Our History 

The Shaolin style Gao Can Mun Nam Pai Chuan has its roots and origins in the traditional martial arts practiced by the Shaolin Monks of China over 2000 years ago.

Though much of martial arts history could be told in the form of legends and stories of martial arts heroes, it is widely accepted that Shaolin Kung Fu was brought to China and Japan/Korea in the year 525AD by a travelling Buddhist monk known to the Chinese as ‘Da-Moh’ (Bodhidharma). He is credited with having taught kung fu to the monks in order to strengthen them for meditation and prayer. It is hard to believe that war-like nations like the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans did not possess a martial arts skill of their own.

The truth is probably that Da-Moh consolidated these skills and had the organisational ability to advocate it to his students. Through the years, the art has grown and developed into many diverse forms and schools but regardless of the style, they could all be traced back to Da-Mo (Bodhidharma).

The Gao Can Mun Nam Pai Chuan tradition or style can trace its lineage far back to Great Grandmaster Hui Cheng of the Chek Chian Nan Hai Pooi Chee Temple in China. Master Hui was a direct descendant of the Southern Shaolin tradition taught by Buddhist monks in the tradition of Da-Mo.

One of Master Hui Cheng’s students was Grand Master Seh Koh San, A famous Shaolin Monk attributed to be the father of traditional Shaolin Arts in South East Asia. Shi Gao Can (1886 – 1960) or widely known as Sek Koh Sam, was a Chinese monk who brought traditional Shaolin teachings from Mainland China to South East Asia.

Master Quek Heng Choon is considered to be Shi Gao Can’s most important and influential student from the Singapore/Malaysia era. Born in 1926 in Huian county, Fujian province, China, Master Quek represents the original 50th generation of Shaolin and taught students from Malaysia, Singapore, and China between 1956 and 2010.

During a training visit to London in 2009 Master Quek named Christopher Lai Khee Choong who is head of Nam Pai Chuan worldwide as his successor and asked that the school be renamed as “Shaolin Gao Can Mun Nam Pai Chuan”.

Master Lai lives in London and continues to teach the Shaolin System to this day.