It takes quite a while to get from Germany to the 5th Continent, Australia. In my case the journey took more than 30 hours, as I had a 10-hour stopover in Hong Kong. I was able to use this time well, however, as I took advantage of the sightseeing tour arranged by airline. On finally arriving in Sydney I was met by bright sunshine and a temperature of 23 degrees C at 8 o'clock in the morning, which soon made me forget the rigours of travel. Hard to believe that according to the Australian calendar the autumn has already begun here.

GGM Leung Ting, the head of the international WingTsun family, arrived in Sydney, the headquarters of the AUEWTO, exactly 24 hours later on the same flight from Hong Kong. As Tony Petkovski, a full-time student of Sifu Stefan Fischer, works at the airport he was able to spare GGM Leung Ting the time-consuming quarantine procedure during which all luggage is X-rayed – the "Aussies" have very strict laws covering the importation of foodstuffs.

Unfortunately GM Kernspecht had to cancel his planned attendance at the seminar because of an ear problem (barotrauma), but asked his Si-Fu GGM Leung Ting to make the journey in any event – even without him.

1st day of the seminar

On Friday the time came at last. The visibly excited Australian WT students were able to experience their Si-Jo at arm's length for the first time at the AUEWTO headquarters in Randwick, a historic part of Sydney.

After the traditional greeting the action began right away, and as there were no Technicians present everybody was formed into one large group. Si-Jo talked about his lessons with GGM Yip Man and how he had explained the real centre line to him. Si-Jo passed this important basic WT knowledge on to his highly attentive "WT great grandchildren" (to-suens) with a very detailed and clear explanation. After this very interesting talk he invited questions on other topics, which led to the famous "inch-punch" demonstrated in films by Bruce Lee, who was also a student of the late GGM Yip Man for a number of years.

GGM Leung Ting explained the different sources of energy used during a punch and took the opportunity to let a few participants feel how much energy can be transmitted by a simple wrist action and correct use of the elbow. Naturally he did not strike at full power, otherwise the seminar would certainly have ended then and there for one or the other volunteer. Just for fun he then repeatedly imitated the expressions, the famous scream and the typical fighting movements used by Bruce Lee in his films, in order to demonstrate the difference between film effects and real, logical applications. Indeed Si-Jo was in a very lighthearted mood throughout the entire seminar.

In the evening Si-Jo accompanied Sifu Stefan and his full-time students to a Thai restaurant for a well-deserved meal. This was followed by a trip to Darling Harbour in the centre of Sydney, which has numerous open-air restaurants, pubs and clubs. A sightseeing tour of the city at night, taking the monorail which glides above the streets at a height of 5 – 10 metres, rounded off the first day.

2nd day

On the Saturday training took place in the open air, as the Sydney was bathed in sunshine. Unfortunately it is easy to underestimate the sun's strength here, and a few people came away with a slight touch of sunburn.

Things started in the traditional manner with the first form, the Siu-Nim-Tau, which became the main topic for that session. Having done this form endless times in training, it is still incredible how many small details and applications it contains. Again and again GGM Leung Ting interrupted the proceedings to give thorough, detailed answers to questions. He paid particular attention to correct extension of the joints and the elastic force.

Finally he demonstrated how the Bong-Sao is carried out and applied correctly. After conscientious Bong-Sao practice quite a few were even able to withstand a punch in a turned Bong-Sao position while standing on one leg.

The day ended with an evening meal in a Lebanese restaurant, where a very special boomerang was ceremoniously presented to GMM Leung Ting and a bladed Aboriginal weapon to GM Bill Newman by Sifu Stefan Fischer, the founder and head of the Australian WingTsun Organisation, on behalf of all his instructors and full-time students. These two handmade Aboriginal weapons are probably among the world's very oldest.

3rd day

The last day of the seminar on Sunday was an absolute highlight. GGM Leung Ting showed how easy it is to defend against a high kick to the head by having the confidence to advance using the right footwork, which comes from the double-knives form, in combination with a Pak/Gwat-Sao & Lao/Fak-Sao. Among other techniques he also showed how to perform a shoulder barge with the correct footwork to counter an attempted armlock.

Unfortunately even the most wonderful seminar comes to an end at some time, and to great applause GGM Leung Ting thanked the Australian students for their enthusiastic response to his teaching.

