|
|
|
|
|
The Praying Mantis Kung Fu Academy is a martial arts school based in Sydney NSW Australia and offers classes in traditional Northern Praying Mantis, competition Wu Shu, Wu Dong Tai Chi, traditional Chinese weapons and advanced techniques such as Chin Na and Iron Palm.
Menu
Home WOMENS CLASSES
|
Shifu or Sifu?The term "Shifu" means either "master" or "teacher" in Mandarin (spoken in Northern China) while the term "Sifu" is the same word in Cantonese (spoken predominantly in Southern China and Hong Kong). |
When the Shaolin temple was burned down in 1928, a Shaolin monk, Liao Kong, escaped the destruction and eventually settled in Yan Tai, Shandong province. Liao Kong found work by performing in the Chinese Opera. He began to teach Shaolin Kung Fu to other members of the opera troupe including Fan Shu Lung.
Fan Shu Lung began learning Kung Fu while performing in the same Chinese opera troupe as Liao Kong in Shandong province. He later became the Grand Master of a local kung fu school in Yan Tai. Fan Shu Lung is Shifu Wang's grandfather.
Wang Yun Kuo was born on the 21st of December 1961 in Yan Tai, a small coastal city in the Shandong province of China. Born into a humble family he was the eldest son of Wang Dian Xin and Fan Qun Yun. His grandfather, Fan Shu Lung, was one of two grand masters at the local kung fu school (which had over 700 students).
At the age of 8, under the tutelage of Grand Master Fan Qun Yun, he began his life long training in Kung Fu. First learning Xing Yi, Wang later mastered several Shaolin styles. At the age of 10 he began learning Praying Mantis style under Grand Master Qing De Jing (the second Grand Master at the school). Qing De Jing was a performer in Chinese Opera and was a good friend of Wang’s grandfather . At the age of 12 he began to learn Wu Shu at Shandong Wu Shu Public School under Master Lui Yi He.
Training was arduous. A typical day began at 4am in the morning with 3 hours of kung fu drills at his grandfathers school. Between 8am and 2:30pm Wang attended the Shandong Wu Shu Public School to gain his education. From 3pm to 5pm he would train Wu Shu at the public school. In the evening he would return to his grandfathers school for another 3 hour session of drills and training from 7pm to 10pm.
At the age of 17, Wang joined the Chinese Army as martial arts instructor where he specialised in training body guards to protect army and state officials. He attended the Shanghai Army Medical University where he studied to become a doctor. During this time he competed in many Wu Shu competitions and won his university Wu Shu competition in 1983. After university he worked as an army doctor while continuing as a martial arts instructor for the Chinese army.
At the age of 24 he began to learn Wu Dong Tai Chi from Master Wang Yi He. Master Wang Yi He was also from Yan Tai and was recognized as a 32nd Generation Master of the style. Wang also began to learn Chin Na and additional body guard techniques from Master Wang Yi Ping, the brother of Master Wang Yi He.At the age of 29, Wang left the army to work full time as doctor in the local hospital. He came to Australia in 1996 and opened the Praying Mantis Kung Fu Academy in August 2000.
