Carousel by Iron Wire Martial Arts
Iron Wire Martial Arts@ironwiremartialarts I grew up as a young adult on 9th and Market in San Francisco, long before the tech boom transformed the city. During those years, I would make my way across town to Chinatown to train Kung Fu with my Sifu. At first, Kung Fu gave me a sense of identity and empowerment. I felt like I had found a real master and been given access to an ancient tradition. But over time, I realized Chinatown itself had become a sanctuary. The Gold Mountain Sagely Monastery was right outside my Sifu’s school. On weekends, we could smell the incense and hear the monks chanting. The Willie “Woo Woo” Wong Playground was up the street. We ate Yum Cha together, performed Kung Fu at the Far East Cafe, and passed the historic Great Star Theater—some of whose old chairs eventually found their way into my Sifu’s school. These weren’t tourist attractions to me. They were simply part of life—training with Sifu, eating together afterward, and growing up. Looking back, I realize I wasn’t only learning Kung Fu in Chinatown. Chinatown was teaching me too. That’s why returning all these years later with my own students meant so much. I could walk those same streets with them and show them where part of our Kung Fu story came from. Our art didn’t simply appear in our school in Houston. It came through people. It came through generations. And part of our story has roots in these streets. For me, Chinatown will always be more than a neighborhood. It is where I found my teacher. It is where I found Kung Fu. And, in many ways, it is where I found a part of myself.
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