Whanganui kung fu black belts return

Whanganui's Matt Deihl and Annette Croot at Shuang Qing Zhu Lin Si Vihara temple Penang as part of a kung fu trip to Japan and Malaysia.

Whanganui black belt instructors Matt Deihl and Annette Croot have recently returned from Japan and Malaysia where they spent a couple of weeks both teaching and learning the art of Shaolin Kung Fu.

The pair from from Whanganui Kungfu Nam Pai Chuan joined 21 other New Zealand instructors who flew out on July 28th.

The first stop was the Siong Lim Temple in Singapore to pay respects to a former abbot, their Kung Fu Ancestor Shi Gao Can. They then travelled to a sister school in Wakayama Japan and assisted with training and grading students.

The group then headed to Penang in Malaysia where they joined another 40 students from around the world to take part in a six day training session with their Great Grandmaster Tai Sigung Lai and his most senior instructors.

This consisted of two, two-hour and one three-hour training sessions. The intensive training started at 7am and finished at 6pm.

"We were training seven hours a day for six days," Deihl said.

"It's pretty intense doing training in 35 degree temperatures and 90 per cent humidity. It was pretty full on and pretty much non-stop.

"Four of the training sessions were with Taekwondo Grandmaster Leow Cheng Koon which was a great privilege to have him share his time and knowledge with us as he is selective with who he teaches these days."

Deihl said he learned a lot over the week.

"It definitely makes you aware of your capabilities, you're just pushing your body to it's limits, he said.

"It's Shaolin Kung Fu which is the base of everything that martial arts these days. It dates back 2000 years."

Deihl said anyone interested in a free Shaolin Kung Fu trial class can find contact details at www.shaolinkungfu.co.nz.