Interview with Ernie part one
Kevin First off lets dispense with the niceties mate, we all know each other I’m sure. Give us some idea of what fuels the fire and continues to inspire you about WSL/GL VT?
Ernie 2 things really 1.unlocking the puzzle of my body mechanics, mind, and the ability to bring a sense of clarity to the chaos of combat. The system and training methods allows me to be fight functional even though I’m not in the prime athletic shape I was just a few years ago. When I was in my prime I was boxing, kick boxing, stick fighting you name it, but as time went by trying to maintain that level of output and the compiling of injuries was catching up to me, yet my wing chun skills kept evolving and replacing the capabilities I was loosing due to age and injury, I have not become a better fighter, just a more economical one.
2. This is fast becoming the most important thing, it's the people! Guys like David P that had such and insane amount of passion for the system, Guys like Gary Lam that are so talented and real with there skill it's inspirational, Guys like yourself Mr. Bell that are even more insane then I am, the guys I train are more like family then anything else now and all the cool people I meet from around the world
Kevin You train guys on a private/semi private basis under the guise WSL/GL VT using two blue prints, care to enlighten us as to why. What’s the demarcation between the two approaches?
Ernie I don't teach for a living so I hand pick the people I want to work with, I look for people that really want to learn and most importantly have good hearts, are individual thinkers [not cursed with the dreaded disease of Sifu-itus or certificate or linage junkies] this keeps it fun for me. When you make teaching VT a living it can turn people into dollar signs and I just couldn't operate like that.
Regarding the material or the way I structure my methods of expressing the material as the name says WSL [Wong Shun Leung] methods and concepts comes first and only after the guys have a solid foundation do I take them threw Sifu Lams curriculum. [The GLVT portion]
The reasoning behind my thoughts is quite simple really; Sifu lams methods are in some ways complex. Already from drill number 1 introducing hand leg and body combinations and footwork angles as well as power generation. He approaches it from a natural and conceptual base. Subject the body to certain pressures and it will develop it's own way and in doing so more natural and advanced concepts will flower sooner. This is a fantastic way for people that are in tune with their body or have some prior experience they just evolve very quickly. I'm proof of that and I was more a Ginny pig since I learned during the initial development of his curriculum.
I acquired skill very quickly but also didn't fully appreciate why and how it was working for me. When I was faced with the prospect of teaching, being the A type personality I am I wanted to know everything. So I started to research every piece of material about WSL I could dig up, I also revisited material that David P had sent my way years before. And in that material I saw the answers to some of the questions that I had on how and why things worked the way they do as well as how to pass it on in a more detailed fashion that the western mind could pick up. I'm currently writing a little article on this so I don't want to let the cat out of the bag yet.
To summarize, in Sifu Lam I see the natural expression of VT in the WSL material I see the basics and mechanics broken down and explained beautifully. By building the mechanics the ‘’ bones of the system ‘’ you can then add the skin the’’ feeling and control ‘’ aspect; this is a very symbiotic and synergetic relationship. The final phase is the ‘’mind’’ the thinking aspect of training when you let go of fixed structure and just apply a more natural and strategic approach. This is your personal expression based on your character and physical make up kick in.
Kevin I remember years ago being young dumb and full of…. viewing some footage of Gary and thinking to myself “hey that’s not direct, that’s chasing”, but for some reason I kept being drawn back to the stuff I’d seen, I found once I let go of the “everyone must be a clone of WSL” mindset I started to see that Gary wasn’t chasing hands but using what I thought were actions to set opponents up. Would you say that’s an accurate assessment and a trap many fall into?
Ernie Your dead on Kev. When I was first brought to Sifu Lams I was told that even though Gary was very skilled, I should watch out for all the hand chasing and extra actions [flowery hands]. Since WSL family guys originally taught me, the only Ving Tsun I knew was the WSL way. So I was very skeptical. Only problem is Gary's guys kept handing me my ass! Every time I tried to be direct and attack, I got smoked tied up, pushed, pulled or just dropped. These guys had huge ground power and were very ballistic with there pak’s and lop.
It took me a few years and allot of humbling moments before I started to ''get it’’. It was about timing and distance and setting up opportunities. Gary sat me down and said, '' you have a choice you can either rush in with LSJC and be like a machine gun with small bullets spraying everywhere or, you can place the target were you want set up the line and fire with full emotional content and body mechanics, more like a pump shot gun''
The latter requires a different focus and intent on the VT skill set. Once I '' let go '' of my preconceived notions I really started to improve .Now there is a time in and a place were both strategies work best, sometimes your need a jab, something quick and instant and sometimes a rear cross is the tool something with full power and torque. I think combinations of both suits me best, and old boxing saying, '' lead with speed finish with power''. This brings another quote from Sifu Lam, one I use very much in my life ''don't be stubborn, when it's time to change, then change! ''
Kevin You recently traveled to the UK accompanying Gary on a seminar tour can you tell us about that? Your mindset before you went, actually being there and any afterthoughts you may have? Do you fell you’ve evolved in anyway has your thinking changed?
Ernie AHH Mr.. Bell I thought you were writing about [Once Upon a Saturday night in Malvern] ha-ha.