WT instructors' class

The class on Monday was only for the AUEWTO instructors. GGM Leung Ting mainly used the first half of the session for a highly interesting explanation of WT theory, and allowed sufficient time to answer questions. The second half was devoted to the SNT and the correct method of breathing with the abdomen, and he repeatedly demonstrated this by producing a powerful sound "from the stomach". He only pronounced himself satisfied when each participant had eventually managed to reproduce this "song". This unusual exercise even proved useful for the Karaoke evening planned later on ...

Particularly the 3rd set took a great deal of time, as the movements had to be carried out very slowly and intensively, with the correct breathing. Si-Jo constantly passed up and down the ranks making corrections, which really had everybody's legs trembling. Once the form had been completed the instructors practiced how to completely free oneself from one's own strength with the double Fak-Sao. GGM Leung Ting then showed how the 5th set can be incorporated into the 1st Chi-Sao section if one's partner is working with too much pressure.

Finally Otto Heutling and Peter Caro, who manages the WingTsun organisation in Chile on behalf of Sifu Stefan Fischer, received their 1st Technician certificates from the hands of their Si-Jo.

Escrima

The classes with GM Bill Newman which were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday afternoon were also awaited with great expectancy, as Escrima has not been available in Australia so far. Master Bill very quickly demonstrated that the system he teaches is by no means just a stick-fighting art, but realistic armed combat whose concepts can be applied to any object or even bare hands. Again and again the amazed WT students were able to admire the masterly way in which he handled different weapons, whether rattan sticks, the palmstick, machete, Samurai sword or knife.

On the second day Tony Petkovski brought along an enormous "Conan" sword, as Master Bill definitely wanted to demonstrate the warm-up with this to remove any last doubts that this is a universally applicable concept. And of course he also had his present, the Aboriginal weapon, which he used to demonstrate his art with the same precision.

In his typically humorous, relaxed way he willingly answered every question and taught the students all the major Escrima basics he could manage in the short time available. After these two extraordinary sessions everybody had "scented blood", and it will be interesting to see how Escrima develops in the AUEWTO from now on.

On Friday afternoon, the last day of the tour, a small Escrima class was held free of charge and exclusively for the AUEWTO instructors.

By way of motivation and to their great pleasure, GM Bill Newman then awarded all the participants the 1st student grade!

The tour

A number of sightseeing excursions were planned from Tuesday, the first of them to the Blue Mountains. This massive mountain chain is shrouded in a blue mist caused by the essential oils of innumerable eucalyptus trees. In some places the evidence of last year's bush fires was still clearly visible.

Those who had always wanted to see wild dolphins in the open sea were able to do so at Jervis Bay on Wednesday. Nobody had expected to see as many as two dozen of these intelligent marine mammals all at once, and it was amazing how close we were able to get in our boats. This was followed by a visit to a nearby national park, where hungry stomachs were able to look forward to a delicious barbecue. The "head chef" in charge, Stephan Mai, scored a particular triumph with his marinated salmon fillets, which remained a talking point for Master Bill for days afterwards. The many beautifully coloured parrots which were constantly around us put the finishing touch to this idyllic afternoon.

On Thursday we took a tour of Sydney harbour and visited its famous landmark, the opera house, with the gigantic Harbour Bridge in the background.

The highlight of the day

After a delicious African meal, during which GGM Leung Ting amused the entire company with a number of "magic tricks", the rest of the evening was spent at a downtown Karaoke club. Si-Jo is known to be very fond of singing – and not only since the EWTO anniversary seminar in Hockenheim – and started the proceedings with one or two Chinese classics by way of a warm-up. Then somebody else overcame his initial reticence and got up to perform. Master Bill was next, and then gradually everybody else got into the mood. And let's be honest, who has not always secretly wanted to join his Si-Fu and his Si-Jo in a rendition of "KungFu Fighting"? Until late into the night all sorts of evergreens found their way to the microphone, including "Love Me Tender", "Hotel California", "Funky Town" or "La Bamba".

The evening came to an end with a joint rendition of "Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles. That night will never be forgotten by those who were there!

The following morning there was an excursion to the Featherdale Wildlife Park, where we were able to admire kangaroos, emus, koalas, crocodiles and the variety of Australian birdlife. Not forgetting the numerous snakes and spiders, which are among the most venomous in the world.

The last evening together was spent on the north side over the Harbour Bridge, where the picnic menu included emu and kangaroo for those who wanted to try them.

Meanwhile Frank Fernandez was preparing a delicious paella, the Spanish national dish, in an enormous grillpan. Even in culinary terms this exciting week left nothing to be desired.

Let's hope that we can perhaps have regular "Grandmaster seminars" downunder in future, e.g. along the lines of the traditional Easter seminar at Langenzell Castle in Germany.