Gary Lam German Seminar & 2007 UK seminar
Just got back from Gary's seminar a few days ago, and I thought some of you might be interested in my trip, so here's an quick account of my journey…
Had to plead and beg to get 2 days' off work, so in order to make the most of my time, I'd to make my way to Birmingham airport straight from work, after having just worked 14-hours' on Saturday night. Bombed down the motorway at 100 MPH plus to get to the airport in time to catch the early morning flight to Munich - or munchen, as they say in Germany. Unusually, the flight was running on time, and I'd arrive in Munich ahead of schedule. Took a taxi - they all use a common as muck Mercedes' Benz as cabs - to Uli's place, which cost me 50 euros, which is approx £35 (very expensive for a 25-minute ride).
By the time I'd reached Uli's kwoon, it was 10am and they'd already started. I'd missed the first day of the seminar, so this was the second day and they'd started on the po-pai drills. It was great fun learning different ways in which we can set-up and enter a po-pai. By 12 O'clock we'd broken for lunch. Some of us went to the pub just across from Uli's. I didn't know what to order, so I'd just doubled up on what sifu Lam had ordered. The beer was very good, and we had a nice piece of pork with gravy, complimented by what looked liked a scoop of mash potato, but it was jelly like in texture. After finishing lunch, we want back for the second half of the seminar.
The second part of the seminar covered even more po-pai, which Gary said was only practised by WSL lineage practitioners. Then we want to the drill that I'd enjoyed the most - chasing your opponent's centre line using 2 points. This part was really, really fun, and it had most people sweating buckets. It was hilarious seeing people bouncing off each other as we were all chasing our partners around the room, and we were all experimenting on different ways to break our opponent's 2 contact points on our body. Gary wanted to cover more permutations of this drill with us more quickly than most could absorb, and before we realise - and all too soon for me - the seminar had come to an end. It was time yet again for the obligatory photo sessions. After everybody had their photos taken, people started to leave. (As an after thought, it was quite apparent from the amount of teachers \ sifus in attendance that there was less of an egotesticle thing over there. Here in the UK, you will seldom see teachers \ sifus from other lineages attending other people's seminars and actively part-take in it. Whether this is down to shyness or fear of revealling their true ability I don't know. But one thing I do know, they are missing out on a lot of fun!)
After Uli's seminar, Gary had further business to attend to in Germany. I had the pleasure of accompanying sifu Lam on his trip. We were taken to the first port of call (Essington - or there about) by one of the seminar participants in his Porsce 911. It was a beautiful car, but I have to say it was one of the most uncomfortable journeys of my life. I was squeezed into the back seats together with a rather large gentleman who'd happened to be going towards the same direction. Gary was sitting in the front seat, but because he's so big, he was no more comfortable than us at the back. It was a sight to behold - the only way to describe it was sardines packed in a can! To Gary's credit, he didn't complain once throughout the journey, but once we had reached our destination, we thought we'd lost the use of our legs LOL. The one consolation to the awful cramp ride was that en route to Essington the scenery was beautiful. You can see far into the distant horizon, with the sun glowing an amber yellow, and backdrop of mountains that was confetti of autumn colours as we approached our destination.
The second day of Gary's business took us to Ludwigsburg, a small town near Stuttgart, which was quite charming and apparently the name originates from king Ludwig. Obviously, his trip was wing chun related, so we had the opportunity to see first hand how the Germans approach the martial arts business. From what we saw, I can say that they are very professional. Their schools are not like the typical UK kungfu schools, where it's usually the local chilly school hall or scout hut. Over Germany, the schools are normally dedicated kungfu schools that's very well equipped, offering a wide range of martial arts besides wing chun. On their walls adorn pictures of many prominent martial artist, so it's evident that the Germans don't mind spending money in order to bring in the very best. As a result of this professionalism, you see a lot more females taking part. If anything, the Germans are even more fanatical about wing chun -- indeed, martial arts in general -- then the British or American counterparts.
I'd to get back for work, so my journey with Gary ended in Stuttgart -- Schumacher land, where they are crazy about cars and where most worshipped in the church of Mercedes' Benz. Gary and one of the German wing chun guys dropped me off at Stuttgart train station to make my own way back to Munich, so that I could get back in time for work later the same night. I would have loved to see more of this fascinating city, but my time had ran out, so I guessed I have to leave it until April before I see more of this city. All in all, it was a fantastic time for me, and as usual, I'd learnt plenty from Gary.
Summery of events…
The seminar was very well attended with practitioners coming from wide and far.
Germany is a beautiful country, but just like all European countries that have gone over to the euro, everything can be a bit pricey.
The martial art clubs are far more professional there, and as a result, far more people across the board practice some form of martial arts there, with definitely more notable presence of females.
As usual, sifu Lam's seminar was more than worthwhile, and he tries to give you more than you can absorb - in other words, more than what you paid for. He is very detailed and precise with his analyse of your techniques, and he doesn't hold anything back. Unlike most wing chun sifu's, he's very approachable and he will answer any questions you can throw at him wing chun related.
Best of all, he's confirmed that he would like me to organise his next UK seminars in summer 2007. There will probably be 3 topics in total, covering Cross hands, Chum-kil, and Mook yan chong (up to mid section). The seminar will be held in London and the midlands, and maybe - if there's demand - up north, say, Manchester. After the UK seminar, there will be a possiblity that he will go streight to Holland.
Again, I know it's hard to believe, but I'm not exaggerating sifu Lam's skill to promote him. He's truly as good as he makes out in his dvds. I can assure 99% of wing chun practitioners that chisau with him would be entitled to a free piece of pie - humble pie! If you are interested in attending one of his seminars this summer, or would be interested in hosting him for a private class \ seminar, give me a call by email or phone. I will post further details later on in the year.
Big thanks to Uli for organising the seminar and sifu Lam for coming all the way to Germany. (Can't wait for the return in April for the mook yan chong seminar)
Choi
Tel: 07836 600832
Email: sifu@chisau.com
p.s. As most who knows me would know, I'm a very busy man, therefore this short write up has been late in posting.
