The long pole programmes are of course only part of the examination curriculum for the 6th Practician, but some time ago the EWTO decided that 4th Technicians can already learn the long pole without requiring the programme for their training or examinations.
Although the long pole applies the WT principles in exemplary fashion, and the long pole techniques deepen the understanding of weaponless WT and its principles, this is a completely new and autonomous programme which must be learned from the ground up, so to speak. Accordingly it takes years of practice to achieve a level of skill comparable to weaponless WT.
It therefore certainly makes sense to teach the long pole programmes to senior Technicians at an earlier stage to give them more time for practice and preparation, though it must be said that the TG programmes themselves require so much practice that most people already have enough to do with their mandatory material.
At this point some Masters may object that in future it will no longer be anything special to learn the long pole techniques. This may be seen as a disadvantage, but "progress", whether good or bad, cannot be halted.
The advantages of learning at an earlier stage are also obvious: the more Technicians there are learning the techniques, and the longer they practice them, the higher the level of skill will be within the association as a whole. For example, the Biu-Tze form and its applications were once kept secret, and there were only very few who had learned them. Nowadays these programmes are quite normal, not least because there are many TGs doing them. At the same time the quality standard in these programmes can risen dramatically with the number of people practicing them.
Earlier commencement of the long pole techniques will have a similarly positive effect in the future! And what I like most is the greater honesty and transparency this brings. A "secret technique" is one that is so secret that one never practices it oneself, for fear that somebody might be watching and steal it. But if you do not practice something, you will never master it!

With immediate effect it is therefore now possible to learn these programmes when the 3rd Technician has been obtained. This is on a voluntary basis, i.e. the programmes are not required for an examination. This means that somebody who only begins to learn them after achieving the 5th Practician will suffer no disadvantage.
The special and in every respect exclusive long pole tutorial with Grandmaster Leung Ting at Langenzell Castle on 26.4.2005 is a particularly good opportunity for an introduction to the long pole (reservation required, details from EWTO HQ at Langenzell). Those who have completed all the long pole programmes can view the original film showing the late Grandmaster Yip Man performing the long pole form.

Keith R. Kernspecht