VTM Workshop in Rio

[Marcelo-RJ]

Dear Brothers,


Master Meng's back to Rio. He has arrived safely.
At this writing, he's with two HFY students at the Wing Chun school of one of them.
The two-days seminar starts tomorrow afternoon, and we're all looking forward to learning more.
Best wishes,

Marcelo A C Santos
Rio de Janeiro - Brasil

[William E]

Marcelo

Thank you for letting us know that Master Meng has made it safely. I hope that you have a great seminar that lasts for as long as you can stand. I'm sure there will be lots of good information shared along with hard training.

Hopefully I will have the priveledge of making it to one of the seminars in Rio and train with all of the students and meet you in person.

William E.

[Allen Kong]

Marcelo,

I look forward to the feedback of the seminar. Make sure that you guys have plenty of maracuja for Master Meng to eat. Say hi to Paula, your sons, and the kung fu brothers for me.

regards,

Allen

[BennyMeng]

Brazil Trip Notes – May 20-25, 2004

Ving Tsun Museum 2nd Brazil Workshop – May 22 & 23, 2004
Event Themes: Shaolin Wing Chun
A Comparison between History, Philosophy, the Principles & Combat Applications of the Chi Sim, Hung Fa Yi and, Yip Man Systems.

Presented by: Sifu Benny Meng, Curator of the Ving Tsun Museum

Location: The Rio de Janeiro Oriental Cultural and Philosophy Association.


This is the second VTM Brazilian Workshop, focusing on Shaolin Wing Chun

Thursday May 20 & Friday, May 21:
I left Dayton for Houston around 6:00 P.M on Thursday. When in Houston, I had the chance to talk with Brad on the telephone. On the plane to Texas I sat next to an army veteran with more than 20 years service experience. We spoke in length about the military and their current politics in Iraq. But more importantly, I had the opportunity to discuss martial arts with him, Hung Fa Yi in particular, of course. I used military aircraft as an example. When the plane was first used in WW II as weapons, it was the army that did so. Prior to that, for hundreds of thousands of years, humans had fantasized about flying. The laws of flying have always been around, man was just not aware of them. I related this to him as being Fau Kiu, that in martial arts this means that people are not aware of the laws of Time, Space and, Energy, or the laws of nature. Then suddenly, the Wright Brothers had a paradigm shift in Dayton, OH when they discovered the laws of aerodynamics. They built a machine that operated with the laws of nature that allowed them to fly. This was San Kiu. From then until now, we have made great strides in producing flying machines. When the latest F-22 goes into operation, it will represent a new milestone. The combat system is so effective that it can transform any pilot into an ace. To make a long story short, I asked him “Is it possible that a hand to hand combat system can reach the point of not only working with nature, but so that is become perfected to the point of not needing to add or subtract from the system?” His answer was “No.” I then told him that our Wing Chun system works with Time, Space and, Energy to the point where it reaches the level of maximum efficiency. We didn’t have time to finish our conversation before we landed in Texas.
My flight from Texas to Brazil was 9 ½ hours long. We stopped in Sao Paulo first, and from there it was a short ride to Rio. I arrived Friday morning, 10:45 Brazilian time. It took a bit of time to go through baggage and customs. They were most interested in the contents of my baggage and I did not get out of the airport until 12:00. My student Marcelo and his two sons came to pick me up. The weather was nice, but I was informed that it had been raining for almost a week. We picked up his wife Paula and as it was her birthday, we went to a nice seafood buffet by the beach in Copa Cabana to celebrate. From there I checked in at my hotel, the same one Alan and I stayed in last year. Marcelo then had to leave for some business, so the rest of the day I had the time to relax and settle in. I went to the beach and ran for about 25 minutes.
Another student of mine, Luciano, came to pick me up and took me to a place where he works out. It is new place where the Hung Fa Yi group has been studying. I was happy to see they had a place to work out. I went back to the hotel and met up with Jacques. We went for dinner and spoke about his intention and the future of HFY in Brazil. I got back to the hotel about 12 and called it a night. It had been a long day, from the time I left Dayton to now.

