Who Is Sifu Kendra Mahon? The Teacher Behind Kung Fu Kendra

Search for Wing Chun online and one name comes up again and again: Kung Fu Kendra. Behind the name is Sifu Kendra Mahon, a Traditional Wing Chun teacher who has spent more than twenty years training, and who now teaches students across North America, Europe and beyond from a single, carefully structured online program. This is her story: where her Wing Chun comes from, what she has built, and why she created the Become a Sifu course.

Where Her Wing Chun Comes From

Kendra Mahon began training in 2005 at the Canadian Wing Chun Kung Fu Academy. She teaches Traditional Wing Chun as it was passed down to her by Master Brian Lewadny, who learned it from Grandmaster William Cheung. Grandmaster Cheung trained under Ip Man, the teacher who brought Wing Chun to the world, and was a training partner of Bruce Lee in Hong Kong.

Lineage matters in Wing Chun because the art is passed from teacher to student, not from book to reader. The details of structure, the feel of centerline control and the sensitivity of chi sau are corrected by hand and by eye over years. Sifu Kendra holds her purple sash, which is Master level in Traditional Wing Chun, earned through years of training, testing and teaching.

From the Training Hall to Students Around the World

As her reputation grew, so did the messages from people who wanted to learn real, traditional Wing Chun but had no qualified school anywhere near them. Some lived hours from the nearest club. Others worked shifts, raised families or could not fit a fixed class schedule into their lives. Many had watched clips online but had no structure and no one to tell them whether they were doing it right.

Her answer was to teach online properly. Over the years she has built a library of more than 35 online courses, founded the Global Kung Fu Alliance, and written a growing library of books on Wing Chun, including The Philosophy of Wing Chun, The History of Wing Chun, The Life of Ip Man and Chi Sau: The Art of Sensitivity.

Why She Created the Become a Sifu Course

“So many people around the world want to learn real, traditional Wing Chun, but there’s no qualified school anywhere near them,” Sifu Kendra says. “I wanted to give them a complete path, not a collection of clips.”

The result is a 10-level Wing Chun certification. Each level has published requirements and ends with a graded exam: students film their forms and techniques, submit a written exam, and receive personal feedback from Sifu Kendra. The next level only opens once they pass. Promotion is earned through tested skill, never through time or payment.

Partner training is part of the program. Students who have a training partner are encouraged to work with them. Students who train alone use specialized solo drills Sifu Kendra created to build the same skills through visualization and objects of resistance.

The Power of Accelerated Learning

The course is built around short, focused daily practice. Motor skills consolidate between sessions, so an hour or two of training every day builds skill faster than one long class a week. A dedicated student who trains daily can complete all 10 levels in about eight months, which adds up to more than 300 hours of focused practice, more than most twice-a-week class students get in three years. Students who train less simply take longer, and access is lifetime.

Sifu Kendra is clear about what the certification means. Sifu means teacher: completing all 10 levels certifies that a student can perform and teach the complete curriculum. Master level, the purple sash, is a separate rank earned over many more years of teaching and training.

Her Students

Her students train in living rooms, garages and backyards in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Poland, Denmark, Italy, France and more. Several have completed all 10 levels and earned their Sifu certification, including Sifu Chris Arendt, certified on March 30, 2026. Many have shared their experience in their own words and on video; you can read and watch them on Kung Fu Kendra’s reviews page and on Trustpilot.

What Others Say

Over the years, Sifu Kendra has trained and worked with leaders from business and entertainment, including Hap Klopp, founder of The North Face; W. Brett Wilson of Dragons’ Den; and Dr. Joe Vitale, star of The Secret. She has been interviewed on martial arts podcasts and shows, and featured by Oil and Gas World Magazine.

The Heart of Her Teaching

Ask Sifu Kendra what Wing Chun gives a student and her answer goes beyond self-defense: simplicity, structure and calm under pressure. Staying centered when someone pushes, using force instead of fighting it, and continuing when it gets hard. “I see those lessons in my students’ careers, families and confidence,” she says.

To learn more about Sifu Kendra Mahon, visit her biography at Kung Fu Kendra or read her own account, Who Is Sifu Kendra Mahon? Why I Created the Become a Sifu Course.

Editor’s note: Wing Chun Magazine is published by Sifu Kendra Mahon.