Editorial

Standing still means going backwards

While the saying "Standing still means going backwards" does not come from me, but from Rudolf von Bennigsen-Foerder (1926 - 1989) – a top manager and company chairman of many years standing – I think it expresses very nicely why changes are necessary.

Once in a while it is quite simply necessary to depart from old, familiar habits to gain new strength and resources. We must develop further. We must not stand still.

So why am I bringing this topic up here, in an editorial? What does it have to do with WingTsun or the EWTO?

Well, I would say: "A great deal! …"

Let's start with WingTsun. WingTsun is an old martial art developed around 300 years ago. It was ideally suited to what was needed at the time, but times have changed. WingTsun first gained a foothold in Europe thanks to my SiFu, GM K.R. Kernspecht. He recognised that once it had lost its attraction as something new, even the mighty weapon of WingTsun would fade away and be forgotten if it was not adapted to the conditions in Europe. Based on his observations of ritualised combat, he therefore developed BlitzDefence to optimise WingTsun for this form of combat. Apart from this, he thereby created the basis for legally compatible self-defence.

In the following years SiFu Kernspecht repeatedly turned his attention to different aspects of WingTsun, examining and gradually improving them with the ultimate goal of making WingTsun a genuinely inner martial art. Nor was he afraid to discard old approaches he had described in his first few books. He still resolutely continues to go forward on this path, and refuses to stand still.

The same principle applies to the EWTO. It too has developed further over the course of the years, from an idea by an individual to bring the martial art of WingTsun to Germany to the Europe-wide dissemination of effective self-defence for all. Again and again, this has made it necessary to think anew about ways and means of communication between EWTO head office and its school owners and students – from the original index cards to modern, digital networking. Here too, continuous progress is required.

Changes are also obvious when it comes to EWTO seminars, for example. This year we have broken with a longstanding custom, as the instructor seminar held in Wiesenbach in the spring has been moved from Easter to the beginning of April. This creates space for something new over the Easter weekend: the 4 Grandmasters event in Großwallstadt.

This event will be completely dedicated to WingTsun, and participants will be familiarised with the very latest teaching programmes. We have already reported on the different learning content covered by the individual grandmasters in several articles in WingTsunWorld online.

Let me add some further information about the venue in Großwallstadt and the available facilities:

The town of Großwallstadt is centrally located on federal highway B469, not far from the A3 Frankfurt/Würzburg/Munich autobahn. The ICE inter-city train station in Aschaffenburg can be reached in around 20 minutes, and the international airport in Frankfurt (FRA) in around 45 minutes.

Our seminar venue has very professional facilities and the advantage of short distances. The hotel, catering and training rooms are directly next to each other, which means that cars can be parked on arrival and do not need not be used until departure.

The two large gymnasiums designed to international standard can be subdivided into four training rooms of equal size, therefore all groups will have a sufficiently large training area.

You can find the precise timetable for the Easter and Whitsun seminar on our homepage "www.wingtsunwelt.de".
 

Best wishes, and I hope to see you soon in Großwallstadt!

Andreas Groß
 

Photos: aw/mg