Nino bernardo

The Spirit of the basement

Nino Bernardo introduces guest columnist Guy Cofie

Nino Bernardo says:

I´m pleased to introduce Guy Cofie in this month´s column. Guy is a hugely talented martial artist, who has completed the whole system of wing chun with me. He is also a gifted teacher and a qualified sports scientist. He now runs the Warehouse, a great wing chun club in north London which I strongly recommend.

Guy comes from a boxing background. He studied with me at the Basement as a young person. He then came back after a long sabbatical and his talent shone through. It has been a privilege to watch him evolve and mature over the years. Of all my students, I´m delighted that he is the one who has chosen to carry the flame. I couldn´t have wished for a better outcome.

Guy Cofie says:

All through my martial arts career, I have considered myself lucky. From my first judo teacher right through to the present day, all the instructors I have had have been of a high quality. Don’t get me wrong, some of them may not have been that technically proficient, but they were all enthusiastic and generous and I would not be enjoying my martial arts at the level I currently am without them.

However, I consider my greatest piece of fortune to be the day I walked into Nino Bernardo’s wing chun school in London, the Basement. Over the years the Basement has gained an almost a mythical status. Indeed I have even been asked whether it really existed. Well it did and what a time we had there!

At the centre of the Basement was Nino and his infectious enthusiasm. The Basement was not your modern air-conditioned, sterile, uniform modern gym. Instead, it just had four walls, no windows and a small extractor fan. There was no heating and in winter you could see your breath as you did your forms. There were none of the usual trappings of a kung fu school such as uniforms, belts, kung fu slippers or lines of people robotically attempting to copy an instructor.

The only giveaways were the three muk jongs (wooden dummies) and the wall bags, along with the two scrolls hand drawn by Nino’s sifu (and master calligrapher), the legendary Wong Shun Leung. These scrolls authorised Nino to teach wing chun in the UK.

Not only did the school not fit my blinkered vision of how a kung fu school should appear, it was also hard to find. Nino didn’t advertise and virtually everyone who came down there was introduced by another student or the friend of a friend. Even the doorway was hidden and many was the time I would arrive at training to find some poor lost soul wondering around the rear courtyard looking for the way in.

It was all these things in combination that added to the Basement’s reputation, but the core element was the simple fact the Basement was known for its high calibre wing chun. This is what first struck me about the place. The level of competence was clear to see and the dedication and enthusiasm that the students exhibited was exemplary, but one of the things that really sticks in my mind was that though the training was hard and on occasion intense, you could always hear people laughing.

This isn’t to say that students at the Basement took training lightly, but they enjoyed themselves and enjoyed discovering new problems as much as they enjoyed finding the solutions. This was one of the keys to the development of the school and its students. Nino used to say “you can have all the determination and dedication you want but without enjoyment you are unlikely to stick out the whole system.” Therein lies the secret to the Basement’s success: people enjoyed themselves, so they stayed, which meant as a beginner or senior you had many experienced people to help bring you along.

We are talking about a different time. Back then we all accepted that what we were studying was a martial art and as such carried an inherent risk of injury. However, nobody considered suing over an injury that just needed a couple of stitches at worst. Of course, people didn’t try to deliberately injure each other, but the training was so intense at times that these sorts of injuries were inevitable. I still carry scars as a testament to that intensity. Having said that, the Basement was the only place I have ever trained where you got hit and started laughing at your own mistake. Apologies were not necessary.

Looking back not only were we lucky to have Nino but we were also lucky to have each other. It was an exceptional time with a group of what I consider exceptional students. We trained for personal gain, there were no belts, badges or gradings to work towards, just your intrinsic motivation and the occasional nod of approval from Nino or you fellow students. Today I am lucky to still be in contact with Nino and many of my fellow students. Our enthusiasm and enjoyment of wing chun still remains. This is a testament to Nino Bernardo and the quality of his school the Basement.

Nino Bernardo and Guy Cofie will be available to discuss these ideas in further depth at Nino´s next seminar in London. Further details are available on www.ninobernardo.com

This is Nino Bernardo´s final column in the series. He would like to thank Guy for coming up with the idea of a monthly column and providing this column; Alex for handling the negotiations with Combat Magazine; Rupert for helping put the columns together; Eddie for providing last month´s guest column; Kevin, Sergio and Natalia for taking the photographs; all the students who appeared as models; and Malcolm for taking the swear words out and printing the articles.