allowed them. I taught the four of them, but especially Jermaine, who put a lot of interest. But Michael, being very disciplined and fast, stood over his brothers and because of his natural coordination he was the best of them all..." Michael Jackson was not the only superstar in the music world to whom he has coached. Bob Dylan and his family also benefited from Master Yuen's knowledge: "Bob is great, he has good concentration and memory for Kung-Fu. He grabs the movements immediately because he is a genius. But his children need more discipline. I should have been there every day for they to really learn, but at that time I could only attend them once a week. The only way to make Carradine and Dylan improve significantly their Kung Fu would have been that I had opened a gym in Malibu; but at that time I lived in Torrance, which is further south. Anyway, the most difficult thing with Dylan was that he could find spare time so that we could train". Another Master Yuan's famous pupil was Chuck Norris, but this was long before the American colossus was known for his feature films. " His house was relatively close to my gym so he used to come visit me with a certain frequency, and that pleased me. At that time I was working on the Kung Fu series, so he wanted me to help him have a photo shoot with David Carradine. Chuck Norris wanted to achieve fame and star movies, so he thought this would serve to promote himself. Chuck is a great person, we have a lot of stories together... We met before he became famous." The master Yuen also shared his knowledge with Steven Seagal: "I had less relationship with him; in those days he was very young and he was basically interested in Japanese Martial Arts, although he was really interested in any eastern discipline including Oriental Medicine." Witness of a unique time at martial level, Master Yuen knows many aspects of the Martial Arts and has deep information about historical facts; he was the best student of Wong Jack Man, who challenged Bruce Lee. If he won that fight, "Little Dragon" had to stop teaching westerners... "Wong Jack Man didn't talk much about that combat; if he ever mentioned it he'd make some comment, but nothing else, it was nothing to brag about it... We had a relationship beyond pupil and master, we were very good friends; we wanted to do something good for the Kung Fu, though I was in New York and he was in San Francisco. Now about the challenge, it was not an impressive
fight, at that time Bruce Lee was not as good as he became later. That challenge or duel was not because of teaching westerners, as it has been said, but for criticizing the methods of Chinese traditionalists teachings, very strict and closed; not the way he thought it was right. A proof of everything I'm saying is that I was choreographer for the series Kung Fu and I never had any problem showing Kung Fu to westerner people." Kam Yuen was not present at the challenge; however, he always remained close to his master and friend... "Bruce Lee gave his life to do that in which he believed, he had to make tough decisions to get where he got and I deeply respect this fact. While he was alive I didn't pay him much attention, i.e., he was doing his thing, his Martial Arts, and I was doing mine. We knew each other because a relative of mine was good friends with him, and so we met on some occasions; however, for respect to my friend and master Wong Jack Man, I avoided dealing with him; I kept my distance. It was after his death that he became famous and I began to appreciate what he had done for the Martial Arts and Kung Fu. It may seem odd, but sometimes I feel I connect with the spirit of Bruce Lee and his ideas, but not only with him, also with those of his followers and admirers. Some people think that if he was alive, he'd be probably doing what I do..." By a coincidence of destiny, Kam Yuen worked and helped spread the Kung Fu and Martial Arts in the West. The series was based on the original idea of Bruce Lee. Later, Master Yuen helped materialize Bruce's ill-fated project "The silent flute" and finally, he was the first "step" in the film career of Bruce's eldest son: "It's not that Brandon trained only with me, I simply was the choreographer in the pilot episode of the second installment and I had to arrange his fight scenes. Actually, his fighting instructor was Dan Inosanto. For Brandon, Martial Arts meant something very different than they were for his father. He was not so serious and dedicated in his training as was Bruce Lee. He was a very nice young man who had started Martial Arts and later he wanted to dedicate completely to interpreting and get as far as possible with his career as an actor. Martial Arts were not a priority in his life." Having reached the top at a martial level, Master Yuen decides to leave everything and devote himself entirely to the method of Chinese Energetic Medicine.
"This way of looking at things is a way to change them like never before has it been possible doing! You make changes quickly ... for example, when you train, changes come slowly and you have to make them faster." On what is based the Chinese Energetic Medicine method? Why has it so many fans around the world? What makes it different from others? "It is based on the universal law, not in the spiritual part, but in the physical, because it is generally assumed that the spiritual level is above the physical, but it is not so. I direct the energy they have to the weakness they suffer, in order to be aware of which is and so reinforce it. The result is instantaneous. I've been doing this for about 30 years." How do Martial Arts fit into all this? "I think the Martial Arts tradition is all right, but it's something that has to evolve. Although something has changed, they are basically the same as before, but there are more things that we ignore than those we know. So it's time for us to be more physical, because we are creatures on this planet.� Hence we must separate the mind from the physical so that we can see the potential that corresponds to the physical universe. In that way we can be as fast as the universe, because the universe is very fast, coordinated and very strong, so we have to reciprocate with the physical potential of the universe and not just stay on the spiritual side. You have to give people confidence so they have enough energy, which cannot be obtained by using Martial Arts only as a path. Since Master Yuen began teaching his method, he has appeared in several publications and on different media. Since then he hasn't stopped sharing his knowledge and skills throughout the world, helping many people. Is in Spain where we did this interview. "I have been several times in Spain; I've been to Barcelona, Malaga and Madrid. With my method I have been able to help more than 1,000 patients here." Master Liang Kam Yuen lives currently in Canoga Park, California (USA); he keeps training Martial Arts although not in an intense or constant way: "I don't practice them physically, but I do the actions. If I realize what my weakest point is when I put them to work, I improve it immediately. So, almost in the moment, I can improve at neuromuscular level my strength, flexibility, endurance, etc." Master Yuen travels the world teaching and applying his method of Chinese Energetic Medicine.