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Martial
Arts Biography
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Stefan H.
Verstappen is a writer, world
traveler, and martial artist.
He has worked as a
street youth worker, a wilderness
out-tripper, and a first aid
instructor for St John's ambulance.
Stefan first studied
Tae Kwon Do but after two
years changed styles to study
the grandfather of martial arts,
Kung Fu.
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He attended both the I-Chun Mun
and Hong Luck Kung Fu
clubs in Toronto's Old Chinatown. It was
through his fellow Chinese students and the
time spend in Chinatown that Stefan became
interested in Chinese culture.
 -
Verstappen, posing with
Butterfly Knives at Master
Chan's, Hong Kong 1985
 - Verstappen
learning the staff from master
Tsai Jen Ryu, Taipei, 1989
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In 1985, Verstappen
traveled to Hong Kong to study under
renowned grandmaster Chan Hon Chung
(1909-91). Master Chan was one of
the last of the great Hung Gar
Masters that had trained at
Lam Sai
Wing's famous Kung Fu
Academy in Hong Hong's old Wan Chai
district. Lam Sai Wing was in turn
the pupil of China's most famous
Kung Fu Hero,
Wong Fei
Hong, the subject of
over one hundred Chinese movies and
television shows.
- Master Chan,
1986
In '87 Verstappen
moved to Taipei and studied the 18
Lohan style under
Tsai Jen Ryu.
Master Tsai was the former team
captain of the Taiwan Kuo Shou
Demonstration team and is famous for
his Chi Kung and weapon's routines.
Stefan has also
traveled to Korea, Mainland China,
and Thailand where he met a Karen
Shaman in the Golden Triangle which
he chronicled in his article; The Shamanic
Origins of Tai Chi
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Upon returning to
Canada, Stefan began teaching Kung Fu at the
Bolton Community Center where one of his
first students was a blind woman. This
experience led him to write
Blind Zen, the first book
ever written on teaching the blind martial
arts and self defense.
Verstappen
continues to teach martial arts and is a
regular contributor to Black Belt
and Inside Kung Fu magazines.
Verstappen published
his first book, The Thirty-Six Strategies
of Ancient China in
'99.
Watch videos of
Stefan's Kung Fu teachers filmed in China
here: Videos
 Teaching
Experience
97-2000 Head
Instructor, PenDragon School of the Martial
Arts
92-97 Head Instructor, Samurai Club
91-92 Kung Fu Instructor, Phoenix Martial
Arts
Training History
92-94 Tai Chi,
Master James Chen , Toronto
91-94 Combat Jujitsu, Sensei Moni Aizik,
Samurai Club, Toronto
88-91 18 Lohan, Master Tsai Jen Ryu, Taipei
87-88 Hung Gar, Master Chan Hon Chung, Hong
Kong
83-84, Do Pai, Hong Luck
Kung Fu, Chinatown, Toronto
82-85, Hung Gar, I-Chuan Mun Kung Fu School,
Chinatown, Toronto
80-82 Tae Kwon Do, Cheung’s Tae Kwon Do
Academy, Toronto
You can
e-mail Stefan with questions and comments to
sverstappen@yahoo.com
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