Kung Fu Kendra on the Martial Arts Lifestyle Podcast: Wing Chun, Her Book, and the Online Dojo

A Platform Built for the People Who Live the Life

The Martial Arts Lifestyle Podcast is a respected platform built specifically for people who have made martial arts more than a hobby — it is their identity, their daily practice, and in many cases their life's work. When Tim Becherer sat down with Kung Fu Kendra — Kendra Mahon — via Zoom, he made a point of noting that he deliberately features more women on the show, given how underrepresented they are in martial arts media. Kendra fit exactly what he was looking for: a genuine, experienced female martial artist doing something truly innovative in the global Wing Chun community.

Tim Becherer introduced the episode by previewing what the conversation would cover: how Kendra got interested in martial arts, her discovery of Wing Chun, her decision to become a teacher, writing her book, and — the element that made her stand out even among experienced practitioners — her decision to take the internet as her dojo. It is a story about a martial artist who refused to accept that geography and scarcity would determine who could access an ancient art.

Finding Wing Chun in Calgary

Kendra walked Tim Becherer through the beginning of her journey. She did not set out specifically to find Wing Chun — she was looking for a martial art, something that would move her life forward after a difficult period. She found the Canadian Wing Chun Kung Fu Academy in Calgary, walked through the door, and discovered the Ip Man lineage — one of the most storied and authenticated lineages in all of Chinese martial arts. "I dropped in and did a free class on my lunch break," she recalled. "I thought: wow, I feel so good. I learned how to do a little bit of punching and I was addicted from that point on."

Over the following 20-plus years she progressed through the complete curriculum under her sifu Brian Lewadny, who himself trained under the legendary William Cheung — a direct student of Ip Man and longtime training partner of Bruce Lee. This lineage gives Kendra's teaching an authenticity and depth that most online Wing Chun resources simply cannot match. She carries a direct living transmission of the art from its most celebrated modern practitioner.

The Decision to Become a Teacher

Tim Becherer asked Kendra when the shift happened — when training became teaching. Her answer pointed to a gradual recognition that Wing Chun had given her something too valuable to keep to herself. The transformation she had experienced — physically, mentally, and in her sense of personal power — was not incidental to the art. It was the art's design. Wing Chun was built to change people. And having been changed by it so profoundly, she felt called to pass it on. "Teaching Wing Chun empowers both the teacher and the students," she explained. "You learn from them as much as they learn from you."

She began teaching locally in Calgary, and for years she ran an in-person program. But she always knew her reach needed to be larger. Wing Chun schools are genuinely rare worldwide — there are cities in the world where not a single local Wing Chun school exists. The students who want to learn simply have no access. That gap was something Kendra could not ignore.

The Internet as Her Dojo: The World's First Online Wing Chun Certification

COVID-19 was the catalyst — but the vision predated it. When the world locked down and local schools became inaccessible, Kendra moved with purpose. She began building what would become the most comprehensive online Wing Chun platform in existence: over 25 programs covering the complete art from foundational Siu Nim Tao through advanced Biu Gee, wooden dummy training, butterfly swords, dragon pole, and the complete 10-level certification course. This was not a quick digitisation of her local classes. It was the deliberate construction of a global dojo.

The certification program is genuinely unprecedented. Students can progress through all 10 traditional levels of Wing Chun, receive formal certification at each stage, and complete the full curriculum — including the purple sash master level — through structured online training. "Being the first to do something like that is scary," she told the Martial Arts Lifestyle host. "But it's important to not worry about what other people think and pursue your goals however you want to do them." That same courage — the willingness to act before a roadmap exists — is a Wing Chun principle in action.

Writing Push Your Way Through

Tim Becherer asked about Kendra's book, Push Your Way Through, and what prompted her to write it. The answer was grounded in the same everyday observations that make Wing Chun relevant beyond the training floor. Kendra noticed that the principles she used instinctively in her training — economy of motion, redirecting energy, choosing the path of least resistance — were the same principles that resolved her frustrations in daily life. She started recording voice memos while walking through malls and going about her day, documenting those moments. The book grew from those observations into a comprehensive guide for applying kung fu wisdom to the full spectrum of human challenge.

Push Your Way Through is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Everything else Kendra has created — the programs, the certification, the community, the free resources — is at KungFuKendra.com. The Martial Arts Lifestyle Podcast episode remains one of the most complete portraits of her mission that exists.

The world's first and only fully accredited online Wing Chun curriculum is here — explore Kung Fu Kendra's 10-level Wing Chun certification course — the world's first fully accredited online Wing Chun curriculum, available to students anywhere in the world.