Who We Are
Our Founders
After training together for several years, Ross Sargent and Col Maggs founded Cambridge Kung Fu in 2006.
Since then they have continued training to develop their martial arts skills and pass them on to all members of the Kung Fu family.
Over the years there have been many instructors and students who have helped the club grow, and without their help and support we would not be where we are today.
Sifu Ross, company Director and Chief Instructor, began studying martial arts in 1994 and specifically Wing Chun in 1997. He has trained under many teachers and now happily trains in Wing Chun (Yong Chun) under Sifu Benno Westra, Chief Instructor of UCT International, whom Ross represents in the UK.
Ross put his experience as a play worker in a primary school to excellent use in developing the Cambridge Kung Fu Kids Classes into what they are today; a fun way to help kids become more aware, more confident and more disciplined via the medium of martial arts! Ross takes an enormous interest in health, well being, exercise and education and is passionate about building a Cambridge Kung Fu community.
Col is our Senior Instructor and Youth & Adults Programme Coordinator, as well as a company Director. He began studying Wing Chun in 2001 with Cambridge Kung Fu and currently holds a 2nd Technician Grade. He was awarded his Sifu title in 2019 by Sifu Benno Westra of UCT International, whom he represents in the UK along with Sifu Ross.
In 2003 Col began his Escrima Concepts training with Instructor John Morgan, and became an Instructor for Escrima Concepts under Grand Master Steve Tappin in 2006. He currently holds a 2nd Technician Grade and heads up the weapons segment of Cambridge Kung Fu.
In 2004 Col met Grandmaster Brian Jones and began training in his Integrated Kun Tao system, focusing on Tai Chi Chuan and Chi Kung. In 2008 he became a private student of Grandmaster Brian and started our Tai Chi Chuan classes, becoming a full Integrated Kun Tao Instructor in 2014. Since Grandmaster Brian’s passing Col has continued to train with Master Ricky Crofts.
Our Staff and Volunteers
Cambridge Kung Fu is run by a small team of full time, part time and volunteer staff who are passionate about martial arts, education, community and fun! We are a not-for-profit, social enterprise who believe that we really have something unique and awesome to offer. Even those Cambridge Kung Fu staff who are predominantly office based also teach and train in several of our classes. All of our staff are DBS checked and all our class leaders are first aid trained.
Laura Sargent: Senior Kids Instructor, Programme Manager
More details about Laura coming soon …
Rin Hands: Kids Instructor, Adults TC Instructor, Programme Administrator
Often only identified as a name at the end of an email, we are happy to confirm that Rin does actually exist as a human member of the CKF Admin Team!
In addition to her admin duties behind the scenes, she can also be identified as one of the loudest Kids Instructors (she informs us she gets along best with Tiny Tigers as they are the same mental age), and has been known to dabble in Escrima Concepts in addition to her current Wing Chun and Tai Chi training.
Steve Sargent: Kids Instructor, Youth & Adults WC Instructor, Programme Administrator
More details about Steve coming soon …
Craig Gallacher
Kids Instructor
IT, Media & Payment Systems
John Paine
Youth WC Instructor
John Hayward
EC Assistant Instructor
Ka Fai Leung
WC Instructor
Kieran Love
Youth & Adults WC Instructor
Lee Grant
Snow Leopards Instructor
Martyn Weeds
Kids Instructor
Youth & Adults EC Instructor
Minh Huynh-Quoc
WC Instructor
Pam Gallacher
Kids Instructor
Finance & Payment Systems
Tiest Vilée
Youth & Adults EC Instructor
Mission Statement (Our ‘Why’)
Cambridge Kung Fu exists to enhance people’s lives through martial arts and mindful movement practice.
Vision (What We Want To Do)
- To help bring out the best in our students by enabling them to work on the CKF fundamental skills of Awareness, Focus, Resilience, and Integration
- To provide a safe, welcoming, and inclusive training environment in which our students can flourish
- To make each class that we teach engaging, educational, and fun
Values (How We Want To Do It)
- We are passionate about contributing to our community through the teaching of martial arts and mindful movement
- We appreciate and are grateful for the support of our students and their families, and the experience and wisdom of our teachers
- We invest in the development of our instructors, staff and volunteers to help them achieve their potential
- We act with integrity, as we continue to undertake our own martial arts journey alongside our students
- We provide a professional and reliable service by treating everyone with respect, kindness and honesty
- We strive to communicate openly and with clarity, and understand the importance of being responsive to feedback
Our Four Fundamental Skills
In order to achieve our Mission Statement, we aim to support students in developing the following four fundamental skills, which we believe are essential to realising this goal.
1. Awareness
The ability to expand and deepen our understanding of ourselves, and our relationship with the Universe we live in. Through continually deepening our internal awareness of ourselves, and expanding our external awareness of the Universe around us, we can discover the areas of life that most interest and benefit us. This allows us to optimise our enjoyment of, and contribution to, the world we live in.
2. Focus
The ability to consciously direct our attention where we choose.
Having the ability to choose the focus of our attention, allows the key things, that we have discovered are of most use to us and to the wider world, to be nurtured. This is as opposed to us focussing on less helpful thoughts; freeing us from unhelpful rumination and allowing us to enjoy our day to day lives.
3. Resilience
The ability to efficiently and effectively recover from setbacks. No matter how disciplined our focus, we will inevitably encounter obstructions to our path that block our way or knock us off course. Therefore we must nurture our ability to bounce back from setbacks as efficiently and effectively as possible so we can optimally re-focus on our desired goals.
4. Integration
The ability to incorporate the new skills we learn into our lives. The key to optimising yourself is being able to integrate the existing skills you have, and the new skills you learn and develop, into all aspects of your life. This integration is essential in changing to become healthier and happier; mentally physically, and emotionally.