About Your Instructor

Your Subtitle text

SMAU Hall Of Honors Wing Chun Instructor of the year 2011 Sifu Chris Damiano has been involved in Martial Arts and Combat over the last 28years. Including Wrestling, American Karate, Hapkido, Judo, Boxing Filipino Martial Arts, and JKD. Born and raised in Chicago, he worked and managed the Bar and Club scene for 14 years. He has witnessed first hand just about everything that can happen in a real world situation and knows what works and doesn’t work in a fight. Sifu Chris Damiano began his Wing Chun training in 1994. Upon watching the demonstration and class he saw the directness, simplicity, practicality, and explosiveness that answered today’s combative problems. Sifu Damiano trained rigorously and over a few years became one of the top students.

Sifu Chris Damiano has met and trained with some of the arts greatest practitioners from around the world. He still regularly goes to the

, Hong Kong, and

China

to train with his Kung Fu Brothers and attends seminars and events around the world.

Sifu Chris Damiano started training under the youngest son of Ip Man in Chicago, Grandmaster Ip Ching. He was blown away by the power and speed of a man near 70. From there his training took a very progressive turn. He trained those methods diligently and set out for a "deeper" understanding of the art. Later in that same year Sifu Damiano moved to Destin, Florida and taught privately out of his home.

In 2002 he was invited as a U.S. representative for the opening of the Ip Man Tong in Foshan, China. There he participated in demonstrations and exchanges with people from around the world and different Wing Chun Styles from China, which was unheard of at the time in the U.S. During that time he also did more training with his Sifu Grandmaster Ip Ching furthering his knowledge and skills of the art.

Sifu Damiano has continued to go to Hong Kong and China year after year to train. He and three of his Kung Fu brothers (2 from the US and 2 from the UK) Went to Hong Kong and privately trained with Grandmaster Ip Ching going through the entire system on how it is to be taught in great detail. At that landmark trip they were given the responsibility to pass on those methods correctly as per Grandmaster Ip Ching. Upon returning to Destin,Florida he decided to do just that, and started teaching publicly and openly and has become one the most sought out instructors in the Gulf Coast. With students throughout the Southeast, St Louis,Texas, Minnesota, and as far as Okinawa.

In 2010 Sifu Damiano returned to Hong Kong and was examined and archived on his ability to teach the system by his Sifu. Upon this he became one of the first westerners to obtain this achievement in the Ving Tsun Ip Ching Athletic Association. Currently Sifu Chris Damiano was selected to be #2 trainer and inside striking coach for Boxing's Pro Heavy Weight Moses Droz by Droz and head trainer James "Golden Fist" Sisco.

Sifu Chris Damiano remains well respected in the martial arts world across the globe. Sifu Damiano teaches with an open heart and open mind and believes that it’s not how long you’ve done Kung Fu, but how often you practice.

“ You can have a pilot’s license for 20 years, but it’s the flight hours logged that make you a pilot