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SHIFU LORNE BERNARD
Shaolin White Crane Kung Fu
From the Shaolin White Crane Kung Fu Web Site
Lorne Bernard was born in Montreal, Canada in 1964. Although he had been exposed to western boxing and Judo at a young age, he did not commence serious martial arts training until 1982. In that year, he met Shifu Augustine Ngu and commenced his training in the White Crane system. In time, Lorne Bernard came to be Shifu Ngu's most senior student, eventually becoming the first Caucasian instructor in the history of the Flying Crane style. In 1989, Lorne was sent by his teacher to visit White Crane Grand master Lee Kiang-Ke and his son Lee Joo-Chian in Malaysia. During his five month stay, he was fortunate enough to further his understanding of the system's history, theory, fighting applications, and weapons techniques. Upon his return, Lorne took charge of his Shifu's original school in downtown Montreal. In 1990, he arranged for the flying crane system's present leader, Shifu Lee Joo-Chian, to come and teach in Canada for a period of three months. Lorne kept up his training and even sent one of his best students to train with the Grand-Master and his son in 1991. Since then, he has returned to Malaysia numerous times. He also continues to sponsor visits from senior White Crane Masters to the Western hemisphere. These and other efforts have helped him in his lifetime study of traditional Chinese martial arts.
Shifu Lorne Bernard has also trained in the Wing Chun system. He was introduced to Wing  Chun Kung Fu by Shifu Ngu in 1988 and continues to further his studies under the guidance of his friend and instructor Shifu Roy D.Anthony. He also had the privilege of studying the northern Cha Chuan system under Master Xu Gong-Wei from 1995 to 2000. Finally, he also has had the honor to study under the guidance of Bak Sing Choy Lay Fut Master Chiu Kwok-Chung. Despite his varied studies in the Chinese martial arts, he continues to focus most of his energies upon mastery of the White Crane system. He presently teaches at Académie Shaolin White Crane Kung Fu in Montreal and Laval. Several of his students have opened their own clubs in the Montreal area including one in the "Université du Québec à Montreal".
Shifu Bernard and his students have distinguished themselves by winning several first place medals in Canadian Kung Fu tournaments. Shifu Bernard was elected vice-president of the Eastern Canada Chinese martial arts federation in 1989. In 1994, he became the federations' president. At the time of this printing, he remains in that position. In these capacities, he has played a prominent role in promoting traditional Chinese martial arts in Eastern Canada. His White Crane Lion Dance troupe regularly performs in many local functions and events. Although he does possess a Master's degree in political science, he has decided to consecrate most of his time to the study and dissemination of Chinese martial arts. Besides teaching, he is also the owner of Kontact sports - a large martial art supply store in Canada.
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