INTERVIEW WITH DR. YANG JWING-MING

Dr. Yang has been involved in Chinese Kung Fu since 1961. He has taught for more than 40 years: 7 years in Taiwan, 5 years at Purdue University, 2 years in Houston, and 26 years in Boston. He has taught seminars all around the world, sharing his knowledge of Chinese martial arts and Qigong. As a child, Yang Jwing-Ming learned much patience and endurance, growing up in Taiwan during the post World War II era. He came from a family of 9 children, and his family often went without food for days. Despite such hardships, he became one of the few students in his high school to attend college. He earned his B.S. in Physics from Tamkang University and his M.S. in Physics from National Taiwan University. In 1974, he moved to America to pursue a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, which he earned in 1978. Dr. Yang began training martial arts at the age of 15 under his White Crane master, Grandmaster Gseng, Gin-Gsao. After suffering a chronic ulcer for some time, Dr. Yang also began to study Tai Chi under Grandmaster Kao, Tao. From practicing Tai Chi and Qigong, Dr. Yang was able to make a full recovery from his ulcer. During his time at Tamkang College, Dr. Yang began to also train Long Fist under Grandmaster Li, Mao-Ching. Dr. Yang gave up his engineering career to dedicate his life to preserving the arts and educating the people about Chinese culture. Since 1982, he has systematically driven and developed an international martial arts organization of 55 schools in 18 different countries. Today, there are thousands of students worldwide in Yang's Martial Arts Association (YMAA). Dr. Yang has also written over 30 books. He founded YMAA Publications Center in 1984 to publish his extensive knowledge of martial arts and Eastern culture. YMAA Publications has since become a pioneer and leading standard in the martial arts community worldwide. It has published over 80 videos and 60 books.