Prominent martial artist, founder and world chief instructor of the Emin Boztepe Martial Arts System, Emin Boztepe, will hold an international martial arts seminar at the Dolmen Resort, Qawra, between 26 and 30 June.
The international Wing Tzun seminar is the first of its kind in Malta and is being organised by Mr Boztepe's representative in Malta, Sihing Jonathan Cassar. The five days of extensive Wing Tzun training will feature students and instructors of the Wing Tzun martial art hailing from over 10 different countries as well as a number of prominent sifus (instructors), including Sifu Mark Carson, Sifu Max Antonelli and Sifu Mirco Ferri, all of whom have confirmed their attendance.
Mr Boztepe is an American martial artist of Turkish German origin. Affectionately known as Dai Sifu to his thousands of students worldwide, Mr Boztepe has been training in various martial arts for four decades, many years of which he has dedicated to Wing Tzun and his own organisation, Emin Boztepe Martial Arts System, shortened to EBMAS.
Mr Boztepe first rose to prominence in 1986 after a bout with famed Wing Chun practitioner William Cheung, continuing to gain prominence during the 1990s with a public challenge of the Gracie family, a dominant family in the world of martial arts, particularly the style of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Boztepe holds regular Wing Tzun seminars around the world and throughout his career has trained a number of elite Police and Military Personnel corps, including the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team and the 4th Recon Battalion of the U.S. Marine Corps. In 2002, Mr Boztepe founded his own martial arts system following disagreements with prominent members of the Leung Ting clan. In the ensuing years, Sifu Boztepe has been working and travelling tirelessly to help propagate the art of Wing Tzun across the four corners of the globe. In 2013 alone, Sifu Boztepe held seminars in Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Australia, a proof of his dedication to spreading knowledge of Wing Tzun to as many people as humanly possible.
Sihing Jonathan Cassar started his training under Emin Boztepe in 2008 after having practiced Wing Tzun for 15 years. Cassar’s schooling under Sifu Boztepe has led to a fanatical core following of the art of Wing Tzun which is now being practised here on the island.
Wing Tzun is a direct and short form of Kung Fu invented by Ng Mui, daughter of a Ming general, one the famed Five Elders and a master of the Shaolin martial arts. Developed and divulged by Great Grandmaster Yip Man, whose exploits were shown on screen in the recent Ip Man and Ip Man 2 film franchises, the Wing Tzun system teaches 8 core principles of combat and aggressive self-defence which allow one to adapt immediately to the size, strength and fighting style of an attacker. The Wing Tzun practitioner is not limited by his own size or strength; through intelligent use of scientific principles and crippling attacks, the system can be used to defend oneself even by a person who is much weaker than the aggressor.
Interested individuals, wishing to train alongside students of Wing Tzun during the seminar or simply to visit and observe, should contact Mr Jonathan Cassar on [email protected]. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to observe, learn from and train with a true martial arts legend.