# Sifu Klaus Brand



## Nicholas82555

Does anyone know anything about Sifu Klaus Brand (WT master) from Santa Cruz California?  I've been to his website and other and can't seem to trace a bio on him...hhmmm

(ie trained and certified under)

If you have any 411 let me know. 

Thanks


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## Svemocn1vidar

He trained under Leung Ting untill he moved to US and found his own organisation. For how long and when,i do not know. But it's certain he learned Wing Tsun from Leung Ting. He is a Grandmaster of his own Wing Tsun system right now.
If that's something that would generally bother you,it should not. Many Masters left Leung Ting's organisation and founded their own. Many are self-declared Wing Tsun Grandmasters. Usually that happens because either their own masters charge alot,or they pursue their own way in the art,both skill-wise and money-wise.


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## geezer

Svemocn1vidar said:


> He trained under Leung Ting untill he moved to US and found his own organisation.... *If that's something that would generally bother you,it should not.* Many Masters left Leung Ting's organisation and founded their own. Many are self-declared Wing Tsun Grandmasters...


 
Does it bother me? Yes and no. That someone would leave Leung Ting doesn't bother me. I did that myself. That they would start their own organization? Why not. "It's a free country", as we like to say. I belong to a separate organization that split away from LT's. But calling yourself _"Grandmaster"_ is a bit much! I know a lot of the top guys do it. Emin, Segio, this guy Klaus. Heck, an old si-juk or kung fu _nephew_ of mine now goes by the title "Si-Jo"... can you believe it? Whatever. It's their business, but I would think that the term _Master_ carries more than enough prestige. _Grandmaster _just seems over the top to me. Even if you are a superlative practitioner of WC. Unless you are dead, or really old... at least 70 or so and have have made a lifetime of contribution to the art. Well that's my view


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## Xue Sheng

it always makes me laugh when I hear a guy in CMA calling himself a grandmaster


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## Vajramusti

geezer said:


> Does it bother me? Yes and no. That someone would leave Leung Ting doesn't bother me. I did that myself. That they would start their own organization? Why not. "It's a free country", as we like to say. I belong to a separate organization that split away from LT's. But calling yourself _"Grandmaster"_ is a bit much! I know a lot of the top guys do it. Emin, Segio, this guy Klaus. Heck, an old si-juk or kung fu _nephew_ of mine now goes by the title "Si-Jo"... can you believe it? Whatever. It's their business, but I would think that the term _Master_ carries more than enough prestige. _Grandmaster _just seems over the top to me. Even if you are a superlative practitioner of WC. Unless you are dead, or really old... at least 70 or so and have have made a lifetime of contribution to the art. Well that's my view


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Si Jo is  an ancestor teacher- often dead!!!

joy


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## yak sao

I'm embarrassed by and for the people who call themselves GM.
I can begrudgingly give in to an old timer who's been at it for say 50 or 60 years. But like was already said, isn't it enough of an honor to be called Master?


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## geezer

Vajramusti said:


> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Si Jo is an ancestor teacher- often dead!!!
> --joy


 
Too funny. And worse, this guy is teaching down in Tucson! Better warn your Sifu that there's a WC Zombie loose in his town! --Steve


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## bully

GM is way over the top for pretty much anyone. Master is sufficient. Not sure even Ip Man would have been comfortable with that lable.


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## Nicholas82555

Thanks to all who responded....I like to do my research ahead of time if I plan on stopping by a school. There's no harm in knowing who trained the instructor, sifu or teacher. Just an oh' habit I have.


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## yak sao

BTW, I checked out a couple of his videos on youtube.
That may be the hardest interpretation of WC that I've seen....at least in the videos that I viewed


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## Domino

I'm not sure what it is about what I have seen, I'm left unsure.


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## tenzen

That's what karate would have looked like if the japanese got wing chun instead of fukien white crane.


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## yak sao

tenzen said:


> That's what karate would have looked like if the japanese got wing chun instead of fukien white crane.


 

So somewhere there is a parallel universe where japanese people are dressed in white gi, sporting black belts, going through a sanchin looking version of SNT and breaking the arms off of wooden dummies? Talk about your Bizzaro World.


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## Xue Sheng

Domino said:


> I'm not sure what it is about what I have seen, I'm left unsure.


 

Why do they all look so angry


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## OzPaul

I don't study Wing Chun but that video is nothing like what i have seen previously.  Can someone who studies WC give some insight?  He looks like Mr Han from Enter the Dragon...


