International Shou Shu Association

I'm Shun Shifu Phil Weaver. I've been training in Shou' Shu' Kung Fu since around 1989 when my friend the late Da' Shifu Al Moore convinced me I should do so. He had been trying to get me in for quite some time and after years of persuasion I finally took the plunge and began training. What an influence that decision has been on my life.

I originally started my training under Shifu Pat Perez. Shifu Perez was the head of the Lodi Quan at the time and he was a fantastic and dynamic teacher. He ran an incredible school and was an inspiring leader. My direct instructor at that time was Shifu Kurt Kautz. Shifu Kautz spent a lot of extra time with me and was very generous in his sharing of knowledge. I am very grateful to Shifu Perez and Shifu Kautz for inspiring me to train hard in Shou' Shu'.

After training for several years under Shifu Perez I eventually transfered to the Stockton Quan which was run by Shifu Art Delage. Shifu Delage also ran an incredible school. It was packed with literally hundreds of us college students. It was a great experience. The Stockton Quan had so many great teachers that I would have a hard time naming them all here. However a few of them really stand out in my mind for the great lessons that they taught. Shifu Wayne Smith of course no one could forget. Anyone who received a lesson from him never forgot it and I received many great lessons from him. They are all still indelibly impressed into my mind and fortunately what was impressed into my body has since healed. Shifu Kablian who was always the stabilizing force in the studio. Shifu Kablian was always our role model when we thought of being a true disciple. Shifu Khan, shifu Hector Guerrero, and Shifu Oscar Gurrero were just the opposite. They were crazy and excitable and brought that with them to the studio. I still bear a scar from Shifu Khan. There were many more and they were a fantastic group. They all had a hand in everyone's training and we all developed as a group.

I later ended up back in the Lodi Quan under the tutelage of Shifu Ferrero. Anyone who has experienced his teaching can attest to how flat out awesome it is. His incredible knowledge of Shou' Shu' was and is awe inspiring. I studied for many years in the Lodi Quan under Shifu Ferrero and I can say it totally brought Shou' Shu' to a new level for me. I owe much to Shifu Ferrero.

Finally in 1995 I opened my own school and began my training directly under Da' Shifu . Up until this point I had had the privilege of being a very close friend to Da Shifu. I spent time with him nearly every day. Our families were close and did most things together. He had been instrumental in raising me and keeping me out of trouble. He taught me Shou' Shu' occasionally but for the most part left my training to his very qualified instructors. But in 1995 I became his student. He taught me nearly every day. Usually the lessons were carried out in the midst of every day activities. He'd be fixing a tractor or otherwise working on something. He usually wore a pair of greasy and well worn jeans, a long sleeve button down working man's shirt, and a beat up straw hat. I'd help him work and would absorb bits of wisdom as I did.

Often times he's enter the studio early in the day dressed in his work clothes he's work with me and the couple of students that were there. These were the best lessons I've ever had. If you paid close attention there were bits of magic in every one. My lessons were rarely formal. They were usually carried out like this. But they were fantastic.

I feel very privileged to be his student and to have so much training from him. Not many can say they got a lesson from him almost every day of eight years and noone else can say they got a lesson from him nearly every day of his last eight years. There were others that learned far more from him and many things that I did not learn (Da' Shifu Clark) but I got incredible teachings from him, that's for sure, and not all of them Shou' Shu'. Near the end of his life I promised Da' Shifu that I would carry on his teachings exactly as he taught me. I am very honored to be able to do so.

Now I am moving into the next phase of my training and I am very lucky again. Da' Shifu Clark will be carrying on Da' Shifu teachings and I am lucky enough to be able to learn from him also.

Shun Shifu Phil Weaver