Shifu Chang Yukai, born in 1977 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is a 6th generation disciple of Gao Style of Cheng School Bagua Zhang and 7th generation disciple of Yang Style (Family) Taiji Chuan.
Shifu Chang Yukai, born in 1977 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is the 6th generation disciple of Gao Style of Cheng School Bagua Zhang and 7th generation disciple of Yang Style (Family) Taiji Chuan. As a youth, Shifu Chang developed an interest in Chinese Martial Arts (kung fu) through hhis father who instructed him in grappling techniques at a very young age.
With an early immersion in the culture of martial arts and a passion for learning, Shifu Chang decided in 1995 to take the entrance exam for admission to the Department of Chinese martial Arts at the Chinese Cultural University of Taiwan. After much hard work, Shifu Chang successfully completed the exam, ranking first in his class.
During the second semester of his freshman year, Shifu Chang represented his school in a national inter-university competition, where he had the opportunity to meet Grandmaster Zhang Shibo, the team coach at the time. This meeting inspired Shifu Chang to begin a new path on his journey, delving into the secrets of the Chinese internal and external martial arts. Because the realm of Chinese martial arts is so vast and diverse, Shifu Chang decided under the advisement of grandmaster Chang Shibo and his university, to focus his studies on Bagua, Xingyi, Taiji, Tongbei, and the Northern Shaolin fist and weapons forms. Meanwhile, Shifu Chang also participated in national competitions and won several titles in the Collegiate Division, placing first and second in the events of internal martial arts and Taiji push hands. Moreover, in the 1999 International Traditional Wushu and Modern Styles Tournament, he had also represented the country and won two Awards of Great Brilliance in Xingyi and Bagua Broadsword forms.
In 2001, Shifu Chang completed his graduate studies and obtained a master’s degree in Sport and Exercise Science with a concentration in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Concurrently, apart from collegiate academic publications, Shifu Chang had also begun publishing articles on the subject of Chinese martial arts for Taiwan Wu-Lin magazine, Taiwan’s most authoritative martial arts journal. Two years later in order to integrate and establish the famous grandmaster Sun Shao-Tang’s system of Northern Shaolin, Zha Quan, and Sun Bin Quan, Shifu Chang collaborated with grandmaster Zhang Shibo and authored 《Grandmaster Sun Shaotang’s Martial Arts Compilation,》 which has unveiled grandmaster Sun’s martial system to the world.
Under the direction of grandmaster Zhang Shibo, Shifu Chang continued to excel in his martial arts education, meanwhile learning the philosophy of passing down these traditions generation by generation. In his studies, Shifu Chang was taught grandmaster Pan Yue’s Pre-Birth Power, grandmaster Ho Shanfa’s Three Step Long Staff form, and master Ting Chingsun’s Yang Style (Family) Taiji. Once his teachers were satisfied that Shifu Chang had understood these martial arts in all aspects, after several years of practice, he became the First Disciple of grandmaster Zhang Shibo (other disciples include Nien Yuhsiang, Liu Junwei, and Tan Weifu).
In 2004, in order to further his studies, Shifu Chang left Taiwan for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA, to earn his Ph.D. in Sport and Exercise Psychology, focusing on the relationship between exercise, physical health, and mental health. In the following year, for the purpose of integrating, passing down, and promoting traditional Chinese martial arts and enhancing wellness and health by Chinese martial arts approach, Shifu Chang established Classical Chinese Kung Fu Association and was appointed as the chief instructor for Gao Style of Cheng School Bagua, Yang Style (Family) Taiji, Hebei Xingyi, Qi Family Tongbei, Northern Shaolin, and Three Step Long Staff Form.
In 2009, Shifu Chang received his Ph.D. degree and has served as professor at The Graduate Institute of Athletic and Coaching Science in National Taiwan Sport University, Taiwan.
