Naomi Lee is the founder of the concept of “Kung Fu Zen” she is the manager and retreat organiser at Kung Fu Zen Garden retreat. Naomi is fluent in both Chinese and English and has assisted Kung Fu masters to communicate with overseas practitioners since 1998. Naomi is a passionate Kung Fu enthusiast and an expert on travel in China. She has been involved with inbound tourism in China for over 15 years and so has a lot of experience aiding foreign visitors in travel around China, communication and trip planning. Naomi has been researching and practising Kung Fu for many years with Kung Fu masters and enjoys experiencing the true nature of traditional Chinese Kung Fu. She also practices Zen in her daily life and meditates regularly. Her expertise in Kung Fu philosophy means she has a deep understanding of the balance, harmony and nature of Kung Fu and Zen. With this understanding, she recognised the importance to bring together traditional Chinese Kung Fu with Zen and dedicated her life to fuse both these elements of traditional China together.
Xingxi was born in 1980 in Hubei Province. At the age of 16 his passion for Kung Fu drove him to travel all around China, searching for the right Master. In 1998, he found his teacher - the honourable Master Shi Dejian（释德建）. Master Shi Dejian accepted Xingxi as a secular disciple, quickly standing out and becoming Shifu’s most trusted student. From 1998 to 2007 Xingxi studied under his master at San Huang Zhai monastery. By the end of his ten years at San Huang Zhai, Xingxi had understood and absorbed the three major strands of Shaolin culture known as “Chan Wu Yi”: Chan’ Buddhism, Kung Fu, and Traditional Medicine. Xingxi left the monastery in 2008 and now looks to integrate traditional Kung Fu into modern combat competitions to demonstrate the value of the origins of Chinese Kung Fu.
Zhang Weifeng was born in a martial arts family, his father Zhang Xun Hua (Taoist name Si Yong) is the last descendant of Guo Gaoyi(郭高一) who was a great master of Wu Dang Doaist monastery. From a young age, Zhang Weifeng learned kung fu from his father. He is proficient in many kung fu styles including bagua,xingyi, Wudang sword etc. His father recommended him to the Taoist ancestor region in Hubei province to study Wudang Taichi, and Wudang Daoism among others. He learned and practised hard in the Wudang mountains for more than 7 years. He then turned to the Shaolin temple to learn traditional Kung Fu under the Wu Gulun lineage of Shaolin. In 2011, Mr Wangqi took him as his disciple and intensively taught him the Sanhuang Paochui(三皇炮捶) as well as traditional combat skills and Taichi Tuishou. That same year, he joined the Beijing Wushu association and from there was invited to teach traditional Kung fu in Beijing. In 2014, Zhang Weifeng was invited to Holland by the Holland Wushu Association to teach traditional Chinese Kung Fu. During this period, he was invited to be a referee in International Martial arts Competitions. Since October 2010 he has received many gold medals and championships for various Kung Fu styles.
Paul Wang, a learned master, is now teaching meditation, ‘internal’ calligraphy and mindfulness Tai Chi at the live Zen centre in Beijing. He is fluent in Chinese and English and also teaches traditional Chinese Philosophy on international programs at Capital Normal University and the Institute of Education. Paul has taught international students for over 10 years and his areas of expertise include the principal classics of Confucius and Laozi, and the three disciples of Buddhist meditation: South-East Asian Buddhism, Chinese Zen Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. Through his studies he has developed a set of practical methods on meditation by combining these three systems. His teachings include, Zen coaching, individual philosophical teaching and applying Zen practise to daily life.
