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free fighter
Sifu
Stanislav Bagalev,
Bulgarian National
Trainer
and
Nick Peper,
2nd
Technician Degree
WT (UK) – an Interview |
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WTBG: Hi
Nick, tell us more about yourself.
Nick: Hi Sifu Stanislav. I am 21 years old and I’ve been
training WingTsun for almost 5 years. 3.5 of which I have been
studying full time at the EWTO headquarters at Langenzell Castle
in Germany.
WTBG: Please explain your experiences and opinions on
martial arts.
Nick: Well, I actually began my martial arts career with
WT but since then I have trained in boxing, muay thai, freestyle
wrestling, Brazilian Jujitsu and Mixed Martial Arts. This is
great because it develops my insight to the many possibilities
of combat, which in turn complements my understanding and focus
of WT. Whilst I consider all of these arts to be effective,
individually they are all limited because they focus on only one
aspect of a fight. Mixed Martial Arts is generally a
collaboration of all of them and thus helps to balance out their
individual weaknesses. However, whilst I am a large MMA
enthusiast, my opinion is that unlike MMA, WT is not just a
collaboration of techniques it is a concept applicable to every
aspect of a fight. Although it is a system which requires a lot
of patience and intelligent training to gain even a basic level
of competence, for me there is no comparison because ultimately
the potential skill available through WT is phenomenal. At my
level of understanding, WT is a system which is theoretically
flawless.
WTBG: How did you come to WT?
Nick: My brother John and I decided we wanted to learn a
martial art as a hobby. I happened to find a flyer for a WT
school, so we went along. The instructor was Ronald Butler. He
described WT as a brutally effective attacking system which was
not reliant on physical strength. I was immediately hooked! Ron
is excellent at developing enthusiasm in students because he
himself is very passionate about WT. However, it wasn’t long
until my enthusiasm outgrew the quantity of training available.
Ron had learnt WT at the Castle and frequently described it as
the ultimate school, 6 hours daily instruction from WT masters.
Within only 6 months of training I had quit school and began
working to save for my dream of following the footsteps of the
WT elite. 10 months later, I had arrived in Germany just 18
years old and not knowing a word of German! It was daunting but
exiting.
WTBG: Tell us about your Training in Langenzell.
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Dai-Sifu Thomas Schrön
and Nick Peper |
Nick: My first
day was 4th of March 2003; this was when I met my master and
mentor, Dai-Sifu Thomas Schr?n. The training was perfect with
such precise and detailed explanations on the basic movements
and some condition training to finish. Even now I love this
format, Master Schr?n has taught me the importance of basics and
some of the most enjoyable lessons for me are repetition of
single arm responses. My Sifu’s WT is so much more incredible
than I had ever imagined possible. He is so effortlessly relaxed
but with an un-comprehendible fluidity to his very direct but
utterly devastating strikes. I consider myself so lucky to have
such a brilliant man as my master, I am absolutely certain of
his abilities as both a martial artist and a teacher as I can
feel he is guiding my development with immense care, not
exposing me to more than I can handle but always keeping my
progression constant. It is an honour to be his student.
Since passing my 1st technician degree I have had the
opportunity to train more regularly with other technicians. The
most inspirational of which is Danish national trainer, Sifu
Kasper Lund Nielsen. His softness, precision to detail and power
generation is what clearly makes him the castle’s most advanced
student. He has contributed to my abilities a lot, which has
really emphasised to me the importance of having and being a
helpful Si-Hing. Training in Langenzell has been such a
wonderful and unique experience and I am truly honoured to have
this opportunity to train so close to the source of WT.
Sifu Kasper Lund Nielsen, Nick and John Peper. Another type of
training.
WTBG: Please
let us know why you are competing in free-fighting.
Nick: I want to develop my skills to the highest level
possible. Mixed Martial Artists are currently proven to be the
most effective fighters in the competitive scene. In my opinion,
they are able to offer me the most challenging perspective to my
training. The MMA environment is not perfectly suited for WT but
it is currently the safest and morally most correct alternative
to senseless street violence. Although compromise is necessary,
I believe WT can still be effective under these circumstances
and a benefit to my application of the system whilst I’m only
learning, ultimately as my skills improve I would like to be
able to further populate the knowledge of the effectiveness of
the WT system.
WTBG: You just competed in a professional MMA bout; tell
us how you trained for it and what inspired you.
