Some of us have been working towards this day for a long time. Now it was time. Grandmaster Ron Lew came to us and conducted this seminar. It was probably the last time he traveled to Germany. In this respect, this day was a very special one. In line with this date, we have also dressed more intensively with specially made jackets and trousers. A very nice picture.

After a warm welcome, we got straight to the point. Everyone demonstrated the basic movements. SiTing Ron looked at each one, corrected, explained. Of course, that took quite a while, but he wanted to see everything in detail. The first hour passed like this. He was very happy. We've been working hard on ourselves. I'm very proud of everyone.

After a short break he gave the next task. The advanced practiced the form, Arvid his own design and everyone else their own set of movements. Here, too, SiTing Ron observed very closely what we have been practicing intensively in the last few months. Everyone had time to work on themselves again or to think of something suitable for themselves. Then of course there were the performances. This is the first time we've officially seen the Sacred Flight of the Phoenix form in a formation. Then Arvid showed his self-assembled form with all the elements of the basic form. A very dynamic variant. Even those who were still practicing the basic movements had exciting combinations during their demonstration. I showed an expanded phoenix form by incorporating new elements or deriving other weapons to use the whip. In this way, SiTing Ron was able to get an idea of everyone within two hours.

The break that followed was used intensively to talk to our grandmaster and founder. Time was running out. Now came a very special part. SiTing Ron taught us the short distance. It was about the use of the whip at close range. Knowledge of Escrima came in very handy. As always with him, he explained principles to us instead of defined movement patterns. In this way, everyone can better find out what suits them in the specific situation. Then came the carambit. Individually and in combination with the whip, there are extremely many new variations of self-defense. In doing so, he has again opened up a large learning field. After more than three hours, my head was full of new ideas.

For me, the best part of the seminar came at the end. Recent efforts have been recognized with graduations direct from SiTing Ron. Luisa, Sebastian, Birgit O, Tim and Pietro reached the first level. Birgit M, Stefan, Cornelius and Jana climbed to level two. With special diligence and a lot of commitment, Eve rose to level three. Claudia and Thomas received the fourth level for their tireless commitment from the very beginning. The highlight was the awarding of the fifth level to Arvid. He now teaches and is passionate about it.

That was the official part. Now everyone had the chance to exchange ideas with SiTing Ron and with each other over a cozy barbecue. This was of course used extensively. Jana, Eve and Claudia had conjured up the food with a lot of love, so that everyone could enjoy the end of the day again. Overall, it was a very successful seminar with a lot of learning material and a lot of appreciation for SiTing Ron. But for us, too, it was a great recognition of our years of training. This is how we turned his vision of spreading his whipping style into reality. This makes us the only ones in the world who are now following this path with over 60 snake tamers.