Newsgroup: it.sport.arti-marziali
Titolo: WT - Interviste ( in inglese )

Tre interviste fatte a 3 personaggi fondamentali del WT:
interviste risalenti a qualche annetto fa..
( il sito e' 
http://www.wingtsun.nl/Intervws.htm
 )
Leung Ting ( 1998 )
Emin Boztepe ( 1995 )
Keith R. Kernspecht ( 1998 )
Dr. Leung Ting, founder of the Leung Ting WingTsun System, Permanent
President & 10 th Level MOC of the International WingTsun Association, is
also a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese & English Literature & Language. In 1979,
he was conferred the title Doctor of Philosophy.
Graduated from the Hong Kong Baptist College in 1973, Sifu Leung Ting
devoted all his energy in developing WingTsun Kung Fu. At present (1998),
the International WingTsun Association has been enlarged into a world-wide
martial-art organisation with branches over 60 countries and is regared as
the largest professional Kung Fu organisation amongst all the martial-art
organisations.
Nowadays, Dr. Leung Ting's WingTsun Kung Fu is world-widely practised by
hundreds of thousands of martial-art instructors of special forces, such as
the FBI and Marine Corps of the USA, SEK of Germany, GIP of Luxembourg, RAID
of France, NOCS of Italy, etc. Thousands of people practising WingTsun are
former experts of the other martial-arts. Some of them are already high Dan
instructors while some of them have been obtained titles of National
Champions , runner-ups, and even World-Champions in different martial-art
tournament.
In December 1978, Dr. Leung Ting published the first book on WingTsun Kung
Fu. The first edition was sold out within four months. Thousands of letters
were sent from all over the world for enquires and congratulations. Since
then, Grandmaster Leung Ting has determined to try his best in writing more
Kung Fu books not just on WingTsun but other than his own system. He has
already written about 20 books and produced 10 videos regarding WT and other
Chinese martial-arts.
SFS: Can you compare street fights with fighting contests?
GM LT: Fighting is no game! The street fighting differs from a martial art
contest, in a street fight there are no rules governing the age, weight,
qualification or even the number of fighters. Therefore fighting in the
street in never a fair thing. In a martial-art contest, however, a
contestant can give up, or raise an objection, and as far as he admits
defeat, everything can be settled easily. But once you join a fight, you can
only hope defeating your opponent, but not to surrendering yourself to him,
for you get no chance of doing so!
SFS: What is about the traditional Chinese martial-art spirit?
GM LT: Besides teaching students techniques of martial-arts, a traditional
Chinese Kung Fu master has to educate his student with morality of martial
artists and the sense of knighliness, so as to prevent bringing up a student
who will ruin his own reputation.
SFS: What is the meaning of learning the techniques of fighting?
GM LT: Learning the techniques of fighting does not mean equipping oneself
for bullying others. It is meant to build up your own confidence of dealing
with tough guys who bully weaker ones. When you get enough self-confidence,
you will naturally despise bullying others who are weaker than you.
SFS: When do you have to fight and when not?
GM LT: I always remind my students that there are occasions when we ought to
fight, and also occasions when we ought not to fight - we ought not to fight
when there is no need to fight, or when victory of a fight can not be
compensated. On the other hand, we ought to fight when we are in danger, or
in critical situations that cannot be dealt with other means, or simply when
we can do nothing but fight!
SFS: You mentioned once the philosophy of the poisonous snake, can you
explain it?
GM LT: A real WingTsun practitioner should always imagine himself to be a
poisonous snake - someone provokes you but if you think that it is not
necessary to fight back, you keep silent or leave him alone. Seeing no
reaction from you, he probably stops irritating you. However, if you feel
you can’t avoid a fight, then don’t hesitate, but initiate an attack as fast
as you can with an aim to defeat him totally!
SFS: What’s about armed attacks?
GM LT: There is a big difference between performance and reality. Most
martial-art instructors like teaching students techniques of using bare
hands to deal with armed enemies. However these techniques are not so often
practicable in real life. Remember my advice: you can deal with an enemy who
is holding a pole or a weapon that is not sharp. However, if your enemy is
armed with a sharp knife or an axe, you had better get hold of a chair or a
wooden stool to protect yourself.
SFS: And self-defence against firearms?
GM LT: Sometimes it’s better to run for your Life! Never dream you are a
martial-art hero in a movie. Scenes in which an unarmed man defeats dozens
of armed enemies only appear on the movie screen. In real life, you had
better run away from these situations.
Don’t ever try to fight against a man with a pistol with your self-defence
techniques, for the finger of the man holding a pistol will not move slower
than your whole body, and will not pose himself in the way as your
instructor does - pointing a plastic pistol at you.
SFS: How can you handle one fighting against many?
GM LT: Too many people think the best way to fight against a group of
co-attackers is to stand against a wall. That is terrible wrong, standing
against the wall means blocking your way of retreat, and you will have to
fight until you have defeated or killed. The best way is to fight while
escaping. Keep moving so as to distract your enemies, so that only two or
three of your enemies can get close to you.
SFS: Why is WT so different - also in comparison with WC or VT?
GM LT: The gist of learning Kung Fu is not just in memorising sets of
movement patterns but in the Way of using these movements. WingTsun
movements are equivalent to the formulae in Mathematics. Whether you can
become a WingTsun expert depends entirely on how you can flexibly put these
formulae into practical application under various circumstances.
SFS: Does WingTsun uses kicks?
GM LT: There are in fact not too many kicking methods in the WingTsun
system. They include only the Frontal Thrusting Kick, the Sideward Thrusting
Kick and the Slant Thrusting Kick, which, combined with variations in
positions and angles, form the total of eight kicking methods. These eight
kicking methods, however, can be performed in correlation with various sets
of offensive or defensive techniques. There are two characteristics of the
kicking techniques of the WingTsun system. Firstly, a kicking technique of
the system has to be performed in correlation with an arm technique so as
far to diversify the attention of the opponent. Secondly, a kicking
technique of the system is usually performed in close range, so that it can
take its effect without giving warning to the opponent.
