Articles By Grandmaster Sifu Klaus Brand

From the outset I wanted to establish the IAW as an elite Academy. Now, after 10 years, I have put all of my plans into action and my objectives are entirely realized.

To understand why I call the IAW the Special Forces of WingChun, we must take a little trip into my past. I joined the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) in 1985 and became a professional (government contracted) soldier in 1990. I was then appointed as an Instructor at a Military Academy. That same year I successfully completed the requisite qualifications and passed the test for the Lone Fighter (Einzelkämpfer) and Commando Leader (Jagdkommando-Führer) Program of the German Army. I always strived for perfection and the more specialized the education was, the more I wanted to pursue it. So one course followed another.

Even before that time, while serving my term as a soldier in the late 80s, I started (after approximately 20 years of experience in the Martial Arts) with WingChun training and weapons fighting in order to master the Art of War in these disciplines as well. Even during my first few years as a Student Level it became clear to me that this was exactly my future and I would devote my life from then on to the Combat Arts and realistic Self-Defence. After 32 months of training I passed my first Technician Grade. From then on, everything progressed accordingly as one graduation proceeded to the next. I resigned my official status in the Army and started to work as a WingChun Instructor from scratch, so to speak, 20 years ago. That was in fact the most interesting and audacious change of my life.

However, by the end of the 90s I technically concluded my former Self-Defence system and had to make a subsequent change. The association to which I then belonged occupied itself year after year with the gratification of mass dreams and the style became increasingly absurd and correspondingly mainstream. Mass group exams were introduced in which the individual only had to be physically present but was not subjected to an actual test. At that point, I worked exclusively to preserve a knowledge, which was under the threat of extinction, and moved further and further beyond the masses with my own style.

In 2003 I founded the International Academy of WingChun to build an elite Academy for WingChun. In the year 1998, while the system I trained at that time was approaching its climax of absurdity, I began to develop a new training concept, new principles, new movement patterns, new Sections, new Forms, a new Chi Sao and eventually an entirely new system. So I could, upon founding the IAW, immediately present my system.

I have never forgotten the basis of my Special Forces training. An elite education requires a unique concept and regular testing of the aspirants. Testing results in teachers honestly confirming whether their students have reached the training goal and are ready for the ensuing step or not. Whoever fails to test their students certainly never belonged to an elite. A well-trained teacher knows how important a test is for the development and progress of his students. Students who truly believe in themselves will actually want to put themselves forward for testing. The avoidance of genuine tests only satisfies one purpose; namely, that the instructor need not tell someone how bad he is. Lousy teachers avoid testing their students because every test is a test of themselves. Specialists can only be trained with a tangible concept. Wanting to belong to an elite is an honourable aspiration. With will, diligence and perseverance (three of our Five IAW Virtues) anyone can do it. In the IAW, the examination of a Technician Grade occurs over two consecutive days and takes about 7-8 hours overall. I consider it a privilege to personally conduct these tests without exception, because this is the only way to check and ultimately verify the advanced standard of Technician Grades. The fundamentals of an elite education must never be forsaken. The essential principles of education, namely demonstration, replication, practice, practice, practice, practice became in many diverse associations demonstration, self-interpretation and discussion. It should be clear to everyone that you cannot nurture an elite as such. I smile when I read in particular advertisements that "We have even trained Special Forces". Who of those claiming such a thing even knows what Special Forces means let alone how they operate? I know it right down to the smallest detail. 44 years of my life I devoted to the Martial Arts and the Combat Arts, during which I enjoyed more than 10 years of quality education in the Army and 15 years developing my WingChun system. As Leader of the International Academy of WingChun, my present position benefits from the insights of my past. Certain principles cannot be neglected for an elite education. So I designed the training concept of WingChun precisely to these specifications. Today I can assert that every teacher of the IAW who has attained the 2nd Technician Grade and the Instructor Degree II definitely belongs to the elite and was trained by me in part according to the conditions of Special Forces. Furthermore, each IAW 2nd Technician Grade is not only an expert of Self-Defence, but also a specialist in weapons fighting as well as close combat. Even the capability to handle striking, slicing and stabbing weapons is an important factor that must be dealt with in order to comply with the training duties of a Technician Grade in the International Academy of WingChun. Naturally, not everyone reaches the requirements of an elite student in the same timeframe. On the other hand, each person may take however long he or she needs. There are no time constraints in the IAW which must be strictly observed in order to achieve this target. Furthermore, this is a reason why I do not acknowledge graduations of other organizations and styles. The validation of certifications from other organizations is a clear sign that their Leaders merely care about the appeasement of desires and dreams rather than setting a specific standard. As soon as the Leader of an organization accepts graduations from another organization, this undeniably demonstrates that it has nothing exceptional (of its own) to offer. Of course, we are concerned about quality, not quantity. And it is self-evident that those who dread real testing will stay away from the IAW. But the ones that earn a Technician Grade in the IAW can be proud of themselves. Only a select few do so. ​ People often tell me it is easier in other organizations to acquire a high degree or to lead a group. But of course it is. After all, we are the International Academy of WingChun. ​ © Sifu Klaus Brand Grandmaster of the International Academy of WingChun

Actually, as a WingChun Grandmaster, I use the word “collision” to characterize the encounter of an attack with a defence.

If there is no collision in a fight then there was never an attack.

After my article “Let's Collide” I received countless emails, which I incidentally replied to without exception, questioning why I spoke about collision in our style and exactly what I meant by it. In many messages I was even asked about my opinion of sparring. I will address both of these topics here.

The fact is that I developed 15 years ago an entirely new system with the name WingChun.

Many organizations were established only to create new associations and new logos. However, technically everything invariably remained the same. These egoistic intentions can hardly be described as innovative. And that is precisely the cause of complications in the scene: new labels but identical, altogether pirated content. In my system no one finds a single known technique, especially if one has trained for ten or more years W-T or its innumerable derivatives. I recommend everyone to personally learn our WingChun. Our WingChun is unique and this is what all of us, Students and Instructors of the IAW, are proud of.

Our Team will help anybody who restarts in the International Academy of WingChun. Everyone is welcome!

Brief Elucidation of the Topic “Sparring”.

Practicing a combat art with sparring can only be seriously considered at the level of a small child. It is impossible to measure real Self-Defence skills via sparring, above all because protective gloves are worn. One strikes with gloves because the opponent is unable to ward off ones blows. Therefore, during WingChun classes, wearing training gloves is not allowed since they would radically impair our substantiality and efficacy. Training gloves serve to protect the opponent. However, the attacker is scarcely responsible for the protection of his opponent. In Self-Defence, the opposite is the case. Only your own protection is of interest. Nothing else. We defend ourselves using our hands and arms without protective gear and we attack without it as well. Protection lies in ability and not in some equipment. Anyone who wants to practice WingChun sparring definitely has a high-grade deficit, either in his competence or comprehension.

Sparring is trained in sports where no Self-Defence skills are taught. It is that simple. Sparring is a necessary exercise variant in many fighting sports. I have never heard of students from these fighting sports who train our Chi Sao to harden their arms or WingChun Forms to improve their body tension and coordination. Why should students of Self-Defence arts delight in training exercises from fighting sports? That makes no sense whatsoever but shows just how confused and uninformed many are.

The WingChun training of the IAW is significantly harder than any sparring. I suppose that many arts offer their students no assurance and thus rely on sparring to provide a “strong” feeling now and then. This suggests a sorry training program. Anyone who trains properly does not need sparring to feel strong. WingChun is bone-hard training. Whoever can sustain a training Class or a complete Seminar is anyhow strong. Our students are strong and not only that. They are capable, well-trained and ready.

And now back to the main topic of this article, Collision.

One with the intention to score a hit inevitably leads towards a collision. Either the punch meets its fist upon the target or its arm collides with a defence. There is de facto no other possibility.

Now a lot of “artist fighters” extraordinarily believe they can somehow neutralize the punch of an opponent. Some wish to steal the power of an opponent, while some speak about borrowing it and still others hope passivity will render an attack ineffective. They train their sensitivity by beginning with the touching of arms. That is absurd. The error lies in misconstruing the beginning of a fight.

A fight always starts before touching and the so-called touch or contact is only the end of an attack, namely a brutal collision.

Hence, there is no touching in the sense of a “gentle contact” but rather the merciless end of a movement. It seems likely that many use the words “fighting art” in reference to their style just to avoid demanding training with its indispensible effort. I have nothing against students calling WingChun a sport because it is indeed. Personally, I prefer the term combat art.

To believe the fight begins with a touch and the assumption that one can react correctly after the touch is schizophrenic.

This trained sensory disorder arises when one trains for an extended period within a homogenous community that starts where a real fight ends. Primus error veniam meretur . One makes it easy for oneself by training tactile constellations that never exist in a real fight. Thus one naturally spares oneself from hard and realistic training. However, there are no inconsequential touches. Those who start training by first contacting the arms of an opponent, strictly speaking, trains nothing. Every attack and each defence ends with a contact. A fight is interesting before and after the contact or collision. The collision mentioned earlier inevitably occurs during the coincidence of an attack and a defence. The resulting contact is entirely irrelevant. Only those who are well-trained and stable enough to withstand an attack can proceed to their own attack.

Sensitivity training is nonsense and has nothing to do with a combat art.

But this confusion has its origin. Since some time there are self-proclaimed school leaders who offer to learn their system within a few weeks and others who do not even produce a grading system. Whoever can show his system in a couple weeks is thereby merely saying: “Although I can do nothing, I'd like to share with you.” Such dismal offers are not worth further thought. It is precisely this mass trash that led to the present dilemma.

However, anyone who does not provide a grading system definitely has no structure nor places any worth in technical standards. This is a sort of hippie structure in the scene (Peace, we are all alike). Those who start learning from such so-called instructors lose valuable time and have nothing in the end. Or, he goes one step further down a blind alley and announces himself an instructor. And exactly thus, the perversion of different styles reached it present peak. What do you expect in training sites where a grading system is unavailable and hence no Grandmaster who provides and upholds a clear and logical structure?

No we are not all alike.

One learns faster, another slower, one trains more, another less. Everyone is responsible for his individual progress in the group. Trying to compare a new student with an advanced one after about two years of experience is unfair. After two years, a student reaches the 8 th or 9 th Student Level and thus belongs to the Upper Levels.

An organization that is unable to come up with highly graded students attempts to conceal in a clumsy way that there is no progress.

Development is never possible without a graduation system because there would be no beginning and, above all, no middle. One can only ever orient oneself to higher grades. The graduation is the indicator, the guideline and the pride of a system. Students with higher graduations occasionally serve as an orientation and a motivation and demonstrate how good one can become with structured training.

WingChun is a perfect sport.

We perpetually develop our personal power, technical understanding and consequently our swiftness of thought and action. A necessary degree of imperviousness to pain is already achieved through our high training standard after the first testing of the Basic Levels. Moreover, we strengthen our bones to be well prepared to withstand every conceivable attack. Because this is exactly what Self-Defence is for.

Only one who trains hard and feels strong enough is able to trust oneself.

We demand and develop our students to perfection. WingChun serves as both physical exercise and Self-Defence. There is no better combination of fitness training paired with the construction of a purposeful and functional coordination.

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Grandmaster Sifu Klaus Brand

Leader of the International Academy of WingChun ®

Dear interested parties of self-defence and the martial arts:

I am pleased for this opportunity to present to you the International Academy of WingChun. Approximately 25 years ago, the combat art "WingChun" came for the first time from China to Europe. Soon thereafter the first WingChun schools opened in Germany. This "new" martial art had its difficulties however, establishing itself against the different kinds of martial arts that had long existed for years in the West. Perhaps this was simply because of its opposition to popular concepts. Up to this time, a scientific combat method dependant upon neither strength nor conditioning, and leaving nothing to chance, was completely unknown.

To this day the attitude exists that you must be strong and in top physical conditioning to pursue a martial art. We are influenced in such a manner by these portrayals, that we have total belief in what the media suggests. It even goes so far that men and women consider themselves ailing if they do not match up to this "norm". Unfortunately, the fact is that this attitude manifests itself more and more. The differences between advertising, movies, and reality become increasingly difficult for society to recognize. We should finally wake up and accept that we are as we are: large or small, brawny or graceful, masculine or feminine. We can anyway change nothing in these facts, because these are our individual characteristics. Every one of us is unique. And not only the imposing, huge and muscular man is then, coincidentally, the ultimate martial artist. I never experienced exactly this in my 33-year martial arts career. The reality of life teaches us otherwise. We should stop fighting against the future. Not with the ever-newer anti-aging ideas, which everyday become more paradoxical by one more day. Nor with a trivial group stuck exactly in the other direction of things, having decided upon resignation with the excuse: "I am too old". Most interestingly, I hear this excuse for the most part from young people, those who haven't even reached their 50th year.

It has taken years to establish WingChun as a martial art. One reason probably lay in the fact that there are no tournaments with WingChun. The concern here is that as a combat art developed for emergencies, to set up rules would estrange it from its purpose. It must be mentioned here that WingChun is not only an effective self-defence art, but by the development of one's abilities and improvement of co-ordination, it confidently strengthens the entire human body in a healthy and natural way. Already for hundreds of years the forms of WingChun have been used for therapeutic purposes.

In an actual defence situation there can be neither fixed attacks, nor sporting techniques. In such a situation, the singular concern is surviving and this as fast as possible, in order to minimize risk. WingChun is conceived in such a way that a defence situation takes only seconds. "Fighting" is not the priority, but instead the first to be trained are a technical reaction and a fast victory. Fights have nothing to do therefore, with the actual sense of triumph or not. Everyone can fight! Already in my youth, I was surprised at the fact that in the martial arts there were so many fighters, but at the tournaments only one winner. Also to those who had lost a sporting fight, one said, "You fought well however". And by the end all had fought.

Why must one (our Ego) measure himself then against others? Are such comparisons at all possible? In my opinion, they are a fantasy. If two fighters wanted to really measure up against each other, there would be no distraction of spectators or judges, and obviously no time limits or regulations at all. Moreover, one may not separate according to weight class nor gender, nor according to constitution, which would hold as little consideration as your age or the physical methods which you employ. Such a fight would look totally different than that which we commonly expect. Which human would want to voluntarily fight (for their life) under these conditions?

Imagine, how it would have been if Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso encountered each other in a contest. How should one assess who the "winner" is and who the "loser" is? How should one compare, for example, Surrealism and Dadaism with one another? Would you count the colours? Maybe by which one finishes first? Do you recognize the senselessness of such contesting?

With WingChun instruction we do not fight against each other, but practice for the situation of defence, in which we do not fight, but want to unconditionally win. The training program is prepared in such a way that the student learns a fascinating movement art, which is effective, enjoyable, and is healthy at the same time. The study of WingChun is not to be compared with a course that can be completed in a short time. With WingChun one remains a student, always constantly searching forward discovering new developments and possibilities. Such learning is like swimming up a river. So as long as we live we do not stop learning. And this exactly is the attraction of our extraordinary self-defence art.

The Way is (already) the Goal. The sum of the realizations that the Way offers us is the only one that has true worth in our life. From mistakes we can truly learn and develop; those new attained insights form our character and further our intellect. The past has made us what we are today. The future is a fiction, which solely delivers us an abstract picture of the path in front of us. We all create our future through our thoughts and the acts that result from them in this exact instant. Each of us is responsible for his or her own future. Welcome the uniqueness of each instant, in the consciousness of eternity with each new breath. Welcome life.

After 17 years of study of WingChun, I created the "International Academy of WingChun". We are presently represented in the United States, and in Germany. My desire is to produce professional instructors, enthusiasts who continue their education and teach with love. The quality of instruction has the highest priority.

In my academies you decide to learn as much as you would like. The goal of the IAW is to pass on the principles of the art in order to safe-keep a uniform and complete system. The IAW is mindful of teaching WingChun in its traditional way.

You have the possibility to learn the complete and unique WingChun. Already after one year you acquire a strengthened self-confidence and new abilities. When you train diligently, you can conclude the student levels in three to five years, and therefore strive for the first stage for teaching. With the 1st Technician Grade you are able to lead your own academy. For this, the International Academy of WingChun assigns worldwide licenses. Maybe you are a future IAW instructor?

In the following link you will find our graduation system. For the WingChun student we have 11 graduation levels. After the "11th Student Level" one trains to reach the "Pre-Primary Level". After concluding this stage, there are four graduation levels for teachers, the 1st to 4th Technician Grades. The last graduation of my WingChun system is the 5th Master Degree. With this graduation one learns the complete art of the WingChun system with all its movements, forms, and applications.

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Sifu Klaus Brand

Leader of the International Academy of WingChun

1. The Arms (Man/Wu) too low

Every able and intelligent attacker would initiate a fight by attacking an opponent's upper body. He would use his arms to strike and never give up the flexibility provided by his stance for a kick. The skill and knowledge of an experienced fighter would indeed never permit such a vulnerable attack. One who uses his leg to attack hopes for a sporty defence and has thus long bid farewell to self-defence capability.

For the protection position, which is actually the preparation position, the wrists should start at the same height as the upper sternum bone. A reasonable defence from a lower position is just as impossible as an attack from such a height. Good positioning saves time. And time is truly one of the most significant factors in the art of war. Anyone who wants to achieve his objective should utilize, and not conceal, his arms (weapons) at the outset while using his legs for standing and stepping. I will not assert that one cannot also deploy his legs for fighting. However, to instigate a fight as such is a farce.

2. Stance (Zi Ng Ma)

The weight must never be shifted to the back leg in a combat stance. When the body is not tensed and pushed anteriorly, there is no potential to advance quickly. One who stands completely on the rear leg pushes his body upwards physically and therefore cannot defend himself from the front because his own power, or that of his opponent, would throw him backwards. This tension and urge to go forward are fundamental not only for the physical, but even for the mental preparation. The stance is a preparation to step. One who knows which step leads to which stance and which stance follows which step has recognized the function of his legs. One who comprehends what stance fits a suitable step in combination with a proper arm technique has understood the meaning of stances.

3. Waiting for contact

The greatest flaw in the evolution of the art of war is the heresy that one could respond appropriately after contact with the opponent's arms during an attack. Evolution will ensure that this absurd thesis will soon die (finally). This error defies all logic and is typical of the myriad of dreamers and fantasists of the scene. Anyone ensnared in that faith cannot possibly know what an attack or a defence situation looks like and especially not how it feels. It is imperative to survive the first collision. The start is the most violent moment of confrontation.

4. Too many punches (Tsong Kuen)

In a self-defence situation, you can only execute one powerful punch in one second. There can only be one useful punch per second. If your first punch hits you do not need a second. One who needs two punches in self-defence should practice until he masters the first and no longer needs a second. A functional punch is the basis and target of every martial art. One should be careful in training to perform a maximum of no more than one single punch in one second and never seek to hit again in the same second as the first strike. The highest priority has to be given to this in self-defence instruction. One who trains exercises with two punches per second is interested in quantity and therefore guaranteed incompetence in self-defence. With two punches a second one can certainly not scare or stop someone.

A self-defence instructor who teaches drills with more than one punch per second cannot be taken seriously. More is not necessarily better. One who does even more than two punches per second cannot possibly be interested in self-defence and would rather be an asset to any massage studio.

5. Hitting from the centre of the body

Since the esoteric cuddly-wave of the 80's, hitting from the middle of the body has been touted as a universal solution. And since that time there has been no sensible justification for it. Strikes from the centre of the body are the weakest of all and applicable only in a few situations. Of course, they must also be trained, even if their applications are extremely rare. It was simply forgotten or ignored, that outside strikes are not only the strongest but also very easily displace strikes which come from the centre of the body. Outside strikes cannot be displaced and require an extremely strong defence. Thus, in self-defence, avoid striking from the centre of the body as much as possible. One of the most important aspects of our system is learning to repel straight and curved strikes from the outside. Therefore, not even one Section contains a punch from the centre.

