Its been an amazing journey - for 30 years practicing and researching the internal martial arts, Buddhist meditation and Daoist Qigong/healing arts both in China and the West. In childhood the impetus was to protect myself against bullies, very quickly as I came to realise the depth of the culture from which the arts had sprang I became immersed in a world of Buddhist and Daoist cultivation.

 

I attained permission to teach under the great Masters Serge Augier of Paris (in Zhang Zao Dong Bagua/Hebei Xingyi) and Chen Yuen San of Taiwan (Taijiquan, Daoist Qigong), both of them tremendously skilled fighters who give equal emphasis to the meditative side of practice. Travelling and living in China, Taiwan and Asia for many years I was able to research with men whose skill was also astonishing, many of them told me that Bagua, Xingyi and Tai Chi are all 'one family' sharing a similar essence. Just what the essense might be is a great treasure which drives many of us to make the practice an intrinsic part of our life. 

 

My fascination with Xingyi Quan led me to study in China with different experts, including with Gordon Tso, a lineage holder in the Song family Xingyi Quan - another perspective on an art which is so simple to look at and yet has such profound depth. Just like Bagua, whilst being a powerful fighting art it has the potential to heal the body and release long held patterns of psycho-physical imbalance. In Taiwan the Master He Jing Han taught me from this perspective, a focus on opening and connecting the body and mind through spiral motion.

 

Some 20 years ago I met Master Shun Yuan of Buddhist school Tian Long Wei (Heaven Dragon lineage), and to this day study with him and teach within this meditative tradition. Another vital aspect of practice which I teach to my students is the traditional healing arts, acupuncture, acupoint massage, herbal and nutritional medicine, and I spent again many years studying this with Masters Eiichi Tanaka and Paul Whitrod - the underlying principle of Yin and Yang is at play here - the dangerous skills of martial arts need to be tempered and sheathed with meditation, healing practices and martial ethics (wu de).

 

My deep gratitude goes to all these great teachers who generously transmitted so much of essence.

 

In my school are students who come from many countries to study, some of them practice a little and take away enough to improve their lives - others commit themselves deeply and find their lives transformed on many levels.

 

It is my hope to keep the flame of these great arts alive for the next generation, in the spirit of the old masters.