SFS: And the best defence against a kicking expert?
GM LT: The best way to deal with an opponent skilled in kicks is to get as
close to him as possible, and attack him before he initiates a kick. This
conforms to the saying "Attack his head to stop his kicks" - for as you are
launching heavy attacks at his upper level, such as his head, he has to make
defence and keep balance, and is thus too busy to launch a kick. Besides,
most practitioners would unconciously keep themselves away from an opponent
who is skilled in kicks. This is wrong, for a good kicker does not like his
opponent to get too close to himself, otherwise he can't make advantage of
kicks as to conform to the saying "Legs are long but arms are short". It is
a pitty that most martial art practitioners do not understand this point.
SFS: How does a WingTsun practitioner handle grappling?
GM LT: In the WingTsun theory it is extremely wrong to pull back or
struggle. It is because when the victim tries his best to struggle, his
whole body would turn rigid and this may offer a good chance to the Judoka
or wrestler to make use of his force to throw him onto the floor. Any
experienced Judoka or wrestler knows the principle that it is easy to carry
a hard object on the back and throw it onto the floor, but it is extremely
difficult to carry a soft object on the back and throw it down. Once a
WingTsun expert is being grabbed, he would never try to struggle but instead
would relax his whole body totally. He would get very close to his opponent
in stead of pulling back. Therefore, he will be able to re-borrow the
pulling force from his opponent and strike back before his opponent can put
him onto the floor.
SFS: Are there secret techniques?
GM LT: Some Kung Fu trainees are very curious to learn the "secret
techniques" or "missing techniques" from their instructors. In deed this is
a very wrong idea that would only offer their instructors a big chance to
make money by trying to satisfy their curiosity. I dare say there is NO such
what-so-called "secret techniques" or "missing techniques" treasured by
their instructors! The BEST TECHNIQUES must be those most commonly used by
their instructors in training or actual combat. In fact those so-called
"secret techniques", even if they were not "nonsense", would soon be missed
if these were seldom used by their instructors!
SFS: Just one last question: Is there a key for winning a fight?
GM LT: Attack is the best defence! The way of fighting is to make use of
what one is skilled in to attack the opponent's weakness.
To render further attacks after a successful attempt until the opponent is
being knocked down is the guarantee for final victory.
Always remember that Don't raise your leg, unless you are sure of hitting
the target and the best tactic to deal with a good kicker is -as explained
before- to deprive him of the chance of raising a kick.
Don’t try to become a hero!
There is a Chinese saying that he who knows how to deal with situations is a
hero.
You are not a coward when you refuse or avoid a fight.
On the contrary, to accept a meaningless fight means you are a fool posing
as a Hero!
END OF THE INTERVIEW (1988)
Sigung Keith R. Kernspecht, 9th Master level WT
(Head and Chief Instructor, EWTO)
Keith R. Kernspecht has nearly 40 years of martial arts experience.
At the end of the Fifties, he began to study various Western and Eastern
martial arts including freestyle wrestling, pro-wrestling, jiu jitsu, judo,
kempo and Shaolin kung fu. These were followed by Shotokan and Wado Ryu
karate. He has established the Leung Ting System of WingTsun (spelled as one
word and abbreviated as 'WT') in all European countries on behalf of the
IWTA in Hong Kong and there is a current total of more than 1,500 associated
schools in Germany, Austria and Switzerland alone! The IWTO/EWTO (the
Western section of IWTA founded and led by Kemspecht) is the world's largest
professional martial arts association and has branches in all the continents
except in Asia where Grandmaster Leung Ting is in charge himself.
Since 1982, Kemspecht's organisation has published its own magazine
'WingTsun World', which appears twice a year.
From this year on, the charismatic German with English ancestors is in
charge of Grandmaster Leung Ting's British and Irish WingTsun Association.
He will start entirely from scratch and he will do it his way, combining
Chinese ingenuity with Western proficiency.
Although Kemspecht's best-selling book ON SINGLE COMBAT has only recently
been published it is already in its 2nd edition. It is Kemspecht's 9th
specialist book on the martial arts. Endorsed by Geoff Thompson, it is
probably the very first comprehensive treatise on the phenomenon of
individual combat including aspects such as strategy, tactics, psychology,
physiology, law, history and philosophy. It undertakes to show how the
complex processes occurring in a combat situation dictate the reactions of
the defender and therefore circumscribe his actions. In his book, Kemspecht
takes a critical look at the real combat value of the conventional martial
arts and self defence methods, and is not afraid to slaughter a few sacred
cows in the process!
COMBAT: Why did you take up martial arts as opposed to, say, soccer?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Team sports have never been my cup of tea. I prefer to
rely on myself and to accept the whole responsibility for victory or defeat.
My uncle was a wrestler and so my first martial art was wrestling - the
oldest fighting art in human history. I learnt Graeco-Roman, Free Style and
later, Persian wrestling. A neighbour ran a professional wrestling team that
travelled Europe and I was asked to travel with them. I fought quite
successfully in several tournaments.
COMBAT: Did you have a wrestler's name?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Yes, I was known by two titles. They named me 'Lord
Keith' because I have British ancestors, and 'Strangler Keith' because I
used to finish my opponents by choking them. I was quite strong at that time
and one of first modern power-lifters in Northern Germany. My speciality
were dumb bell flies with more than 150 lbs in each hand!
