Martial Arts Oxford by Xue Zhang Who Am I?

So who am I? By now, you may be wondering just who I am and what I train in. My name is Xue Zhang and I have been training since I was 5. I was born in Shrewsbury, UK, though I am originally from Taiwan. My first instructor was my father, who taught me and my brother, Zhe many different styles of Chinese Gong Fu / Wu Shu (Chinese Gong Fu is the umbrella term for over 500 styles in China). Over the years, I have learnt many styles (and not just forms!) such as the animal styles and Chinese grappling to name a few. People misconstrue a style for a form. A form is simply a guideline to the move-set within a style. I have learnt many Chinese styles under different people, though primarily through my father, who I continue to train with. I also train regularly with my brothers, Fei, An, Yi and Zhe Zhang.

In addition to this, I trained in Wado Ryu Karate at the age of 7 under Jerome Hamilton and Russell Baker, of which I am grateful to. Jerome Hamilton, an instructor of 13 years, taught me different styles such as Hapkido, Shorinji Kempo, Jiu Jitsu as well as various weapons. Whilst it is important to retain traditional values, flexibility must be introduced; a style will have its strengths and weaknesses and therefore, another style may offer a solution to the former's weakness, thus not only improving oneself, but also taking Martial Arts forwards. This style will then become your style; one you will be able to pass on some day. It's the practitioner and not so much the style, but rather how s/he utilises the style(s) s/he knows. My aim is to help my students become the best they can be through the objectives of giving them an understanding of the Martial Arts, human kinetics, psychology and contextual application. It doesn't matter what styles people have done, there is always room for improvement. The Martial Arts transcend gender, age and race; if you train hard for it, you will succeed.

In 2010, I held 2 large self defense workshops in Oxford with my instructor, Jerome Hamilton. Both of which were very successful:

In addition to this, I am guest instructor at numerous institutes, the main one being Amitoufu Oxford: www.Amitoufu-Oxford.co.uk. I've done work for the media before, such as doing videos for the BBC as well as performing at occasions such as Chinese New Year as well as student and cultural events.

If you are interested in training under me or have any questions, send me an email at: xue@martialarts-oxford.co.uk