Shaolin-Do Association

After consulting with Grandmaster Sin Thé we have decided that in the near future we will be retiring the Shaolin-Do Association (SDA). All of the functionality of the SDA website, seminars, etc. will be run through the Sin Thé Karate School in Lexington, KY. The SDA website will begin redirecting there at that time and the social media accounts will become inactive.

— Elder Master Ben Collins

Thank you to everyone who attended both of Grandmaster Sin Thé's seminars and Elder Master Joe Schaefer's seminar this weekend. Our Shaolin-Do family is strong.

Elder Master Ben Collins

The Zoom links for the 2nd Road of Praying Mantis Tai Chi have been emailed out. If you didn't receive yours, please send us an email to [email protected] and we can work out what is going on. Please do not post or comment here.

Obituary information for Herman Edsel Collins III View Herman Edsel Collins III's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

A sincere thank you to everyone who made the trip to Lexington today to support Grandmaster Sin Thé, the Shaolin-Do Association, and the Sin Thé Karate School. We had visitors from all across Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Colorado, and New York amongst others. Whether you competed, helped out, or just watched the festivities, we truly appreciate it. Shaolin-Do is a family and it is amazing to see everyone, share stories, and maintain that sense of community. There is a reason we call it a gathering rather than just a tournament. Eldest Master Leonard would have been proud of you all.

Please feel free to post your photos and videos in the comments below to share them with others.

Thank you again. And safe travels home to everyone.

- Elder Master Ben Collins

I just emailed out the Zoom links for the seminar on Sunday at 2:00 PM EDT. If you did not receive it, please first check your junk/spam folder. If you still don't have it, please send me an email at:

[email protected]

Elder Master Ben

For those of you attending the "Mulan's Single Horse Tail Whip" seminar next month, either in-person or online via Zoom, Grandmaster Sin has shared some pictures and instructions on how he made a couple of practice whips.

"I started both of them by using 18 inch bamboo sticks. I cut the yarn to 18 inches long as well. The black yarn is the biggest one they sell. I used 18 pieces of them to make the whip. The white one is smaller, so I used 32 pieces. I started by using the rubber bands to press them hard into the bamboo stick. Then finished it with Gorilla Duct tape. Very easy to make and it only cost a few dollars for the yarn and bamboo."

We have two different shirt designs for the tournament and seminar in September. We will be selling both of them starting on Saturday at the tournament. Whatever is left over will be available at the seminar on Sunday. Quantities are limited. If you want one, get there early!

September is always a busy month in Shaolin-Do. In addition to the Fall Gathering on Saturday, September 16th, Grandmaster Sin Thé has decided to teach the Mulan's Single Horse Tail Whip form at his annual fall seminar in Lexington, KY. This rare and ancient weapon can be used to strike and blind your opponent. It is three sections long and contains eighteen postures, however, Grandmaster Sin cautions that each posture is quite long, similar to the Mulan's Double Rings form that he first taught in 2022.

We hope to have some horse tail whips for sale at the tournament and in-person seminar but supplies may be limited. You can find some on Amazon, eBay, and/or Etsy by searching for "horse tail whip" or "horse hair whisk". Ideally, the handle and whip portions should each be approximately 18" for a total length of 36".

Because of the Fall Gathering and Tournament, the Zoom seminar will actually be earlier than the in-person seminar. The Zoom seminar will be on Sunday, September 10th from 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM and the in-person seminar will be on Sunday, September 17th from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The prices are the same and you can attend either in-person, online, or both!

Here is the schedule of events and links to the various registration forms. All times are EDT.

Sunday, September 10th:
10:00 AM — Lower Rank Testing with Grandmaster Sin Thé
11:00 AM — Black Belt Testing with Grandmaster Sin Thé
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM — Mulan's Single Horse Tail Whip Seminar via Zoom

Saturday, September 16th — Fall Gathering & Tournament:9:00 AM — Doors Open and Registration Begins
9:30 AM — Black Belt Meeting
10:00 AM — First Events Start
4:00 PM — Finals and Demonstrations

Sunday, September 17th:
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM — Mulan's Single Horse Tail Whip Seminar at the Sin Thé Karate School

William Leonard Obituary (2023) - Legacy Remembers View William Thomas "Bill" Leonard's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

Here are the funeral arrangements for Eldest Master Leonard.

Visitation on Wednesday, July 12th from 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Funeral on Thursday, July 13th at 10:30 AM

Both will be at:

Kerr Brothers Funeral Home
3421 Harrodsburg Rd.
Lexington, KY 40513

After the funeral, we will go to The Lexington Cemetary for burial.

The Lexington Cemetary
833 W Main St.
Lexington, KY 40508

Afterwards, we will have a celebration of life at the gym starting around 1:00. The gym will cater some food and everyone can share stories and visit.

Erin asks that people to wear their regular (nice) clothes to the visitation and all of the students to wear their gis to the funeral instead of suits.

The school will be closed on Wednesday (7/12) and Thursday (7/13).

In lieu of flowers, Erin is working to establish the “Master Leonard Martial Arts Scholarship”. We will be accepting cash or checks at the gym to help underpriviledged students study Shaolin-Do. More details on that to come.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Eldest Master Bill Leonard, 10th Degree Black Belt in Shaolin-Do, on Friday, July 7th, 2023. Funeral arrangements are pending and we will post them when they are available.

