaurant, where I ate and made a mental note to return to if no other good food was found.

The hotel was descent. As usual, the hotel room had numerous things I did not need, such as a television and a coffee maker. I brought my own water kettle and thermos for my gongfu cha (tea) practice.

I came to this Wing Chun seminar very much out of practice. In the evening, I practiced some forms and then went to sleep exhausted.