COMBAT: I have seen photos in your best selling book ON SINGLE COMBAT in
which you are using about 450 lbs in pressing movements for reps. I've also
seen a photo that shows you lifting up a training partner with one arm. Have
you always been so strong?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Not really. I was tall and skinny as a teenager but I
always loved comparing my skills with those of my school mates. I never
lost, even though were usually stronger and heavier than me. I was very
creative and invented lots of techniques myself before I learned anything
from my instructors. I always used grappling techniques because I never
wanted to make my friends bleed or really hurt them. I never had problems
with boxers and if you read my favourite book BLUE BLOOD ON THE MAT, you
will know why!
COMBAT: Why did you take up weight training, then?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: I am the excessive type who can never get enough of
anything before he has had 200% of it. So at the age of 15, I began to
transform my skinny body by very intensive and progressive power training.
In the end I had multiplied my power and stamina without losing speed. My
training partners were Eberhard Schneider (who later became one of the most
famous German experts on power training) and G. Rohrsch, the World silver
medalist in Olympic Heavyweight lifting. So I had enough inspiration to pull
through.
COMBAT: Do you think that weight training is a must to be successful in
martial arts or in self defence?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: It is definitely a short-cut for beginners and helps
you do things which normally would require a much higher level of skill.
Most martial arts depend on strength, although instructors do not admit that
openly. Most styles need power because they rely on prearranged 'dead' or
fixed techniques to break the of the opponent. Very few styles borrow the
force of the opponent and use it as both an impulse and for speed and power.
Therefore it is most unusual that I, the former powerlifter, after having
studied kempo, judo, jiu jitsu, Shaolin kung fu, Shotokan and Wado Ryu
karate, taekwondo and Muay Thai, at the end of the Sixties discovered a love
for the intelligent and flexible methods like aikido and Wing Chun, and
later, for WingTsun.
COMBAT: You began martial arts at the age of 14 and have been practising for
more than 37 years, so you must be over 52 years of age by now. Yet you look
very young and fit! I guess you must be 6'2" and over 180 lbs of muscle? How
many hours a day do you train with weights to keep in such good shape?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: In fact I am much lighter than I look - I'm only 165
lbs. Although we do not think it is necessary for the scientific art of
WingTsun, I admit I love working out every day! But instead of weights, I
move my own body, doing push ups, dip chins and sit-ups with the occasional
weights attached. Only from time to time do I test my bench pressing power
(and I can still move well over 300 lbs for reps, which satisfies me!).
Contrary to what I thought when I was very young, I now believe that it is
better to use your own bodyweight as resistance because it is more natural,
and maybe the other 'secret' is the special Chi-Kung Breathing Form of the
Leung Ting System which prolongs life. So I am positive that I will live to
be over 100!
COMBAT: Do you follow a special diet?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Yes I separate carbohydrates from proteins, eat only
fruits from morning to afternoon and eat fish or fowl plus plenty of
vegetables for supper. For the last six months I have refrained from
alcohol - which is hard for me because I live one third of my time in
Tuscany, where there are great wines that go so nicely with the food there
.....
COMBAT: Before we talk about the Leung Ting WingTsun system that you teach,
do you practise other martial arts and if so, what do you think about them?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Since 1975 I have practised only WingTsun or WT as we
abbreviate it, and some Escrima. WT gives me everything I need. And being
the WT-Chief Instructor for Europe and Grandmaster Leung Ting's
representative /co-ordinator for the Western world my techniques must be
pure WT and not mixed up. But I like and respect other martial arts like
wrestling. I rate Escrima very highly - especially the Combat Escrima of my
friend and former instructor, Rene Latosa. Also, I can appreciate realistic
martial arts like Muay Thai or Ling Lom which I studied myself in the
Seventies under my friend, Master Sunthus Supasturpong. I have students who
are World or Vice World Champions in karate, taekwondo, Thai and kickboxing
as well as in boxing and wrestling, so I can spar and compare techniques
with them. All these styles have their strong points. But only he who knows
himself and his opponent win be successful in the end.
COMBAT: Which English martial artists do you know?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Unfortunately very few. I highly rate Master Bill
Newman the Father of Escrima in Europe, his assistant Steve Tappin and Geoff
Thompson. All are top-notch experts in their chosen fields, and I am
honoured to call them my friends. I also met Derroll Connery - a very good
jiu jitsu instructor while I was teaching a seminar to German jiu jitsu
black belts.
COMBAT: What do you think about the standard of martial art practice in
Britain?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Oriental martial arts had been introduced to Britain
before ever they found their way to Germany. As a university student I went
to England where I had a chance to continue my study of karate under
Enoeda-sensei and Suzuki-sensei. The first Wing Chun I saw was from Sifu
Cheng Chun, whom I liked very much. I was one of the few non-Chinese who had
the privilege of being admitted to Sifu Cheng's class. Whereas the first
non-Chinese, I believe, must have been my friend Alan Lamb, who later went
to Hong Kong to train under Sifu Koo Sang. Sifu Cheng introduced me to
Grandmaster Leung Ting and I can still remember the time when both Chinese
sifus were sitting by my bedside in a London hotel, using their Chinese
medicine to try and heal me from an illness I was suffering from. In 1976 I
studied Escrima under Grandmaster Rene Latosa and his master-disciple, Bill
Newman (who is also a former Wing Chun man).
COMBAT: We heard that you have a weekness for Britain and before you made
WingTsun your profession, you used to be a university lecturer in English
literature.
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: I have English/Scottish ancestors and my parents were
very Anglophile - which you can see from my Christian name, Keith. So I
regularly spent my holidays in GB. I love all things British! I restore and
drive automobiles such as old Morgans, TR3s, early E-types, Astons, etc. If
I did not have two wonderful dogs which I hate to put under quarantine, I
would have travelled to Britain much more often. My dream is to have a place
in London where I would live for at least three months of the year.
