Good evening.

 

I would like to pass on my wholehearted congratulations to my Sifu, who just successfully passed the exam for 8^th Practitioner Level a few days ago. It is interesting as I was not at all aware that my Sifu was grading when I wrote my last post… Life certainly works in mysterious ways

 

This is a very special grade – not only has my Sifu officially completed the whole Wing Tsun system but he is the only person outside China to hold this level. Furthermore, it is only one level below Grandmaster. However, in my opinion, what makes this grade all the more poignant and valued is that my Sifu is not a ‘grade collector.’ He  told me on many occasions in the early years I was with him ‘nobility comes from the inside, not from the title or clothes a person is wearing. You can buy any title, but you can never buy nobility.’ It was also he that taught me to never forget ‘that every master has a master.’

 

This is the also the man that has loyally served his Sifu, without wavering through the good times and the bad for 20 years; of the thousands and thousands of students that Si-Jo has taught in 40 years I believe you would be lucky to count on one hand the number of people that did this. It is not without reason that my Sifu is known throughout the world as ‘Si-Jo’s Samurai’ and ‘Si-Jo’s fighter.’ Never have I met a man more dedicated to his Sifu than him (indeed, this is the only way I wish to compete with my Sifu). Despite being famous throughout Hungary, with whole television shows devoted to him, this is also the man who also in my presence very humbly said to his Sifu ‘Sifu, I just want to learn everything from you.’ And now he has, nothing has changed… If you really want to know what Chinese Wing Tsun stands for is it this; unswerving loyalty, dedication, hard work, humility, complete dedication to the art and the epitome of etiquette.

 

To think that this is also the man whose family had everything they owned destroyed and stolen by the communists under the Soviet Union regime, yet still managed to build the largest and most successful organisation with over 2,000 students in Hungary alone. It was he who single-handedly organised the demonstration of 1,000 people performing the Siu Nim Tao which, to my knowledge, has never been repeated by anyone else since. No where is there a better illustration of what someone who truly loves the art can achieve, no matter the obstacles.

 

I could say much more on my Sifu’s good qualities and achievements; however, it is suffice to say that never a day goes by when I do not reflect that it is an honour to be his to-dai.

 

I send again from the bottom of my heart my best wishes.

 

Sifu

 

Ps as I mentioned previously, and my Sifu is living proof, I believe the grading is an important part of Wing Tsun. Please don’t waste the opportunities you have; time simply goes by too fast. There is nothing worse than being one of those (many) people that look back on life with regret and says ‘If only I had...’ or ‘I could have been…’ Your future and your development is in your hands, don’t wait until it is too late.