Shifu Visits the Dominican Republic For the First Time
On July 27 Sifu Shi Yan Ming arrived at the beautiful Caribbean island of Hispañola, where he was warmly greeted by Dominicans who had come to experience his philosophy and training. The purpose of Shifu’s trip was to bring the authentic Shaolin philosophy or martial arts to the DR for the first time by leading a seminar and speaking at events.
It was the first time that Shifu visited the DR, and during the trip was interviewed by a variety of personalities from the sports world as well as government officials. After a day of rest Wednesday, Shifu began his tour Thursday with an afternoon visit with the Sports Minister of the Dominican Republic, Mr. Felipe Payano, who said he was honored to receive such an interesting individual for the first time in his country. At the meeting, Shifu’s disciple and the organizer of the event, Shi Heng Hui, described to the minister what Shifu would be bringing in both physical and spiritual philosophy to the country. Mr. Payano was fascinated and very interested in Shaolin philosophy and its health benefits, and the effect of such events in the sports world of the Dominican Republic.
On Friday, a press conference was held at the Hotel Ambassador that was attended by the media, representatives of martial arts schools, and the seminar attendees. Shifu discussed Shaolin philosophy and history, and answered several questions from the audience. The event was followed by a cocktail reception for the seminar attendees, and had an appearance from the Olympic Committee Chairman of the Dominican Republic.
It was finally time for the seminar on Saturday. The class started the morning at 10 AM with lessons in Qigong for an hour and a half, followed by Taiji Quan and a small break to eat at noon. After lunch, Shifu lead the attendees through basic kung fu stretches, stances, and kicks, focusing on the integral stances gongbu and mabu.
Finally Shifu spent half an hour to talk about Chan philosophy, its scope and views of life, which was followed immediately followed by a presentation of certificates and group photo. The seminar was attended by about 70 people. Shifu urged everyone to continue practicing and improving their technique as well as contribute to the project have an official branch of the USA Shaolin Temple in the Dominican Republic, which we look forward to having in the near future.