Grandmaster Kernspecht awarded Sifu Peter Maull, one of his oldest students, the 6th Master grade along with Dai-Sifu Filippo Cuciuffo, national instructor for Italy and Sifu Victor Gutierrez, national instructor for Spain and Portugal. The latter’s brother Sifu Francesco Gutierrez, who is responsible for Escrima in Spain and Portugal, was made a Master of WingTsun with the award of the 5th Master grade. These four had come to the Trainer Academy at Langenzell Castle for several days to absolve the last of several intensive examinations with their Si-Fu. The total preparation time for a Master grade is five years, during which a master student must subject himself to several “intermediate“ examinations.

There are twelve grades in the grading system of Leung Ting WingTsun (in Europe the training period before the first (Technician) grade is also divided into twelve (student) grades. The first four are known as Technician grades. On obtaining gades five to eight the advanced student is known as a Practician or Master. From the ninth grade onwards the holder has the title of Grandmaster.

A Master of WingTsun has completed the weaponless system and now devotes himself to the weapons. On achieving the 6th Master grade he has traditionally learned the long pole techniques and is then initiated into the most advanced of the WingTsun techniques, the double knives. Although this strict time sequence is no longer adhered to nowadays, the WingTsun weapons continue to be the object of a Master’s study. Learning to use these in a masterly manner requires movement sequences only gained over decades of WingTsun training. In more than 30 years of teaching, Grandmaster Kernspecht has brought more than 30 of his students to Master level, and more than half of these now hold the 6th Master grade. All of them embody the highest aim of WingTsun training: a lifelong effort for self-improvement.