COMBAT: Is it true that you divide your time between Kiel, old castle close
to Heidelberg in Germany and Livorno in Tuscany?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Yes, I have to take care of nearly fifty countries in
which my students have established WingTsun branches. In Europe the only two
countries where we are not presently represented are Andorra and, I think,
San Marino. So I must constantly travel! Every weekend I teach seminars in
places where I teach and test students, and supervise the instructors. Kiel,
Langenzell Castle and Livorno are my residences. There I stay and teach
during weekdays.
COMBAT: You chose to become a WingTsun instructor but could you imagine
being a karate or taekwondo instructor?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Like I said, WingTsun is exactly my cup of tea and
since I was the pioneer of it in the Western world, I've had the chance to
design and shape it into the product it is now. My WingTsun is very, very
realistic, but at the same time highly scientific and philosophical. I
stress principles and concepts rather than techniques and love my students
asking me questions and being creative. I do not think that I could have
achieved these aims by teaching a different martial art.
COMBAT: Do you think there is something like the best self defence?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: If there is something like the 'best driver' and 'the
best car' - at least for a special purpose - then I believe there to be 'the
best self defence'. But this 'best system' (which is WT for me), may be Thai
boxing or Escrima for someone else.
COMBAT: What is your definition of best self defence?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: The best method of self defence is the one which is
able to cope with the most attacks using the least number of movements.
COMBAT: And in this respect WingTsun is the best?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Whilst other styles proudly boast that they have 6,000
or more movements, we believe that less is more and make do with only two
active movements. To these movements you have to add four passive reactions,
one passive emergency reaction and the WT concept that ties everything
together with eight governing principles which are mostly derived from
Taoism. So according to my definition - which might not be yours - I like to
say that WT is the second best while I am still looking for the best (which
can do the same or more but with less movements and less fuss).
COMBAT: What was it especially about WingTsun that convinced you to dedicate
so much time to it?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: In the middle of the Seventies I was a power-lifter,
tipping the scales at 220 lbs. I was a black belt and instructor in many
styles. However, the first master who offered to me to attack him in any way
I wanted was Grandmaster Leung Ting. He did not say 'Give me a punch to the
face,' or 'Kick me to the groin,' or 'Grab my arm,' or 'Try to bear-hug me'.
He just said 'Attack me as quickly as you can in any way you like.' I tried
my best but I couldn't punch, kick nor grab this 135 lbs Chinese master. He
neutralised all my vain attempts so effortlessly that I knew this was what I
wanted - to be able to stand confidently facing my opponent, offering him
the chance to attack me in any way he wants.
COMBAT: You are now Grandmaster Leung Ting's highest graduated disciple and
hold the 9th degree master's qualification. When you began, did you ever
believe that you would one day surpass all your WingTsun classmates in The
West and in Asia? That you would become the most successful professional
martial arts instructor in the World?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: No, I never thought of it. And I never thought of
becoming a full-time WingTsun instructor either! I was teaching German,
Latin, Sports and English, and I was a lecturer at the university. I was
never really interested in money but I had this urge to become really good
at WingTsun and since I had to work for a living in Kiel, I had to invite
Grandmaster Leung Ting to teach me privately in Germany. I arranged for him
to visit me at least three times per year and to this day I still train with
him three months out of every year. To finance his flight tickets, hotels,
meals and teaching fees I was obliged to organise seminars for him and to
teach WT myself. This is how the German WingTsun Organisation, later called
'European' and International WingTsun Organisation came into being. Actually
my sifu, Leung Ting, must be the most successful instructor in the world. I
am only ambassador and very much satisfied to be his sea command. And I have
a lot of respect for my colleagues in Hong Kong, especially for my sisuk
Chen Chuen Fun, whom I admire not only for his skills but even more for his
humanity and strong character.
COMBAT: What is your relationship with Grandmaster Leung Ting? After more
than 24 years, you must be old friends by now?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: No! According to Confucius, friendship can only exist
between equals, I am his kung fu son ('to-dai' in Cantonese) and he is my
kung fu father ('si-fu'). I respect him very much for what he taught me and
for what he still teaches me.
COMBAT: Do you always see eye-to-eye? Do you always share the same opinion?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Not at all! We are very different and argue all the
time. And we are both very proud of our cultural heritage. I only have to
mention jokingly that Alexander the Great or Marco Polo might have
introduced some kind of WingTsun art to China and I have a war on my hands!
So our relationship is never boring and leads to surprising results and
solution when East and West meet. Western proficiency and Chinese genius -
this is the formula for our common success. And this is what attracts our
mutual students from all over the world to the EWTO.
COMBAT: Do you think that some people in the past found hard to co-operate
with Grandmaster Leung Ting and so had to quit or were dismissed?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: My sifu is a very intelligent person with lots of
humour but he knows exactly how he wants things to be done. And it is not
easy to meet his high standards. But since we have known each other for
nearly 24 years now, our relationship is very, very good and we can trust
each other 100%. I, for my part, would never want another sifu.
COMBAT: How is WingTsun organised or structured?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Grandmaster Leung Ting is the International Chief
Instructor and the head of the International WingTsun Association (IWTA).
And he is directly in charge of Asia and special countries like Poland,
Rumania and Hungary IWTO and EWTO are Western organisations which affiliate
to IWTA and which take care of the remaining countries. Altogether we have
branches in more than 60 countries now. The strongest WT country worldwide
is Germany which has well over 1,500 gyms.
COMBAT: And how about Britain and Ireland?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Britain was directly under Grandmaster Leung Ting
because of its traditional ties with Hong Kong. But now it is no longer a
British Crown colony and Grandmaster Leung Ting for some reason was not so
happy with his former British representative, so he has put me in charge of
it. WingTsun-GB is now part of the EWTO, the European WingTsun organisation.
