My name is Shao. Friends from training gave me this name when I was 18 and ever since everybody started calling me Shao. I'd appreciate it if you address me this way.
I was born on the 26th of August 1987, in Romania. I grew up in my home village, Rediu, until I was 8. At the age of 8 my parents decided to send me to study in Iași, a big University/Industrial City 70km away from my home.
I finished school and then I went to do a Bachelors and a Masters Degree in Political Sciences at "Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi". That is how I had the occasion to participate in an Erasmus Internship for 3 months in Amsterdam at "European Youth For Action". After I have finished my University studies I have decided to move to Amsterdam and to dedicate my energy to my real passion - martial arts.
I have first started practicing martial arts at the age of 9 and then continued on a regular basis from 14 years old until today. I have been training in different disciplines and have practiced other sports as well, besides martial arts - Rugby, Parkour & FreeRunning. I have studied Qwan Qi Do, Vovinam Viet Vo Dao, Karate, Ninjutsu, Capoeira, Kobudo, Kick Boxing, Boxing, Tai Chi, Muay Thai and Shaolin Kung Fu. I have learned from many different schools and many different masters, but the ones who influenced me the most and whom I will always remember with great joy are Shaolin 34th Generation Warrior Monks Shifu Yan Lei & Shifu YanTi.
Due to my personal experiences I have found Shaolin Kung Fu to be the martial art of my choice, a training way that suits me the best. I love its natural flow of movement. To me, in Shaolin, everything makes sense. It feels as if my body was built for it. It is such a complex martial art that it takes care of all the details of our mind and body. It gives me confidence in myself and in it I have found a great medical tool that can help me be my own doctor and my own therapist. It helps me calm down, see things more clearly and keep going through life when everything seems to be falling apart. I could still use, sometimes, the help of a doctor (I personally prefer acupuncture), but this training can greatly compliment their efforts to help me.
Initially, my motivation was to learn how to defend myself. Having grown up mostly alone, I had no one to look after me. I was very skinny, weak and constantly being bullied as a kid. I was being bullied even at home, by my own family. I was fortunate enough to have a very beautiful natural environment as a kid and a very adventurous childhood, but at the same time I also had to go through situations that were far overwhelming for me at that age and which affected me greatly on the long run, in both bad and good ways.
Later on, my motivation shifted to learning how to heal myself and make my body stronger, so I can enjoy life and have the energy to look after myself and after others. After I first moved to Amsterdam, everything changed. All of a sudden, I was even more alone than before, having left friends and family behind. I was unfortunate enough to experience certain injuries and antibiotic infections right after moving and that endangered my physical and mental health, as well as my material situation, for several years to come.
Today, my motivation has changed. While I still train for self-defense and good health, I am way more interested than ever before in having a calm mind and peace in my life. I am more healthy, I am stronger and I have finally started to reach my dream of becoming a Martial Arts Teacher. In 2017, I became the Shaolin Kung Fu Champion of The Netherlands with the help of my great friend and training partner Ronald Saarloos from Shaolin Centrum Haarlem, who has always helped me and supported me along my Shaolin Journey.
For many years, I have been training completely on my own, alone, in the parks of Amsterdam - ErasmusPark, RembrandtPark, VondelPark. That is where I have started teaching. People found out about my classes, mainly via Facebook. I love training outdoors - this is the healthiest environment in which we can train... I could talk endlessly about this topic and about the amazing benefits we get from training in nature. Unfortunately, the weather in Amsterdam does not always allow us to enjoy its beautiful nature and parks. We can train indoors when the weather is too challenging, and during spring, summer and autumn, we will continue training outdoors at least once a week.
I personally train outdoors all year round. For at least 4 years, I have spent 99% of my training time outside, regardless of the weather conditions. I used to only go to a Gym on special occasions, once in a while. At the moment, I train myself at least once a week outdoors. It is very important for our Immune System to stay in touch with the climatic changes.
I , just like everybody else, am just a simple human being. I am studying and I am learning. I make mistakes and then I try better. Most important for me is to not give up on myself and on my dreams and not let myself stay down when things in life are not going as expected. I had to battle my own vices, weaknesses, anger, frustration, depression, post traumatic stress disorder, disappointment, failure, abandonment, homelessness, injuries, sickness and so on, and I may not be the best example on how to deal with these issues. But, this is one of the reasons I love Shaolin Culture so much because it empowers us to be our own teachers. I may not be able to help others overcome these issues, but I can give you the tools that help me overcome such problems and I hope they will serve you well!
Peace Love,
Shao,