Saturday, May 22:
I woke up around 9:00 and went to work out at the beach. I cam back to the hotel for breakfast. Jacques met me and Marcelo came in later. Jacques wanted to finish his Yip Man system with the Museum, primarily the weapons. I spent the morning explaining the Yip Man weapons system to him. Now he will have the chance to finish the Yip Man System and become certified by the VTM. I told him my primary teacher in the Yip Man System was GM Moy Yat, with whom I finished everything up through the Pole. This is because in the Moy Yat family, the knife studies are left up to your own effort. GM Moy Yat does not teach you personally. He gives you a tape and you study is more along the lines of a Thesis. I told him my second most important teacher of the system was Yip Ching. I went through the whole system with him again, but this time I also learned the details of the knife. The VTM’s Knife system is based upon GM Yip Ching’s system.
After lunch we went to the workshop. The workshop was scheduled to begin at 2:00, but in Brazil due to “Hora Latina” (Latin Time), things tend to begin 30 to 45 minute late sometimes. There were 2 Tai Chi experts, a BJJ champion, 3 former Yip Man students, 2 other Shaolin system students and, three of my own students from Brazil. There were also a few other martial artists and instructors that were supposed to come, but they could not make it due to getting lost or last minute changes. We went straight through until 7:00. As usual I began the workshop with a fundamental history, including the evolution of Wing Chun from the Shaolin Temple to Modern Day. The second part I discussed “What is Shaolin”, describing its characteristics and nature. I gave the Shaolin background in order for them to see the differences between Shaolin and Modern Day Wing Chun. They really enjoyed this part because everyone was able to relate and they are always interested in finding out more about Shaolin. I then went through some of the Shaolin Wisdoms, comparing the Shape and Technique Levels to the Concept and Principle levels, where the Shaolin Wing Chun began at the principle levels of Time, Space and, Energy.
During the hands on part of the workshop, I demonstrated the basic forms of the Chi Sim, Hung Fa Yi and, Yip Man systems. The rest of the hands on training consisted of the Formula, Kuen Jong, Kiu Sau and Jong Sau training. I wrapped up the fist day with the teaching methodology of Shaolin. Marcelo took me to dinner at a famous Brazilian BBQ. Being a Saturday night, the beach was full of life and different activities, from arts and craft vendors to street performers. I stayed out until about 12:00 and I had the chance to see some Capoeira performers on the street.

Sunday, May 23:
I got up and again worked out on the beach for about 30 minutes, then Marcelo and his family took me to the beach where I had the chance to talk about the growth of Hung Fa Yi in Brazil. The weather all year round in Rio is really nice and makes for a great vacation spot due to the beaches, mountains and forests, all within a few minutes’ drive. After getting some sun, we went for lunch and then began the second day of the workshop.
A few additional participants came. One was a Northern Shaolin expert who had originally invited me to go to his school. I reviewed material from the first day and added some more details. Then we had a good summary of the 2nd VTM Workshop. Overall everyone was very pleased with the workshop. We spoke about future plans. We finished an hour earlier due to fact that I had planned to discuss making Shaolin Wing Chun grow in Brazil. We went to the beach, again, and had a very productive meeting. After the meeting, I had some time to relax and just hang out before returning to the hotel.

Monday, May 24:
I woke up much earlier today, knowing I would be leaving this evening. I spent about an hour working out to help burn off all of the great Brazilian food I had been eating. Jacques and Marcelo picked me up for lunch. Form there we drove to the other side of Rio and passed through the rainforest where I had a meeting with Julio, Leo’s student and representative in Rio. When he had his first school, I was there with GM Moy Yat at his Grand Opening. This time when we met, he said he is ready to open a second school. I’m very happy for him, he is a great guy and very professional. I gave him my book, MKF, and a Yip Man statue for his Grand Opening. Due to my appointment with the Northern Shaolin Master, we couldn’t talk for long.
We went to the school and had about 2 hours to train. We also mer up with a former instructor from Duncan Leung’s family. He’s a very nice guy and is very interested in HFY, just after a few hours of training. Then I had a chance to go over some more detail with my Brazilian students before leaving for the airport.
My flight from Rio to Sao Paolo was on time, but from Sao Paulo was delayed causing me to miss my connecting flight. I was stuck in the airport for an additional 8 hours. I arrived home late Tuesday afternoon.

Summary:
From meeting new friends and visiting the beautiful city of Rio, the most significant part of the trip would be the fact that a few of my students are making commitments to promote the HFY system in Brazil. There will be lots of work and it will take time. But nonetheless, we have surely planted the seed. I told them I can not continue to come down without them committing to growing the HFY family due to the cost. The income from the workshop does not cover the expenses of traveling. One of the first goals is to generate enough interest so that on the next trip my expenses are paid for so that they can continue to understand and train in HFY. The second goal is to form an association and to promote the HFY and eventually have enough interest to be able to host a workshop by GM Gee. I want to again thank my student Marcelo for making most of the arrangements and taking care of me during my stay. I also want to thank my other students who have shown their commitments to HFY: Luciano, Jacques, Leonardo, Jorge & João. Lastly, thanks to the hosting Sifu for providing space to work out in.

[Marcelo-RJ]

Sifu Meng,

Just a little correction: bro. Walter is not a former member of Duncan Leung's family. He's been under Sifu Li Hon Ki before the last one join Sifu Duncan.
BTW, I have just talked to bro. Marcio from Sao Paulo (Duncan Leung's co-representative) and he's sent you his best regards.
Till soon!

Marcelo