About
The School
To promote the study of the Chinese Martial Arts and for the development of physical, mental, and general well-being of students, Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy offers a wide variety of training programs to allow members to become well-rounded martial artists.
Basic training includes Kung Fu exercises, fist-forms, weapons forms, self-defense applications, free sparring, as well as the philosophical aspects of Wah Lum Kung Fu. Students will be taught at the rate of their own abilities, and in this respect, a high standard of Kung Fu is achieved.
Advanced training is also available for those who seek a higher level of knowledge and achievement. This may include advanced forms and weapons usage, advanced self-defense and application techniques.
The Origin of Wah Lum Tam Tui Praying Mantis Kung Fu
In the early 1900’s an already accomplished martial artist by the name of Lee Kwan Shan entered into the Wah Lum Monastery of Ping To district in Shantung province. There he committed himself to an arduous ten year discipleship in the Praying Mantis system. His teacher, Abbot Ching Yeung, was the fourth generation of the original Praying Mantis system. When Master Lee left the temple he traveled widely, eventually settling down at Sha Cheng village in Canton province. It was here that he combined his Praying Mantis style with his own family system, the Tam Tui (seeking leg) style. Lee Kwan Shan’s style was noted for his long fist forms, spear and pole techniques, and whirling broadsword skills. Before his death in 1948 Lee accepted his youngest and last disciple, Pui Chan.
Master Pui Chan (currently the Grandmaster of Wah Lum Kung Fu Association) studied with Lee Kwan Shan and then continued to learn and train with his older Kung Fu brother, Chan Wan Ching making him the sixth generation master of Wah Lum. In the late 1960s, after finding his way to Boston, MA, where he first took a job as a cook, Grandmaster Chan founded the first Wah Lum School at North Station. In 1980, Grandmaster Chan built a Kung Fu Temple in Orlando, Florida. Calling it the Wah Lum Temple, he allows instructors from all over the country to live there and undertake intensive Kung Fu training in an atmosphere free of distractions. Master Chan has done this in order to preserve the traditional ways of Kung Fu training, and to provide an atmosphere of serenity and sincerity in the modern world.
Sifu Mai Du
Sifu Mai Du, 8th generation of the Wah Lum Tam Tui Northern Praying Mantis Kung Fu Style, has been practicing kung fu for more than 20 years and teaching for more than 15 years under the instruction and guidance of Sifu Bob Rosen, Chief Instructor of the Wah Lum New England Headquarters in Boston and Grandmaster Chan Pui, founder of the Wah Lum System in the U.S. Sifu Mai is one of the few female certified Wah Lum instructors and kung fu instructors in the Greater Boston Area. She has competed locally, nationally, and internationally, winning a gold medal in 1994 and silver and bronze medals in 1994 and 2001 in China.
Sifu Mai strongly believes that kung fu is a form of fitness for all ages and practicing it can greatly benefit the body, mind, and spirit, as well as promote physical and mental health, self-discipline, self-confidence, respect for self and others, fellowship, and hard work. A Tufts University graduate, receiving both a BA and M.Ed, Sifu Mai especially advocates for children and young people learning kung fu as a form of exercise and self-defense to positively guide their development to healthy and socially-aware adolescence and adulthood. The traditions that are rooted in the kung fu culture are so rich and grounding to one’s identity that Sifu Mai is proud to be one who will help continue these traditions with the generations to come.
Through kung fu, Sifu Mai hopes to foster healthy and caring citizens, and thus a healthy community. Sifu Mai also practices Yang Style Tai Chi and Qigong. She believes that the internal art of Tai Chi and Qigong should be practiced alongside kung fu to harmonize the internal and external energy forces and to bring balance to the hard and soft. The ultimate goal is to be in harmony with one’s own body, energy system, and the surrounding environment.
Sifu Mai is very involved in various nonprofit organizations in the Greater Boston Area. She is a past-President of the Board of Directors for the YWCA Malden and a former YWCA of the U.S.A. Delegate to the 2007 World Council in Kenya. She worked for the American Red Cross of Mass Bay for eight years as Director of Youth Programs, Volunteer Resources, and International Social Services. She continues to serve the Red Cross as a volunteer for both the local chapter and its National Office. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Asian American Civic Association in Boston and is the co-Founder of Youth A.C.T., a statewide youth leadership organization aims to promote peace, justice, health, and green space.