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Empowering youth through martial arts and filmmaking
Amid rising UK youth violence, Project Sifu is a pilot merging martial arts and action filmmaking in Sheffield. Led by Dr Wayne Wong (Lecturer in East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield), the initiative empowers young people by combining physical training, discipline, and East Asian culture with cinematic storytelling to boost wellbeing and confidence.
Left to right: Matthew Law (Geez a Gi Founder), Soo Cole (Fighting Spirit Film Festival Co-founder), Dr Wayne Wong (Project Lead), Sam Cheung (Assistant Director), and Tiff Tsoi (Project Assistant).
Creative projects, like film making and martial arts, have the ability to bring people together, build connections, and foster a deeper cultural understanding between communities. At the University of Sheffield, East Asian studies researchers are using their knowledge on the role of media, sound, and text to help people in the UK better understand everyday life and culture in East Asia.
Dr Wayne Wong is a lecturer in East Asian Studies at the University of Sheffield and cluster lead for the research strand, Media, Text, and Sound in East Asia. His research into embodied practice and diasporic co-creation is transforming how British–Hong Kong communities connect with their identity, wellbeing, and sense of belonging.
Dr Wong’s work explores how those living away from their homeland express their culture through physical activities, like martial arts or dance, and how they work together on creative projects to mix their heritage with their new life in the UK. These practices create bridges between the British–Hong Kong community and the wider UK population, leading to better integration and a more diverse society.
To engage directly with diasporic youth in Sheffield, Dr Wong began Project Sifu (2025) alongside Project co-lead, Soo Cole, founder of the Fighting Spirit Film Festival UK. The initiative combines martial arts training with filmmaking to see how embodied practice such as training, choreography, storytelling, can empower young people and build intercultural belonging through creativity and connection.
A group photo of the Project Sifu team at the final session of the project after filming, holding the calligraphed Chinese names given by Dr Wayne Wong.
Project Sifu
Supported by the Knowledge Exchange fund, Project Sifu is a collaboration between the School of East Asian Studies at the University and the Fighting Spirit Film Festival. Led by Dr Wong, it brings together the art of martial arts training and the creative world of filmmaking to inspire and empower young people in the UK. By blending physical training with cinematic storytelling, the project aims to foster a deeper understanding of cultural heritage, promote mental and physical wellbeing, and tackle serious issues like knife crime and violence.
Martial arts and cinema offer a unique combination of physical discipline and artistic expression. By engaging in these practices, participants not only build strength and resilience but also learn valuable skills in teamwork, storytelling, and cultural appreciation. The project celebrates these two powerful mediums and their potential to transform lives.
“Project Sifu began as a 12 week pilot project to help young people learn about martial art filmmaking. We had 10 participants, predominantly female, with no filmmaking background. The first eight weeks focused on martial art training - so teaching the participants the basics like punching and kicking, as well as how to fall safely without hurting themselves. We also taught them specific styles such as judo and Chinese kung fu” explains Dr Wong.
“During this period, I made a documentary that followed the journey of our participants. I think the most interesting thing about the documentary is that it shows what we can produce from a group of people without any martial arts background in three months' time” adds Dr Wong.
“The final four weeks of the pilot focused on making a short film. We wanted to produce a fight scene of maybe two or three minutes with a very simple story line. So we invited some industry martial arts stuntmen to help us choreograph some of the fight scenes and we also invited feature film makers to help us do a bit of filming. So I was responsible for making the documentary but at the same time making the short film as well” explains Dr Wong.
A fun photo of the Project Sifu participants after the martial arts filmmaking session delivered by Director Matt Routledge.
Participants involved in Project Sifu were given the opportunity to reimagine martial arts as a medium of empathy, adaptability, and resistance. Through collaborative movement, camera work, and post-production, Dr Wong successfully challenged gendered and ethnic assumptions embedded in martial arts cinema. Quantitative feedback indicated that 87% of Project Sifu participants reported increased confidence in public speaking, and over half expressed a desire to pursue creative careers. These results, coupled with qualitative reflections, illustrate how embodied co-creation enables migrant youth to articulate their stories on their own terms. One participant involved said, “before, I thought martial arts were just about fighting. Now I see it as a language I can use to tell my own story”.
“I think for Project Sifu, it's not just about putting theory into practice, it's more about cultural exchange and the experiences of young people from different places. It’s all about understanding how East Asian culture and martial art cinema can be a tool for people to learn more about different cultures. For example, how to promote mutual respect, self-discipline, and empowerment” explains Dr Wong.
Cultural exchange and integration programme
At the core of Dr Wong’s work is the empowerment of diasporic youth and migrant families navigating uncertainty in post-2019 Britain. Dr Wong provided strategic input and hands-on support throughout the delivery of a £300,000 UK government-funded programme led by Good Neighbour Church England. Serving as trustee chairperson in 2024, he helped steer the organisation’s direction, shape community priorities, and coordinate the planning and execution of 199 cultural, career, and wellbeing events between 2023 and 2024. These activities supported the settlement and integration of Hong Kong British National (Overseas) migrants across multiple UK regions.
27,500 people directly benefitted from the events and services delivered through the government-funded cultural exchange and integration programme. The participants took part in cultural, educational, and wellbeing workshops, such as mental health seminars, Chinese calligraphy classes, and parent–child cooking sessions. They also attended cross-cultural events, including music performances, sports competitions, film screenings, and community forums that brought together Hong Kong migrants with other local and refugee groups.
Next steps
Through Dr Wong’s practice-led research, he has redefined the role of embodied arts in diasporic life. He plans to continue his mission to provide a unique platform for young participants to explore the rich tradition of martial arts cinema while developing valuable life skills - and Project Sifu provides a scalable model for that ambition to flourish.
Kirk Bytheway, Head Coach at The Unrivalled MMA, demonstrating safe falling techniques during the opening phase of the project.
Dr Wong’s documentary, Project Sifu, has already gained international recognition. The film premiered at the Fighting Spirit Film Festival 2025 in London and at UNESCO-International Centre of Martial Arts for Youth Development and Engagement (ICM) in Seoul, where it was praised for its innovative approach to youth empowerment through martial arts and cinema. It has since been invited for screenings at the University of Lincoln, the University of Hong Kong next year in January, and at the Association for Asian Studies Film Expo 2026 in Vancouver. The team is also currently in conversation with Sheffield DocFest 2026 about featuring Project Sifu as part of its Community Programme, bringing the project’s message of creativity, inclusion, and intercultural connection back to the city where it was born.
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