Notting Hill Kung Fu School, Kensington Primary Academy, London (2026)

22/02/2026

Congratulations to everyone who rose to the challenge today. Examinations demand courage, concentration, and a willingness to grow – and each of you showed up with that spirit. Your instructors will receive examiner feedback and results soon.

Thank you to the black belts who gave their time, energy, and helped make the day run smoothly.

22/02/2026

London Grading
February 2026

15/12/2025

Like the Snake in the grass, true strength lies in quiet preparation.

03/12/2025

Cho Si Weekend Course
November 2025

28/09/2025

ONLY FOR A WHILE

Dear Gensui,

Be kind to others.

It does not cost you anything.

Compassion in the right place is a virtue to be admired and emulated.

Be happy.

We do not look for good tidings each moment of our lives.

Our lives are not for our self-aggrandisement nor for our sole pleasure.

Looking always only unto ourselves, we become selfish, self-engrossed and undignified. Sad, and small people.

Protect those less able than us.

We study a lethal martial art but that does not make us barbarians or mindless beings – quite the opposite.

To know lethality is to understand the virtue of its absence in daily life.

For…

Remember, we are only here for a short while, let us make that while meaningful and fruitful both for all humanity, as well as for ourselves.

Sifu Lai
September 2025

04/09/2025

GENSUI

Dear Gensui (those who follow),

In every Martial Art which has its origins in the Far East, the quality of fortitude and courage in adversity is always prized…

It is the same for those of us in the Shaolin Gaocan Mun.

Indeed, our System emblem – the "Ren" symbol means "endurance and the ability to absorb suffering and continue without complaint".

This precept arises from the ancient traditional and oriental understanding which is the opposite of what most people in the West believe.

In the West (particularly those brought up in the Christian or Abrahamic religious format), it is commonplace for people to believe that they exist in this world merely to enjoy themselves and be happy.

With respect, I consider that to be quite naive, and when we live our lives we often discover that that is far from the TRUTH.

In all things, the TRUTH is critical.

The absence of truth makes a nonsense of any conclusions that we may arrive at with unsound facts.

The oriental belief in this aspect of things often tends to be a more pragmatic and sombre understanding that we exist and come into this form of existence – TO LEARN.

If we live our lives and learn nothing then we are merely useless organisms swimming aimlessly in an alien world.

To live well, we should endeavour to learn every day and to keep our minds open and without assumptions.

To do this, we must maintain positivity because negativity and self-ego are the two main enemies of self-awareness.

As Shaolin practitioners, we must always remain aware that the body is a mere tool – an envelope to be used for our Mind and Spirit to function in this existence.

Thus, a martial art based only upon the body – is destined to be a weak one, because it has ignored and left out the TWO most important aspects of our Being – THE MIND and the SPIRIT – each of which gives us the tools of self-reflection, honesty, submission, humility and mindfulness.

When we are young and virile, all things of the body seem easy and we are full of our own beauty and capability.

As we age (as we all must) we become aware that the mind rules all – we feel the ebbing of our energy and physical power.

Those of us who are weak succumb and give in to it and feel sorry for ourselves.

Those with SHAOLIN FORTITUDE and a sense of REN (Yun), will fight to remedy this by substituting mindful strategy in place of physical prowess.

Those of us who do this, are mindful of our diet, sleep pattern and the way we live our lives. Many of us meditate.

That, my GENSUIE, is the SHAOLIN GAOCAN MUN WAY.

Always in Shaolin,

Sifu Lai
September 2025