Nick: Obviously condition can be a deciding factor in
combat sports, so outside of regular sparring training and bag
work, I trained a pylometric and callisthenic regime aimed at
muscular endurance and explositivity. During sparring training
we often split up my overall game to isolate and improve
individual aspects later piecing them all back together. On top
of the Castle training, I also trained twice a week in a MMA gym
to experience the likely impulses and attacks I would experience
in the fight. As for inspiration to train to my limits, this is
easy it comes from inside me. Mentally, I am very focused and
driven and as this is one of the things I am committed to
achieve it was natural to want to push myself. Also I wanted to
honour my Master he trained me and believed in me, I owe him a
lot and for me this was a chance to give something back.
WTBG: Tell us about your psychology and strategy leading
up to and during the fight.
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Nick: In my opinion, the WT fighter must possess a unique
psychology. He must be able to totally let go, not to try to
predict or desire a certain outcome but to have a relaxed
certainty of the destruction of his opponent by any means
necessary. To be able to adapt to the changes of a fight you
must totally let go. It is a calm brutality! However, it is a
very difficult mindset to achieve especially when you must be
conscious of the regulations. To begin with I was guilty of
desiring a certain outcome and as a result put myself in
jeopardy. Nevertheless, I was certain of victory. Defeat was
never once considered a possibility not before or during the
fight. Whilst physically my skills are only just developing,
mentally I was unbeatable. Even during the fight I was caught in
a arm bar, on the brink of defeat and injury, instead of
submitting, I thought if my arm breaks, then I will be able to
use the fracture as leverage to gain top position where I will
finish him with my other arm.
My strategy for the fight had to be adapted on the day of the
fight as they announced there would be no elbow strikes of any
kind. This left me at a disadvantage as a striker as I had now a
limited possibility of strikes in the close range of grappling
and takedowns and as a WT fighter any chi-sau reactions that
provoked the use of the elbow had to be consciously interrupted,
which obviously hindered my ability even more. So I opted for a
stick and move strategy of maintaining a longer distance and
counter attacking my opponents advances only opting for
traditional breaching steps and continual attacks when I either
had hurt him or disrupted his balance. Basically, I didn’t try
to be too conventional in my WT application as under the
circumstances it could have been a disadvantage.
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1st knockdown
On
the ropes
Knee
to body
Referee
stoppage
victory ! |
WTBG: When and
where did the fight take place and what were the rules?
Nick: The fight took place on the 16th of July in
Darmstadt, Germany. It was the world full contact association’s
“Tempel Open Air Fight Night”. My opponent was a MMA instructor
who trained in the BJJ alliance. Besides the surprise of no
elbows the rules were standard MMA rules:
- No head butting
- No biting
- No groin/throat strikes
- No small joint manipulation
- No kneeing or stomping a downed opponent
- No strikes to the spine or back of the head.
Bouts are 3 x 5 minute rounds and mandatory requirements are
mouth-guard, groin-guard and 4 oz fingerless MMA gloves. Fights
are won by KO, TKO or referee stoppage and submission.
WTBG: Tell us more about the fight.
Nick: I learned that when I used WT, I dominated but when
I fought with other techniques it could have gone either way.
I’m glad it was a test to my abilities and I learned something
from the fight. I was pleased with the result of a 1st round KO
and that I escaped the submission without a broken arm! Next
time, I will aim to improve my WT and implement more of it, not
only during the deciding moments. I would like to say what a
class act my opponent was as he was very gracious in defeat and
a real gentleman. Also, thank you to Sifu Schr?n and my father
for being in my corner and giving me inspiration and support.
WTBG: What are your plans for the future?
Nick: Sadly I’m finishing my education at the Castle this
year, where I’m currently training for my 2nd technician exam.
Then, I’m moving back to England and looking forward to setting
up a school with my brother Jo, who has also studied in
Langenzell and is a very talented 1st technician. As for me
personally, I plan to continue growing and learning in WT and
aspiring to apply it to MMA. I hope to compete again next year
perhaps in the UK as they have a very high standard of
competition. You know, I am still so young and inexperienced and
I don’t claim to be an unbeatable fighter, but I do believe I
have the potential and am lucky enough to have such a great
teacher who can help me on my journey to one day also become a
good representative of the WT system. However, currently on this
long journey to mastery I consider myself to have only just
opened my eyes.
Thank you Sifu Stanislav.
October 2006
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