Instructor - Wakayama City, Japan
I started learning Kung Fu in April, 2000 in New Zealand when I was 22 years old. I went to New Zealand to study English and one of my teachers trained at NPC and she took me to the training hall.
I liked watching Chinese action movie like Jacky Chan when I was a kid. I was interested in Chinese Martial Arts but it is not popular in Japan because we already have many kinds of Japanese martial arts here, such as Karate, Judo, Kendo, Aikido, Iaido, Kyudo, Nihonkenpo, Shorinjikenpo, etc.
I had no experience for any martial arts before in Japan, just practice Judo in high school PE class. So I was nervous at the first class but people are friendly, atmosphere is good and skills are amazing. The more I have trained, I found out more I need to learn and I wanted to learn.
I have trained about 20 years and learned much more than just how to fight. I know how to move my body more efficiently with chi to be strong, fast and stable for a long time like a marathon. So physical work like agriculture to help my dad easily. I learned chi gung, so when I am tired I can recover quicker from job stress and illness.
Teaching NPC has helped me to think and teach students more logically, to help them understand better.
I like NPC people, knowledge, skills, system, history, and more. The way of thinking as a martial artist is making my life richer and deeper and I am always thinking learn always and assume nothing. I’ve really enjoyed training under Sifu Lai and other seniors and have been lucky enough to travel the world to train with many other students.
I’d like to share my experience and knowledge with more people in Japan. So I opened my center in Wakayama in 2003. It’s not easy to keep teaching in a different country, with a different culture, different society to where I learned in New Zealand. But I believe a thing of real worth is survived and accepted anywhere, anytime in the world.
Instructor - Palmerston North (New Zealand)
Kia ora, my name is Nathaniel and I’m one of the instructors based in Palmerston North, New Zealand. I started my martial arts journey when I was about 10 years old with NPC. Since then, my martial arts journey has had been ups and down. Joining the military at 18 years old saw my martial arts journey take a brief pause, ending back where I started with NPC.
My teaching philosophy is quite simplistic but has a solid foundation to base my teaching on. My aim is to make any of my students better than I am. I want to share my passion for martial arts to the next generation and give back the things NPC and other disciplines have given me to make me who I am today.
All in all, I want to train hard, lead strongly, teach well and be an example for younger kids to look up to.
Instructor - Johnsonville, Wellington (New Zealand)
My passion for the martial arts began as a young boy obsessed with watching kung fu movies and cartoons. Seeing the moves, speed, power, and just all-round awesome skills on display would fill my dreams at night and had me wishing to be able to do something similar one day.
That day would come during my teenage years when a close friend of mine started training at Kung Fu and would incessantly go on for hours on end about it. Eventually I yielded to my own piqued interest and would go along to try it for myself, and would come to find Nam Pai Chuan as the art perfect for me and these childhood dreams.
I started training GCMNPC in 2004 in the Horowhenua region of NZ until the completion of my tertiary studies. During my time there, I would go on to teach at centres in Foxton and Levin and create many amazing friendships and memories that are cherished to this day. Upon completion of a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, I moved south to Wellington where I have been instructing in Johnsonville since 2014.
A Sports Coach by trade these days primarily working with Children and Adolescents, I have found that seeing someone not only learn how to move, control, and perform at the highest level but enjoying doing so with the utmost enthusiasm and self fulfilment is one of the greatest things we can provide people. I am fortunate enough to be able to contribute to my community and society in general in this way through both my profession and my passion – Kung Fu.
A central emphasis of NPC is that it is a Martial Art to be shared, and by doing so enriching the lives of all those involved. No one in this world is achieves without the people around them that helped contribute to their development and success. I have been fortunate enough throughout my time in NPC to have come across many people including teachers, training partners, and even students, that helped me to build towards where I am today. This is a debt I endeavor to pay by providing guidance as best I can to a new generation coming up in the world.