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## profesormental

Greetings.

First, his videos shows that it is a hard style Wing Chun that hopefully won't collapse under street pressure. That is a good thing. What I mean is that I agree that an evolution of Chi Sao that trains against heavy street combat attack pressure should be emphasized in self defense.

Yet the pressure comes with body momentum, thus the attacker should aggressively try to occupy the space while attacking, instead of just arm swinging, thus the Chi Sao techniques should account for the striking weapon and the crashing body to control the space and maintain structure.

Also, the dude's hair is awesome, and you should always train with someone that is either bald or with awesome hair. It moves with every beating of the training partners. 

About the GrandMaster thing... I get uncomfortable with the oriental title thing and imagine calling someone GrandMaster, or worse, be told to address him as GrandMaster... awkward...

I've seen peoples calling themselves Sijo too... or Si Tai Gung... Si Fu is more than enough for most circumstances.

In this case, he seems to have a large organization and long tenure. Thus in an organization sense it seems ok for the Grand Master title for his org. He seems to call himself Sifu though.


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## Xue Sheng

profesormental said:


> with every beating of the training partners.
> 
> About the GrandMaster thing... I get uncomfortable with the oriental title thing and imagine calling someone GrandMaster, or worse, be told to address him as GrandMaster... awkward...


 
There are no Grandmasters in China, this is why I find the title so funny and the self-appointed Grandmaster are hilarious. It use to upset me...now I just think it is funny

I know a few Chinese born and trained Martial Artists that call my first sifu (also from China) "Grand Master" but it is an insult.

The only time in China you hear Grandmaster is either for the benefit of the westerners of to start a fight or comment on teh skill level of the person being called a "Grandmaster" and they are not saying he/she is highly skilled.


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## wtxs

profesormental said:


> Greetings.
> 
> First, his videos shows that it is a hard style Wing Chun that hopefully won't collapse under street pressure. That is a good thing. What I mean is that I agree that an evolution of Chi Sao that trains against heavy street combat attack pressure should be emphasized in self defense.
> 
> Yet the pressure comes with body momentum, thus the attacker should aggressively try to occupy the space while attacking, instead of just arm swinging, thus the Chi Sao techniques should account for the striking weapon and the crashing body to control the space and maintain structure.



Excellent unbiased assessment, you can only do so much realism with the mook jong, looking at it as trying out the punishment you lay on the jong on a "live" dummy.  Some times the "softer" WC is not an option. 

You and your partner will definitely find out if your arms and body are conditioned enough to handle the raw power and pressure of an attack as mentioned above.

At some point in time, we have to stop and empty our cups ...


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## mook jong man

I just watched the video and I must say those people were the epitomy of muscular tension and seemed to use some very convoluted actions.
Not a whole lot of deflection going on there , you could hear the hard blocking coming through on the video.

The problem with hard blocking and being tense as was shown on the video is that not only does it slow you down and waste energy , but it also offers a conduit to which your opponent can effect your balance and stance.

 Any type of tension , particularly in the shoulders can be taken advantage of and basically used as a handle to have a direct link to your body , as you could see in the videos there was a lot of body movement in the stance as the heavy blows came in because the arms and the shoulders were absorbing all the force instead of the force being taken down to floor.
A lot of that force could have easily been neutralised with a Bong Sau and a bit of pivoting
All that energy has to go somewhere and it was taken on one point and straight into the shoulders
Being relaxed in the arms and shoulders is a must , in order for the incoming force to be directed down through the stance and into the floor

This hard  way of dealing with force is very limiting , because it's basically two blocks of wood hitting each other and who ever has the the biggest block of wood wins.

When you see people who are very good at Wing Chun neutralise heavy  blows , what you tend to see is that the body itself does not move when the force is absorbed , or if it does it is turned as one unit to dissipate the force.

This is due to mainly two things , a good stance but also the proper use of deflection.
In my opinion a couple of things have to be  adhered to in order to make correct use of Wing Chun deflections.


