School(s) in: Aachen West, Aachen Center, Eschweiler

School Owner since: 1998

Motto:

WingTsun is for me the best martial art, which I can still practice very well at the age of 50 without having any disadvantages compared to younger WingTsun students. I am convinced that I could use WingTsun against other martial arts/martial arts with success if necessary, without forgetting that there are of course also very good fighters in other fighting styles.

Why did you start with WingTsun?

I started WingTsun with Salih Avci in September 1987 when I was 22 years old. I was a big fan of Bruce Lee at that time. I still admire him today… I had been training TaeKwonDo since I was 10 years old, for about 10 years, with three different trainers in different clubs. During the TaeKwonDo studies I also learned basics of HapKido. Furthermore in 1983, at the age of 17, I was boxing. In the 80’s as well as in the beginning of the 90’s I tried other martial arts. When I met my first SiHing, he had at that time the 1st teacher degree WingTsun, WingTsun, at that time also called WingTsun-KungFu, convinced me 100%. It is a fighting style that has a solution against every attack: whether against kicks, throws, fist punches or also in ground fighting, if necessary.

The books of Grandmaster Prof. Keith R. Kernspecht explained me then still very well the theoretical background. I was in love with this for me ingenious martial art. I must add that I was never very interested in soccer or other sports as a child. As a child I was fascinated by TV series like “The Rebels of Liang Shan Po” and of course “KungFu Caine” with David Carradine. In February 1990 I met my SiFu GM K.R. Kernspecht in Aachen at a training course (25.02.1990) I had the pleasure to train five minutes with SiFu personally WingTsun-KungFu. I was totally enthusiastic and from then on I visited WingTsun courses of him every year. It was always a special highlight for me when SiFu GM Kernspecht gave a course in Aachen. Since 1994 I have also been going regularly to Heidelberg and the last years also to Kiel, or wherever it is possible for me to visit WingTsun courses in Germany. After I left my ex-SiHing Salih Avci after about 10 years, I learned WingTsun regularly with DaiSifu Rainer Tausend as well as the last years intensively with DaiSifu Thomas Schrön, now Grandmaster in the EWTO.

Why are you still doing WingTsun?

I still do WingTsun, because it always gave me support in my life. It was like a red thread the last 29 years in my life. Even if I had professional or private crises, the WingTsun training (Kung Fu = hard work or train hard) has always helped me to rebuild. Also in my WingTsun career not everything went smoothly, but I never stopped fighting or lost sight of my goal. My first big goal was 1st teacher degree or at that time 1st technician degree WingTsun, after that my wish was to become WingTsun master. I have been teaching WingTsun since the beginning of the 90’s, first with my first SiHing Salih Avci as an assistant, then later part-time and now for some years full-time.

What was your standout WT experience?

Which was my outstanding WingTsun experience, I can not say exactly. There were many stages on my WingTsun way, like when I got to know WingTsun, then when I met my SiFu GM Kernspecht. The two big EWTO celebrations “25 years EWTO” and “40 years EWTO” were something special for me. When I taught WingTsun more and more often myself in the early, mid 90’s, I got better and better and my enthusiasm for WingTsun grew. It was also very special for me when I was appointed SiFu in WingTsun by Grandmaster Kernspecht in Heidelberg/Wiesenbach at the beginning of April 2002.

At my 1st HG/1st teacher degree in WingTsun in April 1996, I was happy to wear a black and red T-shirt and the dark WingTsun pants with red stripes, but it was already clear to me then that the learning had only now really begun.

When I passed the last part for the 5th master degree at SiFu in Kiel in December 2011, I was very proud. I had never traveled so many kilometers as in 2011 through Germany to learn WingTsun and always continue to deepen. More often even twice a week I went to Heidelberg to DaiSifu Thomas Schrön – the tax office later asked if I had a second job in Heidelberg or something like that. Once again WingTsun-KungFu = hard work for me. And then finally from June 2012 I was allowed to put on the red EWTO WingTsun T-shirt, “with pride”. For me it was similar to reaching 1st Teacher Grade (HG) WingTsun, but in addition I now had the feeling to have finished a stage in WingTsun. Intensive learning of SiFu Kernspecht’s “Modern WingTsun”.

Now on the 6th MG we continue with the learning of Grandmaster Kernspecht’s “Inner WingTsun”.