Sifu Bernd: I came to it in the classic way, by learning kickboxing and Thai boxing for a few years. It was already my ambition then to open my own martial arts school. Even though I was successful in competitions I always felt that something was missing, but it was not so easy to find cross the Ts and dot the Is. So I first did a proper apprenticeship in industrial mechanics. Then I met somebody on a holiday in Spain who drew my attention to Leung Ting WingTsun. I was invited to take part in a WT training session and went along out of curiosity. That was in the summer of 1986. The training had such an influence on me that I decided to take a professional training course as a WT instructor with Grandmaster Kernspecht at Langenzell Castle after my national military service.

WTW: What was so fascinating about WT?

Sifu Bernd: It has intelligent and efficient movements which can be both hard and soft. Tensing and relaxing, slowly or rapidly - all in combination with the right breathing. What many martial artists forget is that if you can give way with your body, this is also possible in the mind. Giving way does not always mean weakness. Completely new potentials are opened up by this physical and mental awareness. Correct WingTsun training can help you develop further as a person. After all, a martial artist should be "rounded" and "versatile"!

WTW: How did you become an assistant instructor at the Castle?

Sifu Bernd: As I was always present at the Castle during my professional training, Sifu Kernspecht approached me in 1995 and asked if I would be willing to take on duties as the assistant instructor. Since then I have not missed a single seminar or tutorial at Langenzell Castle.

WTW: During the training you said that WT could also be mastered with less training, and you used the word "consciousness" in this connection. What did you mean?

Sifu Bernd: You need to train less if you are always living in the present - the HERE and NOW - and experience everything consciously. This should be everybody’s goal. WT is also good for training one’s concentration, and with this method I can still work efficiently despite less training. I used to train for many hours each day. This was not basically wrong, but I did not do it "consciously" enough.
Nowadays I do things consciously and concentrate on the moment, the present. That is what counts. One should let the past be the past and not doggedly strive to see into the future. You may be able to plan, but the result is completely open and might go in quite another direction than you thought. So I don’t burden myself with unnecessary thoughts, but am open for the here and now.

WTW: You are able to transfer enormous power, how do you do it?

Sifu Bernd: The real secret is to get to know your body "consciously". Practicing a martial art means working on yourself all your life, and there are no limits to this. Regular practice and combining your daily life with your martial art enables you to achieve mental maturity. Speed and explosive movements come from complete relaxation, calm and balance. That special strength comes from using the seven sources of power in the human body.

WTW: What are your personal emphases and priorities?

Sifu Bernd: In a nutshell, I try to be a "spiritual, enlightened and comprehensive" martial artist. My daily routine has several individual emphases which bring me closer to my goal. I normally get up at 5 am and start the day with a few "Yoga exercises". I then practice "Pranayama" intensively, a form of breathing exercise. To relax and gain energy I then meditate, and it is only after this that I concern myself with WingTsun. After my own training there is usually group training or private lessons. My training partnership with Sifu Hans-Peter Edel is also a major emphasis. We meet every 2 to 3 weeks to practice our programmes together - both weaponless WT and the weapons programmes. But the highlight is private training with my Si-Fu, where all aspects are covered that make one a true master. This should be mastery on several levels, and the point is to achieve these. A Master grade means much more than one might imagine at first - a constant ability to adapt both in training and in day-to-day life. Life is in constant flux. It is necessary to grow into a martial art by taking small steps. They are what makes the difference. If you step out too quickly, you overlook too much. It’s like driving a car fast - you miss all manner of things on both sides. It is the little things that count. They constitute the real mastery which we should all attempt to achieve.

WTW: What do you gain from meditation?

Sifu Bernd: You cannot find the real answers on the outside, but only within yourself. The skill is to obtain access to them. The world will always present itself as you see it. Many people come into conflict with others and have (verbal) confrontations on a daily basis. They overlook the fact that they themselves are the problem, not the others. Too narrow a horizon which inherently restricts one’s capacity for tolerance is a hindrance - as are a misguided sense of justice or misplaced ideas of what is fair. I too occasionally get angry if all the traffic lights are red during a short drive somewhere, and I sometimes feel real fury beginning to boil up inside me. I neutralise this through meditation, for meditation - from whatever direction - cleanses the mind. We brush our teeth daily, wash our hands and take showers. We attach great importance to external cleanliness, but very little to inner cleanliness. But it is very important, and meditation helps us to achieve it.

WTW: Your movements are very explosive when you demonstrate, are you the same privately?

Sifu Bernd: My motto is "The right time in the right place". Everything I do is with "controlled offence", and that is how it is implemented. One needs to have experienced hate at some time in life in order to appreciate love. I cannot know what a mountain is until I have been in a valley. The point is to be "there" at the right moment. Owing to my past experiences I am a calm, balanced individual in private life. I am able to assess what I need when to keep the fire inside me hot. Techniques and applications should be performed "soberly" but with awareness if one is to maintain suppleness and softness.

WTW: You are studying sports education specialising in WingTsun, how do you go about it?

Sifu Bernd: I am taking a correspondence course at the State University of Plovdiv. Let me say right away: I have enormous respect for all those who are working in the background, managing the organisational and day-to-day aspects and planning the activities. I am really grateful to them for making it all possible in this form, being accessible at all times and having the answer to any question.
The relationship between the students is excellent, with everybody helping each other as much as possible as time allows. A correspondence course has a great advantage over a classic course of study, namely "time"! It is more or less left to the individual to decide how much time to devote to the content. The practical weeks are what rounds off the course and give it its special character. I am very glad to be part of this, and I really enjoy it.

WTW: What are you planning to celebrate the 15th anniversary of your school?

Sifu Bernd: We have planned several projects. We intend to organise the 1st WingTsun Camp in Pleisweiler-Oberhofen, in the Rhineland Palatinate, from 16th to 19th June, 2005. Anybody interested in taking part can contact me or visit my website www.wt-akademie.com. This will be a lot of fun, and every participant will be able to refine his/her WingTsun skills. There will also be a number of activities relating to WingTsun-ChiKung, meditation and yoga. During the free time there will be a wine-tasting, and we’re also planning a torchlight run in the vineyards. We are also co-sponsoring a large musical event devoted to Hip-Hop. We also plan to hold Leung Ting WingTsun demonstrations at regional fairs. All in all we have quite a few activities to celebrate this anniversary properly.

WTW: What were your personal WT highlights?

Sifu Bernd: Many expect me to answer that it was my appointment as a Sifu at Leung Ting’s birthday party in Hong Kong in 1997. Some think it must have been the Budo Gala in 2000, where I was invited to represent Leung Ting WingTsun, or the award of the 5th Practician grade on 07.06.2001. They are all correct, but that’s not really it. In fact every single day on which I can practice and LIVE WingTsun is a "highlight" for me. Because I live in the present and not the past, as I have already mentioned, it is only the "here and now" that counts. What could be worse than to rest on my laurels and stop working on myself as I am at present. That would be exactly the opposite of what WingTsun teaches us, namely rigid and dead.

WTW: Many thanks for this detailed interview.

Text summary and pictures: Mirko Kannenwischer