Club History
In 1974, Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong started the first overseas Wuzuquan School in the United Kingdom and appointed Master Han Jin Yuan (Han Kim Sen) Chief Instructor of the UK and Europe on the 15th August 1992.
The London Wuzuquan class began in Notting Hill, off the Portobello Road in London in a large hall owned by British Telecom by which Master Han was employed as part of the management team. Classes ran on Friday nights with additional classes on Sundays which later extended to more training at Grandmaster Han’s house outside in his garden in West Harrow.
Later in 1980, the UK school participated in the 4th Southeast Asian Sanshou Championship with one of Master Han’s students, Phillip Ennis won a gold medal in the middleweight category. Two years later in the 5th Southeast Asian Sanshou Championship held in Hong Kong, Linden Stephens won a silver medal for the heavyweight category. Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong was encouraged by the hard work and persistence the students showed making regular visits between 1976 to 1994.
Below is an overview of some of the occasions we were privileged to learn directly from Grandmaster Chee and Master Han and how through them it influenced the propagation of the ancient Shaolin arts of Wuzuquan and Wujiquan in the West.
1988
In 1988 Mr. Mark Sexton from Dublin, Ireland was in North Ealing, London when he came across a Wuzuquan class in progress at the Ealing Youth Judokwai. Through Mark, Master Han was introduced to his contemporaries in Ireland, who were looking for a Traditional Shaolin Martial Arts instructor. After several meetings and seminars, Master Han, invited them to become his students and in 1991 they formally began teaching Wuzuquan on his behalf in Dublin, Ireland.
1991
In 1991 Grandmaster Chee travelled to the United Kingdom to teach Dunkequan 遁搕拳 or the ‘Escaping Fist’ in the Ealing Youth Judokwai (EYJ) in North Ealing, London. Grandmaster Chee taught around twenty five of Master Han’s students the form and its practical applications.
1997
During 1997 Master Han invited Grandmaster Chee to travel to the UK to teach the Yao Shen Quan (搖身拳 Body Splitting Fist) to a group of around 25 students over several days.
2000
During 2000, Grandmaster Chee, Master Han and Master Yap Ching Hai along with students from the UK, Ireland and other representatives travelled to China to participate in the International Southern Shaolin Wuzuquan Friendship Association events and attend a celebration at a local school in Putian, Fujian.
2001
In 2001 after the passing of Grandmaster Chee, a delegation of UK & Ireland students accompanied Master Han to demonstrate at the Quanzhou Shaolin Temple and visit the Southern Shaolin Temple in Putian.
Post 2001
Grandmaster Han continued teaching and writing the ‘Fundamentals of Nanshaolin Wuzuquan’, volumes which he poured his heart and soul into for the next twenty two years. The books were written to suppliment exisiting instructors & senior instructors knowledge so they have a wider and deeper understanding of the art, it’s philosophy and historical context. In the following years, as well as continuing to represent the UK & Europe in China, Indonesia and the Philippines, Grandmaster Han received an honorary 10th duan, became the chairman of the Southern Shaolin Wuzuquan Friendship Association to add to his many outstanding achievements.
2023
Sadly in 2023 after decades of contributions to the propagation of Nanshaolin Wuzuquan, Grandmaster Han passed away in June 2023. A few months prior to this Grandmaster Han decided to appoint Chief Instructor Richard Timmis and Chief Instructor Nigel Gilham with a personal selection of Senior Instructors who had shown dedication and commitment to the school by giving them the task of formalising a school in his name. It is with this request from Grandmaster Han, we continue to teach Nanshaolin Wuzuquan / Wujiquan today.
