Tag: Honors
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Curtis Wong | 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award
Curtis Wong revolutionized the martial arts media landscape by taking a monumental chance when the rich world of Chinese martial arts remained largely invisible. While existing publications heavily favored Japanese and Korean systems, Wong saw a massive void. Operating out of his garage alongside his brother Doug, friends, and students, he founded Inside Kung Fu…
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Eddie Torres | 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award
Sifu Eddie Torres was a student and assistant instructor under Grandmaster Ark Yuey Wong at the Wong Ark Yuey Kung Fu Academy of Los Angeles which enabled him to carry on the authentic teaching of the Five Family/Five Animals Style. In addition to learning the Five Family System, he also learned Chinese herbal medicine and…
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Lohan School of Shaolin | 2026 President’s Award
The Lohan School of Shaolin is a traditional martial arts school located in Las Vegas, Nevada. They teach the external systems of Northern Shaolin, Five family/ Five Animal style and Tai Chi Tong Long Praying Mantis. As well as the internal styles of Yang & Chen Tai chi, Hsing Yi, and Ba Gua. In 1994,…
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Sing-May Chen | 2026 Leadership Award
Sifu Sing-May Chen is from Foshan, China, a designated “Hometown of Martial Arts” (武術之鄉). She first began her Tai Chi training at age 19, studying Yang Style under Grandmaster Zeng Qun and Grandmaster Ou Rongju. Active in the Los Angeles Tai Chi community since 2005, Sifu Chen has trained under Sifu Russell Qiu and Master…
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Daniel Mah | 2026 Rising Star Award
Daniel Mah began his martial arts journey in 2003 under the guidance of Sifu Manuel Marquez at the Shaolin Temple Kung Fu School in Lomita, California. As an American born Chinese, kung fu became more than a physical discipline — it was a bridge to his cultural heritage, a way to connect with traditions that…
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Jason Tsou | 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award
Taiwan-born Sifu Jason Tsou began his martial arts training at eleven in 1960. He has studied Northern kung fu styles with many top masters, including Great Master Liu Yun Chiao and Grand Master Chang Dong-Sheng. He is featured in the Chinese government publication Who’s Who of Chinese Martial Arts and has been highlighted in numerous…
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Steven Baugh | (Posthumous) 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award
Born in East Los Angeles in 1953, Steven Baugh’s life was a testament to the power of martial arts as a path to strength, discipline, and spiritual growth. From an early age, growing up in the tough neighborhoods of South L.A., Steven sought a way to defend himself but found something far greater. Living near…
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Gordon Erquiza | 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award
Sifu Gordon Erquiza became a student of Grandmaster Bucksam Kong when he was 18 years of age in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was also a part of Bucksam Kong’s Siu Lum Pai Gung Fu Association lion dance team in 1991. He had since maintained a lifelong affiliation with Grandmaster Kong from 1973 until his untimely passing…
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Shum Leung 岑亮 | 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award
Sifu Shum started studying kung fu and tai chi at the age of eight until he was sixteen with Ng Wai Nung, his godfather, who had a school in Kowloon. When Ng Wai Nung was asked to teach Eagle Claw in Singapore for three years, Sifu Shum and his training brother, Shum Man Lock, were…
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Viet Le | 2025 Rising Star Award
Viet Le was born in Torrance, CA and spent most of his formative years in Southern California. He started his martial arts training at the age of 7 in Northern Shaolin and Northern Praying Mantis under Shifu Clyde King III, who was an instructor under Shifu Duke Cheng of Buena Park, CA. While in college…
Traditional Chinese Martial Arts Federation 