Unlike hard blocking , don't take the force on one point , spread the impact along the forearm.
Stay relaxed so the arms and shoulders can act like shock absorbers , don't be like the two blocks of wood hitting each other.
Maintain the proper angles of the arms so they don't collapse under heavy force .
Use the correct timing so that as contact is made with his attacking limb , your deflecting limb is already in motion so that it can spread the force of the impact up the arm.
Wing Chun deflections generally use the principle of a circle to dissolve force , and this is done a couple of different ways usually simultaneously. We have our arms scribing a circular path from our shoulder joint to redirect force either vertically up or down , horizontal , or diagonal.
At the same time we have a much smaller circle operating as our forearms themselves revolve in some deflections so as to spread force along a wider surface area of the arm.
Finally we have the whole body turning as a circle in the pivot , and when coupled with the other above methods can be used to turn away an incredible amount of force.


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## tenzen

We have now entered the twilight zone.


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## Nicholas82555

Now THAT'S exactly what I saw. Although I have begun my wing chun training yet. I have an excellent idea and sense of what it should look like. Well, the blocks are so akind to karate I had to take a double look. I guess I wasn't the only one who saw that...hmmm

I guess I'll go on and push another 30 miles north to Sifu Ben Der's school in San Jose. I visited him twice and was very impress by it all.


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## geezer

OzPaul said:


> I don't study Wing Chun but that video is nothing like what i have seen previously.  Can someone who studies WC give some insight?  He looks like Mr Han from Enter the Dragon...



Actually his appearance is almost a perfect parody of Leung Ting circa the late 1980s when he sported a goatee. The uniform, facial expressions, and the dramatic poses at the end of each exchange are also directly copied (LT did fight choreography for a number of old Hong Kong kung-fu movies and can really ham it up). What _isn't at all like LT_ is the hardness and rigidity of the movements... and the tendency to _withdraw_ the fist dramatically before delivering a punch. I no longer train under LT, but his quality of movement is incredibly supple and springy, never rigid like this, crashing force against force.

Here, check this clip out... same uniform, same beard, same over-the-top dramatics and choreography. The difference, LT's WT, is in actuality, very soft and direct. Good stuff.


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## mook jong man

When I looked at the earlier video for a second I thought it was Leung Ting .

From what I have seen of W.T most of the guys Leung Ting has trained seem to be built like brick shithouses , Leung Ting himself looks to be a bit shorter than Tsui Seung Ting but with a slightly more solid build.

There is no way in the world he would have lasted this long and be able to mix it up with some of the behemoths he has trained unless he did learn to relax and rely on the correct application of skill.

Quite simply he would have been manhandled and monstered by these big guys that he has trained.
It seems counter-intuitive , but when there is a large size discrepancy it is even more crucial to be relaxed , fluid , and rely on correct technique.


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## Eric_H

Just watched the video.

Seriously, WTF.


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## Domino

Xue Sheng said:


> Why do they all look so angry



Looks like he is trying very hard


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## Svemocn1vidar

It's done to sell good,no other reasons. Looking 'angry' in their videos to somewhat show the "effectivness" of their art. Useless if you ask me. I'm guessing it's for the young Americans who didnt get the chance to see the real-deal,to experience Wing Chun as they should. To see that it is soft art,intelligent and calm. Marketing is a wonder.

Considering Klaus Brand,yes,i agree,i am sick of people who claimed the 'Grandmaster' title by themselves. But this is done to justify their "own system","their own organisation"..  or whatnot..
Emin never did this just so you know guys,he doesnt call himself Grandmaster,rather,'invented' rank,Dai-Sifu,same thing Tassos did.


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## tenzen

So I went to youtube thinking the video we saw might have had a specific purpose for all the force. Nope. That's how they train in all the videos. To me they are missing the whole point of wing chun and should call their system something else.


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## Xue Sheng

Svemocn1vidar said:


> Emin never did this just so you know guys,he doesnt call himself Grandmaster,rather,'invented' rank,*Dai-Sifu*,same thing Tassos did.


 
Which means Grandmaster.

Call a legitamate MAist in China a Dai-sifu and you are Chinese, you either better be ready to run or you are just looking for a fight.


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## geezer

Xue Sheng said:


> Which means Grandmaster.
> 
> Call a legitamate MAist in China a Dai-sifu and you are Chinese, you either better be ready to run or you are just looking for a fight.


 
You're better informed on Chinese culture than I am, _Xue_, but friends who travel more than I tell me that in Hong Kong they _do_ use that title to attract students. I know of several prominent Hong Kong based sifus who have "accepted" the label of "grandmaster" or "Dai-Sifu" (of course, these guys spend a lot of there time making money in Western nations too). I'm glad to hear that the practice is still avoided on the mainland.


