Anton Van Thomas

Overview

Sifu Anthon Van Thomas was born in London, England on April 10, 1962. He began his Wing Chun studies in the early 1980s under Sifu Samuel Kwok, and also studied under Grandmasters Ip Chun and Ip Ching in Hong Kong. Sifu Van Thomas is also a member of the Ving Tsun Athletic Association, and is on the board of the Ip Man Museum in Foshan province, China as a committee member.

His involvement with the Ving Tsun Athletic Association has led him to organise many seminars for Grandmaster Ip Chun, Grandmaster Ip Ching, Sifu Tui Shong Tin and Sifu Samuel Kwok. Sifu Anton Van Thomas has also met many other students of Grandmaster Ip Man.

Sifu Anton Van Thomas has also worked as a columnist, writing many articles for Combat Magazine (UK) and has featured in many other articles. He has also been involved in countless Martial Arts Tournaments in the capacity of Organiser and Judge.

Sifu Anton Van Thomas has appeared on both UK and Chinese television giving advice on the implementation of Wing Chun Kung Fu.

Today, Sifu Van Thomas teaches that Wing Chun's principles can be applied to every aspect of daily life. Over the years, he has developed a profound understanding of the concepts of Wing Chun which combined with his Wing Chun lineage enables him to disseminate pure Ip Man Wing Chun to his students. Sifu Van Thomas is noted for his teaching methods especially those of sensitivity training and Chi Sau (sticky hands).

Sifu Van Thomas has many notable students who have gone on to teach their own classes under his banner. For example, Sifu Neil Parris (Key Kung Fu), Sifu Richard Manson, Sifu Tammi Willis and Sifu Riaz Hossenbux

1980s - present

1980s

In the 1980s Sifu Anton Van Thomas worked as part of the security team guarding members of the British Royal Family

1990s

In 1996 Sifu Anton Van Thomas was invited to a Masters seminar in Canton, China, to exchange ideas on the development of Ving Tsun/ Yong Chong/ Wing Chun Kung Fu around the world, which was hosted by Grandmaster Shum Ng. In the same year, he was invited to give a demonstration at the Chin Woo/ Wu Shu Kung Fu World Championships. In 1999, he took part in the demonstrations at the first World Ving Tsun Conference (Hong Kong) as a VIP guest.

2000s

In 2001 Sifu Anton Van Thomas was awarded a place in the Combat Hall of Fame, and on 10 November 2002, Sifu Anton Van Thomas and Sifu Gary Mckenzie demonstrated Wing Chun/Ving Tsun at the opening of the Ip Man Tong in Fatsan, China.

Sifu Van Thomas hosted a Wing Chun demonstration on the Leitai at seni 05 & 06 (Martial Art Exhibition) In 2006, Sifu Anton Van Thomas was invited as a guest speaker at the British Museum where he and his team gave a demonstration of the Wing Chun Forms and Chi Sau (sticky hands) In 2009, he took part in a record breaking demonstration of the most people simultaneously performing Siu Nim Tao (the first form of Wing Chun) in Hong Kong, which was organised by the World Wing Chun Union.

Sifu Van Thomas has recently published a book called The Centre of Wing Chun: Chi Sau, which is due to be released soon.

Lineage

Lineage

Ip Man – Ip Chun – Samuel Kwok – Anton Van Thomas.

Senior Students of Sifu Anton Van Thomas: