Today we have a guest post by Jonathan Bluestein. Enjoy.
The
Internal Path of the Wing Chun Master
By Jonathan
Bluestein
Karma
and Fate have an interesting thing about them – they lend themselves in various
ways based on a person’s choices and inclinations. That is to say, that Karma
and Fate are seldom blind. More often than not, our thoughts and actions lead
us to experience them in a given way. We usually cannot explain how this
happened, so we call it ‘luck’. But life is about more than simple luck. I
guarantee you that by indulging and immersing yourself to an immense degree in
whatever you like and are good at, your life will head in very unusual and
expected directions. This article is about one such occurrence, and its most
extraordinary consequences.
Some
years ago I have made a decision to advertise my best-seller, Research of
Martial Arts, in a rather novel way, which shall not be detailed here.
Thousands of miles away on a different continent, this manner of advertising
caught the attention of one Keith R. Kernspecht. He decided to purchase my
book, and thoroughly enjoyed it. He then reached out to me via email, and we
began a correspondence which lasted two years. I seemed to recall I have heard
of this man before, and indeed two quotes by him appeared in my book. It struck
me then after the first email, that this is no ordinary individual, but in fact
the head of the European Wing Tsun Organization (EWTO) – the largest
martial arts organization on Earth, which by this time has grown into an empire
of over 1000 schools and roughly 60,000 students. It could in fact be argued
that master Kernspecht is the most commercially successful martial arts teacher
to have ever lived; and, he was eager to befriend me.
In the pictures:
master Keith R. Kernspecht with the author of this article, shifu
Jonathan Bluestein.
One thing led to another, and by Fall of 2016 I received an invitation from him
to spend a week by his side in Italy, at a location which I prefer not to
disclose. Then the first week of the month of August of the year 2017, we
indeed spent together, also with his daughter Natalie, conversing and training
some 6-10 hours a day. Why was it then, that dear master Kernspecht chose to
have me around for that period of time? It had to do with his unique journey in
the martial arts.
Sifu
Kernspecht has been in the arts since the late 1950s. He has studied with so
many teachers, I doubt he even remembers all of them. He was found among the
first groups of Jujutsu and Karate practitioners in Europe. Then he became one
of the first Europeans to have ever practiced Wing Chun, since 1970 (originally
under sifu Joseph Cheng). He was also a student of Jesse Glover, one of Bruce
Lee’s closest and best students. Eventually in 1976 he became a student of sifu
Leung Ting, with whom he stayed for decades, and the rest is history. Keith and
Leung Ting built a grand martial arts school empire, with the majority of the
work having been done by Keith on the European continent.
Throughout
the years Keith was always a great researcher and innovator. He met up and
befriended most of the long-term students of his late sigung Yip Man, who was
the teacher of both Leung Ting (to whom he was close and taught many years) and
of Bruce Lee (whom Yip Man actually taught for less than 3 years while Lee was
a teenager). By training and questioning his many brothers and uncles in the
system, Keith was able to understand it and also its history better than most.
He was additionally quite keen on developing training programs which were meant
to appeal to all sorts of crowds. Although he always kept his Wing Tsun ‘pure’
at its essence, his organization infused ideas and some techniques from
Greco-Roman Wrestling, American Wrestling, Escrima and more. He brought in
famous masters such as Escrima teachers Rene Latosa and Bill Newman to teach
their curriculum under the EWTO umbrella, but also people like the successor to
Karate legend Masutatsu Oyama and pioneer of Mixed Martial Arts Jon Bluming
sensei, MMA prodigy Gokor Chivichyan and grappling legend Gene Lebelle to be a
part of his extended martial arts family. In addition to that, his organization
has long been offering specialized classes for women, security forces and
law-enforcement agencies which used his Wing Tsun in novel and interesting
ways.
By
2000, when he was 55 years of age, Keith was awarded the final degree in Leung
Ting’s Wing Tsun – the 10th master’s degree, and in this became the
only person to hold the same grade as his sifu, closing a circle which began
some 35 years earlier.
It was about that time that master Kernspecht felt he should delve even deeper
into his practice, and begin a process of transforming it. This was partly of
course as old age was creeping on him, and he could no longer rely on his
physical prowess and sharp reflexes (which, I should note, were still quite
formidable when I met him at the age of 72!). Now Keith sought to take a
second, more objective look at his Wing Tsun, and consider how ought it best be
improved.
Granted, Keith had some doubts above various
aspects in the practices of all Wing Chun lineages for years, but was patient
and respectful enough to wait until he became quite mature in his style and
understanding of art before taking dramatic action. After all, there was no
reason to rush as the system he taught was already quite effective in most
respects, easy to learn and proven in real-life situations, before any internal
modifications were made to it.
Then at around 2010 his thoughts and concerns began to materialize into a more
coherent picture. What Keith saw, was something which he had hints of for
decades. He saw that he had a martial art in his hands which spoke of many
principles shared with the internal martial arts of China, but in fact did not
have the physical means and methods for putting it all into practice fully. He
sensed and strongly felt that his Wing Tsun ought to somehow become ‘more
internal’, and had made a decision to go on one final quest and adventure, with
the goal of leaving the world with a new Internal Wing Tsun, before he himself
could no longer practice.
The
guidelines for Keith on this quest to remake his Wing Tsun were as follows:
-
Looking for methods which did not teach ‘dead’
movements that were to be memorized well by heart but not really put into
application in real fighting.
-
Avoiding an approach which offered many
applications in the format for ‘an answer for every questions’; rather, seeking
principle-based systems.
-
Doing without any methods which relied upon
brute physical force, endurance, an ability to take punishment, fitness,
reaction speed, instincts, misunderstood spontaneity & creativity and blind
aggression.
It
is a brave thing to do, taking a fresh new path and journey during the seventh
decade of one’s life, but then again, Keith is no coward. Having met countless
challenges in his lifetime and having passed through the hell of them all,
nothing could stop him from succeeding also with this one.
For the sake of attaining his goal, Keith sought out people with knowledge or
mastery of the internal arts in order that he could learn from them. The first
person to have led him in that direction was his dear friend, the late Prof.
Horst Tiwald, who is unknown in the English-speaking world of martial arts but
was quite famous in German academic circles. Professor Tiwald, although not a
martial artist himself, was capable of explaining to Keith the principles and
concepts behind that internal arts even better than teachers he had met and all
books he had read (Keith has a library with over 1000 martial arts books).
Professor Tiwald acquainted Keith with various masters of the internal arts,
and he started questioning and training with many of them
An
early friend and colleague of Keith who helped him out with this is master Jan
Silberstorff, who is the top Western disciple of Chen Taiji Quan master Chen
Xiaowang. Later Keith also became friends with master Yang Linsheng. I was
surprised when Keith showed me some videos of master Yang Linsheng, as his
existence somehow evaded me up to that point. Likely, as he primarily taught in
Mongolia and Italy. Once I saw the videos, which are available on Youtube by
the way, I could immediately tell this was a master of a high level. He also
practices and teaches some 9 different styles, including Xing Yi Quan, Taiji
Quan, Bagua Zhang and Tongbei Quan. Indeed, Keith testified that master Yang
was one of two or three people in his lifetime to who he could do little to if
they really wanted to hurt him. You may ask – who is that ‘other person’? Well,
it is he who is now Keith’s teachers of the internal arts, but his identity I
have sworn to keep a secret until he is publicly revealed by the end of this
year (2017).
Without
getting into too much detail, in order not to reveal the teacher’s identity, I
can simply tell you the following:
Keith met this teacher some years ago, and that teacher impressed him tremendously.
The teacher had a special method for instruction, which Keith felt could
significantly better his Wing Tsun and eventually truly make it into a ‘fully
internal’ system. Since then, Keith and his daughter had together spent over
2000 hours learning from that master and some of his top students. Keith in
turn later met with his own top students and taught them much of what he had
learned, so they could gradually transmit small bits and pieces of this
knowledge to their students and the many EWTO schools worldwide. Eventually,
Keith hopes to have a scenario in which his Wing Tsun is internalized, and the
EWTO students could, if they want, gradually undergo a long process of learning
which will take them step by step and year by year from the external to the
internal.
Keith
Had summarized the changes and additions he made to his Wing Tsun via the
following general points:
• Having
multi-dimensionality and circularity in every part of the art. Every
movement has a forward and back, a left and right, an up and down, an expanding
and contracting.