I will personally run the EWTO-GB while Grandmaster Leung Ting helps me
teach seminars and supervise future instructors. I will come with a team of
experienced master instructors like Emin Boztepe (6th Master's degree) who
teaches a club in London, a 5th degree Master will take care of Scotland
while another 5th degree Master will run Ireland. We already have some small
clubs such as the one in Stafford which is run by a 4th level instructor and
another in London, taught by a Chinese student of Grandmaster Leung Ting's
from Hong Kong. I hope all Leung Ting stylists in GB will contact me now to
build up a new GB WingTsun Organisation which Grandmaster Leung Ting can be
proud of.
COMBAT: Will you admit ex-Leung Ting students who turned to other martial
arts through lack of an original Leung Ting gym?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Everybody who wants to learn the pure Leung Ting
WingTsun is welcome. People who for some reasons were unsatisfied with our
former British organisation are welcome to rejoin us. If they are already
instructors or advanced students, then they may help us in building up the
future GB-branch. We are just beginning and now is the best time for
ambitious pioneers who want to grow with us to join the EWTO.
COMBAT: How about people from other Yip Man schools?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: I hope we find a way to communicate and assist each
other in making Yip Man martial art recognised as the great art it is. We
should not allow technical differences and interpretations to split us
apart. Nor should we continue and perpetuate traditional quarrels and fights
that had their unlucky origins in Asia. We are Europeans and should
understand that quarrels over who taught who more will not strengthen the
image of Yip Man martial art. It is tragic that a Wing chun man gets better
along with such as a karateka than with a clansman of the WingTsun-style.
Familiarity breeds contempt and it is the little differences which seem to
be harder to accept than the really big ones. I for my part do not want to
be drawn into the vicious circle of style politics. I do not want to steal
students from other sifus. I would rather attract complete newcomers.
COMBAT: Why? Would it not be easier to recruit students from other Yip Man
schools?
KEITH R. KERNSPECHT: Maybe, but the Leung Ting system of WingTsun is very
different from its brothers. The difference is not for the eye to see. While
our techniques look alike - at least on the surface - our concept is often a
world apart. To explain this to an enthusiast of another Wing Chun or Ving
Tsun school is a hard and ungrateful job - like trying to convince someone
to change his religion. I am a scientist and not a religious believer and
fanatic. I try to convince my students by logic and not by beating them up.
I want to make friends, not life-time enemies in Britain! When I was young I
believed that many enemies meant lots of glory, but now my thinking is
different!
On 26 and 27th September, Professor Kernspecht will hold a seminar in London
for everyone interested in the original WingTsun and in the future of the GB
WingTsun Organisation. Not only will Grandmaster Leung Ting be present but
also the future branch leaders for Scotland and Ireland as well as many
international instructors such as Emin Boztepe from the USA. And of course
Master Bill Newman himself, the EWTO Chief Instructor of Europe for
Latosa-Escrima, will also be in attendance. All departments will be
presented to the participants including WingTsun Anti-Ground Fighting and
WingTsun for Health.
END OF THE INTERVIEW (1998)
Sifu Emin Boztepe, 6th Master level WT
(Head and Chief Instructor, AWTO)
Emin says that his much publicized battles with William Cheung and the
Gracie family are history. Today he is fighting to create the strongest and
most powerful WingTsun organization in America. By Thomas Nilsson
No one involved with today's martial arts could have escaped the bold
headlines of the controversial challenge\feud between renowned WingTsun
stylist Emin Boztepe and reigning UFC champion Royce Gracie.
Harsh statements have been billowing back and forth, but as of yet no
punches have been exchanged but the explosive Boztepe, hailed by many as one
of the world's toughest combatants, has a great deal more to his name and
credit and continues to travel the world to spread the gospel of "true"
WingTsun.
In this interview, Boztepe talks openly about his life, philosophy and the
past and future of American WingTsun.
The name of Emin Boztepe, 33, is ELECTRIC. The charismatic Turkish born
martial arts strongman was, prior to the infected Gracie feud, perhaps best
known for his confrontation with famed Yip Man student and wing chun
grandmaster William Cheung in 1986, but as far as Boztepe himself is
concerned, such incidents belong in the past.
"I have never set out to get personal publicity," he notes. "All the things
that have happened in the last few years, actually ever since the Cologne
incident with William Cheung, have stirred up a great deal of publicity and
when people start talking about you in a way that your real intentions are
being put down, you have to defend yourself."
"It's actually very tiresome when people are still writing about something
that happened ten years ago. It's the same with the Gracie thing: the media
will continue to write about it but the important thing is that I personally
have never approached the magazines. It's always been magazines that have
come to me."
Inside Kung Fu: You are the head of the American WingTsun Organization. What
are your goals for this young organization?
Emin Boztepe: First of all, the name should now be AEWTO or American Escrima
WingTsun Organization, although the WingTsun part of the system is still the
strongest component. I have talked to my grandmaster in Escrima, Rene
Latosa, and my master Bill Newman. Master Bill is the chief instructor in
Europe and he's a student of master Latosa who's very well known in the U.S.
Grandmaster Latosa is representing the Escrima part of the American WingTsun
Organization and that's why we decided to change the name to AEWTO.
Our goal for WingTsun is the same for America as for any other country: to
teach and build up true martial artists in WingTsun and in Escrima and to
develop skilled and competent instructors. The techniques of the system are
very important and every student has the same chance, as I did in my past,
to learn the whole system. I'm talking about the complete system of WingTsun
now, not forgetting the small details. I'm really focusing on presenting the
total picture to the students so that they, when they later become
instructors, have the same opportunity to succeed the way I did.
