About Us
We started our classes teaching young children helping to bring out the best of each young individual. Our classes are run in a friendly social environment and we encourage our students to work together as a group to help assist each other. There is no place for ego among friends and we discourage those who harbor such thoughts. After a few persuasive chats we've now managed to involve many if not all the parents to join their kids in the classes.
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We pride ourselves in our quest for self excellence and we endeavor to use the same ideals when we teach students. We understand that everyone is different and each will progress in their own ways and at their own speeds. Our role is to make sure we help our students to learn new skills and develop those skills to the best of their abilities.
STRETCHING
Stretching forms a part of the warm up process, not only to avoid injury but to also improve flexibility. With better flexibility students will be able to take their training to a higher level.
SPARRING
With sparring training students will learn to hone their skills in combat, improve reaction and overcome their weaknesses.
TRADITIONAL FORMWORK
The essence of our system is contained within our formwork. Within them lie the generations of refinement and knowledge for which lay the foundations for our system.
WEAPONRY
The system teaches many traditional chinese weapons. The staff is the first weapon most students will learn and is recognised as the foundation of weapons trainnig - Sabre, straight sword, spear, three section staff, small knife, buttefly swords are but a few of the many weapons we teach.
CHI GUNG
Or 氣功 in chinese, is the combination of controlled breathing along with posturing of the body and specific movements that when combined is widely used in the assistance of meditation, spiritual training and martial arts.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
We recognise the importance of the practical side of the applications we teach.
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Instructors
SINCHI (Centre Instructor)
My life of Martial Arts started from when I first did Karate whilst still in Primary school. Coming from a time when orientals were frequently picked on at school and potentially on the street my mother felt it was important I knew self defence as well as improving my physical health.
After leaving karate I started training with a traditional school that taught lion dancing. Studying eventually became priority and a busy schedule combined with schools going from Monday to Saturdays meant I had little time left to train so I stopped doing any martial arts for a few years before eventually taking up Chu Gar Kwon for which I left after a couple of years leading up to 1996 when I took up Nam Pai Chuan.
One of the first students at the Chiswick branch of Nam Pai Chuan I've grown to not only love what I do but also see it as part of my life. After 20+ years of training with Nam Pai Chuan my interest has not diminished but instead expanded the more I delved into the art. Having been an assistant instructor at Chiswick for almost two decades now under the tutelage of Sifu Jerome De Silva and continuing to assist in my mother club, it was only a matter of time before I set off to start my own branch of the system.
​Currently a fourth degree black belt following my exam in 2017 it's become more important for me to now focus on passing the knowledge onto others and continue the age old tradition of ensuring the art continues for future generations.
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LADIO (Centre Instructor)
My interest for martial arts began at an early age. I was fascinated by the television exploits of Monkey, Cato, the 108 outlaws of The Water Margin, even Hong Kong Fuey captured my imagination! I didn’t realise it then but I was already hooked!
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At 16 I joined a Kyokushinkai Karate club which was a great experience. It helped me shape my personal preferences to the martial arts and gave me a taste of the actual training involved.
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A year later I found a local Shaolin Kung Fu school which spiked my interest and I quickly joined up. For me Kung Fu brought with it a rich tapestry of tradition accompanied with an immense subject matter to learn, I liked both the soft and hard variances of the style and although there were no gradings, the syllabus was exciting to learn. I trained there for four years.
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Following the premature closure of the school I ventured into Kickboxing, training under former World Champion Marty Cox for several years and competed locally. I quickly learned that there was nowhere to hide in the ring! This was a purely fight orientated approach to training and the teaching was geared towards competition which was immensely enjoyable.
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Fast forward 20 years, I was out of shape, in my mid 40s, and bored of trying to get fit and failing. I realised I needed to push myself outside of my regular activities and searched high and low for a good club and found Shaolin Nam Pai Chuan in Chiswick.
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Under the excellent guidance of Sifu Jerome De Silva and many of the senior students, I have learned so much. Martial arts transfers into your daily life if absorbed with passion and your learning curve becomes limitless. Progression requires the cultivation of mindset and this comes with many hours of practice and time.
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I’ve now been training in the system for 7 years and can honestly say I am in a state of constant learning. My passion over time has not diminished as the art is both challenging and engaging. For me the toughest tests have been psychological and I have found a lot of obstacles to overcome along the way, some more surprising than others. This system has a great sense of family, where everybody supports each other through good times and bad. Every individual is encouraged to step beyond their comfort zone to achieve their personal goals.
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I hope to continue my journey for many years to come and help others on theirs as best I can.
KRISTIN (Centre Instructor)
I currently work as a nurse therapist specialising in assessment and treatment of child and adolescent with mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions. With permission, I set up a Nam Pai Chuan young people’s class at Aquilla Health Club South Kensington in 2012 for those aged 5-17 years of age and has also run self-defence workshops for adolescent girls.
My journey in Kung Fu started whilst embarking on nurse training at the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery KCL, under the direction of Sifu Steven Leppard. Kristin has also benefitted from Sifu De Silva and Sigung Lai’s guidance successfully participating in a national qingda fighting competition winning a gold medal in her weight category.
Prior to Kung Fu I had six years practice experience in Iyengar and Ashtanga yoga giving me a foundation in meditation, body alignment, posture and dynamic movement. However, the training of internal energies left me wanting in the external projection and practical applications to changing life circumstances.
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As a lone parent before, it was my duty to secure my own safety and for the well-being of my young family at home. In particular, whilst commuting through inner city areas at night after shifts on acute psychiatric hospital wards. Training in Nam Pai Chuan classes ensured the fulfilment of the physical fitness, flexibility, conditioning and self-defence needs as well as supporting my affinity towards meditative practice.
Embedded in my instruction is a strengths approach towards the teaching of young people, building on what works well for their individual body, fostering both physical and mental resilience and nurturing the development of their self efficacy. Other interests also include mindfulness practices and concentration training for children and adolescents.
BABAK (Centre Instructor)
My life in Nam Pai Chuan started back in 2009 when I did my first class taught by Sifu Sinchi at Putney.
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I have done previous training to this in my younger days and found this style to my liking hence I've remained a diligent student since that first class.
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Knowing and feeling the benefits of kung fu I ensured my son took part as well and to my delight he found his footing and has since imprived steadily over time.
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After nearly a decade of training I achieved my first goal of obtaining my first black belt, a first of hopefully will be my many achievements as I continue to learn and grow with the system.