• Emphasizing
balance, and therefore also relaxation (A Confucian idea – the balanced
person can also become relaxed).
• Having a clear separation of Yin &
Yang - very simple energy management
that acts upon a powerful movement motor and takes its effect with the help of
a clear structure.
• Natural opening & closing of the
joints; utilizing the power of the joints & fascia through horizontal
rotation and the a lot of shifting of one’s bodyweight from one side to the
other.
• The use of indirect rather than direct
forces. Multi-vectored attacks.
• Specific use of convex & concave body mechanics.
• Sticking to the physical contact point,
including the use of suction. Compelling the opponent to remain in contact by
creating and offering a sphere with corresponding pressure.
• No resistance, but not the opposite
either – giving way or running away from the point!
• No automatic, blind reactions. Rather,
acting in the Zen-Buddhist sense described by his friend Prof. Tiwald; of being
mindful and fully conscious in action for as much as one's own skill level
allows.
What
is actually occurring here and that I have had the honour of witnessing, is
master Kernspecht making a choice and acting in a manner which shall change all
of martial arts, forever. The implications of an organization numbering 60,000
individuals merging its curriculum and joining its path with a different
martial art shall impact the course of martial arts history for centuries to
come. There is absolutely no historical precedent for a transmission on the
population scale which master Keith R. Kernspecht has attained, and neither is
there a precedent for someone of such influence acting in this manner.
In
the midst of this incredible turn of events, here I was – a 29 year old man in
the beginning of his journey, being greeted by a big, smiling grandpa figure
and his incredibly cheerful daughter, who is about my age, at an Italian
airport. I could not believe these guys. From the moment they saw me, they
treated me like I was a family member they had not seen in years. I had never
experienced such a warm welcome in my life from someone who was not my romantic
partner. Then throughout our week together, Keith and Natalie maintained this
attitude consistently, catering for my every need, and looking after me like
their own keen. I will never forget their kindness.
I
t is funny how people like Keith are often at the center of silly political
arguments, and are attacked left and right by various individuals who seek to
undermine them and steal some of their knowledge or power. But meeting Keith,
it was perhaps the third time in my life in which I have realized that
actually, the great teacher was truly a sweet and lovely guy, while many of
those who attempt to belittle or curse him are in fact bitter and envious.
Having spent more than 40 hours with the man, one on one, I could say with
certainty that nothing in the world could convince me that he is not an
honorable and worthy human being. Alas, when you have to deal with big
organizations, handle big sums of money and lead large groups of people, you
will always have enemies.
The
reason Keith had me hop over to his favourite Italian spot was mere curiosity.
He saw in my work that I had good understanding and insights into the internal
arts, and wanted me to explain to him my take on them and my traditions as I
teach them. We therefore spent most of our time together with me making an
effort to demonstrate and tell Keith and Natalie of everything I knew. The
focus had been on the curriculum of the Xing Yi Quan system which I teach, and
also that of the Southern Mantis which I practice (of the Jook Lum lineage),
which I have not begun teaching yet (as of the year 2017). Both of these are
very deep internal martial arts, and it takes a while to describe and
demonstrate all of their methods. Despite the dozens of hours we spent
together, I still was not able to show Keith and Natalie everything, though I
likely managed to get across at least 70% of the material. These arts are quite
deep, and apparently it takes over a week of whole-day exposure just to
demonstrate and discuss everything. Then again, if I was told in advance I had
two weeks, I am not even sure whether they would have been sufficient.
Thankfully sitting with two master-level teachers, the job which was given to
me was simpler. I could not have discussed even a fifth of what I did with most
other people. Being good Germans, the two were patient listeners and always
asked the best questions one could hope for. I felt that through this week of
showing them what I know and teach and answering their questions, I also
learned quite a lot about my martial arts as well. This was partly by all of us
discussing and comparing the many similarities and differences between the arts
we have been exposed to.
In the picture: master Keith R. Kernspecht and his
Italian student and representative Dai Sifu Filippo Cuciuffo, together with
shifu Jonathan Bluestein. This was a smiling competition and Filippo won it
with ease. He can also beat us at cooking and soccer.
