Kung Fu Kendra on Oil and Gas World Magazine: Wing Chun, Business, and Push Your Way Through

An Unexpected Interview in an Unexpected Place

Oil and Gas World Magazine — not a publication you would typically expect to feature a Wing Chun master — sat down with Kung Fu Kendra, Kendra Mahon, at the Palliser Hotel in Calgary for one of the most wide-ranging and surprising conversations she has given. The interviewer admitted upfront that he had been following Kendra from afar and was genuinely fascinated. What he found was a martial artist with a clarity of thought, depth of philosophy, and breadth of application that translated perfectly to his audience — entrepreneurs, business leaders, and professionals who understand that the most important skills are not technical but internal.

The conversation covered Kendra's 20-year kung fu journey at the Canadian Wing Chun Kung Fu Academy in Calgary, her book, the world's first online Wing Chun certification, and the deeper question of how Wing Chun's principles — particularly the economy of motion and the ability to stay centred under pressure — apply not just to combat, but to everything.

A Transformation 20 Years in the Making

Kendra described how she found kung fu during a period when she was not entirely happy with where her life was heading. "I stumbled upon a kung fu school, and I studied kung fu there for over 20 years," she told the interviewer. "With that training I felt a huge transformation in my life — and I wanted to share it." That desire to share began locally in Calgary. It has since grown into a global platform with students in dozens of countries, over 25 online programs, a 250,000-member international community, and a book sold worldwide.

She holds the purple sash — master rank — in the Ip Man lineage, earned through authentic traditional training under her sifu Brian Laudi. Her lineage traces directly to Ip Man himself through William Cheung, giving her teaching a depth and authenticity that no shortcut could replicate. When you train with Kung Fu Kendra, you are training in the same tradition that produced Bruce Lee.

Push Your Way Through: Where Real Life Meets Kung Fu Philosophy

The interviewer asked Kendra about her book, Push Your Way Through, and how it came to exist. Her answer was vivid and real. The book was not born in a writing workshop. It was born in the friction of daily life — in the Uber driver who took the wrong route, the coffee shop line that moved too slowly, the conversation that was not going the way it should. In every one of those moments, Kendra noticed herself instinctively applying Wing Chun principles: redirecting energy, finding the path of least resistance, eliminating what was unnecessary, moving purposefully toward the outcome she wanted.

"The book is about becoming more assertive, but not being aggressive, to get what you want in life," she explained. "It's using the principles of kung fu to shift the energy to get what you want out of life." At the heart of it is one of Wing Chun's most important insights: time is the most valuable resource we have. Not money. Not status. Time. And the economy of motion — applied to how we spend our hours, make our decisions, and pursue our goals — is the most powerful tool for getting more of what actually matters.

The Courage to Be First

When the conversation turned to her online platform, Kendra spoke about creating the world's first online Wing Chun certification course. The interviewer was clearly impressed — and Kendra was honest about what it took. "Being the first to do something like that is scary," she said. "But it's important to not worry about what other people think and pursue your goals and your passions however you want to do them — as long as they're not hurting anybody else." That willingness to act without a roadmap, to be the first, to take on the uncertainty that comes with doing something genuinely new — this is Wing Chun philosophy applied to entrepreneurship. You do not wait for the attack to fully develop. You intercept, redirect, and move first.

Staying Centred When the World Is Unpredictable

One of the most resonant moments of the interview for the Oil and Gas World audience came when the conversation turned to navigating a turbulent world — politically, economically, personally. Kendra's answer drew a direct line from Wing Chun training to the kind of inner stability that business leaders and professionals need most: "Like kung fu, things are unpredictable. There's a lot of moving parts. You don't know what move is going to come next. And the way you get through that is to just stay centred and focus on the here and now." That capacity for present-moment focus and structural stability under external pressure is what Wing Chun develops over years of training — and it is as useful in the boardroom and the marketplace as it is on the training floor.

The Bonnie Atkins Memorial Scholarship — created in memory of Kendra's late mother and offering full program access to recipients each quarter — is available at KungFuKendra.com, along with the complete program library, free resources, and the book.

Apply these principles in your own life — start with Kung Fu Kendra's Wing Chun certification program — the world's first fully accredited online Wing Chun curriculum, available to students anywhere in the world.