112. Wing Tsun Masters - A women's self defence group

We went to a free women’s self-defence class run by Wing Tsun London in memory of Sarah Everard, and what stayed with us wasn’t bravado, it was clarity. Wing Tsun training makes “safety” feel less like a vague hope and more like a practical skill you can build, step by step, with your own body.

We get into the roots of Wing Tsun Masters as a martial art and self-defence system with a history stretching back more than 300 years, including the tradition that it was shaped by a woman and named after Yim Wing Tsun. That origin matters because the methods match the mission: deflection, angles, timing, and simple physics instead of trying to overpower someone head-on. If you’ve ever wondered whether self-defence training can work for smaller frames, this conversation explains why Wing Tsun is often seen as especially effective for women.

We also talk about what Wing Tsun London looks like on the ground: multiple schools across the city, a wide age range of students, and a deliberate effort to make training welcoming regardless of gender or background. You’ll hear why women are statistically more likely to be attacked in public yet less likely to attend self-defence schools, and how free classes lower the barriers. A mother and daughter share what changes when you train together, from fitness and focus to the confidence of walking home alone, plus why practising with male students can add realism without losing safety.

If you care about women’s safety, practical self-defence, and building confidence through martial arts training, press play. Subscribe, share with someone who walks home late, and leave us a review telling us what would help you feel safer in your own city.

A special thanks to Bence Kaposi (Labrat Media founder) who recorded these interviews. 

Audio edited by Jamie Warren-Green (Umbrella Audio)

Transcript

Why This Class Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:01

I reflect on attending a free women's self-defense course run by Wing Chun London in memory of Sarah Everard and what it feels like to train in Wing Chun, a martial art designed by a woman for women.

Building Wing Chun London

Why Women’s Self-Defence Is Urgent

SPEAKER_05 0:15

Wing Chun is a self-defense system which is established more than 300 years back in China. And there was a dynasty change. So the Wing Chun itself is originated from the Shaolin Temple. And one of the five establishing masters was a lady who you can see on this picture, Gi Moi. As a legendary says, she was the hidden daughter of the Kaiser who just been pushed off the throne. Her student was Yim Wing Chun, a very beautiful lady who was studying from her for more than two years. And the name Wing Chun itself is coming from her name, which is mean beautiful spring, or if you say Wing Chun Kun, the feast of beautiful spring. Wing Chun London has established more than 11 years now. With one of my beloved students, we had this idea that we would like to teach Wing Chun all around London. I'm practicing more than 26 years, so luckily I have a really good connection with Grandmaster Norbert Madai, who is now visiting us in London the third time in March. And we started the schools 11 years ago in Victoria, and then they started growing. So every year we added one school, so we just opened the 11ths in Hammersmith. I would say everyone is welcome to join to the classes. Doesn't matter age, doesn't matter gender, doesn't matter ethnicity, everyone is welcome. The youngest student at the moment is 10 years old. The oldest is 82 years old lady and she practicing four times a week. So like ages doesn't really matter. I think everyone looking for or reaching out for Wing Chun is a different reason. Someone would like to protect themselves and their loved ones. Someone just would like to find a community or a family, and that's why they're joining to us. Someone just would like to socialize and hang out in a good community. So if you're looking for these ones, you definitely are at a good place. We have, as I mentioned, 11 schools with really highly trained masters and instructors who can teach you really well. I would say probably 40% of the students are ladies. And this year is actually, I think, is even a growing number. So like I think from January we have more ladies sign up to the schools than than men's. It's really important because we always try to reach out to the ladies. Nowadays, especially in London, is a tough word. So like uh knowing some self-defence skills, that's always important. Every month we try to reach out and uh hold a free self-defence class within the schools. So that's how.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

The reality is that women are more likely to be attacked on the streets, especially in a big, vast, unpredictable city like London. However, ironically, statistically speaking, women are less likely to attend self-defence schools than men are. And that's why we host events like today, where we have a big women's self-defence class on, uh, in order to bring women in and show them exactly the merits of this the martial art and self-defense in general. Wing Chan is especially effective for women because it's about deflection and it's about deflecting power. It's not about fighting force with force. But Wing Chan is very special in the sense that it uses physics, among other things, to actually go against that assumption and enable women to defend themselves effectively.

SPEAKER_03 3:27

Yeah, what's changed for me since I was charged with Wing Chun, I suppose, is more the fact that I feel that if I was ever in a situation where I would need to use my kind of skills that I've learned, then I'll be able to do it quickly and effectively.

SPEAKER_02 3:39

So we first came to Wing Chung as a mother and daughter just to spend a bit more quality time together and obviously to be fitter. And for me as a mum, it was about making sure that my daughter, if she ever needed to protect herself, had those skills when she didn't have a parent around to support her. So since I've started to come to Wing Chun, I think fitness um has definitely been something that's improved. Concentration and mindset has definitely improved for me, and and actually genuinely spending more quality time with my daughter. What do you think?

Sarah Everard Memorial And Mission

SPEAKER_04 4:12

I also think that like I feel more confident like walking home on my own and being outside of my own. So yeah, I'm yeah.

Realistic Practice And A Real Attack

SPEAKER_06 4:22

So there is two levels to today's event. On the first level, we are commemorating the tragic murder of Sarah Everard, and on the second level, we are welcoming ladies from all over London to teach them self-defense and give them a better chance to come out from a potentially dangerous situation. Because Winchun was designed by women, all of the techniques are targeting one's weak points, and we are consciously learning how to generate the most amount of force in a very short space and a very short time. So body weight, body strength all gets trained up in a very special way to cause the most damage to one. It's important that uh women's self-defense training is not only women only, because in the real world, you you are more likely to get attacked by a by a man. So our man students were here and were helping all the ladies to get a little bit of more realistic feel for the attacks. So I think uh this is a very, very important aspect. Yeah, so it's a very individual martial arts, so depends on your talent and how much work you put into it. But uh, the best example, maybe I can say that after free training session, uh a student of mine was attacked uh abroad and she could easily defeat her opponent. Of course, it was a very horrible situation and very tough for her to work this out after the attack. But during the attack, she stood up strong and she used Wing Chun to uh the maximum efficiency defeat her attacker.