Well this was in short the highlight of all my years in VT, let me list why,
1. First time doing an international seminar with Sifu Lam!
2. Catching up with my brother from a different mother the illustrious knuckle dragging jaw cracking Kevin '' king of the gypsies '' Bell
3. Reuniting with my friend and mentor Mr. ''Sifu'' David Peterson.
4. Seeing new and old friends, bonding with the UK WSL family.
How did I prep? Well I thought I was going to have to deal with a bunch of rugby playing beer drinking head butting crazy English guys. So I started running! Yes sir had to make sure I could dash out quick and run for a long distance =). I trained as I was going into a fight to be honest, I ate right, tried not to party to much ''failed that '' and put time into my VT and the gym, as well as some boxing / kick boxing just in case I had to go there.
Gary told me I was over training and way to worried about it, he was right, from the second I landed I was embraced by the WSL UK family. Adam Cope was just a saint. He had our backs and looked out for us all the way up to Malvern, from then on it was just a love fest, all great people and good times.
Since I have returned I have become more focused on my refinement of the WSL mechanics I saw some very talented people there and they helped and inspired me.
I would have to say the most meaningful moment for me was when I was sitting on the bench outside of the Star Inn with the guys and David P. and I had just shown him a few of the things that I was working on. Of course like a little kid on Christmas morning I was all excited, so I asked him, if things looked OK, he looked at me and smiled, said I only wish my Sifu ''WSL'' was alive to see you he would be as proud as I am.
That was as if a ton of bricks lifted off my shoulders, I can't explain it really, still haven't even told this to David. But it was like things came full cycle. What was started in 98 when I ran into this comical and humble man from OZ. came back around and I was able to show him how much I really appreciated all the help over the years. How I really was working and striding to improve with the gift of the information he so openly shared.
You can say I have changed since then the guys I train noticed, I'm even more focused and excited about VT and my research in WSLGLVT!
Interview with Ernie part two
Kevin You know one thing I’ve noticed about you mate on forums over the past few years is that your thinking has changed, the typical forms mean nothing attributes is where it’s at kind of riposte has been replaced by a more Forms/WSL method orientated type reply or am I shooting wide of the mark.
Ernie Nope spot on as usual bro! I hate forms! At least I did before I could relate them to attribute development =)
When I was getting into VT I had a saying, VT must prove itself to me, I was already boxing and kickboxing along with a few other things and everything had to tested against a live skilled opponent with bad intention and the idea that the time I would waste doing some ridicules form would have been better spent in the ring, doing road work in the gym and so on. On top of that most guys that were skilled at chi sau couldn't even deal with a half way decent jab! God forbid a real boxer. And these over weight or anorexic chi sau guys were going on and on about their forms and all the lethal ''techniques '' contained in them. In my mind they were just a joke .in many ways it was an embarrassment being part of the wing Chun world.
On top of that I recall one of my first few classes at Gary’s [the only guy that had functional skill in my experience at the time] I was sitting there doing my forms like a good little wing chun robot and he smacked me on the head and said ''stop wasting your time looking at yourself in the mirror go find person to train with''. Gary was not and is still not very much into spending allot of time doing forms, he is all about hands on and working off a person finding everything under pressure and in the drills he uses to make the skills come out .
So there I was a attribute driven athlete training with a VT coach that was skillful as hell telling me that forms were not really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of fighting.so I took forms as a necessary evil.
It wasn't until I got injured and suddenly figured out allot of my so called skill was coming from my supercharged attributes, not my natural frame, that I really was forced into letting my ego go and reevaluating the use of correct form development. Except this time I opened my eyes to the idea of the forms as a simple skeletal blue print a tuning fork of sorts for the human frame. And after your developed proper bone alignment the study of how the nervous system fires which piece and at what time, this also coincided with the Level 3 training that I was getting from Sifu Lam.
I was able to see what he was saying as my body changed from a physical engine to the WSLGLVT core engine. And I am still in the research and development stage of this.
Kevin It would seem to me from a personal observation that some just want to take from Wing Chun, what do you give back?
Ernie All that any of us can really give back is hard work, integrity and understanding we are part of something bigger than ourselves. There are thousands of ways to fight, we as a collective group have chosen VT the majority of us will never even be in a fight! So really what can we give back? By striding to achieve some form of quality and at whatever level we train and being honest about that level of skill. [Not taking other peoples accomplishments as our own] by sharing and communicating with others in the family and passing on self discoveries and experiences we become a huge pool of researchers keeping the spirit of WSL alive and growing. Each and everyone are important from the fighter who puts it on the line. To the teacher who passes on the information to the beginner that reminds us of how exciting it is to learn this wonderful method of combat.
Kevin Ernie my friend, thanks very much for your it’s time been a pleasure.
Ernie I thought you started this by saying ‘’first off lets dispense with the niceties mate ‘‘ ha ha
Honestly Kev it’s been fun, I feel that 07 will be a great year for the WSL family there are many exciting things coming and it’s already begun, ever since that round table training session that Saturday night in Malvern I knew something was in the air [still waiting on your write up buddy] with the release of Alan’s book, the up coming David P. DVD’s and seminars, and Gary’s continued world exposure and plans on building an international training center
Things are looking very interesting and I’m sure this will inspire other skilled WSL people to step out of the shadows. So best wishes to all my WSL family and friends may all of our paths cross as I know I will be the better for it!
