Hillingdon Kung Fu

Reminder - there is no class on Thursday, 2nd April as the hall floor is being replaced.
The class on Thursday, 9th April will be in Room 1.

London Grading
February 2026

Happy Chinese New Year from Shaolin Nam Pai Chuan!

As we step into the cycle of the Fire Horse this Lunar New Year, we are invited to embody a spirit of fearless forward motion and purposeful transformation. In our Shaolin tradition, true progress is never accidental – it is forged through disciplined effort, tested through challenge, and refined through self-reflection. The Horse represents strength, endurance, and the will to move without hesitation. Fire magnifies this with passion, clarity, and the courage to act. Together, they call us not to reckless intensity, but to directed power – a year to train harder, commit deeper, and move with conviction toward who we are becoming.

Happy New Year.
Classes resume on Tuesday, 6th January.
All are welcome.

Cho Si Weekend Course
London
November 2025

This weekend is our annual remembrance training course and Cho Si dinner, in which Nam Pai Chuan students gather to train together for a couple of days, and to remember past teachers who helped preserve this great art for us, and future generations. See you Saturday!

London Grading
October 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

FAILURE

A word that echoes with finality.
But in truth – it’s anything but the end.
In Nam Pai Chuan, it’s not uncommon for students to fail a grading.
And rightly so.
Testing exists to uphold the standard of the art.
A test that guarantees success is no test at all.
Some students arrive confident, yet falter under pressure.
Others hesitate, unsure they’re ready – until they’re urged forward and rise.
Pass or fail – what matters most is what follows.
To earn a black belt in Nam Pai Chuan is not a triumph alone.
It is a burden. A responsibility.
Perhaps heavier than failure itself.
In today’s world, especially among the young, failure is often softened, shielded, avoided.
But life does not offer such protection.
Anyone who walks a meaningful path will stumble.
And stumble again.
Yet in time, we come to see those moments not as setbacks,
but as sharpening stones – grinding us into something stronger.
The most inspiring individuals have failed more than they’ve succeeded.
And that is precisely why they inspire.
So aim to win.
But do not fear the fall.
Invest in every loss.
Forge indomitable spirit.
Become a force no failure can break.

Discipline doesn't take holidays.