Hello,
Let me introduce myself.
My name is Stephan and I’m from the Netherlands, 45 years of age, married, 2 children. I’ve been interested in Gong Fu and China since I was a teenager. There weren’t a lot of Gong Fu teachers in the Netherlands back then so I tried a couple different martial arts and stuck with Taekwondo and Taiji Quan the longest.
A couple of years ago after getting into one physical injury after another and going into a deep burnout from work, I decided it was time to do things differently. I wanted to go to Wudang to train there. It so happened to coincide with the Corona period, which made it hard to travel there. So I looked for something authentic closer to home, and found Shifu Ziji (Michael). I’ve trained with him in Vienna and later near Wildon in Styria, Austria. The training helped my body a lot, and since then I haven’t had any physical injuries. There are periods where I practice daily and there are periods where other things demand a lot of attention, but through it all my mind always stays with the training I have had from Michael. I hope to return to train with him more.
I specifically like Taiji Quan practice. I find it makes me feel very relaxed and the deep stances strengthen my legs a lot. Certain movements make my hands and sometimes body tingle, a very interesting feeling.
Anyway, it will be nice to be part of this community.