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## Xue Sheng

geezer said:


> You're better informed on Chinese culture than I am, Xue, but friends who travel more than I tell me that in Hong Kong they do use that title to attract students. I know of several prominent Hong Kong based sifus who have "accepted" the label of "grandmaster" or "Dai-Sifu" (of course, these guys spend a lot of there time making money in Western nations too). I'm glad to hear that the practice is still avoided on the mainland.


 
Chinese or Western Students?

And you will find A LOT of Chinese martial arts teachers coming to the west using the term Grandmaster but back at home, in China, they are not a Grandmaster (Dai Shifu, Da Shifu) they are a shifu. Chen Zhenglei calls Di Guoyong Da Shifu they better be close friends and joking or a major insult was just thrown and a fight is likely to occur

You will find the term in Beijing too, but never for Chinese, only for westerners. Now I am guessing, I've never been to Hong Kong, but my shifu grew up and trained there, but I would be surprised if in Hong Kong the Students that were Chinese living in Hong Kong, where calling their Shifu &#8220;Dai Shifu&#8221;. However I would not be surprised if you or I showed up to train there that we were not told to because they know that westerners are hung up on titles and titles translate to $$$. 

There is a guy in Beijing that has 2 websites, one in English and one in Chinese. On the English page he is a Grandmaster. On the Chinese page he is simply a shifu.

Some people in my taiji class tried to call my shifu "Grandmaster" he told them to stop. When they pushed it he said there are no Grandmasters in China and said they have to stop calling him Grandmaster.

I once called my Sanda sifu (a personal friend) a Grandmaster...he hit me. I guess because I know the etiquette and my wife is Chinese and tells everyone I am more Chinese that she is when it comes to CMA, I don't get the pass most westerners do


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## cwk

one thing I just can't get my head around in the video is- why they slam they're arms into each other to make a bridge and then pull their arms back, completely abandoning the centre line just do slam they back in again?
Even if this is just a drill for conditioning, I still think it'll breed bad habits. For example, if you make  contact and then pull away, you leave a great big hole for your opponent to immediately strike through. Any WC beginner knows this so why would you include it in a drill?


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## profesormental

First of all, your hair won't move in a cool way if you don't hit hard and fast.

Second, looking mean is awesome, and is a higher level of Kung fu... you should know that. 

And it was funny that Xue Sheng's friend hit him when he called him Grandmaster... hope it didn't hurt that much! 

On a serious note, you have to know when to be explosive and when to yield and manipulate. If you have the edge, use it. My Chi Sao training is not like the videos, since banging like that is not the purpose of Chi Sao practice, yet practicing against heavy force street thug type attacks has to be done. So in some evolutions we do incorporate them to bridge the Chi Sao and Self Defense techniques.

The reflexes and points of reference cannot be taught as effectively if tensing up. Thus relaxation is important.


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## cwk

I've got no problem with using a bit of force when needed, likewise with training against heavy force. I just don't see the point in making a bridge and then pulling your arm away backwards, what happened to forward intent?


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## mook jong man

You can still train against heavy force , but have one person as the nominated attacker doing it , not both people .
Like cwk said it will breed some bad habits , and where was the forward force?
You pull your arms back like that against someone with good forward force and they will punch a port hole through your chest.


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## Heaven's Root

I totally agree with the above comments. So much tension in all the movements. 

I'm quite new to Wing Chun. My background is mostly in Mian Chuan.

I thought this video was great. What do you guys think?


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## Marnetmar

Domino said:


> I'm not sure what it is about what I have seen, I'm left unsure.



He certainly looks like a friendly guy.

Also, I'm not usually one to get my panties in a wad over my perception of WC's principles being violated but Jesus Christ you might as well just give them gis and call it Ei Haru-Ryu.


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## kung fu fighter

Nicholas82555 said:


> Does anyone know anything about Sifu Klaus from Santa Cruz California?



Santa Klaus? I think I saw him sneaking down the chimney on Christmas eve. lol
here is a short documentary about him, he looks like one of the better Leung Ting WT guys.


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## geezer

kung fu fighter said:


> ...here is a short documentary about him, he looks like one of the better Leung Ting WT guys.


 
Leung Ting emphasizes softness and flexibility. Although Brand came from the EWTO (Leung Ting's European branch run by Kieth Kernspecht), and wears something very like LT's uniform, etc., he has gone 180 degrees in the opposite direction and has taken his WC in a very hard style direction. He discusses this in the video you provided.


