November Calgary Seminar - Part 2

So now that you know what I did in Calgary, let's take a look at what I thought of the Calgary seminar experience..

Some points:

1) The students are a great group. I wish I could say it better. But this is the one major thing that I could feel right off the bat. The students were there to have fun, to learn and to kick some butt. No one was shy from new experience and everyone was eager to work with everyone else. The energy was positive. There was no ego and no partner preference (you know, the guy/gal that only wants to work with the "easy" partners). These cats wanted to train hard...and punch harder. You guys are incredibly motivating...

And, just on a general note, people could shake hands well. You know, eye contact, good grip and smile. I mean, that says a lot on its own, and i have to respect that. Not to take anything away from the hugs at all... It's just a reflection of character and personality. Great to see in my books.

2) Of course, this type of atmosphere was fostered by a good leader and teacher. German was a pleasure to train with. It was all about helping each other. I really appreciated that. He could let go and just train colleague to colleague in front of his own students. And I think the students also respect that too. In the politics of the wing tsun circles, it seems that it's only about image (teacher always wins, students can never hit or attempt to hit the teacher back) and not the hard work and sweat that goes into learning wing tsun. It was not about who hit who when we trained..instead it was about figuring out how to reproduce results and to take each other to that next level.

3) And Si-Fu, as always, manages to turn it up a notch to get the guys going. The energy, mixed with some humour, practical examples, and of course, amazing wing tsun skill provides an enlightening, entertaining and motivating experience for the entire class. His perspective reinvents the wheel each time for all of us as we journey through this WT path. How can you not appreciate what he gives day in and day out at his school? Us WT-Vancouverites are a lucky group.

Now I have to say it'd be great to see you guys make it to Vancouver! Unfortunately, I don't really have any means to contact you guys, but you can definitely hit me up at byam@functionalwingtsun.com at least to stay in touch.

Hopefully next time I will get an opportunity to train with each and everyone you.

I know some of you follow this blog, so please forward this to those that haven't seen it yet! I actually would love it if you guys could do a guest entry some time and share your experiences (good and bad).

So yea, I definitely had a great time! Would I do it again? Yes. Under one condition - I get a picture with the ladies too.

Until then.