Instructor Jason Zheng

Forest Lake Club Instructor
• WKL Practical Wing Chun Level 3 Instructor
• PWC AUS Certified Kidsfit Wing Chun Instructor
• PWC AUS Certified Youth Wing Chun Instructor
• PWC AUS Certified Baby Dragon Instructor
• Tactical Thai Sword Level 1 Instructor
• Level 1 - Joint Locks by Shudokan Akido
• BJJ 2nd Degree White Belt (BDK)
• Judo Yellow Belt (Black Dragon Kai)
• Central Wing Chun Sticky Hand Module
• Qld Blue card (Working with children)
• Advance First Aid

Awards:
• Instructor of the Year 2016
• My Favourite Instructor of the Year 2020

A Journey Through the Arts

The Spark

Some paths find you through books. Others through people. Mine found me through a screen, specifically, through the flickering light of a martial arts movie watched alongside my Dad.

Growing up, those films were more than entertainment. They were a window into something that felt both ancient and alive, a world where discipline, movement, and philosophy were woven into every strike and stance. The seed was planted early. It just needed the right moment to grow.

That moment came during university, when I sat down to watch Ip Man 2. There was something about the way Wing Chun moved, efficient, grounded, deceptively simple on the surface, that stopped me cold. It didn't just entertain me. It called to me. By the time the credits rolled, the decision had already been made.

I was going to learn Wing Chun.

Finding the School

Towards the end of 2014, I walked through the doors of Practical Wing Chun and met Sifu Jack Leung for the first time. I didn't fully know what I was stepping into — but I knew I wanted to be there.

Bringing it Home

Within two weeks of joining, I was doing something I hadn't planned on, teaching.

Every evening after class, I'd come home and walk my brother through what I'd learned that day. It worked. Not long after, my brother joined Practical Wing Chun himself.

That experience taught me something important early on: to truly understand something, you have to be able to share it. Teaching, even informally, forces a deeper kind of knowing.

Expanding the Map

Wing Chun has always been my foundation — my first true art. But under Sifu Jack's guidance, the school opened doors to a much wider world.

Over the years, I've had the privilege of exploring systems that sit alongside Wing Chun and enrich it in unexpected ways:

Krabi Krabong — the traditional Thai art of sword and staff, bringing weapon awareness and distance management into sharp focus

Silat & Kali — fluid, deceptive, and deeply rooted in South-East Asian traditions

Judo — a powerful reminder that balance, leverage, and the ground are never to be ignored

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu — the art of patience, position, and problem-solving under pressure

Southern Praying Mantis (Tong Long) — a Chinese system of rhythmic, angular striking that added new dimensions to my understanding of trapping and timing

Systema — the Russian martial art built around breath, relaxation, and natural body movement, offering a completely different philosophy on how to absorb and redirect force

Combatives — real-world combative system, with the seminar experience.

Akido — using the momentum and energy of an attacker against them, employing flowing circular movements, joint locks, and throws to neutralize threats

Chi Sau Module by Lok Sifu – intensive Chi Sau workshop to understand the sensitivity of close combat when constant force and pressure is applied

Stunt Workshop by Instructor Jason Ohalloran - intensive stunt workshop sponsored by Sifu Jack

Life Beyond the school

Training has always been at the centre of my life, but it doesn't exist in isolation.

Sport has been a constant companion — basketball, volleyball, touch footy, rugby, table tennis. I'll try almost anything, but basketball and volleyball hold a special place. They feed a different kind of athleticism: reaction time, spatial awareness, team movement. They complement the martial arts more than most people would expect.

At home, my days are grounded by simpler rhythms — taking my dogs out, staying active, keeping my body and mind engaged. Movement isn't just something I do at training; it's woven into how I live.

And then there's coffee.

There's something meditative about the process — the precision, the patience, the craft of it. I currently work as a barista, and I find genuine joy in the ritual. In some ways, it's not so different from martial arts: both reward attention to detail, both improve with repetition, and both are, at their best, a form of care for others.

Becoming an Instructor

One of the most meaningful mileIstones of this journey came not from a grading or a competition, but from being trusted to teach.

Today, I hold the title of Full Instructor within the Practical Wing Chun system. It's a responsibility I carry with pride and humility in equal measure. Every class is a reminder of how much there still is to learn — and how much can be passed on at the same time.

Teaching has sharpened me in ways that solo training never could. It demands clarity of thought, patience, and an ability to meet each student where they are. You can't hide behind vague understanding when someone in front of you needs a real answer.

The path ahead points toward becoming a Sifu — a title that represents not just technical mastery, but the wisdom and character to lead others meaningfully through this art. That goal keeps me focused, keeps me hungry, and keeps me returning to the mat.

The Vision

Ten years into this journey, the art has given me more than technique. It's given me community, purpose, and a way of seeing the world.

And it's given me a dream.

One day, I want to build a space that brings together the things I love most — a combined café, gym, and martial arts school. A place where people come not just to train or to grab a coffee, but to connect. To learn. To belong.

It's an ambitious vision, and I know it will take time, years of planning, discipline, and patience. But those are exactly the qualities that martial arts teaches. I'm in no rush. I'm building something that lasts.

For now, I keep training. I keep teaching. I keep learning.

And I keep showing up, just like I did on that first day in late 2014, five days a week, ready for whatever the next lesson would bring.

"The goal is not to be better than the other person. It is to be better than you were yesterday."