Zhang Shengli - Master, tactician, Kung Fu historian, Sanda champion, and now founder of his own Zhang style Taiji, Bagua and Xingyi.
The main force behind the teaching of The Beijing Milun School of Traditional Kungfu is Zhang Shengli, from Henan province. Since a very early age he has practised an enormous number of martial arts, ranging from those of Shaolin, Taiji Quan, Bagua, Xingyi, Chinese Kickboxing (Sanda), and Chinese wrestling, to Thai Boxing, Karate and Taekwondo, to name just a few. His knowledge of martial arts is unrivalled in China. After trying out a wide variety of styles, he decided to focus on the research of Chinese internal martial arts, with the aim of continuing and furthering the perfection of the unification of internal and external kungfu practice. Zhang Shengli believes that the practice of external and internal martial arts is empty without a philosophy, and he uses his understanding of traditional Chinese philosophical texts, such as the Daoist Yi Jing and Dao De Jing; his personal experiences and learning over the years; the passing on of ideas from the numerous masters he has studied with and his own interpretations of the relationship between movement and thought as a means to teach kungfu in the philosophical atmosphere in which it originally evolved. He enjoys combining this with the ideas and knowledge of his students, who come from a wide range of academic backgrounds and have amassed experiences from around the world, and Zhang Shengli thinks of his classes as not only a means to learn wushu styles but also as a forum for the exchange of ideas.
When he is not teaching at the school or the Beijing Police Academy, Master Zhang is continually researching Wushu history, philosophy and techniques, and his extensive knowledge and understanding of martial arts is reflected in his teaching of the three main internal styles. Recently, his students have begun to study Master Zhang’s own interpretations of Xingyi, Bagua, and Taiji, in which he has taken the most effective techniques and combined them into highly efficient systems which strictly adhere to the traditional principles that determine the nature of true kungfu.
Zhao Jinchao - Shaolin Kungfu Instructor
Zhao Jinchao is from Henan province - the “Cradle of Chinese Martial Arts". He started his practice of kungfu at a young age and when he was 14 he enrolled at the Tagou School, China’s largest Traditional Shaolin Kungfu academy, located by the Shaolin temple in Song Shan, Henan. Tagou is renowned for its strict training and its students are put through all levels of physical hardship to attain a high level of ability. After his graduation, Zhao Jinchao was asked by the academy to stay on as a teacher. He has been teaching at The Beijing Milun School of Traditional Kungfu since 2003.
Zhang Yuxuan - Zhang style Taiji, Bagua and Xingyi Instructor
Zhang Yuxuan, from Henan province, started studying martial arts at a young age. In 2000 he attended Beijing Sports College to study kickboxing and taekwando. In 2002 he attended the Chinese Police University, where he studied Zhang style Taiji, Bagua and Xingyi with Zhang Shengli, as well as studying Qinna. He graduated in 2004 and began teaching at the Beijing Milun School of Traditional Kungfu. In 2005 he participated in the first International Wushu Competition, demonstrating Zhang style Xingyi and Taiji. He received first place in Taiji demonstration, and third place in Xingyi demonstration. In 2006 he participated in the second International Wushu Competition, demonstrating Zhang style Taiji and won first place.
Xue Handong - Qigong and assistant Taiji Instructor
Xue Handong, from Beijing, started training kungfu at a young age. He studied Yin style Bagua, including Dragon, Lion and Bear forms. He also studied Shaolin kungfu, including Shaolin Lianhuan Fist, Paochui Fist, Dahong Fist and Xia Fist among others. In 1995 he began studying Chen, Yang and Wu style Taiji. In 2000 he began studying Tongbi Fist. Now he is studying “Moving Fingers” Qigong along with researching and combining styles to pursue his own development.