2007 News Archives
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- We love to hear about the activities of any of our members past or present, and not necessarily martial arts-related stuff either. So if you've done something recently that you'd like to share, send us a photo and some details to admin@ukkff.org and we'll post the item here.
Kung-fu assessments
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| Our successful Foundation Stage members at the Sunday assessment. Were you tested? See your name in the examinations archive |
At the end of our Autumn Term on the 15th-16th December, there was another opportunity for some of our Apprentice-Level members to attempt an examination in the Federation Wing Tsun System. Over 30 of our students chose to test this time around, however due to the full introduction of the system we only permitted students below 6SG to test. Well done to everyone who was successful, and apologies to those on saturday for not taking photos - our camera broke.
For anyone that missed out or wasn't ready this time, our next scheduled Kung-Fu examinations are in March 2008.
Journeyman promotion
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| Andrew King (right) receiving his 1st Technician qualification from his Sifu, Lee Paul Heron (left) |
On the 1st December, Andrew King was awarded the 1st Technician Grade in the Federation Wing Tsun System by Sifu Lee Paul Heron. The surprise promotion took place during our 6th Annual Xmas Bash in Kingston-Upon-Thames in front of many members & colleagues from the World Martial Arts Alliance, whereby Andy was presented with the distinguished Black & Red uniform of a Federation Journeyman.
1TG is the Water Stage of the Journeyman Level of Federation Wing Tsun Kung-Fu, comprising a deep understanding of the possibilities contained within the Siu-Nim-Tao & Chum-Kiu forms, plus the rote movements of the Biu-Tze form. Having completed this stage, Andy now begins studying the Earth Stage which focuses on the strategy of Constant Attack. On behalf of everyone at the Federation, congratulations to Andy on his well-deserved promotion.
6th annual xmas bash
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| Jon Allen delights our members with close-up table magic. Did you attend? View all the photo galleries & slideshows from this event. |
On the 1st December lots of our members and colleagues (plus partners & families) met up at the Antoinette Hotel in Kingston-Upon-Thames for our 6th annual Xmas Bash. We shared a champagne reception, a wonderful three-course Christmas dinner, and a private bar until late into the night.
This year our guests were also entertained throughout the evening by Mr. Jon Allen, a truly excellent close-up table magician. They then fought table-against-table in our now-traditional martial arts quiz. Thanks to everyone who attended and dressed up to mark this special event, joining us in celebration of another great year of training.
Dai-sifu allan jensen seminars
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| Dai-Sifu Allan Jensen (in red, centre) with Sifu Lee Heron and all the seminar participants. Did you attend? View all the photo galleries & slideshows from this event. |
On the 24th & 25th November the Federation welcomed back the head of Wing Tsun Scandinavia for a weekend of small-group tutorials and a larger seminar for many of our members. Dai-Sifu Allan Jensen has been studying Kung-Fu for more than 30 years, and he has a way of making things extremely simple & very effective in a short time.
This weekend he chose to focus on common methods of controlling the limbs, both how to do it, and how to prevent it being done to you. He was also joined by his partner Olivia, and besides training we all had some great social time in the hotel and at local Italian restaurants. Wing Tsun Scandinavia is a fellow member of the Alliance, and as always it was excellent to experience more friendship & shared knowledge, which is what we're all about.
Escrima concepts workshop
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| Master Steve Tappin (centre) with the participants of our August workshop. |
On the 25th August we were again visited by Master Steve Tappin of Escrima Concepts, this time accompanied by instructors Wayne Tappin & John Baez. It was a well-attended workshop and we were able to spend time training outside at a much higher intensity level, getting everyone moving & sweating in the sun. We also welcomed an old colleague Tomorr Shala, who only recently left the UK-EWTO to open his own martial arts school in London, and who wanted to begin learning about weapons properly from Master Steve. Nice to see you Tomorr, and good luck with your new school.
Our next scheduled Escrima Concepts workshop is in October, so everyone is welcome back then.
EMAS italia wing tsun seminars
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| The two masters of EMAS Italia with the participants of the weekend seminars. Did you attend? View all the photo galleries & slideshows from this event. |
On the 28th & 29th of July the Federation welcomed back Master Paolo Bonucci & Master Marco Mattioni, the head instructors of EMAS Italia, our Alliance colleagues from Italy. The purpose of the weekend was to run a number of training sessions in Wing Tsun Kung-Fu, allowing many of our members to experience the art from another point of view. On the saturday our instructors and some senior students attended a small-group workshop for several hours, then on Sunday a larger seminar was run for all experience levels.
Besides the excellent training everyone commented on how friendly & relaxed the Italians are, and how well they managed to communicate their concepts despite English being a second language for them both. Thanks to everyone who attended, special thanks to Master Steve Tappin who visited simply to further our links within the Alliance, and finally to Marco's lovely family who visited the UK with him.
