THE BRIEFING Martial Arts Business Takes Different Course With a burly demeanor and shaven head, Stanley Wong looks like your quintessential bad guy who enters the scene to challenge the handsome hero. Not a character in a B-grade movie, Wong is a martial arts expert and owner of Old School Wing Chun, a Glendale-based school that teaches the skills that Bruce Lee started out learning. Wong formed the school a year and a half ago and charges $75 a month for four lessons a week. “I grew up in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, so when you are the only Chinese kid on the block, you have to learn how to fight. Wing Chun is very direct and goes straight toward the center of a person to offset their balance. We fight by maximizing the body’s physical possibilities so you don’t need a lot of physical strength. Since it was founded by a nun, it’s a smarter way of combat. “I studied many other Chinese styles and didn’t want to learn Wing Chun because I thought it was all Bruce Lee hype, but after going against a practitioner, I got my butt kicked and thought ‘Wow!’ “People don’t like you being close to them, so we fight by getting close to them and restricting their movements, which also minimizes our reaction time too. We go by feel and, right away, it’s pre-programmed response: He’s open. ‘Boom!’ I move. “In a lot of Chinese styles, there are no belt systems. Parents don’t like Wing Chun because it isn’t a belt system, and they believe that other martial arts where you shout very loudly and kick very high is aggressive, but that’s just showmanship, not real fighting. “I’d like to get a core group of dedicated people before I expand the business. We’ll just have to see.” Rosanna Mah
