About Kung Fu Schools Crawley
At Kung Fu Schools Crawley we teach martial arts and self-development to children and adults, with the aim of improving their lives through the study and practice of the ancient art of Wing Chun Kung Fu. We have martial arts lessons available for children from 4 years old, up to adults of any age.
Our martial arts lessons are divided into age specific classes so that adults and children are taught separately as we understand they have different needs and learn our teaching methods at different rates of development. All of the material we teach is designed with each specific group in mind.
Our students come for all sorts of reasons but the most common are from people who’re out of shape and want to do something interesting and learn a useful skill… as well as getting fit and shedding a few pounds!
The Kung Fu Schools work closely with both the Chinese Government and the Confucius Institute, teaching martial arts classes and even holding instructor training for them.
Right now we’re really promoting our 4 week FREE trial because you have absolutely nothing to lose and have the opportunity to try out our style properly for a decent period of time. If at the end of the 30 days at least you’ll know for sure and be able to make an informed decision… without having paid a penny!
Every day we speak to someone who says “I always wanted to start Kung Fu… but just never got around to it” and before you know it the years have passed by. No matter what your age, experience or fitness level – simply pick up the phone and give us a call.
Training and travelling around the UK, Europe, America, Hong Kong and China means you’ll be learning an authentic martial arts system (Wing Chun Kung Fu) that has preserved hundreds of years’ worth of knowledge… dating back to the Shaolin Temple and beyond.
The Peter Andre Connection
Sifu Paul’s wife was reading a magazine where Peter Andre was talking about how much he missed his Wing Chun training. She called Peter’s management team and got him booked in for a session, which Peter really enjoyed. Unfortunately due to Peter’s hectic work schedule, it was a year later before he started training again in earnest, but the flexibility of Paul’s team allows them to work around Peter’s work and family commitments.
In fact Wing Chun has become a real family affair with Peter’s son Junior and brother Mike also training at the Crawley School and daughter Princess also starting training too.
Peter has been training consistently for over 2 years and is an excellent student to teach with a great attitude to training. His dancing background (coordination, balance and body mechanics) have helped with his martial arts training.
Sifu Paul and Peter have become great friends and spend a lot of time together, which has seen a natural progression to Peter becoming involved in the Franchising opportunity which is integral to Kung Fu Schools ambitious growth plans to go nationwide and possibly international too. Having Peter on board will certainly help raise the profile of Wing Chun and the Kung Fu Schools Group.
About Sifu Paul Hawkes
Sifu Paul Hawkes has been teaching Wing Chun Kung Fu in and around the Crawley area for over 20 years. He started teaching in 1992 for Master James Sinclair (whom he had trained under after school as he wanted to learn Wing Chun because of Bruce Lee). Then with his colleague and friend Andrew Cameron they set up their own organisation – NWCA before becoming Chief Instructors of the EWGO in the UK – the largest Wing Chun organisation in the world at the time, under Professor Leung Ting.
He left to set up his own Kung Fu Schools in Crawley in 2006 and today teaches over 200 students at the Crawley Kung Fu School and over 1200 across the whole Kung Fu Schools Group.
Paul was about 13 when he first started training in Judo at school moving on to Karate for about a year and a half after leaving school. But it was Wing Chun that Paul really wanted to train in so he went to Master James Sinclair’s school in Maidstone, which was not far from where he lived at the time.
And Sifu Paul has been training, researching and sharing his martial arts with other people ever since – for over 25 years now. And over those years Paul has seen a wealth of knowledge walk through the doors of the Kung Fu Schools to share their expertise with the students.
Why NEST?
I used United Professionals (UP) for a period as I did not want to be chasing money or suffering from cash flow problems during the difficult Summer and Christmas periods.
Whilst I could see the benefits of using a fee collection service, I was not happy about certain UP policies and got frustrated by the lack of availability when I needed advice.
So I invited Gerard to come to see us. His consultative approach was a breath of fresh air as he was really interested in our business and plans for growth. I could tell immediately that NEST were in it for the long haul – their success is reflected in our success which is great from my standpoint.
Gerard has an excellent business background and has his finger firmly on the pulse of the martial arts industry. He is a ‘voice of reason’ and a great sounding block for discussing new ideas and helping with forward planning. He has been particularly helpful with developing the franchise model for our business.
The NEST team are very professional and well informed as well as being good people. They are like an extension of our team and it is good to be able to call upon them to discuss any business issue we have.
I like the flexibility that direct debit offers and being notified immediately if any changes are made to the payments.
The software and systems NEST provides are excellent and the security they provide by backing up the systems gives total peace of mind for the financial side of the business. The administrative burden that is lifted from my staff is brilliant as they can concentrate on teaching.
We also find the online reports very insightful in identifying trends and patterns in student numbers analysis and the communications module enables us to keep in touch regularly with our students.
(Interview from October 2013 )