We teach no only the physical aspect of WingTsun, we also teach the students
in theory and talk about Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism (and) we discuss
hard styles versus soft styles and the difference between basic techniques
of Japanese and Chinese styles. We also talk alot about the history of
WingTsun so that they are not lured into getting prejudice. Of course, we
always want to put WingTsun and Escrima first, but without hurting other
people's feelings. And it's knowledge like this that seperates a martial
artist from a true martial artist. We don't want people to imitate, we want
our students to practice WingTsun and know what they are performing and
talking about!
IKF: How do you rate the standard of WingTsun in your organization around
the world today?
EB: The overall standard is very high, but when you compare the standard of
skills in various places, you must compare the development of the art to the
German development since WingTsun has it major following in Germany today
(the European headquarters is located in Heidelberg, Germany). There we have
about 1,500 schools and the German practitioners are the ones who set the
standard, but everyone who works with me knows that our WingTsun is very
tough and that they have to have their program very well into their bodies
and minds. As of today, I'd say that technically the Swedish have reached
the "German level", but both the U.S. and Sweden belong among the first five
Wing Tsun organizations in the world. Germany is, ofcourse, still number
one.
IKF: Are American impatient and a bit to superficial, always looking for a
glossy image in the martial arts? Can you teach Americans and Europeans in
the same manner or have you ever experienced a different attitude?
EB: Well, when I first came over to the U.S., I thought "my god", these
people are really everything they're supposed to be. Really laid back and
they like to show off. But as time went by, things began to look a bit
different. My American students train very hard too. Again, our main concern
is to develop good fighters and good instructors; not everybody has to fight
in our organization, but they do have to be good instructors to bring out
good fighters, so ofcourse we're looking for both characters. As you know,
not all good fighters are good teachers and vice versa.
But no, I don't feel that Americans would prefer a flashier or more
"show-business" oriented style of martial arts. Every system, religious,
political or whatever, follows it's leader and I lead the organization the
same way in the U.S. as I do in Europe. The people and their character
depend on their leader. I'd say my American students are very open minded
toward other styles, they're very analytic and very self critical, true to
the way I grew up myself. If you don't have the ability to search within
yourself and to develop self criticism, you can never become very
proficient.
IKF: Have you found it difficult to reach out to the American people with
your style of Wing Tsun? The U.S. is a big country and there are so many
martial arts active today.
EB: Well, yes, but I don't really see it as a problem. I'm very disciplined
and I work hard. I'm very focused on my goals, but I've found that most
people involved with the hard full contact sports, like kickboxing and Thai
boxing, in general don't have all that much respect for kung fu. See I've
been practicing for so many years now and only now, after some 15 years, I
have been awarded the status of master, fifth practitioner or Wing Tsun and
I see people all the time that are calling themselves grandmaster, having
been training for maybe only five or ten years.
I don't want to mention any names, but there are just to many "copy cats"
and "armchair martial artists" out there today and I'm sad to see that the
magazines most often swallow these people's stories. I've seen people simply
copying my grandmaster Dr. Leung Ting's books and articles. I know imitation
is supposed to be the highest form of flattery, but it bothers me to see the
phonies of the martial arts community getting the attention. All the people
imitating Bruce Lee by trying to create their own styles of martial arts.
IKF: The unique organization behind the WingTsun family, originating from
Yip Man's private student Dr. Leung Ting, who upgraded and modernized the
art as well as changed the spelling of the style in 1973, is very
professional, very smooth and is run like any other multinational business
corporation when it boils down to practice, economy and marketing.
The "International WingTsun (Martial Arts) Association" is currently the
world's largest individual kung fu organization, represented in 46
countries.
EB: I have learned from my sifu, Keith Kernspecht, in Germany. This is the
best organization I've come across in my life. He taught us so well, that
all of us students also became useful to him when he began building up the
organization in Germany. Of course, when you learn from someone that is
highly skilled in organizing and teaching, it rubs off on your own character
and now I've tried to bring my experiences to both the Swedish and American
Wing Tsun organizations.
IKF: The WingTsun family has apparently a remarkable organization. How much
control do you have over the current WingTsun schools around the world?
EB: Well, as far as my own organization is concerned yes, but I don't know
what my cousins in Britain or Hungary do. I have control over my own
family - the Swedish, German and American part of the organization. Here I
have pretty much control, I know every instructor personally and I know most
of the students. We're not that big yet and most of these people come
regularly to my seminars because they depend on me to pass certain levels of
instruction.
You know, I've been traveling and teaching, giving seminars and so on, for
almost 12 years now and I've belonged to the WingTsun organization for 15
years, so I'm turning over more of the seminar responsibilities to my
assistant instructors of each country. In the future I may not have to go to
Germany as often as today. My main income comes from Germany, but both
Sweden and the U.S. are building up in WingTsun so there's alot of work to
be done.
IKF: Would you agree if I told you that WingTsun seems to attract a certain
kind of people?
EB: Oh yes, absolutely! Cosmopolitan, open minded people are those attracted
to WingTsun. We don't have any prejudiced people, most of us like to travel,
to communicate with each other and I have traveled so much over the years so
I can clearly see a pattern there.
IKF: WingTsun is a non-competative martial art. Have you ever felt the
pressure of persuing such a direction? Today's martial arts scene is very
competatively oriented.
EB: No, I've never felt such a pressure. See, I train many different people,
people who are champions in other martial arts styles and the most skilled
WingTsun instructors in Germany today originated from other styles. People
in general have always misunderstood us, we have never had anything against
other martial arts systems or other martial arts champions simply because
they're not in our field. We are in the field of self defense and art.
The competitive arts are sports with rules and trophies. We don't have this
in WingTsun. We also practise the philosophy of our art and if you look at
what happened to traditional karate and kickboxing, you'll notice that these
arts aren't so traditional any longer. These styles have become attacking
sports, it's not longer a matter of strict self defense. The sense of the
roots, the heritage of these arts, have been lost. You can spot this in the
practicing youth of today who have become more violent, more aggressive than
ever before.
