Daniel Josephs is a Sifu in Wing Chun Kung-Fu under the lineage of Great Grandmaster Yip Man, Great Grandmaster Moy Yat, Grandmaster Moy Wu (Tony Watts), and his Sifu Master Stephan Coram. He is the owner and founder of Lithium Tiger Wing Chun and has over ten years of experience in martial arts instruction.
His nickname, Lithium Tiger, came about through kung fu, broadening his view on life. He says that seeing things from different perspectives allows one not to get “tunnel vision” and to see everything as a learning experience. Daniel explains that the name Lithium Tiger came about from trying to be a different animal in life. “We all face adversity, we all face obstacles, and sometimes obstacles kind of put certain people in a state of depression and they want to quit and give up,” says Josephs. During my adversities and obstacles, whether it’s my job, my relationships with my friends and family, or the martial arts itself, you always have to try to put your best foot forward and don’t look back. Those trials and tribulations have turned me into a different person mentally.” The person he has become is the Lithium Tiger.
Lithium, a chemical element commonly used in batteries, represents a constant energy flow, staying persistent and consistent. A tiger is an animal that is ferocious and respected. In combining the two to get Lithium Tiger, Josephs seeks to embody the principles of discipline and patience one achieves through kung fu by way of the skills attained over time and with hard work. For him, this is one of the dualites encompassed by the ying yang symbol widely recognized in martial arts as representing balance. “I matured enough to have more patience to go about certain situations,” says Josephs. “Not being all aggressive all the time, but learning when to adapt and adjust.” Sifu Josephs began his journey as a young boy growing up in the Bronx. Daniel would watch Kung Fu movies with his uncles, which inspired his love for Martial Arts. He particularly loved watching Bruce Lee and started to study his art and saw that it was heavily influenced by Wing Chun. Since the age of 9, Josephs has trained in other styles of martial arts, but there was nothing that inspired him like Wing Chun, and he has consistently trained in the art for the past ten years. “I’ve tried other arts like kickboxing, judo, jiu-jitsu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu,” says Josephs, “and I am not trying to discredit anybody, but it didn’t sit with me the way kung fu did.”
In 2008, after pursuing various career paths, Josephs decided to take the Civil Service Exam. Although he initially intended to become a firefighter, circumstances prevented that from coming to be, and he entered Corrections instead. “I look at Corrections as a bittersweet thing because I have acquired certain accolades that I wouldn’t have acquired if I had become a firefighter.” In his 15 years of service as a Westchester County Correctional Officer, he has been privileged to teach at the Westchester County Correctional Training Academy as a Defensive Tactics Instructor, Firearms Instructor, Cell Extractions Instructor, and teaches Effective Communication. He recently received training to become an Active Shooter Instructor. Josephs thanks coworkers who were also practitioners of the arts for encouraging him to pursue teaching as it was a passion for him. “There are people who are officers in there who I commend in regards to steering me in that direction and saw something in me that I did not see in myself at that time,” says Jospehs. “Everything I
Daniel Josephs is a Sifu in Wing Chun Kung-Fu under the lineage of Great Grandmaster Yip Man, Great Grandmaster Moy Yat, Grandmaster Moy Wu (Tony Watts), and his Sifu Master Stephan Coram. He is the owner and founder of Lithium Tiger Wing Chun and has over ten years of experience in martial arts instruction.