The reason for all of this is training for the upcoming Animal Day in May.  Animal Day is a special test of will and fighting skill for those in my Dynamic WT fighting program.  Basically Animal Day is a 68-minute (yes you read that right) test of WT-fighting, chi sau sparring and of WT ground-fighting.  The genius of this grueling training is not my own, it is a training formula created by my HK-based WT brother Sifu Chris Collins.  Throughout the sets there are only short minute long breaks.  Most "rounds" last 7-9 minutes with no break.  It is in fact longer and more grueling than even a title MMA bout.

Now, is this necessary for practical self-defense?  Of course not! This is overkill.  But for the fighting freaks of my Dynamic class, they wanted to do this challenge pretty much as soon as I told them about it.  Since the conditioning required is so heavy, I decided to set up a 12-week training camp, just like a professional fighter would have.  In fact I took a professional MMA fighter's 12-week training camp and modified all the movements for WT.

Since only a small percentage of my students are qualified & crazy enough to do this, I wanted to find a way to get the whole school involved.  So what I did was open the 12-week training camp to all the students so that they could use it to get in amazing shape, even if they are not going to do the grueling Animal Day.  So every week the students are given their workout assignment.  The workout is getting a little nastier every week and we are only in Week 3!

I am also taking part in the challenge as well as I previously stated.  Cant wait to see the before and after photos!

I always pick a special topic and these topics will make a huge difference in the quality of your WT, especially for the critical foundation laid in the Basic Levels (1-3).  This week's topic is single arm chi sau (dan chi).  In addition to teaching and reviewing the standard forms of dan chi, I will also show some variations I learned both in Europe and Hong Kong.  But more importantly I will be imparting the concepts and training methodology necessary to get the most out of single arm chi sau training.  Junior and seniors are encouraged to come!

Additionally we are setting up two big seminars with two high ranking WT instructors.  Stay tuned for that!

I'm also really looking forward to seeing my San Antonio student Ram here in NYC.  He is coming up for a couple weeks of training which will include getting him started on the long pole.  Shortly after that I will be in San Antonio myself to teach my guys and meet with Sifu Carson Lau for the first time in a while.

We also have two new video projects for YouTube in the works produced and shot by my good friend and wundertalent Brady Hall.

So there is no dearth of projects to keep me occupied!  Anyone want an intern job?  Help!

Question: What is you opinion about the ranking system in the West?

Sifu Brendan Lai: "That's a very difficult and touchy question to answer because there are different answers.  I have seen people promote themselves to an exceptionally high rank, and I must say that is very harmful for the art.  I have never seen as many "masters" in the Orient as there are in the West.  I grew up in a society where the title "sifu" had to be earned, and the title "grandmaster" was even more difficult to earn.  It had to be awarded by those in the kung-fu circle and also recognized by the public.  Usually they need to fulfill these requirements:  he must be the head of his system; he must be of senior age; he must be exceptional in his kung-fu abilities as recognized by those in the circle; he must have contributed a great deal to the promotion of the art; and above everything else he must be recognized as one who acheived high standard in moral character, thereby having great influence on the next generation by his good behavior.  By the code of humbleness, those whose sifus are still living can never be addressed as "masters," and those who themselves are addressed as "masters" by others will never introduce themselves as such in speech or writing.  But in the Western world, unfortunately, things are different.  As if the title of "sifu" is too low a rank, many simply promoted themsevels to "masters."  When there are too many masters, which cheapened the title, many advanced themselves to "grandmasters," and then to "great grandmasters," and "super grandmasters."  This stupid competition for a better title goes on and on and sometimes I wonder where this spiral will end.  This behavior is certainly damaging to the image of kung-fu around the world.  Students are striving for vanity instead of pursuing the essence of the art.  This attitude not only shows a lack of humbleness, but also shows a lack of understanding of the Chinese terms and Chinese culture.  As I look back to all these years in which the popularity of kung-fu rose and fell in cycles, I can't help but ask whether we who brought the art into the Western world have done a good job in promoting it.  The anser is an apparent "no," for if we did, te abovie title inflation could not have existed."

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This is precisely why CWT has done away with these silly titles that degrade the art.  Wing Tsun needs a shift in consciousness to remain cutting-edge and relevant.  These kinds of titles and political nonsense destroy Wing Tsun from the inside out.  The paradigm shift is the first hurdle, good training is the rest.

