WELCOME TO SNAKE VS CRANE.
When I moved to Oakland, California in 2000 for a new job, I didn’t know anyone.
I had a lot of time on my hands in a new city with no friends, so I decided to really learn how to fight. Even though I was nearly 40, becoming a truly competent fighter had always been one of my unfulfilled goals...
Back in High School, I’d read a magazine article about martial arts known to be effective for street fighting. This article lodged in my brain — especially the part about Wing Chun and Bruce Lee.
Between 2000 and 2008, I trained at 3 different Wing Chun schools in Oakland. It just wasn’t clicking for me — until I found Greg LeBlanc’s school.
Once I started learning from Greg, my education really began. The method was simple and brutal like boxing, yet subtle like Tai Chi. It was virtually unknown in the West until the 1970s.
In the 1950s, Ip Man had to flee his life in southern China. He began teaching his secret art in Hong Kong to survive.
Wong Shun Leung was a scrappy fighter who tested other schools — until he met Ip Man. After getting beaten by the master, Wong became a student and went on to win many real fights (“beimo”), helping put Wing Chun on the map.
“After Bruce died, I had the opportunity to read some of (Wong Shun Leung’s) writings. It was instantly clear that many of the things that were attributed to Bruce were actually things that had come to Bruce through Wong.”
— Jesse Glover (Bruce Lee’s first US student)
A few years before finding Greg, I watched a DVD by Gary Lam — Five Elements — and was impressed.
He was fast, fluid, and could deal with big guys easily. His fighting reminded me of martial arts movies — only real.
He trained in the 70s and 80s with Wong Shun Leung in Hong Kong. In 1978, he won the Hong Kong full contact elimination tournament. Greg LeBlanc met him in 1998 and trained extensively for 7+ years — eventually becoming his first certified coach.
I trained with Greg from 2008 to 2019. Currently, I’m exploring internal arts for better structure and resilience as I age (I turned 60 in 2022).
This website is about communicating the most distilled version of what I’ve learned.
I want others to benefit from my research and experience — and get results faster, with less wasted time.
Feedback is welcome! Email me at steve AT snakevscrane.com.
