Despite my many years in the ring I never lost my feeling of insecurity. The situation in the street has practically nothing in common with that in the ring: there is no referee out there, there are no procedural arrangements, no weight categories and no rules. Everything that ensures personal safety during sporting competition in the ring is lacking. My search finally led me to the realistic WT system and the BlitzDefence programme of Keith R. Kernspecht, which I have practiced intensively since 1991, when I was no longer able to take part in contests of this kind owing to arthritis in both hips after the Thai Boxing world championships in Bangkok. Paradoxically this stroke of bad luck proved to be a blessing, for I now had to learn to adapt and find a replacement for my muscle power by borrowing the opponent’s strength and using guile. In fact the ingenious WT system gave me more power and effectiveness than I had before. With WT I have finally found the inner calm and self-assurance to deal confidently with any dangerous situation on the street.
As I am basically a peace-loving individual, I am glad that WT and particularly BlitzDefence have given me the means to deescalate confrontations without the use of violence. And should things get physical nonetheless, the capabilities I have acquired (I now hold the 2nd TG in WT) will enable me to take countermeasures in line with the threat, so that I will not need to use more violence than absolutely necessary.
Stefano Ricci
1995 world vice-champion in Muay-Thai
2nd place in the 1993 world KungFu championships in Malaysia
Coach for the Italian national KungFu team (CONI)
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