As far as I can remember, hitting from the middle of the body came from the same jesters who tried to defend themselves by training blindfolded (see my essay "Sapere Aude"). For this group it is okay. They can stay nice and soft so that nothing happens in order to maintain their comradely feel-good sessions.

6. Maintaining contact

A worse mistake is to maintain contact with the opponent's arms after an attack or defence. This error is caused by incompetence in the implementation of techniques, but can be quickly corrected with even the simplest of exercises and some dedication. Our first 5 Programs of the Basic Levels already contain the most important applications of all the Forms, including the Wooden Dummy (Mok Yan Jang). We therefore like to call these Basic Level Programs "The Best Of". They are a cross-section of the most essential and connectable techniques in the system. One who masters understanding of the Basic Levels has committed to the path.

7. Yielding

An adept combatant never gives up. Due to physical or technical weakness, the inexperienced tend to destroy their positions by yielding. Yielding results in the loss of control. In fact, many of these people advocate voluntary loss of control and have subsequently invented an effective exercise for a passive touch art. Of course, this saves one from the tough and realistic version of training. But in order to spare yourself you could also stay at home. The effect would be the same.

You should never confuse flexibility with yielding. One who yields definitely gives up his flexibility because he only allows for one option. Yielding is a synonym for resignation and capitulation and is the opposite of flexibility. Flexibility is the freedom to remain open to all possibilities.

8. Not using power

Not using your full power in a dangerous situation is not only reckless but also rather idiotic. Via the release of adrenaline in a stressful situation (in the first phase) heart rate and breathing are stimulated. Adrenaline, among other things, releases glucose from energy stores in the muscles. Even if one trains for years to not use this energy, the training will never work. Anyone who does not develop his muscles to exert their full power cannot defend themselves against strong opponents. One needs to strengthen oneself. Good self-defence training not only fortifies the muscles, ligaments and bones but also, ultimately, the technique and spirit. Anyone who feels strong, feels well and healthy.

To be weak, soft and passive is not the goal. That was in the beginning when we drank milk from a feeding bottle and our mother wiped our posteriors.

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Conclusion

The mistakes described above might confuse a stranger to the scene. My essays serve as general elucidation and to help people avoid worthless training offers. In my time from instructor to master to Grandmaster, I met many teachers of other styles that began with these exact errors who finished in a dead-end of helplessness. Some of them commenced under my direction straight away, others unfortunately resigned after numerous years of training in the wrong direction. Actually, resignation - in other words, yielding - was exactly what they had learned. In our scene, almost everyone in his younger years failed because of the misconception that he could defend himself without power. In retrospect I'm not exactly sure why it happened, but we searched for softness, yielding and other nonsense that the world did not need. Today I can heartily laugh about those years. Nothing works without power. Power is the foundation of our existence. But these silly sins of one's youth are forgiven. The healthy human mind sees very quickly if something is incorrect, but sometimes does not allow us to admit it. Especially when one has devoted oneself to a cause for many years, it is hard to throw one's convictions overboard immediately even if the specified (specious) target is absolutely unattainable. Such a mistake costs us our most valuable years. However those who realize it do not lose these years.

If you want to learn to defend yourself, you should be prepared to delve deeply into the art of war. You should be ready to discern all facets of combat and study their consequent risks. In order to master others, you have to master yourself. You will need to acquire particular and even extraordinary skills, then learn to apply them in the right moment. To accomplish this requires a strong will. A qualified instructor leads you step by step on your path through the Programs of our system.

Will, attitude, technique, power and speed are the foundation of success in the art of self-defence. All you need to bring is "will". Will is the ability of self-determination, the responsibility for one's own actions and the conscious decision to want something. It is the engine that propels you.

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© Sifu Klaus Brand

Grandmaster of WingChun