Zou Jia Xiang
Praying Mantis Shifu
The information presented in this chart was collected from different sources -see Bibliography-, therefore the romanizations in Pinyin according to the Mandarin pronunciation of the characters sometimes is not available. If you find any mistakes or inaccuracies please contact me.
Also known as :
Jason Tsou.
Shifu Zou Jia Xiang was born in Taiwan, Republic of China, in 1949. At the age of eleven, shifu Zou Jia Xiang began his martial arts training in the Northern gong fu style of Mei Hua Quan (a form of Chang Quan - Long Fist) under shifu Wu Ti Pang.
Later, shifu Zou Jia Xiang was student of shifu Su Yu Zhang (Northern Mantis) and also was student of shifu Liu Yun Qiao in Taipei (Taiwan) at the Wu Tang Martial Arts Developement Center. Shifu Zou Jia Xiang also studied Suai Jiao under shifu Chang Jou Dong (the "Iron Butterfly").
In addition, shifu Zou Jia Xiang has studied various qi gong systems and Traditional Chinese Medicine as part of his martial arts training from many different masters:
* 18 Lo Han, 12 Meridian, & 5 Element qi gong - Dr. Su Yu-Zhang
* Pa Kua chi kung and Pa Chi chi kung - Shifu Liu Yun Qiao
* Southern Hong Jia Qi gong - Shifu Deng Kuo-Hua
* Tai Ji Qi Gong - Shifu Yang Bao-Chien
* Tai Ji Twelve-Brocade Qi gung - Shifu Chang Yi-Cheng
* Tibetan Qi Gong - Shifu Liu Chen-Chun
* Acupressure (Tui Na) - Shifu Yu Ta-Fong
* Acupuncture and Heavenly Circuit - Shifu Chang Wu-Chien
* Acupuncture, Herbs, and Heavenly Circuit - Dr. Su Yu Zhang.
After winning the singles championship at the 1971 national kung fu tournament held in Taipei and serving as the chief martial arts instructor for the Taiwan Air Force, Fourth Division, shifu Zou Jia Xiang relocated to the United States to study chemistry at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth in 1974. While a student, he founded the university's gong fu club and was invited as a guest instructor for the gong fu clubs at Harvard and MIT.
Shifu Zou Jia Xiang was later invited by the Massachusetts State Police to teach riot control techniques during a time of civil unrest. In 1977, Sifu Tsou moved to Los Angeles and cofounded the gong fu club at UCLA with shifu Frank Yeh.
Shortly thereafter, shifu Zou Jia Xiang opened a gong fu academy in San Gabriel Valley. He still lives in Los Angeles, California (USA) and keeps teaching gong fu and qi gong in that city.
Sifu Tsou has been featured in publications such as "The Complete Guide to Kung Fu Fighting Styles" and various magazines such as "Karate and Kung Fu Illustrated", "Black Belt", "Fighting Stars", "The Pakua Journal", "Tai Chi Magazine", and most recently in the article "4 Keys to Successful Application" of the October 2000 issue of Inside Kung-Fu.
Page Updated: 1st July 2004.
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Fernando Blanco Dopazo .