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## PiedmontChun

I see a lot of disengaging of arms and lack of stick indicating lack of forward pressure / intent, unless I am just really missing something here. It makes me scratch my head because that is different from what I am used to seeing taught / practiced by EWTO and WT guys in general. I spy Norbert Maday in the background of this video too, of all the videos I've seen of him I can't say I have witnessed him instructing in this manner.


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## geezer

PiedmontChun said:


> I see a lot of disengaging of arms and lack of stick indicating lack of forward pressure / intent, unless I am just really missing something here. It makes me scratch my head because that is different from what I am used to seeing taught / practiced by EWTO and WT guys in general. I spy Norbert Maday in the background of this video too, of all the videos I've seen of him I can't say I have witnessed him instructing in this manner.


 
That's not Sifu Maday. It's just some other hairy guy that looks like him. This is Norbert Maday:


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## PiedmontChun

geezer said:


> That's not Sifu Maday. It's just some other hairy guy that looks like him. This is Norbert Maday:



Ha! I could have swore that was Maday at 3:30-3:35 or so, but now after looking closer, it IS just another guy with long hair and goatee that looks a bit similar. Thanks.


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## IAW-UK-MH

I trained under Sifu Klaus Brand for a few years from around student level 5 to 1st technician. His organisation is the IAW which I am no longer a member of IAW of despite my username here (which I cannot seem to change). I thought I may be well placed to clarify some of the comments here. He is generally referred to as Sifu, not Grand Master, and does not insist on crazy formality. There is another local 'master' with WT origins who insists his students make him cups of tea . Maybe I'll do that one day. Anyway, it is a re-moulded form of WT, much more aggressive, and the videos are mainly training drills. IAW do give way to pressure if necessary, but you don't see it here, this is about attacking the attack as a form of defense as primary intent. It is very effective, and I can say from my own experience that free form street attacks from multiple opponents are dealt with quickly, effectively, and with some serious damage caused. We had a 2 year student jumped by two guys out on the street and he took them both out within seconds. There is reasoning behind all of his system, but you would have to train under him to understand it. You can't really pick that up from a video. But yes, he does scowl a lot when training. He also has great fun too.

My Sifu also has a WT background, moved away from WT for reasons I won't go into, found Sifu Klaus (who had also left WT), joined IAW, and broke away again (not for reasons of effectiveness). Most core principles from IAW still apply in our system. We are far more similar to IAW now than WT. There is more information, articles and videos from both IAW and our system at IAW-HQ.com and wingchun-uk.com.

Finally, I heard a story, but not sure how true it is, there was a big WT seminar somewhere and Sifu Klaus (while still part of WT) had already started to question some WT techniques. At the seminar he tested some of his modifications and destroyed many of the WT techniques with his changes. He was basically ask to leave the seminar as his techniques were not 'true' to traditional WT even though they seemed to be more effective. that may not be fully accurate, but something along those lines.


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## Vajramusti

geezer said:


> Too funny. And worse, this guy is teaching down in Tucson! Better warn your Sifu that there's a WC Zombie loose in his town! --Steve


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Who- me worry? Nah


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## geezer

IAW-UK-MH said:


> I trained under Sifu Klaus Brand for a few years from around student level 5 to 1st technician.... Anyway, it is a re-moulded form of WT, *much more aggressive*...



Some WT guys (Emin, Victor Gutierrez, "Fighterman" Fernandez, etc.) also have emphasized aggressiveness.  Emin Boztepe's EBMAS is plenty aggressive but not rigid. Emin left WT, so he's free to do as he wishes, yet what he teaches is still very WT-like, emphasizing _springy energy_.

Although now independent, I came from a WT background and what I teach reflects that. A former EBMAS student (about student level 5-6) moved into town and joined my class and he fits right in. He has that typical EBMAS aggressiveness which, IMO is a positive thing. He definitely keeps his training partners alert! 

By contrast,the Klaus Brand stuff in that video seems more rigid and looks to have bigger movements with more withdrawing of force when "winding-up" for a strike. Of course, it's hard to say from a video. Is this _your_ experience too?

BTW _welcome_ to Martial Talk! Great to have a fresh perspective contributing!


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## Marnetmar

It goes against Wing Chun's principles but if you manage to clear the space and have the timing, and you've managed to back the guy up and stun him, winding up to really clock someone good isn't a bad idea in my book.


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