Train With Ben

Becoming a Disciple

 

During my time in China I was training under the well respected Shifu Shi Yanjun (34th generation shaolin disciple). Shifu Shi Yanjun (Shifu) started training kung fu at the shoalin temple when he was 5 years old. He would train 6-8 hours a day 6 days a week for the next 15 years of his life. As Shifu became a young adult he began to focus on Chinese Kickboxing (Sanda) more and more until after winning a few local competitions he was entered into the National Sanda Championships where he one 1st place becoming the Chinese National Sanda Champion. A short time after his title Shifu opened his own kung fu school, Shaolin Temple Yunnan, where he personally taught many styles of Kung Fu including Shaolin, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Sanda, and Meihua. In 2024 I joined Shifu Yanjun's school where I lived and trained for the year. After following strict training for 9 months Shifu told me that if I were to ask, he would accept me as his disciple. I was honoured by this statement as it is very rare that Shifu takes on a new disciple. As his disciple he gave me the name 'Shi Heng Da' meaning one with a great possibilities. 

 

There were 4 Shifu's at my school, Wu Shifu (Wing Chun specialist), Yanning Shifu (Performance specialist), Yu Shifu (Internal Style specialist), And Yanjun Shifu (Sanda specialist). I was lucky enough to train with all four of them and get a deeper understanding about how to train kung fu, why we train kung fu, and the reasons that kung fu has lasted so long. Each Shifu was incredibly caring but would push you to train your hardest.