Experience Authentic Wing Chun Kung Fu
Salt Iron Temple is a Salt Lake City sanctuary dedicated to traditional Wing Chun, holistic wellness, and community outreach, a direct line within the Ip Man lineage and focused on discipline, strength, and balance.
What is Ip Man Wing Chun?
Wing Chun is a very unique and scientific form of martial arts. Wing Chun is a style of Kung Fu that originates from China, the martial art was later refined in Hong Kong by the late Ip Man. Wing Chun’s specialty is in close contact combat, using quick punches and kicks with a tight defence, coordinated through agile stances and footwork for a quick advance. The effectiveness of this fighting style is achieved by well coordinated attacks with simultaneous defence and vise versa. Due to its effectiveness this martial art makes for an effective form of self defence. The student must learn to deliver the correct amount of energy or force, whilst staying relaxed when possible. A good Sifu (instructor / teacher) will teach the student to overcome force and strength with positioning and turning rather than meeting it head on. The style uses kicks, sweeps, elbows, palm strikes, punches, trapping and control techniques as part of its fighting arsenal.
Kung Fu Lineage
Ip Man taught many famous martial artists including the late Bruce Lee. The other photos are Ip Man’s sons Grandmasters Ip Chun and Ip Ching, and their student, Samuel Kwok. This linage can trace its history back to the origin of Wing Chun.
It was Ip Man’s dream to make the Chinese martial art Wing Chun, a well respected fighting system around the world, and through tuition by his sons, Samuel Kwok has played his part over the last twenty five years. Sam Kwok has helped bring Wing Chun to the forefront of Martial arts practice today. Grandmaster Kwok has written a couple of great Wing Chun Books and made many Wing Chun Videos and DVDs which help students across the world improve their Wing Chun. There are many martial arts schools and instructors up and down the United Kingdom, as well as across Europe, in Denmark, Germany, South Africa, Australia and the United States to name a few. Many of the Sifu’s at these schools owe a great deal of their understanding of the art to the influence of Samuel Kwok’s teaching of traditional Ip Man style Wing Chun Kung Fu.
Samuel Kwok Wing Chun Association
Samuel Kwok, under the guidance of Ip Chun and Ip Ching, continues to represent Traditional Ip Man Wing Chun in Europe, as he has done for many years. Use the links at the top of the page to navigate the site, and learn more about the traditional Ip Man style. The Site contains many videos and photos of Wing Chun in action. In the true spirit of Wing Chun and with the aim keeping the art practical and efficient, Samuel Kwok has trained with many different martial arts masters over the years. This includes masters from Brazilian Ju Jitsu (BJJ), Mauy Thai, Kickboxing and professional boxers. This has ensured that Samuel Kwok’s teaching of Wing Chun techniques is of the highest quality and always practical.
Sifu Sangak Yeshi (Guo Zhiqiang)
My path to becoming a Sifu began in the unlikeliest of places—solitary confinement.
At just 17 years old, I was sent to prison for what was ultimately a harmless prank where no one was harmed. The consequences, however, were life-altering. I spent the first four months of my sentence completely alone, locked in solitary confinement. In that silence, surrounded by violence, racism, and chaos, I found something rare: a book on Buddhism. It sparked a journey inward. I began meditating daily, reflecting deeply, and practicing with unwavering focus. That confinement became my crucible.
While incarcerated, I transformed my body and mind. I completed certifications in personal training, physical fitness, nutrition, and fitness therapy. I went from 195 pounds to a 275-pound bodybuilder in just eight months. When I was released, I didn’t return to the world I’d known before—I stepped into a new one. I was ordained as a monk in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism at Ewam, the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas, under the guidance of Tulku Sangak Rinpoche. I became the lead statue builder on site and dove into the deep waters of tantric meditation and energy cultivation.
Eventually, I returned to society and pursued a career as a tattoo artist. During that time, I became uchi deshi—a live-in apprentice—under Sensei Shento in Birankai Aikido. My time in Aikido was formative, but it ended in grief after the sudden passing of my teacher. I stepped away from the path, but the fire never left me.
Nearly two decades later, my life was again changed by a major health crisis: a stroke caused by a tumor left me with seizures and severe tremors. I lost the ability to tattoo. I couldn’t even write my name.
But the martial path called me home.
That call led me to Wing Chun and to Grandmaster Samuel Kwok. Through the art of Wing Chun, I found deep healing—not just physically, but spiritually. The sensitivity, structure, and meditative discipline of Wing Chun helped me overcome my seizures and tremors completely. It reconnected me with my breath, my balance, and my purpose. I became stronger, steadier, and more dexterous than I had ever been.
Wing Chun gave me my life back.
Today, I teach this art not just as a martial system, but as a complete method for personal transformation. My mission is to help others overcome physical and mental suffering by developing internal power, external skill, and inner stillness. At Salt Iron Temple, we blend traditional Ip Man Wing Chun with breathwork, meditation, and physical training—not bound by religion, but rooted in harmony.
My journey began in darkness, but it brought me here—to the light of discipline, compassion, and purpose. I now dedicate my life to helping others walk this path.
