Shaun Thomson Sifu 3rd Dan

I write this, not to credit myself but purely to explain how and why I chose to learn Gong Fu, I feel it was a path which really chose me and I have felt that it is an important part of my self learning journey.
Also I hope others will learn and see the importance of keeping these age old arts alive, for the benefit of the arts themselves also I see the importance that the history and knowledge of these arts are kept alive as they give great awareness of ones mental and physical wellbeing.
This is also a good opportunity to thank my teachers for their help and knowledge and show appreciation of their love of Gong Fu.

I first joined the Southern Academy of Martial Arts when I was 18 in which my brother Wesley who was my twin had been training there for around 6 months prior. We both strived for the spiritual awareness and Kung Fu skills and as soon as we stepped foot in the school in which our Master Stephen Cox founded, we both knew this would be our second home and our new found love and Wing Chun journey began.
It was so sad and unfortunate that only a couple of years past when my much loved and respected twin brother, Wesley, was in a road traffic incident in 2001, in which he devastatingly lost his life, since then I have made it my life's goal to carry on learning and training in which Wes first started and carry on his dream and ambition, I suppose I have tried to live my life in his name and his spirit.
For a long time I was understandably sad with the loss of Wesley, also angry and desperate, and if not for the Kung Fu training….I do not know where I would be or who I would be today, so I thank you brother for giving me a path to focus on when your path changed that fateful day.

Since jumping down the un-ending rabbit hole of knowledge, I have learnt that the world of martial arts and the human mind and body is more complex and harder to master than first predicted,I have tried hard to learn classical or old styles of Kung Fu, to first help in learning deeper meanings of Wing Chun and its roots, and to master myself, I found that to learn classics such as Tai Chi and Ba Gua, are extremely important and fundamental in teaching a more complex yet adept way in which to master lets say…..ones self!

I studied the Wing Chun system for Ten years before I gained my first Dan, this included the 3 empty hand forms, Sil Lim Tao, Chum Kiu and Biu Ji, the Butterfly swords, Dragon Pole and Wooden Man Form (Muk Yan Jong) from Master Stephen Cox, if it wasn't for Stephen for finding his teacher Robin J Gardiner and learning this system and his dedication to opening a school, I probably would not have ever learnt at all so I am forever thankful for his guidance then and now for him helping me start my journey. At that time Master Robin J Gardiner student of Master William Cheung, student of Grand Master Yip Man, whom Stephen Cox learnt from, would conduct lectures and seminars in which a small group of us would attend, in which Robin would teach Old Classics such as Tai Chi, Five Animal Chi Gong, Ba Duan Jin and Xing Yi to install deeper understanding to the martial arts movements and mind awareness.
Stephens lessons where focused on street fighting and strategies whilst using the original Wing Chun system, and grounding work and forms where also a big part of his teachings. 

In 2016 I was privileged to become Robin's private student in the arts of Ba Gua and I soon learned that there would be no end to the progression of oneself through the teachings of Kung Fu and I will be eternal greatful for his help along my journey, Ba Gua is an extremely intrinsic style and difficult to master and will give the practitioner freedom to move in circular spiralling dynamics which are continuous and tenacious, with a deep internal awareness of the mind, breath, muscles and tendons as well as a deep understanding of the primordial and conscious spirit and the natural flowing body and Zen like mind, with naturally strong structures within the body  and deep rooting yet un-fixed movements.
Again I am truly thankful for Robin's artistic teachings and guidance of the classical martial arts in which he spent decades researching and practicing. 

I was lucky enough also back 2012 to spend some time in China a great friend Justin Woods and I travelled to Dengfeng after spending time in Beijing, in which (in Dengfeng) we met Hu Zhengsheng Master of Xingyiba and Shaolin Gong Fu, in which he taught us the Xiou Hung Quan form,  this was a great insight to traditional Shaolin fighting arts, we met some very inspiring young students also, whom had great strength skills from their training and hopefully we get a chance to go back one day, I still practice the form and teach it in my kids kung fu lessons.

Since 2016 Ive the pleasure to study Chen style Tai Chi from Master Xuelong Li who studied in Northen China, Xuelong was taught by well known Masters and his skills in Tai Chi are second to none and I enjoy the new challenges he offers and so do thank him for his teachings. Tai Chi is an extremely difficult system to learn also, but its principles and philosophy have a foundation which teach the practitioner every inch of their body and mind, it really does take a lifetime to master, as does Ba Gua, Wing Chun and any other style I guess, there is no end to the learning of oneself along the journey.

My main goal is to attain an awareness of which the historical Masters had, a sense of oneness, a sense of peace, an understanding of oneself and I aim to understand the roots of Gong Fu and pass on the wisdom these styles have to offer.
The importance of self preservation is also an extremely important factor when it comes to Gong Fu and is just as, if not more important than the fighting part, it has given me strength, flexibility and agility in which I aim to progress each day.

I welcome anyone of all ages and backgrounds to the school and hope to create a family of likeminded martial artists.