WingChun Articles
29th August 2006
Sifu Klaus Brand seminar
On the 19th August 2006 Tony Hollander and I were very proud to host the very first UK seminar by Grandmaster of WingChun, Sifu Klaus Brand from Germany.
In May of 2006 we had visited Sifu Brand at his Headquarters in Germany where he had shown us the ideas that set his system apart from other styles of Wing Chun, WingTsun, Ving Tzun etc. It was a real eye-opener for Tony and me, but thankfully we had travelled to Germany with open minds. The lessons with Sifu Brand contained so much information that we returned to our accommodation the first night like two zombies. The next day, when 'the dust had settled' in our minds, we had another lesson with Sifu Brand and the logic and ingenious structure of his system began to emerge. After three days in Germany we returned to England thoroughly motivated and desperate to share what we had learnt with our students. This was the beginning of something entirely new and exciting for us.
That first visit was enough to persuade us that our students would love Sifu Brand's WingChun system and we had soon arranged a date for Sifu Brand to teach a seminar in England. When the day finally came, the students were buzzing with anticipation. The seminar began with some core footwork and punching ideas before Sifu Brand decided to show how to apply many of the ideas from the student programmes in self-defence situations. It was then that the students were treated to a glimpse of what Sifu Brand is capable of, and they watched sometimes open-mouthed as he destroyed his assistants with speed and power and pin-point accuracy that was, at times, almost superhuman. Perhaps what was most amazing was that his assistants were still intact and happy to try again after each demonstration!
The seminar lasted for four hours and was a constant barrage of information and demonstration. As this was his first seminar in England, Sifu Brand showed us an overview of many of his student programmes, answering questions along the way and branching off wherever the students took him. By the end of the seminar all brains were simultaneously fried and inspired and the open invitation to a nearby pub garden for a beer was taken up by the majority. The post-seminar meeting had been a suggestion of Sifu Brand himself and he made a point of encouraging students to ask him questions and moved between the tables, spending time at each, so that people could get to know him a little better. The students were very pleased to have this opportunity and they asked Sifu Brand a range of interesting questions which he always answered fully and clearly.
Tony and I accompanied Sifu Brand and his two assistants, Igor and Alex, on a tour of London on the Sunday, and on the Monday we were privileged to have several hours of private tuition from Sifu Brand during which we learnt a huge amount. Also on that day, we are proud to report, Tony and I (WingChun Schools) were officially accepted as affiliated academies of Grandmaster Klaus Brand's WingChun system.
A huge 'thank you' to Sifu Klaus Brand, Igor and Alex, for a fantastic weekend. We are already looking forward to the next time...
Sifu Ed Pettitt © 2008