Academy in Cyprus embraces Wing Chun Kung Fu

Sifu Yiannos Christoforou teaches Wing Chun Kung Fu at his acadamy in Nicosia, Cyprus, Dec. 5, 2016. Christoforou started to learn Wing Chun Kung Fu in 1989 at the age of 21 from German Wing Chun master Philipp Bayer, who was from Ip Man lineage. He opened his academy in Nicosia six years ago and has 50 trainees currently, 30 adults and 20 kids. Wing Chun Kung Fu is a branch of Chinese Kung Fu which was originated from southern China hundreds of years ago. [Photo: Xinhua]

A group of Cypriot kids as young as six years old gather every other night in a gymnastics hall in Nicosia to learn kicking and punching Chinese style.

They are the dedicated trainees of Sifu Yiannos Christoforou, a golden sash certified Instructor of Wing Chun Kung Fu, who has been teaching one of the most popular versions of street fighting for more than six years.

Christoforou runs the Wing Chun Kung Fu Academy in a Nicosia suburb, he said his academy is a member of the Kung Fu Association of Europe and the Ip Man Ving Tsun Kung Fu Association of Hong Kong China.

The Academy has 50 trainees currently, 30 adults and 20 kids. But Christoforou says he used to have as many as 75 trainees a few years ago.