Pascal Iadarola

Sifu Sergio Pascal Iadarola began his martial arts journey at the age of six in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, training in the Japanese art of Judo. During his early years, he competed successfully in several local tournaments, laying a strong foundation for a lifelong dedication to martial arts. In his teenage years, he expanded his training to include Pencak Silat (Pamur style) and Wado Kai Karate, further broadening his technical and cultural understanding of combat systems.

A lifelong admirer of Bruce Lee, Sifu Sergio immersed himself in studying Lee’s life and martial philosophy. Learning that Bruce Lee’s own martial foundation was Wing Chun, Sifu Sergio naturally gravitated toward this art. His early research included written correspondence with some of Bruce Lee’s first students, such as James DeMile and Jesse Glover, seeking insight into Bruce Lee’s personal martial development. At the same time, he actively explored Amsterdam’s diverse martial arts scene, visiting numerous schools to observe classes and train in a wide range of systems.

In 1987, Sifu Sergio began formal Wing Chun training under Sifu R. Vogel and Grandmaster Wang Kiu, a direct student of the late Grandmaster Ip Man who had immigrated to The Netherlands in the 1970s. Shortly after beginning his training, he encountered Wing Tsun Kuen by Grandmaster Leung Ting. Deeply inspired by the book and its systematic approach, he made the decisive choice to pursue the Leung Ting Wing Tsun lineage. Later that same year, he began training under Frank Schäfer, although his progress was temporarily halted by a serious car accident.

After approximately nine months of recovery, Sifu Sergio resumed his training with renewed determination. In 1994, he received his 1st Technician Level directly from Sifu Keith R. Kernspecht, Chief Instructor of the European Wing Tsun Organization (EWTO), in Aachen, Germany. Between 1994 and 1998, driven by an uncompromising pursuit of excellence, Sifu Sergio traveled extensively throughout Europe. He attended numerous seminars in Germany and Italy with Sifu Emin Boztepe and undertook hundreds of private lessons with senior Leung Ting Wing Tsun masters, including Sifu H. P. Edel and Sifu S. Avci. These years culminated in his appointment as Israeli Chief Instructor of the EWTO, requiring relocation to Tel Aviv.

Throughout this period, Sifu Sergio held a clear personal goal: to become a private student of Grandmaster Leung Ting. This aspiration was realized in Hong Kong, where he was accepted as a personal student under exceptional circumstances. Prior to relocating, he traveled to Zagreb to complete the unarmed Leung Ting Wing Tsun curriculum under Sifu Slavko Truntic. Between January 1998 and October 2001, he received over 100 hours of private instruction from Grandmaster Leung Ting in Hong Kong and Shunde (Shun Tak), while concurrently training at the Leung Ting headquarters on Nathan Road. In 2000, he completed and received final corrections for the entire unarmed system—an achievement attained by only one other Westerner at that time.

In late 2001, Sifu Sergio traveled to New York to complete the Leung Ting Wing Tsun weapon systems under his Si-Pak, Fong Wai Hung (Alan Fong), becoming the first person ever to be taught the Bart Cham Dao by him. He was promoted to 7th Level Practitioner in recognition of his skill and understanding. In January 2002, he founded the International Wing Kung Fu Association (IWKA). As his research deepened, he discovered older and more complete Wing Chun and Weng Chun lineages, leading to decades of intensive study across China, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam. His research culminated in the acquisition of original 19th-century Kuen Kuit, confirming Wing Chun’s internal origins. Diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome in childhood, Sifu Sergio attributes much of his exceptional capacity for learning and systemization to this condition. Today, he is recognized as a leading authority on classical and internal Wing Chun and Weng Chun systems, dedicated to preserving and transmitting the authentic roots of the Eternal Spring arts.