Late 1969 Robert's parents migrated to Europe-Germany where he was introduced to Karate; The Way of the Open Hand' under Sensei Arno. The school was close to his workplace and as he was new to the country, he did not have any friends, which allowed Robert to train almost every day. Although new to Germany, Roberts father was half German and thus obtained citizenship. This in turn caused Robert to be conscripted into the German Army in 1971.

Basic training was relatively easy and even better, he was assigned to a Tank Division. As his German was still not very good he was given the job of being the Captains Driver (rather than being a Tank Driver or a Tank Jaeger). This had several advantages including the special weapons training and other benefits.

About 4 months into his service, whilst doing his usual evening workout, a combination of Judo & Karate, in the company's recreation & gym hall (there was not much else to do on the base) he met Lt Hans Herman.

His first chance at international competitions, in a pan European Titles held in Amsterdam in 1974, did not go well. In the 4th eliminations round, he KO'ed his opponent with a technique he learned from Lt Hans and was disqualified. Still in those days that was an 'honorable' result and for a first timer. (One of the schools 2nd Degrees came first and another came third.)

He continued to train with the full contact squad and in 1975 was promoted to Brown 2 and competed in the European Championships in Italy. This time he came second in the full contact open Black Belt division without disqualification or incident. Some 6 to 7 of the Black belt full contact competitors were sent to hospital on the day with injuries ranging from broken ribs, concussion to bent/broken fingers, dislocated arms and sever bleeding. It was a hard competition.

1976 was a very special year in three ways

1. Robert Z successfully graded as Black Belt in late May
2. He won the European Championships; it was one of the toughest competitions ever as he had to spar against two of his (senior) team mates and fight a 6 foot 4 inch (tall and wide) Greek Black belt. He TKO'ed the big Greek with a roundhouse to the floating ribs to be the winner of the 1976 European Championships .
3. He started Electronics Engineering as an adult student

It was also a sad year as Sense's Arno died in a car accident in France later that year. This was to have consequences.

After the death of Sensei Arno the club dissolved. Robert wanted to continue training, especially as the next Karate Championships were to be held in his home town of Hamburg; but at that time, another karate club was not an option. Although he did not know it at the time, at age of 24 he was getting a bit adverse to all the black eyes, broken/bloodied noses, pain, etc. He was looking for something gentler and was considering going back to Judo and finishing his Black Belt. It was a good friend of his that asked him to come along to train the new and very little know art of Aikido.

It was to be another auspicious time for Robert. He meet Sensei 2nd Dan, Christine of "The Way of the Wind" Aikido and started training his third style. He met his wife Dagmar celebrating his 23 birthday (married 89 months later on 25/2/1976) and quick his Trucking job and started his Electronic Engineering Degree.

It was quite a challenging time with a lot of changes. From being a truck driver to being a student; from bachelor to married from hard Karate to the soft Aikido. It wasn't easy and for a period of 4 years, studying, getting used to married life, on a very tight budget and Aikido.

It took 6 months before Robert & Dagmar were settled in Australia. Robert always being on the heavy side (now 115kg) needed to get back into some type of physical training or martial arts. Going back to karate was not an option. and the falling and rolling of Aikido and Judo (not to mention the Lt) had taken it's toll on Robert's back! Something different was needed!

He visited many different schools and styles over a very short period of time and meet many excellent instructors and masters. It was though the Golden Lion Kung Fu, Tai Chi & Wu Shu Academy under Senior Master Dai Sifu Pi-er, Master Sifu Charles and Master Sifu Richard Tsui-Po that really was inspirational. For the next 9 years Robert trained up to 7 days a week, up to 3 times a day.

e trained so often that life was just Work, Train, Eat and Sleep; so much so that his wife & partner of 5 years, Dagmar joined the Golden Lion 1984 to be with him. They were both inspired by this art of 'kung fu' so much so that for a period of 7 years Robert training in excess of 15 classes kung fu a week (beginner, intermediate, advanced and Black Sash). Dagmar on the other hand started sharing her time between kung fu and tai chi.

