Following the successful first meeting at Whitsun 2004, this was the next round towards planning a common course. The results of the last meeting provided a great deal to talk about, and an entire day was once again reserved for intensive work. Although this was a public holiday, more than 100 school owners once again appeared in Wiesenbach - more than half of them for the first time.

In their usual professional manner, the "Castle Team" under Sifu Andreas Gross had everything perfectly organised, from the technical facilities to the catering arrangements. This meant that the participants were able to give their full concentration to the agenda items to be discussed.

After a brief welcome by Grandmaster Kernspecht, things started off right away under the guidance of Sifu Andreas.

What has been achieved since the last meeting of school-owners?

It was not without justified pride that a progress report was given on the communication platform, which was the primary goal of the first meeting. This Internet platform, which is accessible to every EWTO school-owner, has created a means of communication in keeping with the needs of an association as large as the EWTO.

This communication platform now makes it possible too keep all school-owners informed rapidly and comprehensively, and well beyond the limits of the previous circulars. Here school-owners can find numerous documents relating to all aspects of the daily life of a WT instructor, from legal information to organisational hints and teaching material.

Moreover, every school-owner is able to take an active part in current decision-making processes and take part in discussions on current topics, or even initiate these himself.
In short, an indispensable tool for comprehensive communication within the association is now in place!

The next agenda item was to discuss the common corporate philosophy of the EWTO as the ideal starting point for all future activities. The corporate philosophy is the result of all the common values and objectives of the school-owners, and therefore of all members of the association in the final analysis.

After lunch a no less important item was raised: after decades of the tried-and-tested clothing items, the familiar WT trousers and T-shirts are to be "modernised". The salient details were discussed together with Sifu Hans Olbers, who manages the distribution of EWTO clothing items, as such a major change is a considerable undertaking. We can look forward to seeing the first examples of the new outfit in due course!

Time passes very quickly when a group of people work together creatively. Before the second round of the agenda commenced, Grandmaster Kernspecht provided a break in the proceedings with a report on his visit to the first WT Chi-Sao competition. With great interest the participants also watched a video recording of this controversial event, which had already led to lively discussions after being announced in WT-Welt 28 last autumn.

During the rest of the meeting the school-owners took the opportunity for a plenary discussion of the EWTO’s curriculum and further training, including the adoption of modifications to the existing procedures. If we are to meet all the needs and requirements of students, school-owners and the association itself, it is indispensable to update even well-tried methods from time to time.

To conclude a successful meeting Sifu Giuseppe Schembri demonstrated the first student grade programme in WingTsun. Since the beginning of the WingTsun course of study, there have been intensive efforts to standardise the WT teaching curriculum. Although it has always been a mark of EWTO quality that some of the individual programmes have remained unchanged for decades, due regard must also be paid to changing times in this respect.

The second meeting of school-owners was by no means a continuation of the first, but reached new heights. Almost as a matter of routine, the school-owners present used this opportunity to carry on discussions at a high and constructive level, in order to develop new ideas together. There is no doubt that this will lay the foundations for a common approach which promises to ensure a successful future.

Text: Markus Senft