Sincerely
Ryan
Instructor – Newtown, Wellington (New Zealand)
It’s safe to say that as a child, I had no shortage of energy, and plenty to spare! My parents had also noticed early on that I had a keen interest in watching martial art movies, and was particularly fascinated with the super human feats the characters depicted. I was soon signed up to Aikido; a well-fitting, first step for a kid like me. This would become my first experience with the martial arts world, and I’m thankful to have gotten a start at such a young age.
I trained in Aikido in Hamilton for a number of years. As I grew comfortable within Aikido, I realized I wanted to expand into an art that better resembled the stunts I had seen in the movies and TV shows. I narrowed my search, and started learning Tae Kwan Do, alongside my dad. I pursued Tae Kwan Do into my early teenage years, before putting training on halt to focus on other aspects of life.
A few years went by, and I decided to pursue martial arts again. Aikido and Tae Kwan Do had set the foundations of my learning and were enjoyable experiences, but I always felt as if ‘something’ was missing. I needed to experiment further. In 2012, I came across Gao Can Mun Nam Pai Chuan, though at the time, I simply knew it as ‘Kung Fu’. I attended my first class in Hamilton, and even from that early on, I was eager to learn and find out more. Even though I had spent years watching old Shaolin and Jackie Chan flicks, I was always under the impression that a traditional art that encompasses what Nam Pai Chuan has to offer, didn’t exist in this day and age. I was as much surprised, as I was exhilarated, in finding such an art could be taught this close to home. For me, it felt like I’d finally found what was previously missing.
In 2014 I moved away from my hometown of Hamilton, to Wellington, where I continued my training within GCMNPC. Along the way I have met many people, from fellow students to instructors, who have played an important role in my life. In 2016, I began teaching once a week at one of the Wellington clubs. In 2018, I had the great privilege of opening the Newtown School, and is where I currently teach.
It is my philosophy that everyone has the opportunity to enrich or improve the quality of someone else’s life. I am lucky that through my involvement in GCMNPC, I have found something that not only means so much to me, but is an art I get to share in with others. I don’t believe in one style to be superior to another, but I do believe that there is something out there for everyone and finding what suits you is part of the journey. As I have discovered, the most important step is simply taking the first step, as that it the one that opens up the possibilities to do so much more.
Instructor – Meadowbank, Auckland Training Centre (New Zealand)
My journey in Nam Pai Chuan started when I was a young teenager. My brother was the instructor at the local club in Levin and he supported my learning and practice. I spent a few years training diligently in Levin and Palmerston North and achieved my 1st Degree black belt. During my time, I learned a lot about Kung Fu, but also a lot about the importance of etiquette, discipline and the mindset of achieving success through effort.
I took a hiatus when my life goals at the time didn’t match up with what was required to be a black belt. In 2018, I was given the opportunity to come back and it’s been an eye opening experience ever since.
I never appreciated how much the Kung Fu mindset of success through effort helped me in my work life, especially during my hiatus. That mindset helped me to persevere and advance my career in the film industry which is both physically demanding and riddled with uncertainty. Developing a resilient mindset through perseverance and success through effort was one of the greatest benefits that I have received, not the just the fitness, fighting or physical benefits that you would expect from a Martial Art. This is something I’d like more people to benefit from as well.
Kung Fu has an awesome history of over 1500 years, providing a learning opportunity for striking, grappling, throwing, animal work, chi gung and more. Each student is different and can excel in any one of the many disciplines that we cover. Most importantly, providing the opportunity to develop a great mindset will help many, many students.
I am committed to sharing Shaolin Gao Can Mun Nam Pai Chuan with anyone who wants to learn. The Auckland training Centre is a great place to learn and practice Kung Fu and I am motivated to continue my learning by sharing the art with others.
My aim is for my students to discover something that they can set goals toward and be successful at. Our training Centre will ensure that everyone can benefit from practicing Shaolin Kung Fu, providing transferable life skills and improving their general well-being.
Come along to our Meadowbank class to get a taste of what we offer. We are also working toward opening a training Centre in West Auckland so get in touch if you are interested.
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