Shaolin-Do Grandmasters
Grandmaster Su Kong Tai Djin
(1849-1928 A.D.)
Our lineage can be traced back to the Shaolin Temple in the Fukien Province before its destruction. Great Great Grandmaster Su Kong was born in China's Fujian province. He was born with a rare genetic disease called Hyperthricosis(resulting in excessive hair growth from head to toe). Believing he was possessed by demons, his parents abandoned him in the forest near the fukien temple. A passing monk rescued the newborn and presented him to the Shaolin Masters. The Masters found it impossible to find a family willing to adopt such a child, so they decided to raise him themselves. They named him Su Kong T'ai Djin. He was raised in the temple there, but traveled to all of the other Shaolin monasteries throughout his lifetime. He never lived outside of the Shaolin system and eventually became the Grandmaster of the Fukian temple. Grandmaster Su had a vast knowledge of Shaolin and mastered the art forms of all of the Shaolin temples in China. Along with other senior masters, he destroyed the Fukian temple before the government could do the same and retreated from society for the rest of his days. He was a legendary Shaolin master and is the founder of our system. His area of specialty was the most deadly of all arts, Tien Shieh Kung (death touch).
Grandmaster Ie Chang Ming
(1880-1976 A.D.)
Great grandmaster Ie Chang was a disciple of Grandmaster Su’s from an early age. Grandmaster Su passed all of his knowledge of the vast Shaolin system to Ie Chang Ming. This meant that Ie Chang Ming would be the new Grandmaster of the Shaolin order. He moved to Indonesia where he had to disguise the system in order to teach it. To avoid the loss of their own culture as a result of Chinese immigration, the Indonesian government made it illegal to teach Chinese arts. Grandmaster Ie added the Japanese sounding “DO” to the name of Shaolin. This essentially changed the name to “the way” of Shaolin. Great Grandmaster Ie Chang Ming was master of many arts, but his personal specialty was that of Tieh Sha Chang or Iron Palm.
Grandmaster Sin Kwang The
(1943-Current)
Grandmaster Sin began studying with Grandmaster Ie Chang at the age of seven. He studied eight hours a day, seven days a week until he was awarded the title of Grandmaster at the age of twenty-five, becoming the youngest Grandmaster on record in 1968. He left Indonesia and moved to Lexington Kentucky where he attended school and received a degree in mechanical engineering. He pursued a Master Degree in nuclear physics, but stopped to teach Shaolin-Do full time. Since then, he has taught full-time producing thousands of black belts, with many students having stayed with him for more than 30 years. Grandmaster Sin has one of the largest martial art schools in the nation.
For more information on Grandmaster Sin visit his website at: http://www.shaolingrandmaster.com.
Bill Leonard 9th Degree Black Belt
Lexington, Kentucky
Promoted in September 2011
Elder Master Bill Leonard is Grandmaster Sin The's oldest and most senior student.
for more information about Master Leonard and his school, click on his picture.
Joe Schaefer 7th Degree Black Belt
Austin, Texas
Promoted in September 2011
Master Schaefer has personally led over 200 students to black belt. Of those 200, almost 100 are still active and have reached as high as 4th degree black belt. Master Schaefer has been a student of Grandmaster Sin Kwang The' for over 20 years and is renowned for his special insights into the internal arts and his innovative teaching methods. On a visit to China in 1998, he won a challenge match against the 3-time Chinese national push hands champion at Chen village. In addition to his martial arts accomplishments, Master Schaefer holds a Ph.D. in Neurophysiology from the University of Texas at Austin and has taught meditation and chi kung as faculty member at the Academy of Oriental Medicine For more information about Master Joe and his schools, click on his picture.
Ryan Howard 4th Degree Black Belt
Sifu Ryan Howard is a dedicated student of Master Schaefer and the owner of the San Antonio Shaolin-Do schools.
For more information about Sifu Ryan Howard and his schools, click on his picture to visit his website at http://southtexaskungfu.com/
The Masters
For a more complete list of the masters within the Shaolin-Do system, click the picture above and visit the main website.
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