Matteo PEPE-ESPERT is the pedagogical director of the Parisian Academy of Chinese Martial Arts and Daoyin Qi Gong and also of the Phoenix and Dragon School (EPHEDRA). He started to practice Kung Fu when he was 12 years old and has now more than 40 years of experience in Chinese martial arts’ practice. With dozens of trips to China, Matteo obtained the 5th Duan from Beijing Sport University. He practices traditional styles (Tang Lang Quan, Shaolin Quan) Kung Fu and modern forms (Chang Quan, Sanda), and also Yang style Taiji Quan. He is an expert in the use of weapons such as staff (Gun) and Nunchaku. Matteo got his state diploma in Kung Fu and Taiji Quan in 1996. Matteo is also a reference player in traditional Chinese medicine’s practice and health care (he’s acupuncturist and osteopath in Paris).
The Nunchaku
In the 70s, Bruce Lee’s films made the Nunchaku (Er Jie Gun in Chinese) known in the Western world. Many martial artists began to make their Nunchakus. Matteo was a teenager at that time and was living in a boarding school. That’s when he began to train, alone. A few years later, Matteo started to give Nunchaku classes in a famous club in Paris. Matteo was responsible for the Parisian section of the Nunchaku federation, before becoming the head of the National French Federation of Combat Nunchaku in the late 80s. He taught Nunchaku for several years in the sports associations of Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University and New Sorbonne University (Paris), and also in the Chinese martial arts association Tana dei Dragoni in Milano (Italia). Nowadays, Matteo continues to give Nunchaku courses in the EPHEDRA School in Paris, and week-end seminars for NOFØDRA here in Oslo.
Qi Gong
Since 1993 Matteo is the direct student of Qi Gong Professor Zhang Guang De, seen in China as a “Living Treasure” for his work in creating a modern form of Qi Gong, the Daoyin Yansheng Gong. In 2007 he became one of the closest students of Pr. Zhang Guang De. Matteo is a graduate from the center of Daoyin Yangsheng Gong in Beijing, and also from the European Federation of Qi Gong.