1989 was also the year of Roberts Black Sash grading. Even though it was to be his 3rd Black Sash it seemed as if it were to be his first. Now aged 36 he was a bit aware of his age compared to most others. His partner Craig with whom Robert trained often in weaponry and demonstration events was also to be graded. Fortunately Craig was also a 'Kung Fu Nut' who trained almost every day and then some. They often went to Murrumbeena Park after Saturday and Sunday Training to work on their routines and in 89 in preparation for their Black Sash's. There was a good interaction in Murrumbeena Park. Many people came to the park to walking and running the round, there was enough room for Cricket, Football and other sports. There were always many people around and some people would stop and watch us training. Some of these were martial artists and we asked them to joined in and train with us. Some did but many didn't and there was a sharing of training information. Some just sat on the bench and watched.

In 1989, whilst training by himself in the Park, a small oriental gentleman stopped and watched (he may have been there before at previous training Saturdays or Sundays but unnoticed). This in itself was not unusual; what was unusual about this person was that he stayed the full 2 hours and watched. The next Sunday (which now were usually without Craig who had a new girl friend and could not train as often) the oriental gentleman was back, sitting on the same spot. Whilst Robert was practicing the Iron Wire form (a hard isometric form), the gentleman started to chuckle. Robert felt a bit annoyed at this but what to do. The quiet chuckling continued until the man shook his head, walked over and adjusted my Robert's leg and foot positioning. This was very unusual!

He introduced himself as Hushiu (phonetic spelling) who unfortunately spoke very, very little English. He was quite an animated, interesting gentleman of some 160cm, 60+ years and enormous strength. Robert himself was around 125kg and this gentleman, half his size, seemed of equal strength. Over the coming few months Master Hushiu was a regular participant and teacher at these Sunday 'arvo' sessions. The communication was mainly Master Hushiu laughing and then adjusting some aspect of Robert's techniques; at times very frustrating but there was a difference. It is in these sessions that Robert Z learned to appreciate the detail that he did not learn to appreciate before.

This informal training continued for a period of 6 months with some exceptions until one Sunday. Master Hushiu came with a small boy who introduced himself as 'the nephew'. Steven was his English name. He explained that Master Hushiu was 87 years old, was Chinese and now lived in Taiwan where he was the founder and head of over a dozen different schools although he was no longer active. The schools were run by his sons and nephews. I was not able to find out what the style was that Master Hushiu taught except that it was a combination of "Shaolin Long Fist, Chi Kung and Tai Chi/Baqua". That day, Master Hushiu came to say goodbye as he was leaving to go back home the following Monday. They would not see each other again.

From this time onwards though, Robert made it a habit to train, at least once a week, with a different style. With some he stayed only for a few months with some he stayed for a while. The most memorable of these were;

The time from 1987 to 1991 was also a time of many Demos and Shows. The Golden Lion Academy participated and a number of Moomba parades, in between play events at the MCG, Street and Council Festivals, Chinese New Year Lion Dancing and Shopping Center promotional's. 1991 was also the year Robert was awarded the Student of the Year and the year of his second 'encounter'.

The Golden Lion Demo and Show team with which Robert & Craig were members, were performing at a street demo at the Glenhuntly Road festival. It was really a street demo by Glenhuntly RS, dodging trams whilst demonstrating in the middle of the street. At the end of the day, when all was packed up and everyone was ready to go he was approached by an oriental gentleman. Robert referred the gentleman to Master Richard, but the gentleman declined and wanted to speak to him. He identified himself in excellent English as Master Kin-nu the third son of Grand Master . . . . . of the Wind Element Tornado or Whirlwind Kung Fu style.

He said that he had observed Robert carefully, when he performed a form of Robert's own design (for the purpose of demos and competitions) based on the Northern Long Fist. Master Kin-nu observed that some of the form bore a striking resemblance to his family style. Robert mentioned that he did not know of the style. Master Kin-nu suggested that he and Robert might meet in a nearby park for a tea some time.

