Victor Parlati

Taking Wing Chun to the next level.

- Ki Innis

SIFU VICTOR PARLATI is one of the top authorities on Wing Chun Kung Fu in the United States and has been teaching it since 1984. He began his training 44 years ago, in 1975.

Sifu Parlati trained directly under two of Grandmaster Ip Man’s students, spent eight years with Grandmaster Moy Yat (1975-1983), becoming one of his best assistant instructors. In 1983, he became a direct student of Grandmaster William Cheung in the Traditional Wing Chun system. He trained under Grandmaster Cheung for 28 years and his rank is that of Provisional Master Level 3.

Sifu Parlati was appointed to open the very first Grandmaster William Cheung sanctioned Wing Chun school in New York City in August of 1984 with Sifu Sonny Whitmore and Sifu Phillip Redmond. That school is still open to this day, now run by Victor’s top student, Sifu Michael Mundy.

What makes Wing Chun so popular and why have you stayed with it for so many years?

It became popular because of Bruce Lee’s movies in the early 1970s, and like millions, his movies inspired me to learn back in late 1974. I read everything I could about Bruce’s martial arts background. Jeet Kune Do would have been my first choice but the only JKD school in the world at that time was Dan Inosanto’s in Los Angeles.

I began training in Wing Chun in May 1975 in Brooklyn, NY, with GM Moy Yat, and then in 1983 with GM William Cheung in Traditional Wing Chun. In time, I came to realize that developing a strong Wing Chun background was an excellent way to start my martial arts career.