Kung fu training for cabin crew

Kung fu training for cabin crew

Passengers who do not behave themselves on airplane flights may be put in their place by kung fu trained flight attendants.

A Hong Kong airline is helping its cabin crew members tackle unruly in-flight behaviour, by making kung fu lessons a compulsory part of their training.

International carrier, Hong Kong Airlines has insisted that all cabin crew take classes in Wing Chun - a form of kung fu used for self-defence in close combat situations.

Hong Kong Airlines' spokesperson Eva Chan said, martial arts training was inspired by the incident that is often experienced by the cabin crew. The cabin crew are facing unruly passengers, often drunk, being disruptive on flights around three times a week.

Hong Kong Airlines' cabin crew going through their Wing Chun kungfu training (Photo Courtesy of Hong Kong Airlines)Former well-known practitioners of Wing Chun include Bruce Lee and Yip Man.

By taking cabin crew training up a notch, the airline hopes that staff will be better prepared to handle potential security threats at 30,000ft.

New cabin crew recruit Lumpy Tang, 22 said she never imagined kung fu would be part of the job: "We were surprised in the beginning, but after a few lessons we really liked Wing Chun," Tang told the reporter.

"You cannot predict what will happen on the plane, so Wing Chun is good because it's so fast."

Wing chun instructor, Katherine Cheung said the training is ideal for a cabin crew as it can be used in small, confined spaces so it's suited to an airplane.

"It's easy to learn, but difficult to master." Cheung added.
Source: wantchinatimes.comPublished Apr 21 2011