Castle Wing Chun London
​
We have a sister club down in central London - by Old Street tube station, run by our very own Matt Branch and Khalil 'Kinko' Thirlaway!!
See their facebook page here:
​
​
​
​
​
About the instructors:
Sifu Matt Branch
​
Matt began wing chun when he joined the University of Nottingham in late 2008 as a PhD student. He had previously done a variety of other martial arts including judo, karate and jiu jitsu, the latter at the University of Liverpool where he was an undergrad. Looking for something new and having a few friends that had recommended wing chun, he was instantly impressed by this simple yet effective system taught in a logical, accessible manner by experienced martial artists. He also learned Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Rich and Dave although his first love always remained wing chun.
Matt served as treasurer in 2009-10 and after a break in 2012 to complete his PhD thesis, was awarded his black belt and instructor’s award in 2013. For the next two years, whilst working as a post-doc, Matt served as an instructor to the club before his work took him to London. Wanting to continue learning, practicing and teaching wing chun he founded Castle Wing Chun Club with Sifu Kinko Thirlaway and began teaching other University of Nottingham alumni, colleagues and friends. All UoN Wing Chun Society members are able to train at Castle Wing Chun when in London and are invited to join the group for further information:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/595159027310017/
Matt is an active member of the wider wing chun community in the UK, attending open days and seminars as well as visiting other wing chun clubs and practitioners. This has given him a broad understanding of other wing chun systems. He currently holds the rank of 2nd degree black belt and still trains with the UoN club when possible.
Matt currently works at UCL’s Institute of Ophthalmology as a research scientist. This has given him a great insight into human health and biology as well as training and experience teaching in a variety of settings.
​
Sifu Khalil 'Kinko' Thirlaway
​
Sifu Khalil Thirlaway trained in Yang style Tai Chi Quan before coming to Nottingham in 2012 to study for a PhD in immunology, and the internal nature of Tai Chi has influenced how he learns and applies his Wing Chun over the years.
He served as president of the club in 2013/14 and earned his black belt in 2016.
After leaving Nottingham, Khalil and fellow UoN Wing Chun Sifu Matthew Branch founded the club’s sister organisation, Castle Wing Chun in London.