On a rainy May day in Syracuse, Sifu Eric Winfree and his students gathered at the Syracuse Wing Chun Academy for their regular training.  Sifu Anthony Iglesias of SWCA feels strongly about building relationships with his fellow martial artists and regularly makes his facilities available to local schools.

Sifu Winfree teaches multiple styles, including Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do, JKD Groundfighting, and Chinna Kali.  The class he held at SWCA focused on training with sticks and blades.  "We train the stick to learn the knife," he explained.

A large portion of the class was devoted to training with single and double sticks.  Students worked in pairs and drilled specific patterns, switching from one to another at Sifu Winfree's instructions.

As in any class, some of the students were more experienced and thus more advanced than others.  Sifu Winfree and his senior students made every effort to encourage them and help them learn.

Sifu Winfree also paused more than once to speak about the philosophy behind the training.  There is only one way to tell the truth, he explained to his students.  That same truth is found in Wing Chun, in Jeet Kune Do, and in Kali.  What works, after all, is what works.

At one point, Sifu Winfree encouraged the students to have faith in what they were learning -- to trust the art.  Practice may make something permanent, but -- as Sifu Winfree pointed out -- it is belief that makes one's practice real.