Congratulations to Senior Master David Jones, Elder Master Sean Elliott, Elder Master Herman Collins, Elder Master Ben Collins, and Elder Master Eric Burke on their promotions by Grandmaster Sin Thé today and shown here with Eldest Master Bill Leonard. Also promoted but not shown are Elder Master Eric Bullock, Elder Master Rick Reynolds, and Elder Master Mike Lasslo.

For his annual summer seminar, Grandmaster Sin Thé has decided to teach the Tai Chi Whipping Stick form. This form has six sections and eighteen posters. It uses the same length of stick as the Tai Chi Stick - The Stick the Beat the Dog form he taught in 2015 which should measure from your sternum to the floor. Grandmaster Sin describes this form as "beautiful yet lethal" and that it moves the stick to your left hand a lot.

There will be an in-person event on Saturday, June 24th and a virtual event via Zoom on Sunday, June 25th. The prices are the same and you can attend either in-person, online, or both! For those who attend in-person, there will be physical DVDs available for preorder to be handed out at the door. For those who attend the Zoom seminar and preorder a video, you will be emailed a link to download the video to your computer.

https://bit.ly/TaiChiWhippingStick

Congratulations to Eldest Master Bill Leonard who was promoted to 10th Degree Black Belt by Grandmaster Sin Thé at the Praying Mantis Tai Chi Seminar today. Eldest Master Leonard is the only non-Chinese to ever attain this rank.

We would like to wish Grandmaster Sin Thé a very happy 80th birthday today!

Recently, Grandmaster Sin Thé has taught a number of animal-style Tai Chi forms and now he will continue that trend by teaching the Than Lang Tai Chi Chien — Praying Mantis Tai Chi Fist form. The form is from the Sichuan Er Mei system and is four sections long and contains forty four postures. Grandmaster Sin says that he will be teaching the famous mantis system's beaks and kicking techniques along with low stances.

There will be an in-person event on Saturday, March 25th and a virtual event via Zoom on Sunday, March 26th. The prices are the same and you can attend either in-person, online, or both! For those who attend in-person, there will be physical DVDs available for pre-order to be handed out at the door. For those who attend the Zoom seminar and pre-order a video, you will be emailed a link to download the video to your computer.

https://bit.ly/MantisTaiChi2023

As of February 2nd, 2023, Elder Master Tony Gray has been banished from Shaolin-Do due to his continued disrespect and defiance towards Elder Master Bill Leonard over the last few years and his blatant and arrogant disrespect shown to Grandmaster Sin Thé this past December. This attitude and behavior cannot and will not be tolerated.

He has been thrown out of the system and can no longer teach our material. He can no longer use Grandmaster Sin Thé's name, image, or likeness or use the name "Shaolin-Do". He is no longer welcome at any Shaolin-Do school, class, tournament, or seminar (either in person or online). Any school that he teaches at or participates in will lose their Shaolin-Do affiliation. Any student who has studied under him up to this point may leave immediately to join another Shaolin-Do school and therefor maintain their loyalty to Grandmaster Sin Thé and their affiliation with Shaolin-Do.

We just emailed out the Zoom links to everyone who has registered for the Zoom seminar on Sunday. Please check your email (and your junk/spam folders) and contact us at [email protected] if you didn't receive it.

It's not too late to register for the Southern Shaolin Lion Fist seminars this weekend. But you need to do it NOW! Please email a copy of your completed registration form to [email protected] and we can still get you registered. Or you can sign up at the door on Saturday but it will cost you a little more.

Grandmaster Sin Thé has announced that he will be teaching the Southern Shaolin Lion Fist form at his annual winter seminar in Lexington, KY. This form has three sections and twenty-seven postures and it can be used for rank advancement from 2nd to 3rd Degree Black Belt. Grandmaster Sin Thé has described this as a continuation of our hand training which combines these traditional hand strikes with turning of the body, stepping, and jumping to create powerful and devastating movements.

There will be an in-person seminar at the Sin Thé Karate School on Saturday, December 10th from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM (EST).

There will also be a Zoom option for those who cannot attend in-person on Sunday, December 11th from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (EST).

Registration Form (PDF): https://bit.ly/SDA-2022-12

There will be a memorial for David Weitzmann on Saturday, October 15th at 2:00 PM at the Web Funeral Home in Shelbyville, KY.

Webb Funeral Home
1144 Main St
Shelbyville, KY 40065

Gordon Burkett Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information Share Memories of Gordon & Support the Burkett Family

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Elder Master Gordon Burkett from Cynthiana, KY. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, students, and colleagues. May he rest in peace.

We would like to thank everyone who attended and competed in the Fall Gathering in Lexington today. The spirit, skills, and abilities that were exhibited today were wonderful. Everyone should be proud. Shaolin-Do is not just a martial art. It is a family and a way of life.

We would like to wish "safe travels" to everyone traveling to the 2022 Fall Gathering and Hsing I Crazy Devil 2-Edge Sword seminar this weekend in Lexington, KY. Come one, come all. It will be a great Shaolin-Do weekend.

If you are planning to attend the Zoom seminar for the Hsing I Crazy Devil 2-Edge Sword with Grandmaster Sin Thé on Sunday, September 11th we need your registration form ASAP! If you have already mailed it in, thank you. If you haven't yet, why?!? But seriously, you can email it to:

[email protected]

Good news. Master Leonard was just discharged from the hospital and is on his way home with his daughter, Erin.