I met Sifu Rupert Harvey while competing at a Kung-Fu tournament in 2000. At that time I had already trained for 5 years and was a senior student in the style of Wing Chun. After talking to Sifu Harvey for only an hour, I was astounded by his depth of knowledge and his incredible execution of techniques. His skill in the style of praying mantis was clearly far superior to anything and everything that I learned up to that point. The next week I completely quit my old style and decided to follow him in hopes of attaining the skills I saw and felt that day.
Now, after having studied for 10 years with Sifu Harvey, I am proud to say that I have learned and accomplished a tremendous amount in the martial arts and have attained the level of black sash. He is continually teaching me new skills and techniques and there seems to be no end to his knowledge. I have gone on to win gold medals at various tournaments and continue to impress people with what he has taught me. Just when I think I might possibly have seen all of his tricks and techniques, he goes on to show me something I have never seen before. I am most impressed with his openness and clarity while teaching and stresses that “the biggest secret is that there is no secret”.
Sifu Harvey’s understanding and philosophy in the martial arts transcends much more than just fighting. He has taught me that using punches and kicks are just the basics of Kung-Fu. Rather, it is truly meant to be a path for us to find harmony within ourselves and with the world around us. More than that, he has demonstrated in many ways that we can take the same theories and principles used for fighting and apply them to the even higher art of healing. This has greatly influenced my life path in that I have since studied to become a Practitioner of Chinese Medicine. I now run a successful clinic and use acupuncture and Chinese herbs to help many patients of various ailments. I completely attribute my career and happiness to Sifu Rupert Harvey, since he has been a great mentor to me. He has helped me to become a much better person and helped me to discover my place in this world.
In my 15-year martial arts career I have met many other masters of various styles. But still, none have impressed me more than Sifu Harvey. He is a master, teacher, philosopher, and overall mentor.
Sincerely,
Ryan Longenecker, (H)B.Sc., Reg.Ac.