Day One – August 3rd (Tuesday)

It was a long trip overall due to layovers as well as the flight from Detroit to Frankfurt itself. I had a chance to sit next to a German girl, which was very appropriate for my upcoming trip. I took the opportunity to learn as much as I could about the German culture and the language.

I arrived in Frankfurt at 7:00 am on Tuesday August 3rd, six hours ahead of Dayton time. From there, I flew to Nuremberg. From there, Grand Master Hoffmann picked me up in his new, beautiful, gold Jaguar. I did not arrive in Bamberg until 11:30 am. Right away, the day started with a tour of the beautiful city of Bamberg. It is very scenic with rivers and bridges as well as many wonderful churches and castles. As a matter of fact, it is a very romantic city. I will have to bring my wife on the next trip.

Me with the city of Bamberg spread out in the distance


Some of the traditional Germany architecture

After the tour, we went straight to the Chi Sim Weng Chun Headquarters. I couldn't believe I was actually here. It is a beautiful, professional school. There are two floors for training and Grand Master Hoffmann lives with his family upstairs. I can see the advantage of this arrangement. It is very efficient - if your way of life is all about living the martial arts. Guess where Grand Master Hoffmann took me for lunch? Chinese! The German Chinese food is not bad - or maybe I was just hungry.

Back to the school, I had many discussions with Grand Master Hoffmann. I saw many of the DVDs in his collection on the Chi Sim system. It was my privilege to see many Grand Masters performing the Chi Sim family - some of them from the 50s and 60s in Hong Kong. It was a real treat for me, especially from the VTM's perspective. Of course, after the discussion was hands-on discussion, the tradition of Chi Sim Weng Chun family. Grand Master Hoffmann and I had Kiu Sau together, focused on the 18 Kiu Sau concepts.

During the nighttime we went back to the City center, a tourist place with many restaurants, cafe and beautiful parks. For dinner, we had a traditional German meal with a lot of meat. The first day in Germany was, I would have to say, a complete joy. What made it especially joyous to me was the fact that I almost didn't get to come. I left my ticket at home so Jeremy had to run home and get them real quick. I got the tickets about 5 minutes before the plane was going to leave! The ticket agent said I was very lucky - I would have to agree with her.

Memorandum for Grand Master Wai Yan and the school's Tong


View around the lobby