Then in-between, I have also had the opportunity and great privilege to practice
a bit with Keith and Natalie. It has been a while since I was fortunate enough
to touch a person far more skilled than I am who was not my teacher, let alone
someone with some 6 decades of experience. I fondly remember that moment. I was
showing something to Natalie on the first day, and at least with her I could
contend. Then Keith jumped out the sofa and said: “Now show us how you would do
this on me!”. I knew this moment was coming, of course. I touched his hands,
and… oh, damn. I did not like that feeling… the feeling of being a beginner
again. The granpda would not bulge, and I could not move. He got me. I was not
sure what happened. Then we had a long push-hands session of sorts, which Keith
used to test me. I was hit quite a lot during that session, though always with
moderation and in good spirits. Something was not right. I could somewhat make
my position and control my angles, but then every time I thought I had an
opening, his hands were striking me before mine could reach him. Often, his
hands would reach just a fraction of a second before mine, but they were ahead
of me every single time. This, I learned later, was due to special methods
which were taught to him by his newest internal arts mentor, who was apparently
far more skilled than he in using these annoying skills.
Over the course of the week, especially after Keith showed me how he was
controlling me, I was finally able to move him around a bit sometimes. But this
was of no use, because within moments he could always strike me or make my
structure stuck as before. I should not think too much of myself, though.
Firstly, he likely was not giving me even 50% of his power. Secondly, I am a 29
year old fellow who was training with a 72 year old man with joint problems who
could not even do strength training anymore, and was still stronger and faster
than me, with better reaction time, and could likely have killed me if he
wanted to. I could only hope to have half of his ability at his age, as he is
still capable of physically dominating people 10-50 years younger than him,
some of whom he himself had taught for decades. Keith jokes happily and says: “Yes,
now with my new internal skills, I can be slower and lazier and still win.
Isn’t it great?!”.
Keith
therefore did not of course invite me so I could be his teacher, but rather as
a friend and colleague. From the height of his knowledge and achievements he
was modest enough to recognize that I likely knew many things that he did not,
and wanted my aid with his fantastic research and project. As a matter of fact,
Keith has got a whole lot more to teach me than I have for him, but this first
trip together focused on exposing what I knew, as it relates to what Keith is
up to at this period of time. Beyond his teachings, he is also engaged in the
writing of three new books, one of which will be detailing his long and unique
journey into the internal arts. I hope that in the future I shall have the
opportunity to spend more time with Keith, Natalie and their teachers, in order
that I too could educate myself further. In the meanwhile, I felt that I had
done my best under the circumstances. Keith and Natalie were pleased that I did
not hold any information from them whatsoever, apart from a few specific
practices which my Southern Mantis sifu forbade me from teaching and
explaining. But then again, this is my general approach to the martial arts – I
never keep secrets from those who genuinely want to learn, can understand them
and whom I can trust; especially not from people who have shown me great
kindness.
Though
my personal contribution to the tremendous historical undertaking Keith is
involved in is perhaps minor, compared with the influence of others more
skilled than me, I was very happy to have been able to take part. I feel that
perhaps, our long discussions have aided Keith and Nahi grasp a little bit
better what their other, more influential and knowledgeable teachers had taught
them, and through this I may have done a great service to many people whom I
will never even meet. This historical crossroad with two special individuals
shall forever be in my heart, and more adventures are sure to come…
To read
more about the EWTO organization of master Kernspecht and find a school near
you, please visit their official website:
Shifu Jonathan Bluestein is the head
of the Tianjin Martial Arts Academy, and teaches Xing Yi Quan and Pigua Zhang
in Israel. He is also a martial arts author and researcher. If you liked this
article, please ‘like’ the page of shifu Bluestein’s book on Facebook:
Shifu Bluestein conducts worldwide
seminars, teaching Xing Yi Quan, Pigua Zhang, the weapons of these arts, Nei
Gong, Qi Gong and more. You can arrange to study with him by reaching out
through facebook or email at:
jonathan.bluestein@gmail.com
or Facebook.com/Bluestein
A full list of shifu Bluestein's
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Jonathan Bluestein. Jonathan may be contacted directly via email: jonathan.bluestein@gmail.com