UKKFF summer camp
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| Participants of our 5th annual Summer Camp. Did you attend? View all the photo galleries & slideshows from this event. |
From the 25th June to the 1st July 2007 was our 5th annual Summer Camp. Each year since 2002 we have taken a maximum of 10 students to the mountaintop retreat of Montes De Malaga in southern Spain for a week of sun, swimming, relaxation, good food & drink, and of course lots of training in Federation Wing Tsun, Escrima Concepts and Chi-Kung too. Joining Lee & Vikki this year were Lynn-Li Lee, Adam Newell, Mark Galica, Miles Hawkins, Joe Jackson-Taylor, Lebene Lotsu, Stuart Cornock and Karl Van Lith. It was an extremely hard-working and hard-playing group this time, which is just the way we like it. Special thanks to Joe, Karl & Mark for cooking a group dinner one evening too, letting Bob & Di take an evening off from BBQ-ing everything in sight! Our next Summer Camp will be in June 2008, and members can reserve places now.
Master morten ibsen ving tsun seminars
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| Master Morten (red, centre) with seminar participants. Did you attend? View all the photo galleries & slideshows from this event. |
On 6th May the Federation welcomed back Master Morten Ibsen of WT Scandinavia. Sifu Morten is a long-term student of Dai-Sifu Allan Jensen, who himself has visited us on a number of occasions. The focus of these seminars was practical applications of Chi-Gerk, combined with explosive deployment of your basic tools, and Sifu Morten amazed everyone with just how practical & explosive one person can be!
Thanks to everyone who attended, and special thanks to our good friend & Alliance colleague Sifu Mik Lane (and his partner Nicky) of the WTKO, who drove down with some of his own members to meet up and join in the training seminar. We all shared a meal afterwards in a local pub too, and caught up with each other's activities over a well-deserved beer.
Master morten ibsen tutorials
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| Master Morten with the participants of his small-group tutorials on Kung-Fu. |
On 5th May we ran a small-group tutorial session with visiting Alliance Master, Morten Ibsen. Many of our instructors & senior members came along to get more technical & theoretical detail on some of the finer points of Kung-Fu, thus making the most of Sifu Morten's time in the UK. Our head instructor also managed to spend several hours in private training with him too, getting another great in-depth perspective on key aspects of one of our primary martial arts.
We firmly believe that you never stop learning in the martial arts, and this is an attitude shared by Master Morten and our colleagues in Scandinavia.
Escrima concepts workshop
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| Girls can be dangerous with weapons! Jade Rolls attacks with a butt-strike to the temple, plus control of the opponents weapon-hand. |
On 28th April we welcomed back Master Steve Tappin, Wayne Tappin and 'Big' Paul Leslie for another workshop in the Escrima Concepts System. Attendance was good and so was the weather, and we spent time looking at the ways of striking with the butt of the stick when at closer range. This made many people look at a simple stick with renewed respect, as they began to realise just how versatile it can be, and how effective you can be with it, even at very short distances.
Our next workshop is in June, so everyone is welcome back to learn more from Master Steve then.
Grappling workshop
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| Robert 'Bobby' Sundel (red, top) demonstrates grappling techniques & concepts with Nic K-Osei. |
On 21st April we welcomed the well-known Swedish competition grappler Robert 'Bobby' Sundel to the UK to run an introductory workshop on the grappling arts. He was accompanied by Nic K-Osei, another tournament champion, and together they set about demonstrating & sharing their extensive knowledge with about 25 of our members.
Most impressive was Bobby's rapid movement around the body and his precise technical ability, coupled with a non-stop stream of explanations (and jokes) in English - his second language! Huge thanks to Bobby & Nic for visiting, and we intend to have him return several times a year for our members from now on.
Master benno westra seminars
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| UCT Master Benno Westra (red) explains about body rotation concepts during punching. |
On 11th March the Federation was proud to host a large seminar for our Alliance colleague Master Benno Westra. Lots of our members attended the event in order to learn more about & train Master Benno's personal approach to the art of Wing Chun Kung-Fu, known as Jing Wu Yong Chun Kwan. Starting with his unique interpretation of the Siu-Nim-Tao form, we proceeded through some strength exercises, some grappling concepts, several striking drills, and finally some reaction training exercises involving targeting & multiple assailants.
Everyone got a good sweat on, and there was plenty of time during & after for Master Westra to explain his ideas in more detail. Thanks to everyone who attended, and of course to Sifu Benno for visiting the UKKFF once again.
Master benno westra workshops
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| Master Benno Westra (red) with the participants of his small-group Yong Chun workshops. |
On 10th March the Federation welcomed another founding member of the Alliance back to the UK. Master Benno Westra of UCT International is based in Amsterdam, and travels across Europe & many other parts of the world to teach & study the martial arts in more detail. He first visited the Federation back in March 2006, so we were very happy to see him again.
This event was a small-group workshop for our more senior members, meaning that we could all focus on some of the more advanced & esoteric aspects of his Kung-Fu knowledge. Thanks to everyone who managed to make it along, and hope to see lots of you at the main seminar too.
Archive ends
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