Two meetings and 3 pots of green tea later Master Kin-nu suggested to show Robert Z some aspects of his style including whirling fists, the windmill, and a few other techniques, moves and stepping. Much of what Robert saw he knew and h ad learned at the Golden Lion but what Master Kin-nu showed and explained was slightly different. Master Kin-nu explained some essentials of his family style that Robert h ad not ever seen or even considered before. This started a process that was to be the end of Robert time with the Golden Lion.

It seems that Master Kun-nu's family left China around the 1920's taking their style, Whirling Fists of . . . ., Thunder Stepping and Undulating Palm with them. This style of Kung Fu h ad been in their family exclusively for many generations. Master Kin-nu taught his style now only to two of his family members; which was his way of continuing his training of the family style. As he was visiting Australia he basically needed a victim; and this was a good thing. We continued to meet in various parks for a further 3 months, once a week on Sunday mornings. They were tough session in which Robert was also introduced to the principles of Undulating Palms, Thunder Stepping and of course Whirlwind Style/Fist Kung Fu, Heavy Foot, Water Palm, Tornado Kick, Whipping Branch hands, the Lightning Front Kick, Ape Hand & Feet Techniques and many others (Master Kun-nu enjoyed 'descriptive names' for techniques); although nothing was allowed to be noted down or recorded (Robert was into Video'ing). The requirement was honored by Robert and to this day none of these items have been recorded only passed along in training verbally

It was one Sunday after training Master Kin-nu invited Robert to Yum-Cha at the Gold Leaf restaurant in Glenhuntly Road. There he told him that that was their last session session. He was returning home. The announcement coming out of the blue, Robert sought to thank Master Kin-nu for the training but Master Kin-nu replied that it was his honor and pleasure to do so; (which Robert had not quite understood at the time). Then slightly grinning, suggested that otherwise he would have been very bored, when the rest of his family went to Sunday worship!

Golden Lion Kung Fu was extremely interesting but the encounter with the two masters and other aspects in his life (professional & personal including the death of his father) made him a difficult person at that time. Robert's father died in May 1990, Robert changed jobs and around this time, he was finishing his 3rd Engineering Degree and there were other professional and personal issues. He was getting restless and unruly. Robert's restlessness was causing some problems at the Lion and neither Robert nor the masters at the Golden Lion new how to deal with this problem.

In November 1991 he was asked to come in and see Dai Sifu Pi-er. After a short talk that was a bit frustrating, Dai Sifu, suggested that Robert take a 3 month break from training. He was devastated and felt very rejected; which is to say he did not take this well. His fathers death, the first in the family and now this rejection was a bit too much to bear at the one time. Where he expected a bit of help and understanding came 'fix it yourself'. This was not quite what he expected from his 'master'. He never returned to train with the Golden Lion; although after a while he did understand the circumstances.

Around that time too, Robert qualified his third Associate Diploma and moved from Engineering to become an Executive in his work.

His new office was in a brand new city building, one with great Gym and Aerobic Facilities. Here Robert started a few private students. Sourced mainly through his work at Telstra, a few 'high flyers' were training with him regularly at lunchtime. After leaving the GL, Robert started taking regular private classes and groups also in the evening. At this time he had a wide cross section of persons training with him, many of which were also Black Belts in other styles. Most notable were 2 Tae Kwan Do'ists. There footwork was fantastic but Kung Fu had a greater variety of kicks and they were interested in learning these. It was a good experience to teach a Kicking Stylists kicking but it was also a learning experience.

Whilst reading a Chinese book of poem's, Robert and Dagmar came across the term Liang-I (Yi). It was explained as the proper name for what we now term Yin & Yang. "The two ancient, ever opposing, ever complimenting forces" The symbolism for this was the Dragon & Phoenix (sometimes depicted as a fancy rooster). Robert & Dagmar were not yet quite ancient, but definitely ever opposing and ever complimenting; this was the inspiration for the founding of Liang-I Shaolin Kung Fu on 24 June 1992. Robert had just moved on from being a Network Engineer/Manager to an Training & Development Executive/Manager. Yet, he knew enough to start his WEB page fairly soon. He hired a WEB developer who established their first WEB page but . . . it was NQR (Not Quite Right). Also the term Liang-I was a bit obtuse for people and if you entered Liang-I into a WEB page you were actually entering Liang 'minus the I" as a minus in front of something means exclude all results that have this from the search! So, the Liang-I was dropped from the name and we became just Shaolin Kung Fu. There is more to this but enough for now.

