There is no letting go of Leung Ting WingTsun for Stefan, for with the help of tireless daily training he has fought for and gradually regained his quality of life. What is more, Stefan not only does his WingTsun training for himself, but has also worked very hard to obtain his WT teaching qualifications. With great success – in 2002 he was awarded the title of "Sifu" in Kiel. "This is the highest honour I can achieve as a teacher", he said proudly, "after eleven years, two months and 27 days of WingTsun".

Flashback...

Just under two years earlier, in 1989 Stefan Schmaltz has suffered several bone fractures and a so-called ataxia during a serious car accident on the B 200 between Husum and Tönning in northern Germany. This is the term used by medics to describe symptoms of paralysis caused by impact damage to the cerebellum. The result was a partial loss of motor movements at all levels, which showed itself as speech difficulties, loss of movement and general coordination and problems with walking and writing etc...

His life was changed in a matter of seconds ... An oncoming car strayed out of a bend and Stefan had no chance to avoid the impact in his Opel. All he remembers is a terrible bang. His injuries were very severe: for 12 days he lay in a coma, then spent three months in a hospital bed. This was followed by six months in a wheelchair and ten months on crutches.

From one day to the next, Schmaltz — who had been a promising young athlete before the accident – could neither write nor grip anything with his hands, let alone walk or ride a bicycle. Nonetheless he did not give up and kept trying new forms of therapy, though without the desired success. One specific form of strength training which he hoped would improve his skeleto-muscular coordination actually had the opposite effect. Then in November 1991 he began to study WingTsun. After the first lesson with his teacher Sifu Peter Thietje, who still gives him instruction today, he knew that he had found what he was looking for. For seven years Sifu Peter trained with Stefan and built him back up again. Stefan had many a setback to overcome as well: "After six months I took my first steps on crutches, but naturally I still fell over a lot ...". But his iron will never let go, and then, after two years, he took his first steps without crutches: "It was something of a triumph for me, I can't describe it!" Stefan made particular progress as a result of Chi-Sao training: "Among other things, Chi-Sao helped to improve my eyesight – by 50 percent in the left eye and 40 percent in the right". His sense of balance was also stabilised. "Thanks to WingTsun I can now do almost everything again," he says.

Sifu Stefan Schmaltz has even managed an entry in the Guinness Book of Records with his sport – as the world's only severely disabled WingTsun teacher.

It was another very special honour for Stefan when he was invited to enter his name in the official visitor's book in his home town of Husum. For in 1982, when still at school, Stefan took second place in a light athletics competition for young Olympic hopefuls. And although his first career as a sportsman came to a sudden end when the accident happened, he still continued on a most unusual sporting path, and it was for this extraordinary performance that he was honoured by his home town.

But for all the achieved objectives and awards, Stefan is by no means inclined to rest on his laurels. On the contrary: he has found his vocation in WingTsun. The "Sifu" title is an honour and an obligation to him. "Now I not only need to teach my students WingTsun techniques, but also how to treat other people properly", says Stefan.

For many others who must overcome severe physical disabilities Sifu Stefan is a living example of how hope can triumph, and is the best incentive for not giving up.

Text: Mirko Kannenwischer