Volunteering

Volunteer Testimony

Hi, I’m Breeze (pictured on the right - top photo). I am a traveller who stopped by the temple in November 2025. I had wanted to learn Shaolin Kung Fu for a while, but I really wanted my introduction to martial arts to be an authentic experience. As someone who has downsized my life to enjoy the freedom of living in my ute, I had the luxury of seeing all of Australia as an option to find the authentic experience I was searching for. After extensive online research, I found Shaolin Temple Australia - the only Shaolin Kung Fu school in Australia that as been officially recognised by the Songshan Shaolin Temple in Henan, China. Realising this had to be the most authentic Shaolin experience I could possibly find in Australia, I decided to stop by on my travels up the east coast.

At this stage I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, as their original website was slightly underdeveloped, and I had originally planned to just stop by for the day, and continue on my way, hopefully receiving some wisdom and information on how best to develop my practice while travelling. I arrived on a Saturday morning, and soon after I was invited to join the meditation session. I had arrived mid-session so I quietly snuck in while most people had their eyes closed, when the session ended and everyone began to notice a stranger in their presence, I found myself on the receiving end of lots of curiosity and kindness. Everyone invited me to join the Qi Gong session following the meditation - which I found invigorating as the Qi circulated throughout my body - and then I was offered a delicious lunch which was blessed with harmonious ceremony.

I could really feel the kindness and warmth in the air, and in a short space of time I had already been made to feel like part of the family! I wanted to help out whichever way I could, assisting with cleaning out the store room and the alleyway behind the building, going on a trip to fetch supplies and helping out in the kitchen. Later in the day I was invited to join the tea session, where I was introduced to lots of tasty Chinese snacks and delicious tea from a cup that seemed to magically refill every time I turned around! At this point I’d realised that I didn’t really need to be at my next destination for another week, and this experience felt far too special to just pass on by after one day.

Being that I had set up my ute to be fully self sufficient and all I needed was a place to park up for the night, Shifu Yan Chang was very gracious in allowing me to park at the temple and stay here for the week, so I could continue volunteering and training Kung Fu.

I had my first Kung Fu session that night and I absolutely loved it! It was a full body workout, but beyond that, I felt that the practice was exercising parts of my brain I hadn’t used in a long time! Within a week, my flexibility has improved substantially, my body feels stronger and my brain feels capable of so much more! I have really enjoyed the practice of learning the stick form, in both the mental aspect of it with memorising the steps, and the physical aspect of connecting with my body as it flows through the movements. Shifu Yan Ming is a great teacher with very impressive skills! Training under his tutelage is exactly the authentic experience I was searching for, I would highly recommend training here to anyone looking to deepen their practice in Shaolin Kung Fu, from beginner to advanced.

If you’re yet to visit the Shaolin Temple Australia, I really recommend you come on in and experience this incredibly life enriching experience for yourself. I’m really glad I stopped by and volunteered here, I know you will be too, and the team would absolutely love to welcome you as part of the Shaolin Temple family!