Since this time, Shaolin Kung Fu or now Shaolin Academy has had many success including over 20 Australian Championships, over 50 State Titles, and many other awards and recognitions. Yet one of the greatest experiences came about when touring China!

The Beijing Kung Fu and Wushu school, a full time Secondary and Martial Art school put on a full show just for us. We were greatly honored by the Head Master, who organized his National Demonstration Team show; quite impressive; 30 kids in unison and then seniors demonstration and Weaponry. Then we were invited to demonstrate. We only wanted to train with them and did not expect this. It was nerve racking.

We had students from beginner level to Black Sash and included our 3 senior Blacks and one exceptional 'almost' black. There was quite a ripple through the crowd as we demonstrated. There was a great deal of applause and even exclamations. Especially when our 4 seniors demonstrated. It was atypical for the Chinese to show so much enthusiasm; we didn't know it at the time but this would have consequences for us.

It seems that a lot of these schools in China are connected. When we reached Henan-Shaolin Temple Training School, We were greatly honored. The Chief Shaolin Temple School Trainer Sher Se Gung himself trained the team exclusively. He even took time out to show Robert some interesting Chin Na techniques, privately and just the two of them. It seems that the impression our demo had made with the Beijing school had somehow been conveyed to the Shaolin Temple Training School (and later even to Australia).

When the team arrived in Xi'an, we were invited to the Xi'an Kung Fu and Wushu school. Much like the first school, this was a full time school with students at primary & secondary school levels that schooled 6 days a week in the morning in (for us) normal school and spend 2pm to 5pm in Wushu Training to achieve their High School Diploma. Here we were greeted by the Head of the school personally. He showed us around, introduced us to various seniors and teachers. There was also a demonstration organized, but this time a bit more ad hoc. It seems that they were more interested in our demonstration. So on we went.

There were a number of 'special guests' in attendance during our demo and a lot of the students gathered around. Again they started with polite applause when our beginner students demonstrated but became fairly excited when our 4 seniors demonstrated. After the demo there was a bit of interaction between the instructors and senior students after which we were invited for a tea.

There were now 14 person at the table; 8 SKA members including Sijo, 2 interpreters, School Principle, Deputy, Secretary and an older gentleman. We were introduced, for the first time, to China's National Deputy for Wushu. It seems that he was originally one of the key person in the organization of Wushu in China, but now being in his high 70's has passed the day-to-day management to a 'younger lot'. The schools interpreter explained that he came by Aeroplane from Beijing just to see us after the Beijing School head had informed him about us. They were in awe and humbled.

There were also many other success along the way for Master Z's. The Shaolin Kung Fu WEB page receives between 1000 and 5000 visitors a week. The most popular pages are the Shaolin History and Weapons History pages with the former being referenced by the Encyclopedia Britannica for additional reading on Shaolin.

Sijo's students regularly win in tournaments and competitions although they are not specifically trained for it (a student should be able to adapt to any situation and make the best of it rather than focusing on beating others). There are well over 1500 Shaolin Kung Fu students in 63 different countries around the world including China & Japan. He is planning to open a full time center in 08 or 09 and continue to teach until he is well into his 80's. Currently his home of over 20 years is being renovated to raise the funds to do this.

Master Robert Z is in no rush though. Anything worth doing is worth doing well and taking time. Often the journey is more enjoyable and satisfying than the final end product.

If you would like to comment on any of the above, ask clarifying questions or some such; click on the icon below and send an e-mail to the Shaolin Kung Fu Academy info mail or Sijo Robert Z!

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