IKF: Going back in time a bit, I know our childhood was rather troublesome
and you began training in the martial arts at the age of 14, because you
were a constant target for racial insults and physical abuse.
EB: Yes, and I'm an artist and like most other artists, actors, painters
etc, I experienced pain when I grew up. But I don't think I would have had
the same kind of troubles, had I been raised in my home country. I was born
in Eskisehir, a small town in Turkey, as second oldest of six children. When
I was four, my family moved to Germany and my teenage years were turbulant
and filled with agonizing streetfights. In short, Germany was not the
healthiest places for a young Turk in those days of growing racism and
neo-Nazi movements.
I went head first into a cultural clash, and trying to adjust in a new,
foreign country also caused problems with my parents. As a youngster I was
open minded and curious to explore new grounds and new ideas, while my
parents were kinda stuck in the old traditional Turkish way of life. I loved
them, but we just couldn't get along with each other.
My parents came to Germany as grown ups with their own values and morals and
standpoints. Really, it is not easy for people to simply turn around and
change their entire life at such an age. It's much easier for young people
to adjust to a new enviroment because youngsters become a part of the new
society in a different fashion. It's still hard, but your're young and your
learning. It was very frustrating for me and there were times when I really
felt I was ready to kill! I was always tense, never relaxed and constantly
prepared to protect myself. I had problems communicating with people and
very often I was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Today I
understand that I'm lucky to be alive.
IKF: You claim to have had some 300 bare-hand fights to your credit and
never lost a fight. Is this true?
EB: This is true, but it's also important to point out that I never started
a fight and I have never boasted with my victories. I'm convinced that I
would never have become such a versatile fighter and successful martial
artist without the painful experiences of my past. My troublesome youth made
me mentally very strong and the thing that makes you go forward is not
physical but mental. You need that fire, you need to develop your inner
strengths. So many talented people, in music and in martial arts, have been
lost to drugs and crime simply because they haven't been that mentally
strong.
IKF: It was your burning desire to succeed in martial arts that also led you
into searching and appreciating other aspects of life?
EB: True, I became interested in the philosophical side of the martial arts
and I began reading books on the topic, thus allowing me to search for and
bring forth the sensitive side of my personality. Most people get started in
martial arts because they're insecure, they're afraid of things that you
have to deal with in life in general as well. If you go into the martial
arts, you deal with your fears and your complexes right away. There's no
escape. It's hands on, you're forced to use your brain differently, you're
forced to open up yourself and you're forced to learn how to deal with your
own problems. Too many are afraid of such an insight and instead they fall
into the trap of drugs and crime. Aspects such as these are the essence of
the martial arts.
IKF: As a youngster you also had 16 fights in the ring as an amateur boxer?
EB: Yes, and my only regret is that I never got to fight my idol Muhammed
Ali (laughs). I also rate Mike Tyson and Sugar Ray Leonard very highly. My
dad wanted me to pickup boxing and when I was about six, he used to take me
to watch fights together. To this day, I'm still connected to boxing.
IKF: Have you found any similarities in the hand work between WingTsun and
traditional Western boxing?
EB: Well, if you strip it down to the foundation of the art, of course there
are some similarities because both systems use punches. Look at my Tyson, he
uses a characteristic Wing Tsun tactic in the ring. He launches his energy
forward and he goes in straight and basically knocks the opponent out cold.
This is, of course, the basic attitude you learn very early on in Wing
Tsun - to go in and close your enemy down. In other styles you must often
step back and prepare, but in WingTsun you never go back. You either go left
or right or forward. If you take a backward step, then you might as well run
away and not fight at all!
IKF: You got started in the martial arts in 1976 and you quickly began
exploring a variety of different fighting systems, including Judo, Shotokan
karate, wrestling, Muay Thai and traditional boxing. As far as WingTsun is
concerned, you're a pretty late starter in the style?
EB: Yes, I was a late starter. I was 18, but WingTsun was also a pretty
young organization in Europe, the whole thing was initiated by Sifu Keith
Kernspecht as a result of a visit by Sigung Leung Ting. When Sifu Kernspecht
first started up the training in the city of Kiel in Germany, it was more
like Wing Chun, but then he began to experiment and founded the German Wing
Tsun organization in 1979 and most of the students followed him there. I
came in one year later, so basically I'm one of the original WingTsun
students and today even some of the older students come to my classes even
though they're at the same level as I am.
IKF: What was it that attracted you to WingTsun?
EB: The fact that the art has all the aspects of a real life fight, it's a
multi-level art. In WingTsun we're prepared for all the various phases of a
fight - long distance kicks, hands, knees, elbows, throws and
groundfighting. We cover all aspects from the first to the fifth student
grade, so a fifth grade student would be able to defend himself against all
kinds of opponents in all kinds of situations after one to one and a half
years of training. Naturally his success depends on his own willpower and
how hard he trains.
WingTsun was, really, love at first sight. I was always looking to prove
myself on the streets and I was very aggressive because of the way I lived
back then. The thing that really got me hooked on the art was the technical
aspects of the style. It doesn't really matter how good you are; it always
boils down to the techniques. WingTsun is very economical and your're more
protected in the way you fight in this style. In most other styles you're
more open to outside attacks.
I don't want to hurt the feelings of of other practitioners, but if you look
at karate, for example, you use outside blocks while we in WingTsun stress
the importance of protecting the body to a much greater extent. We focus on
protecting all of the vital, living organs of the body. Bruce Lee also built
his JKD on this, intercepting your opponent's attack and energy. I still
carry the passion for WingTsun and I think that people feel this when I
teach.
IKF: You have also incorporated Rene Latosa's Escrima system in your
WingTsun curriculum. How did this happen?
