–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.

Final Thoughts:

During the lunch break, I heard a harrowing story about life and death from one of the students there. I then purchased some “dangerous weapons” from Simou’s shop. I mean, why not. Really, I had just been talking with someone about purchasing a nunchaku. I remember there always being one in my school growing up, and thought, if I started a school, I should have one lying around to play with. Well, Simou had many to chose from.

Suddenly, the seminar was over. I scrambled to gather some names and contact information of several instructors and students before everyone left. When I visited the various schools in China, I wished I had done better to keep in touch with people there. Really, I’ve only maintained contact with one sifu and a couple students. My intention is to reach out to these contacts once this journal is completed, and to share my own contact information. Perhaps we will remain in more frequent contact, perhaps we won’t. At least, if I should ever travel back to Tucson, or Europe, or another state with a Sifu Fong school, I might find someone to train with. In addition, I can pass on my father’s information, in case someone should visit our area.

The gun (school) quickly emptied as folks said their goodbyes. Some people had left early to catch their flights. I began to practice chi sau with one of the local students, Russell, who was very new to Wing Chun, but had studied hard and I thought was quite good.

I briefly jumped away to roll with Augustine Fong for probably under one minute. It was short, but it was rewarding to feel his energy, even for a moment. He seemed happy, and pointed out that I was a little heavy on the right side. Of course…

Well, I rolled with Russell for a while longer. Finally, we called it quits. As I headed out, I ended up gossiping with Simou some more. We discussed China and travel.

I again went to my Vietnamese restaurant, which was packed. I sat in a little side room, and ordered the same as the night before.

I returned to the hotel, packed my things, and got a few hours sleep.

I woke sometime between 2AM and 3AM, and prepared for the journey home. I wish I had picked a later flight, so that I could take advantage of the free public transit. Instead, I ordered a private taxi, which arrived a little early. We discussed various districts in Tucson, and taking short trips to Mexico, which my driver often did. I was dropped off in front of my airline entrance, and before I knew it I was through security and waiting for my flight. I read more Sun Zi, and walked while listening to music. I couldn’t find any hot water, so I went to a coffee stand and they made me pay for a coffee to get hot water for my tea. The price we pay for little pleasures.

The flight back was smooth. I was tired and nodded off while listening to music. I read a little, but struggled to focus. Seatac Airport was chaotic as usual. Once I got out of there, I caught my bus to the Tacoma Dome Station, and rode the Light Rail to my neighborhood in Tacoma. Instead of going straight home, I stopped for some pizza. I was home.

I had some interesting thoughts from this trip. I’d like to condense all of the above notes into a single document. Perhaps I will.

Some other things which I took away from my few days there: If I return for a seminar, I need to plan more days there, so that I may attend classes or take some private lessons. There was some talk about Sifu Fong’s health. I didn’t hear much, but I was concerned. I hope he is well. And this rumor about a book. I am curious. What about the correspondence course, and instructor certification. I got a bit of the runaround on this. I’d love to purchase the correspondence course, even if it doesn’t lead to a certification anymore. I also would be curious about achieving some sort of instructor certification, or recognition, if possible. This didn’t seem to be a big priority for them. Simou told me to contact them for more details. I will try that.

I was repeatedly encouraged to start a school. This just sounds like so much work right now. At the same time, I am desperate for some more regular training. I have some other priorities to attend to, but soon, I should like to start something.

For now, I shall continue to train where I can.

Thank you all who attended for the great experience.

J