Sifu Klaus Brand

[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.

 

[geezer]

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.

 

[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.

 

[Eric_H]

Just watched the video.

Seriously, WTF.

 

[Domino]

Why do they all look so angry

Looks like he is trying very hard

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[Xue Sheng]

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.

 

[geezer]

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.

 

[Xue Sheng]

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 “Dai Shifu”. 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

 

[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?

 

[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.

 

[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?

 

[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.

 

[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?

 

[Marnetmar]

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.

 

[kung fu fighter]

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.

 

[geezer]

...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.

 

[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.

 

[geezer]

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: