Kleber Battaglia

A Spiritual Warrior.

- Jack Leung

WITH 30 YEARS of training in a range of martial arts including Jiu-Jitsu, Kali, Silat and Western Boxing, Sifu Kleber Battaglia brings a refreshing perspective to the origins and purpose of Chinese Kung Fu, breaking the myth and mystique behind traditional martial arts with historical and scientific evidence.

Since 2010, he has made China his home, serving as the regional director of Practical Wing Chun China, under his Sifu, Grandmaster Wan Kam Leung, while travelling around the country to learn from the last generation of Chinese masters still alive.

The last several years, Sifu Kleber has been integrating Internal Chinese styles with his Practical Wing Chun practice, including Yi Quan, Tai Ji, Wenshengquan and Emei 12 Zhuang.

How has your conception of martial arts changed throughout your journey?

My idea of martial arts is completely different from when I first started 30 years ago. I used to be a pure fighter: I grew up in Italy watching Hong Kong-style Kung Fu movies and wanted to copy what I saw on the screen. But, nowadays, I think Bruce Lee is both the best and the worst thing that ever happened to Kung Fu because while he attracted many people to Chinese martial arts, he gave them the wrong idea of it.

True martial arts is not just about fighting and even less about winning. It is not about punishing your body in a gym for x number of hours a day. It is not even about repeating forms and techniques over and over again.