At the end of the 12-week challenge we will post before and after shots as well as results of the Animal Day.

Stay tuned!

By the way, I'm also participating in the 12-week training camp as well.  I would never make the students do something that I can't or haven't done myself!  Sifu's should lead by example :)

Feel free to bring snacks, beverages, friends and family.

See you there!

The other problems is that most of the time, long pole training is available only once per year and this makes progression slow down incredibly.  What I am doing at CWT is offering the entire series (all four long pole courses) quarterly, so that students can learn the long pole system in a year.  This does not mean that students have mastered the long pole in one year, only that they can start to practice it completely and openly.

I feel incredibly blessed in terms of my long pole exposure as I have had the rare opportunity to learn it from the top experts.  Not only did I learn long pole (basics, form and chi-gwan) directly from Grandmaster Leung Ting, but I also learned it privately under Sifu Carson Lau and Sifu Elmond Leung. I have also had the rare opportunity to train the long pole with a few of the top European masters of WT.  In addition to the hours of hands-on-training I have had, I have a number of rare films in my possesion of masters and grandmasters performing and teaching the long pole. All of this exposure from different sources has given me a unique and complete method of the WT long pole techniques.  I have compiled all the training methods (I take copious notes from everyone I learn from) and structured it into a lesson-by-lesson syllabus that is as complete as they come.

At CWT second level technicians (instructors) are qualified to learn long pole.  I will also teach it to certain primary level technicians (trainers) under special conditions.  If long pole is not taught and trained, it will become a dead art.  I won't let this happen!

I'm also teaching each of the four long pole courses in four one-hour sessions.  This is to avoid the burnout, loss of retention ability, and deterioration of fine-motor skills that happens when long pole is done for four hours nonstop. 

Here is the schedule for our first series of classes:

Long Pole 1: Strength Training, Basics, Footwork & Theory -

Four Fridays 6:30pm-7:30pm (total 4 hours) Starting in March 2012

Long Pole 2: Long Pole Form (ver. 1), Basic Attack & Defense, Study of the 7 movements, Facing - 

Four Fridays 6:30pm-7:30pm (total 4 hours) Starting in June 2012

Long Pole 3: Basic Fighting Application, Poon Gwan, Chi Gwan sets, Tiu Gwan, Improved Set - 

Four Fridays 6:30pm-7:30pm (total 4 hours) Starting in September 2012

Long Pole 4: Fighting Practice, Chi Gwan Cont., Refinements, Boon Je Lan,  Special Emergency Techniques - 

Four Fridays 6:30pm-7:30pm (total 4 hours) Starting in early 2013

Final note: Learning the long pole will also not cost an arm and a leg.  Long poles will also be provided, although attendees are free and welcome to purchase or bring their own.  It is no longer necessary to pay an exorbitant amount of money plus travel cost, plus bring one's own long pole across state lines etc to learn this beautiful art.  Questions during the class are openly encouraged, there are no secrets!

Due to these and other factors, I have decided to learn the lessons of history and not make the same mistakes.  Therefore in order to develop WT in an open and honest way in North America, I’m scrapping the old system altogether.  From now on, representing “Wing Tsun” as an instructor or school owner is going to mean more than just paying a monthly school fee to be “authorized”.

Representation only with qualification

Representing a martial art is a very serious undertaking in my opinion.  When under-qualified technicians pay a monthly fee to become an “authorized school” when they have no instructor qualifications (and no real school either for that matter) it is no wonder why WT is stagnating in the US?  What they seem to not understand is that doing WT and teaching WT require two different skill sets.  Unfortunately many of their instructors don't seem too qualified in the doing or teaching WT part.

Potential students can walk into a Karate school, MMA gym, kickboxing studio and see an actual school with a professional instruction, programs, convenient schedule etc.  These potential students walk into an “authorized WT school” only to find some half-bucket (and normally out-of-shape) instructor with no solid program and only empty talk about being an “official” blah blah blah.  Who is the potential student going to go to? 

If Wing Tsun is so great why are the schools of WT instructors not packed?  Because ladies and gentlemen most of these so-called “authorized” schools are run by hacks.  This is why at CWT I am making the requirements very strict to open a school in terms of qualification.  They tried for over 30 years to do the “condensed-courses”, WT weekends, special “instructor tutorials” and promotion of instructors without an examination and one can see the level of success.  The "quick and easy" road didn't work in the States, so I'm taking the opposite approach.  Otherwise it will just be more small schools, inconsistent quality and no codified standards.  All this and we’re not even going to mention the internal politics that is destroying them from the inside.

