Chief instructor of the school of Chinese martial arts
Sifu Mark Stapleton
I first got involved in martial arts in my primary school in Pretoria, South Africa. I was 7 years of age. I joined what I later found out was a karate school. I'm still unsure of what style of karate it was as I was very young and didn’t stay for that long.
We moved around a lot and I continued to try train by myself, but I didn’t receive formal training again until I was about 11 or 12, this was in Reading, Berkshire, UK. Class was held in the instructors back garden. I was told it was a Shao-lin style. Training involved lots of joint-locking and basic punching and kicking techniques.
I also had friends that practiced boxing, kickboxing, and Thai boxing. So, I got to play around a lot with them and develop new ideas. At the age of fourteen or fifteen I started studying under sensei Tommy Thomson in Kawaishi-ryu ju-jitsu. This was back in South Africa (I moved around a lot) and was the start of my serious training, which would change my life forever.
I trained at his dojo, which was in his garage for about two years. At that time I had a very good friend who was studying in one of Yang Jwing Ming's association schools in Pretoria and we used to get together a few times a week to practice. We were also training for the British Paratrooper Army selection, but that’s another story. My friend sparked my interest in the Chinese martial arts again.
I was friendly with a guy in school who was from Hong Kong and who said he'd learned some form of kung-fu from his uncle and father. He taught me for a short period and then his father, sifu Wong, continued my training. I learned Shao-lin long fist and some northern praying mantis.
Later I joined a club in Johannesburg that taught Shao-lin kung-fu. Training was mainly in the Hong style (red fist). Most people will know it by the forms xiao hong quan and da hong quan. I was also introduced to the Chinese sport fighting scene and studied many weapons as well as Yang style taijiquan. I trained there until I was 19 and then decided that I needed to travel and train outside of South Africa.
My travels took me first to UK, then to USA and then to Ireland. But I was unable to find what I was looking for.I continued to train by myself until I made contact with sifu Derek Frearson, who runs the International Taijiquan & Shaolin Wushu Association. I began training with him in January of 2000 and learned seven star praying mantis, wing chun, Yang style taijiquan, and qigong. He introduced me to his instructors and I have trained with them on my trips to Hong Kong and Foshan in the People's Republic of China. These instructors include sifu Ou Rong Ju with whom in 2008 I began training eagle claw kung-fu with him. I also trained in Wing Chun with sifu Lun Kai and with sifu Lee Kam Wing from whom I have learned seven star praying mantis.
In 2008 I also studied a Chin Woo form of tam tui kung-fu under sifu Ye Zi Zhu.
I've also studied with sifu James McNeil, who taught me xingyiquan, Chen taijiquan, iron hand training methods, little nine heaven wu tao, and tzu men quan,qi gong and meditation.
During the past ten years I have been fortunate to also train with many of my kung-fu brothers and friends and learned something of the styles they study.
Since 2008 I have been a student of yiliquan kung-fu founder sifu Phillip Starr.I have made numerous trips to USA over the last few years to train with sifu Starr and have hosted him each year so he can teach my own students, and also to hold seminars around Ireland and UK, so others may benifit from his methods and teachings.
I try my best to set the standards in my club by my own training, I never ask off my students something i have not or cannot do myself.
I feel it is important i teach the true spirit of martial arts by my actions, and not just by my mouth.
In recent years I have opted for a more pragmatic approach to martial arts,
I have noticed a trend in the Asian martial arts, especially in the chinese neijia for people to intellectualize everything and to use all the fancy chinese terminology to make you think they are of a high level, instructor's and students just name drop, "I know this master or that master"!! And in most cases those with titles like master and lineage holder bla bla are normally the worst in skill- i now have the philosophy "DONT TELL ME SHOW ME"
In teaching i feel it is the skill of high level instructor to be able to explain and demonstrate everything he/she teaches so it is easy to understand.It is only those instructors that don't truly understand what they are teaching that explain it in mystical terms, if the student leaves the class more confused than when they came in, it is not a sign that your training is of a really high level and standard. It is a sign that your teaching is of a very low level !!
Mark is the Chief European Instructor of the Yiliquan Martial Arts Association.
Mr Stapleton is also a qualified Chinese Medicine Practitioner (lic.T.C.M) and a qualified kettlebell instructor and one of the co- founders and chief instructors of “Kilkenny kettlebell club” , Mark along with his kettlebell training partner are the Irish & UK coach's for the European Girevoy Sports Association (EGSA) Mark is also a head coach of the Irish kettlebell team.
Mark and Eddie his trainig partner are first irish atheletes to ever represent Ireland at the World Kettlebell Championships in Milan,Italy 2010.They are currently the highest ranked Kettlebell athletes and coaches in Ireland both holding contender to Master Of Sports (CMS) ranks.
some photos over the last few years
some older photos
some photo of Mark when he was really young
