GRANDMASTER PAN QING FU'S STORY
One of the most accomplished secular Chinese Martial Artists of all time, Grandmaster Pan was born in the 1930s in Shandong, China. He trained from the age of 8 and quickly began winning national championships in China. From 1953-1958 he won first place in all national tournaments held in forms, weapons and full-contact fighting. He was consistently the National Champion in his age class.
His training took place all across China with 15 famous Shifus including, Deng Gengli, Huang Xiaoxia one of the five tigers of Nanquan, Master Yu Boqian and so on. Along with learning these many styles of fighting, Pan became famous for his “Iron Fist” training, where he strengthened his fist by pounding an iron plate up to 10,000 times per day. He continued this for the rest of his life.
He became the senior chief coach of many provincial Kung Fu teams and brought them to fist place standings. Later, he taught at the Beijing Physical Education University and also taught the Chinese Police, Army and the Special Forces in hand-to-hand combat and bayonet fighting techniques. He continued to teach at the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau and the Chinese People's Liberation Army Military Academy for many years.
During this time, China’s Cultural Revolution was taking place. Guns for the police were outlawed and criminals armed with traditional weapons were a serious threat to the unarmed officers. The police in Shenyang hired Grandmaster Pan as a freelance enforcer to assist in capturing Triad gang members. He would be brought to a location and sent in alone to fight and apprehend the gang members there. In all, he captured over 30 gang members and brought them to police.
In the early 80s director Zhang Yinyan began filming the now famous “Shaolin Temple” movie starring Jet Li. He invited real Martial Arts Masters to participate and act in the Movie, such as Yu Hai (Jet Li’s Master in the movie), Yu Cheng Hui (The main villain) and Grandmaster Pan Qing Fu. Pan played the 2nd villain and was also the Chief Fighting Choreographer, in charge of all the main weapons and hand-to-hand fight scenes. He later had roles in the movies “Kids from Shaolin”, “Iron and Silk”, “Talons of the Eagle” and others. A number of documentaries in China and the United States featured Pan, including “Secrets of the Warrior’s Power”, filmed for the Discovery Channel.
He also led many delegations throughout the world to promote and showcase Chinese Kung Fu, through Europe, the South Pacific, Singapore etc.
After years of service through Kung Fu to China, the government granted him an exit visa to settle in a western country to help spread Chinese Kung Fu and his unique teachings. He settled in Canada and taught in Kitchener, Ontario for the rest of his life, with trips throughout Canada, the U.S. and around the world to teach specialized seminars.