William Kwok is a martial arts educator and promoter of martial arts education in America. Nicknamed "Kung Fu Gentleman", Kwok founded the Martial Arts Education Society, a non-profit organization which promotes martial arts education and traditional martial arts culture. He also serves as the co-chair of Harvard Alumni for Education in New York City.
Martial Arts Background
William Kwok is the elder son of Kwok Yuen Wah, a physical education professor who introduced Wing Chun and movement science to Kwok. Prior to learning Practical Wing Chun from Wan Kam Leung, Kwok trained in various martial arts systems including traditional Taekwondo, under Kim Suk Jun, a disciple of General Choi Hong Hi. Kwok is credited with introducing Practical Wing Chun to America. Wing Chun Illustrated writes:
"Like the famous monk Xuanzang in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, who journeyed to India in quest of the Buddhist scriptures, Kwok helps bring Practical Wing Chun to the America, teaching Westerners how to understand and decode this ancient, yet still modern, Gung Fu style."
Kwok is acknowledged for analyzing martial arts techniques with modern movement science and improving the teaching methods. Besides learning movement science from his father, he studied physical education at Columbia University. Before promoting martial arts education in America, he taught Business Studies as an adjunct professor at City University of New York. Kwok also holds a master's degree from Harvard University. He considers the mentorship of his thesis director, historian Philip A. Kuhn, as the "hallmark of his time at Harvard". He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education degree at Northeastern University, where his goal is to develop a martial arts-inspired social-emotional learning program for elementary school students.
Martial Arts Education Development and Promotion
Kwok is credited as one of the key people who systemized Practical Wing Chun study into a modern-day training program. He promotes the concepts of martial skills and teaching skills as two different skill sets, and that martial arts teachers' training should include teachers education such as curriculum design and analysis, motor learning, and teaching methods. In addition, he emphasizes the need to balance physical training of technique with philosophical training of the mind "like Yin and Yang...complementing and supplementing each other", believing that a strong sense of culture and humility - what he calls "martial virtue" - are critical to the study of martial arts and the improvement of the martial artist. In a 2017 interview with mywoodendummy.com, Kwok describes five sensory systems - the visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, and proprioceptive systems - which he believes are important in Wing Chun training. Kwok founded and acts as president of Martial Arts Education Society in 2018 with the mission of “bringing self-discipline and hope back to our communities." He also developed a program called Martial Mind, a social-emotional learning program for elementary schools. In March 2018, Kwok was invited as a guest speaker to share his knowledge of martial arts education and Chinese culture in an academic seminar hosted by Harvard Chinese Students and Scholars Association titled "Is Chinese Martial Arts Encountering Challenged?" at Harvard Graduate School of Education. In October 2018, Kwok presented a seminar he titled "Kung Fu · Life" to students of Princeton University, discussing the philosophy behind martial arts.
In 2017, Kwok became the World Ving Tsun Athletic Association's first recipient of the Silver Achievement Award.
In 2018, he was presented with the Certificate of Merit and a citation of his contribution to promoting Martial Arts and Chinese culture by New York State Assemblyman Peter Abbate. The following year, he received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from US Congressman Max Rose.
