About Sifu Michael Thomas
Sifu Michael Thomas’ journey began at the age of 10 after seeing a neighborhood friend practicing kung fu outside.
Michael Thomas inquired and learned that the style of kung fu he was watching was Seven-Star Mantis.
He was hooked and immediately enrolled in the same school, in the lineage of the late Seven Star Grandmaster Lee Kam Wing.
Throughout the years, Michael Thomas would travel to Hong Kong to study directly from Grandmaster Lee Kam Wing.
Michael Thomas with Lee Kam Wing in Hong Kong
As a teenager, Michael Thomas absorbed as much kung fu from friends and classmates as he possibly could, learning Contemporary Wushu, Chen-style Taiji, Mantis-style kung fu, and Baguazhang.
Michael Thomas at 16
Living in Houston, Michael Thomas became a student of Sifu Jeff Bolt, himself a lifelong student of the renowned Grandmaster Dr. Yang Jwing Ming.
From Sifu Jeff Bolt, Michael would learn Northern Longfist (Shaolin), as well as White Crane Qigong and Chin na — all in the lineage of Grandmaster Dr. Yang Jwing Ming.
Jeff Bolt and Dr. Yang Jwing Ming
While living in Houston, Michael Thomas studied 8-Step Mantis style kung fu under Grandmaster Ernie Wu, founder of the Wu Martial Arts Association and host of the annual World Star Chinese Martial Arts Competition.
Michael Thomas in Houston
During his time at Sifu Jeff Bolt’s school, Michael Thomas met Sifu Nick Gracenin, a friend of Sifu Jeff Bolt. It was through Sifu Nick Gracenin that Michael Thomas would be introduced to the internationally renowned Wushu Grandmaster Madame Wang Jurong.
Michael Thomas immediately became a lifelong student, studying Contemporary Wushu and Yang-style Taijiquan.
Michael Thomas with Grandmaster Madame Wang Jurong, and various other Sifus
After relocating to Victoria and attending Victoria College, Michael Thomas met Sifu Li Xianda, a university student from Taiwan and well-versed kung fu practitioner.
From Sifu Li Xianda, Michael Thomas would learn “the three essential southern styles” - Choy Lay Fut, Hung Ga, and Wing Chun.
About the same time, Michael Thomas met another university student from Tianjin, China, Sifu Wang Zhongan, who was not only an accomplished kung fu practitioner, but was also a Chinese opera performer.
From Sifu Wang, Michael Thomas learned a variety of obscure regional styles, such as Emeiquan.
Michael Thomas holding a Choy Lay Fut stance
In the early 1990’s, Michael Thomas met and became a lifelong student of internationally renowned Shaolin Sifu Roberto Baptista.
Sifu Roberto Baptista (3rd from left), with Sifu Li Zhongde (left) and Grandmaster Chen Guowei (2nd from left)
Image source: https://kungfuconnection.net/about/roberto-baptista/
In pursuit of as much kung fu knowledge, Michael Thomas would often travel to Japan, Hong Kong, and China.
While visiting family in Nanning, China, Michael Thomas was introduced to and was accepted as a student of Sifu Lao Wingdong, learning a unique regional variant of Southern White Crane.
Michael Thomas and Sifu Lao Wingdong - Bai Shi Li
Michael Thomas continued studying under Grandmaster Madame Wang Jurong at her school in Houston, until her death in 2005.
It was she who directed Michael Thomas to open his own school and pass on all the knowledge he had collected.
In 1998, Sifu Michael Thomas followed her command and opened his first school, Wudang Kung Fu in Victoria, TX.
He later renamed the school Zhonghua Wushu - “Martial Arts of the Chinese Culture” — emphasizing not a single particular style or lineage, but the collected kung fu knowledge that Sifu Michael Thomas had acquired throughout his years.
Through Zhonghua Wushu, Sifu Michael Thomas continues to honor Grandmaster Madame Wang Jurong’s wish that he preserve and promote the ancient martial arts of the Chinese culture.