This has to end ladies and gentlemen.  I refuse to let Wing Tsun be destroyed by greed and the proliferation of, well let’s face it – crappy Wing Tsun.

I don’t care how much someone wants to pay me, only schools that are qualified can represent me in any capacity.  There is nothing wrong about doing WT as a hobby.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to stay low-key, take a few students in your garage and avoid the limelight.  However, to represent WT, or specifically CWT will mean that one must have undergone the extensive training to be qualified as an instructor.   Therefore I am making the requirements to be an acknowledged branch of CWT much stricter (in contrast to the others making it very easy to be “authorized” – just fill out an EZ pay form LOL).  Whether one has a full school, branch location at a rented space, or teaches in their own garage – the quality and standards should remain the same.  Go to any two “authorized WT” schools of the dying US association and you won’t even see uniformity in the teaching program, training protocols or basic syllabus.  Who is representing “authentic WT” with this lack of care paid to “authorized schools”?  This is killing WT in leaps and bounds.  CWT will have no part of it.

Stepping up the game

Now all CWT instructors will undergo more training to bring the level of instruction and skill even higher.  If anyone wants to teach under the CWT banner they either need to come directly from my Instructor Training Program in NYC or they need to come up through the ranks in one of our Partner Schools.  This comes on the heels of so many WT instructors from outside associations wanting to join us.  Unfortunately I don’t have the time to re-educate them as it takes much more work to fix bad WT than to just teach someone correctly from the beginning.  I have made a promise to get my current new branches up to the standard and I will fulfill that.  But for the future only CWT certified instructors may open a school under my banner.  Anyone however is free to become a CWT member, even instructors from other WT associations.  This however will not necessarily equal “instructor” status within CWT.

Wing Tsun needs this kind of retooling.  It’s vital for the propagation of this art and all the wonderful benefits that can be gained by those who practice it.  I take Wing Tsun seriously and I hope you understand this is all for the love of the art.

Come join me in getting WT to step up its game.  We owe it to WT for what it has done for us.

I've known Mike Yahn for nearly 9 years since he was a young actor at my school for rehearsals of a show that was renting my space.  We clicked instantly and I was very impressed with this young guy who was a budding stage choreographer and actor-combatant.  I made many friends from that show, but none more dear than Mike Yahn.

Mike often recounts a story (which I barely remember) about how he wanted to test my martial prowess by "attacking" me while I was seated.  Apparently that attempt landed him a foot on his chest and my hand on his throat.  A few months later after the show was done he became my student.

Mike has been training with me for many years developing his skills and becoming one of my top students.  Mike has also accompanied me on many of my trips including Berlin, Hungary, Hong Kong, Seattle, North Carolina, San Francisco and Toronto.  I don't think there is a single student of mine that has had as much face time with me as Mike Yahn.  To boot, Mike became one of my first to-dai (along with Nicole Daniels) to become qualified as a "Sifu of Wing Tsun" during our days with the IWTA.

Mike has been there through all phases and stages of development of CWT and has been an integral part of our success.  During our decision to become independent he was there ready and supportive.  He even "taught a lesson" to a cocky former WT instructor who tried to cause trouble for both me and my close friend Sifu Haw in San Jose.  Needless to say, if there is anyone whom I want my back when times get tough, it's Mike Yahn.

Now Mike's stunt and movie career (Sherlock Holmes, White Collar, Dark Knight etc.) is really taking off.  This is bringing him to New Orleans which is where all the work is now for stunt actors.   While in New Orleans Mike plans on teaching Wing Tsun privately under the curriculum and standards set forth by City Wing Tsun.  For those of you in the New Orleans who want to learn Wing Tsun by one of the most qualified instructors in North America - give Sifu Mike Yahn a holler.  You can find his website here.

For your years of service at City Wing Tsun and for all the adventures we got in to and all the adventures to come, I wish you all the best Mike.  Your Si-fu is more than proud of you.

I was featured in issue 2 with my article on the Biu Tze form from the WT perspective.  Now the article is available online for all to see.  Just follow this link to the site.  Enjoy!