18 Luohan Qigong & Taiji Jian with Shifu Gregg Zilb ~ April 5th 2025
Shifu Gregg Zilb (left) guides Yolanda Stafford (right) in a two-person sword exercise.
Saturday April 5th 2025, we were joined by my Shīgōng 師公 (martial grandfather) Gregg Zilb of Authentic Shaolin Kung Fu.
Shīgōng Gregg visited last year and taught us the first part of the 18 Luohan Qigong 十八罗汉气功 (Shíbā Luóhàn Qìgōng) and the Combined 42 Movement Taiji Jian. This year, along with his wife Shīmǔ 師母 Rachel, he reviewed the Taiji sword form with us, taught us the next part of the 18 Luohan Qigong, and also taught us the beginning of the Eight Elixirs Qigong 八丹气功 (Bā Dān Qìgōng).
It was a privilege to have three generations of our Kung Fu family training together. I was proud of my students for learning THREE forms in one seminar, as seminar learning is a skill in and of itself that needs training and development.
I am so grateful to Shigong Gregg and Simu Rachel for making the trip from New York, as well as my teacher Shīfù 師父 Gary of New England Kung Fu, his wife Simo Mary Beth, and my elder martial sister Shifu Cheyenne for making the trip to Maynard so that we could all share Kung Fu together.
Thank you especially to the following students who attended the seminar:
Silas Barton (The Center)
Sihing 師兄 Clayton Burke (The Center)
Jo Gao 助教 Cameron Christie (New England Kung Fu)
Megan France-Peterson (Metrowest Kung Fu)
Irene Gruber (Metrowest Kung Fu)
Jo Gao 助教 Cassie Johnson (Metrowest Kung Fu)
Shawn Klingener (Metrowest Kung Fu)
Meagan Maccholz (New England Kung Fu)
Kaitlin Shaughnessy (Metrowest Kung Fu)
Jo Gao 助教 Grey Shea (Metrowest Kung Fu)
Jo Gao 助教 Kevin Sheppard (Metrowest Kung Fu)
Laoshi 老师 Kevin Simpson (New England Kung Fu)
Yolanda “Pi” Stafford (Metrowest Kung Fu)
Jo Gao 助教 Jasper Weeks (Metrowest Kung Fu)
Jo Gao 助教 Ana Zink (New England Kung Fu)
Jo Gao 助教 Erich Zink (New England Kung Fu)
Laoshi 老师 Joncarlo Zink (New England Kung Fu)
Photographs by Hannah R. Barry of Iris Leaf Photography are available on our Facebook and SmugMug pages.
— Shifu Eliot