The Brazilian Wing Chun academy School and Yip Man Wing Chun team Hellas are two friends schools from the same lineage and SiFu George always support us.Its a great honor to me to make part of this family and have him as a particular friend and sênior in WIng Chun, with his disciple, Spiros, who i have as a real blood brother. In Last week, he had the patience and care to send the answers to this interview and we hope you like, dear reader.
Blog do Dido - how was your first contact with wing chun? Who was your very first sifu and how was the practice in those days?
SiFu Kontras :My first contact with wing chun was at 1971 when i was 12 years old in N.Y.In my building 1 floor under my appartment lived Joe Barbalus.He was one of Duncan's students and he was my first Si Fu in Wing Chun.We start to do private lessons in my appartment.Since 1970 until 1974 Duncan teaches only private.After a period when Duncan opened his first school in Johnes street, Joe take me there and introduce me to Duncan so to continue my training with the other students.The training those days was very very hard with no limit in time.Many many hours of exausting training,seven days the week.After training free fights,challenges,streets fights and a lot of bleeding.I was very young then and i saw the old kung fu brothers to freefight and blood for real every day.Joe,Philip,two brothers from Puerto Rico and many others.
Blog do Dido- in your opinion, whats the principal points to mastering wing chun and become a good fighter?
SiFu Kontras; Experience with many years of training and fighting too.Learn of how to fight with the way of Wing Chun and not modify the system in another manner of fighting.
1st rule:Learn of how to cover yourself.
2nd rule:Learn of how to apply Wing Chun in fighting.
Blog do Dido - Tell us about your experience with Sitaaigung Duncan Leung...theres some history that you like to share?
SiFu Kontras: Duncan is a very good teacher.Not one of the best.He is the best teacher in Wing Chun family.He is the only master that have the knowledge of how to use the system in fighting.He is a real fighter with huge experience in combat.In the school he is a very "old school" master.He trains you with the hard way.I remember one day in the class Duncan told us all to gather toghether to show us the power of one inch punch.One student grabbed and hold tight from the edges one of the pieces of wood about 10cmx6cm and 1m long that we used to step on it and do some leg exercises.Duncan covers his fist with a towel and throw an inch punch in the wood.The wood broke so badly that the pieces injured the student that hold it in the chest so we took him to the doctor.
Blog do Dido - as an art of fight, wing chun become very popular early 50s and 60s...but now, the main public takes wing chun as a joke. In your opinion, why this happened?
SiFu Kontras ; The purpose of Wing Chun was to make you capable to protect yourself against every attack in real conditions and not to modify it under rules for sport or for shows.Today there are two ways of Wing Chun.1st is our family's way and second is the way that everybody else in the planet does.Here in Greece we say"Half knowing is worse than ignorance".If you see schools that teach the first form like techniques,that believe there is only one tan sau in the form,fight each other with chi-sau and when they fight with other systems play kick boxing and use only chain punches and the front kick,then the main public will take them as a joke.Because they dont know how to apply the Wing Chun in combat.You see that every school adds in the system something new.Create another way and the system doesnt work.In our family we have supreme knowledge.We learn how to cover and not to block and we put everything in test to see if it works in fighting.We learn from the first form the alphabet and the rules and not techniques.We combine from the forms,the wooden dummy,the long pole and the swords to create tecniques.We train Chi Sau as an exercise to develop the sense of touch and other things and not to fight each other.
Blog do Dido - today, we cannot see a good Wing Chun fighter on UFC...do you belive one day can rising of the shadows some good Wing Chun on UFC?
SiFu Kontras ; Yes,from our family in the future probably.We have very good fighters and very big names in so many years.Some of them became legends today.
Blog do Dido - How can we understand the diference between blocking and covering, and long and short bridge in wing chun?
SiFu Kontras ; when a hit comes to you your brain needs time to take the information from the eyes,to analyze the threat and give the order to the hand or leg to react as a block.You block and then attack and then your opponent blocks and then attacks and the faster or the strongest wins.So when you block an attack you are always one step back from your opponent.Wing Chun doesn't work that way.We learn to fight with stronger and faster opponents.If you learn to cover your body as a response to an attack you are always one step front of your opponent because your reaction is protective for you and destructive for the opponent's hand or leg at the same time.You save very valuable time in fight and you have succed to do damage,sometimes very badly,to your opponent only with your defence,your cover.Now about the short and long bridge it has to do with the distance.To cover the space between you and your opponent.Some people wrongfully believe that Wing Chun is a close combat system only.Wing Chun is a complete system especially in distance and we have movements and attacks to cover big distances such as the arrow punch,footwork and many others.This subject needs deep analysis and i am afraid that this isn't the proper time to speak about this in here.Blog do Dido - tell us how is practice a chinese art on Greece and talk about the routine of your school..
SiFu Kontras : To practice a Chinese art on Greece is the same like the other countries.It is something new,hard and it takes time,pain patience and sacrifices for someone who want to really learn.For someone who want only to think that knows a chinese art the country (like the other countries too) is full of schools that sell the art to you in your size as a hobby,without real knowledge and skills.Only titles and all for the marketing.The routine of our school is the same we learn from the first school in Jones street.We are always open,we train many hours a day.We all do sacrifices for the art.The school is our first priority.We are like a family and not like a cram school.The standarts are always high and the training remains so hard as then.We prefer the quality than the quantity.We are also always open to challenges.
Blog do Dido- id like to thank you and please, let a message to our readers...
SiFu Kontras: And i thank you too.God bless you all.Have faith and trust in Wing Chun.It is the power of life.
Dido
Discípulo privativo do SiFu Marcos de Abreu em Recife- PE
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