EB: Well, I think it was in 1979 when my sifu (Kernspecht) invited
grandmaster Latosa and Bill Newman to Germany. Escrima was incorporated into
the Wing Tsun system because Sifu Kernspecht always strived for the most
realistic training possible and the WingTsun student doesn't begin
experimenting with weapons until very late in the training proccess.
Actually, weapons are the last thing you learn in WingTsun! So there was a
problem - Sifu felt that there was a need to introduce weapons training at
an earlier stage. In today's society we really do need to learn to defend
against various kinds of weapons, perhaps against knives in particular. In
1982, the German WingTsun Organization decided that Escrima would be a part
of the family.
IKF: How did you become the head of the American WingTsun Organization?
EB: I had been traveling back and forth to the U.S. ever since 1987. The
first two years I spent in New York and then in 1989 the late Ed Parker
invited me to his Long Beach tournament where I got an opportunity to show
WingTsun to the American public. The audience really went wild and loved
what they saw. In 1990 I moved to Los Angeles, but kept traveling to Europe
regularly. The problem here in the U.S. was the Sigung Leung Ting only
visited a couple of times a year and therefore never really had time to
organize the system properly. The Americans were enthusiastic, but also very
frustrated because every time German WingTsun people came over to the U.S.
they could beat the Americans easily.
There was a time when I wasn't interested in taking on the responsibility
that came with the appointment of American WingTsun Organization chief
instructor. I just wanted my peace, but then things changed and I accepted
the task. I began opening up schools in the U.S. in 1990 and today I have a
string of successful schools scattered around the country. I think I'm also
the only one to have a martial arts school in Alaska. I have also
successfully trained American Law enforcement, the FBI, the Marines, the
D.E.A. The Los Angeles police force has been impressed with my teaching and
twice a year I have been conducting a special "hostage rescue" seminar for
the FBI.
IKF: Loyalty is obviously very important to you?
EB: Yes, loyalty is everything. I've been loyal to my sifu for 15 years. So
many people are trying to create their own fighting system today and I don't
think that's OK to do so, at least not when it comes to WingTsun because
here you have a complete system and when you try to do what Bruce Lee did,
you're just wasting your time. Lee did what he did because he had to change
and to search for other ways. He really had no choice. Lee wanted to be the
best Wing Chun man, but he didn't have enough experience and when he moved
to the U.S., his sifu remained in Hong Kong. There weren't any other Wing
Chun instructors in America at the time, so Bruce had to go in another
direction. I'm a great admirer of Bruce Lee's, but I think people are
imitating him far to much these days.
Everybody wants to create a style of their own, but if you already have a
wonderful, complete style, such as WingTsun, then why should I go in and
change it and call it "Boztepe kung fu"? I mean, here we have a 400 year old
heritage an we should be proud of it. There are people changing the form of
their organization every two weeks and they desperately try anything to
become as successful as my WingTsun family. But this will never happen
because in order to become successful, you must be loyal. It's like a
boomerang: if you are disrespectful, you will be treated disrespectfully
too.
IKF: The word is that your new instructional video, called, "Emin Boztepe's
Realistic Self Defense" will make eyes pop?
EB: Well, I think my video is the standard for future making of such videos.
This is the most expensive video of it's kind ever made. It's made like an
ordinary feature film and it deals with all the various aspects of martial
arts and realistic self defense tactics. All of the fight scenes, except
one, are based on my personal real life experiences. These fights have been
restaged in an autobiographical manner and the viewer can watch the tape and
learn how a fight may errupt, how to avoid such a situation and how to deal
with it physically when there is no other way out. After each fight scene,
I'm interviewed and I explain why I used certain techniques in certain
situations. I talk about my emotions, my stress and fears in a way that most
other martial artists never do. In one scene I'm even running away from a
fight because my opponents outnumber me. I run away until I can't run away
any longer. I have a real streetfighting background and I'm trying to make
use of these experiences with this video.
It's not like you will watch the average martial arts video where you'd see
two guys exchanging techniques in front of a white background and then you
turn it off because it gets to boring. My video is alot more informative and
exciting and it's not just aimed for the trained martial artist; anybody can
use this knowledge to avoid getting hurt on the street and it's also my hope
that this film maybe can make some people change their mind about martial
arts in general. There are so many bad instructional videos out there today
and many show techniques that are truly dangerous for the students to
imitate. People are so irresponsible, putting out such rubbish on the market
just to make money! But I know my video will be criticized because no matter
what you do, there are always some people out there trying to find flaws and
faults in your work.
IKF: How do you see the future for WingTsun?
EB: Like a huge field of flowers. I see big success for the art because we
are honest and we work hard. We strive to educate good martial artists, we
like to make peace and make friends. But, of course, if someone wants to
play their ego with us, we're not going to back down. Then we'll deal with
it right away. We are realistic, we know who we are and we know how good we
are. We know how dangerous we can be. At the same time you'll find us very
kind, open and generous.
We like to make friends with other styles as well, that is what makes life
interesting and colorful. It's not so hard to make ten enemies; it's much
harder to keep a good friend for life I know this from experience and I have
learned alot of things on my way through life.
Emin Boztepe is the first to recognize his large ego, but his skills,
experience and authority are as impressive and undeniably confirmed as his
physique, mind and personality. His image, much of it planted by the media,
of a hot-tempered loud mouth who's only goal is to get some hyped up
personal publicity, doesn't meet the real Boztepe well. He can be charming,
intelligent and witty man whose power and martial arts supremacy cannot be
questioned.
END OF THE INTERVIEW (1995)
-- 
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 San Marino.
ARRGGHHH!!!!
Per chi lo avesse notato preciso che l'articolo in questione è precedente
alla data di fondazione della scuola WT di SanMarino (quella del mio Sifu)
Altrimenti si pensa che Sigung si è scordato di lui, buuu :-(