A Melbourne Beginning
Joe Sayah's introduction to Wing Chun began at just nine years old, when he started training at Grandmaster William Cheung's academy in Melbourne.
Under Cheung's personal instruction and mentorship, Joe developed a passion for the art that would shape the rest of his life.
What began as childhood training became an increasingly serious commitment. Joe devoted himself to developing his technique, understanding Wing Chun's principles and learning how to apply them.
By seventeen, he had progressed from student to instructor.
That relationship with William Cheung remains central to Joe's martial arts journey. Through his teacher, Joe became part of a lineage extending back to Grandmaster Yip Man, one of the most influential figures in modern Wing Chun history.
Yip Man → William Cheung → Joe Sayah
From Practitioner to Teacher
As Joe's experience grew, so did his opportunities.
Years of intensive training led to competition, demonstrations, seminars and travel. Working alongside experienced martial artists exposed him to different approaches to teaching and helped him develop his own understanding of Wing Chun.
But it was teaching that would ultimately define his career.
Joe established his first Australian academy in Dandenong, Melbourne, creating a place where students could develop their skills and progress through the Wing Chun system.
Over time, students became instructors themselves, and Joe's influence began extending beyond the academy.
Joe's martial arts journey also brought him into contact with instructors around the world, including Sifu Eric Oram. Their professional connection extended to Los Angeles, where both were listed as contacts for the Los Angeles Wing Chun Kung Fu Academy in Santa Monica.
Their shared involvement in the Los Angeles Wing Chun community forms an interesting connection between Joe's teaching career and Hollywood. Eric Oram would later become widely recognised for teaching Wing Chun to Robert Downey Jr. and contributing martial arts expertise to the Sherlock Holmes films.
An Unexpected Journey into Film
In the 1990s, Joe's martial arts career took an unexpected turn when an opportunity arose to become involved in filmmaking.
An August 1997 feature in Inside Kung-Fu, written by Eric Oram and titled The Biggest Gamble of His Life, tells the story of Joe approaching a film production in Melbourne, auditioning and earning an opportunity to appear on screen.
The experience brought him into the world of international action cinema and into contact with celebrated filmmakers and martial artists, including Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.
Joe appeared as the Bandit Leader in Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997), starring Jet Li and directed by Sammo Hung.
For someone whose life had been devoted to martial arts, it was an extraordinary opportunity to experience how traditional fighting techniques could be adapted for the screen.
Photographs from this period capture Joe alongside Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Jet Li and Wesley Snipes, offering a glimpse into a memorable chapter of his career.
Taking Wing Chun to America
Joe's journey eventually took him to the United States, where he continued teaching and developing martial arts instructors.
In Los Angeles, he established a Traditional Wing Chun academy and helped introduce new students to the system he had studied since childhood.
His American years brought opportunities to work with students from different backgrounds, develop instructors and build relationships within the wider martial arts community.
Among those who trained under Joe were Alon Peterson and Joel Douthit, who went on to lead academies in the Los Angeles area.
These teaching relationships became an important part of his legacy.
An instructor's influence is not measured only by the students attending classes today, but also by the people who carry that knowledge forward.
Joe's time in California also connected him with a wider community of martial artists, including Eric Oram. A signed photograph from 2003 captures Joe alongside Robert Downey Jr. beside a Wing Chun wooden dummy, another memorable connection from this period.
Sharing Wing Chun Around the World
Joe's teaching extended beyond Australia and the United States.
Through international seminars, training visits and instructor development, he shared his knowledge with students and teachers in other countries.
In Canada, Toronto-based Sifu Dominique Emond trained under Joe and continued developing his Wing Chun through further instruction and seminars.
In the United States, Sifu Jasper Silvis of Philadelphia also became a direct student of Joe, continuing a teaching relationship that began in 2020.
These international connections reflect something that has remained consistent throughout Joe's career: a willingness to share his experience with dedicated students, wherever they are based.
For Joe, Wing Chun has always been something to practise, develop and pass on.
Returning Home to Australia
After his years in America, Joe returned to Melbourne and continued developing his academies.
Dandenong remained an important part of his story, while his teaching later expanded to the Mornington Peninsula.
Joe established a school in Rosebud before moving his teaching base to Mornington, where he continued working with students and developing the next generation of instructors.
As the years passed, students who had trained under Joe began taking on greater responsibility.
Sifu Mark Blackwell became chief instructor at the established Dandenong academy. Sifu Jason Woodward developed the Oakleigh academy, while Sifu Robert Lay took on leadership at Glen Waverley.
Each instructor brought their own experience and personality to teaching, while maintaining the connection to the Wing Chun system they had learned from Joe.
Passing the Tradition to the Next Generation
One of the most personal parts of Joe's martial arts journey has been teaching his son, Sifu Charlie Sayah.
Charlie grew up surrounded by martial arts and began training under his father from an early age. Over time, he developed his own experience as a practitioner and instructor.
On 22 October 2026, Charlie takes over permanent leadership of the Mornington academy as Joe begins a new chapter in Queensland.
It is a natural continuation of the work Joe began decades earlier.
Although Joe is stepping away from day-to-day leadership at Mornington, he is not retiring from Wing Chun.
He remains Founder and Grandmaster of Wing Chun Universe, continuing to oversee the academy network and share his experience through teaching and seminars.
Today, the network includes four Victorian academies:
- Mornington, led by Sifu Charlie Sayah
- Dandenong, led by Sifu Mark Blackwell
- Oakleigh, led by Sifu Jason Woodward
- Glen Waverley, led by Sifu Robert Lay
Together, they represent the continuation of a teaching tradition that began when Joe first walked into William Cheung's academy as a nine-year-old boy.
A Lifetime in Martial Arts
Across his career, Joe has appeared in international martial arts publications, including Inside Kung-Fu, Black Belt and Martial Art.
These features have documented his teaching, demonstrations, film experiences and work alongside Grandmaster William Cheung and other respected martial artists.
The publications offer a fascinating record of the people, places and opportunities that have shaped his journey.
August 1997 · Inside Kung-Fu
“The Biggest Gamble of His Life”, Eric Oram, pp. 40–45. A narrative of Joe’s film opportunity and Wing Chun background.
October 2000 · Black Belt
Joe joins William Cheung, Eric Oram and Keith Mazza in captioned demonstrations for “Street Survival”, by Eric Oram, pp. 78–82, photographed by Doug Churchill.
December 2002 · Martial Art
Joe and William Cheung appear together on the cover of volume 23, number 12, which promotes “Strengthen Your Defense”. The interior has not been reviewed, so no article role is claimed.
October 2003 · Martial Art
“Fast and Furious: Wing Chun Boxing”, Mandy Sayah, pp. 58–63. An instructional feature and evidence of the Encino academy.
March 2005 · Inside Kung-Fu
Joe and William Cheung appear together on the cover of volume 33, number 3. The cover names Joe and promotes William Cheung’s Wing Chun “4th Center”; no unverified article role is attributed to Joe.
But perhaps Joe's greatest contribution is found closer to home.
It is in the students who have developed confidence through training, the instructors who have established their own teaching careers and the academies that continue sharing the art with new generations.
What began with a nine-year-old student in Melbourne has become a lifetime devoted to Wing Chun.
And through the instructors and students who follow him, that journey continues.