In the early '70s Donald Finley stopped playing high school athletics and, in a search for something with more individual fulfillment, signed up at his neighborhood Kenpo Karate studio. He learned the system's material more quickly than the average student, and was soon promoted to instruct others. With the advent of the TV series "Kung fu" the owners of his school broke away from the Kenpo franchise, put on Chinese uniforms with sashes and claimed to teach Kung fu, even though the material and the belt system were still Kenpo Karate. The school did well, catering to people's interest in the mysterious art of Shaolin Kung fu. However, as he reached the final stages of Kenpo theory, Finley yearned for something more.
These yearnings were answered in the arrival of Grandmaster Ling at the school. Brought in by a student who met him on his first day in town, the master began to teach the owners and the staff of the school, including Sifu Finley. Sifu Finley immediately recognized the depth and expanse of this man's knowledge and began to doubt the Japanese material he was teaching at the school. His doubts were confirmed when his boss refused to give up the Kenpo Karate material with its belt system and contracts when the new master demanded the curriculum change to Shaolin Boxing. When his demands were refused, the master promptly left the school, not wanting to be associated with the hard-sell of the contract system or see his precious Kung fu subordinated to a grossly inferior Karate belt system. The decision to leave the school and follow this mysterious master was simple and clear for Sifu Finley; his status as a teacher meant nothing in comparison to the quality of knowledge he had experienced with Grandmaster Ling. His hunger for authentic Kung fu far outweighed the egocentric status of black belt instructor in a limited system.
The first years were difficult for Master Ling and his students. Saturday morning meetings in the park with a grueling workout in the sun was the standard schedule. The teacher would also give classes in the weekday evenings, revealing large blocks of Kung fu theory. Shaolin chuan, Chang chuan, Tai Chi chuan, medicine, and Chinese philosophy were all taught to this devoted group by the unselfish master who never asked for money or other compensation. When most of the students passed the initial test in Shaolin chuan and self defense, the teacher decided to contact his peers to inform them that he had formed a Kung fu society. Since it was unheard of to teach authentic Kung fu to non-Chinese, he created Chinese names for the pupils before sending a student roster to the Chinese Benevolent Society in Hawaii and the (now defunct) Hong Kong Martial Arts Association. Grandmaster Ling had tested with both organizations and had proven his status as master years before. Both organizations accepted his society without question and with this charter, the Guardian of the Temple Benevolent Society was born.
Sifu Finley was one of Master Ling's most devoted followers. The only student with teaching experience, he volunteered most of the private instruction for new students. When it came time to select a university, Finley chose a local school in order to be close to his teacher. Unlike the other students, he practiced the sacred dances of this rare system every day, never forgetting a move because of constant practice. Every year the members of the school elected Sifu Finley their director. Sifu Finley kept the small group together, not only for the master's benefit but because he realized that Kung fu cannot be learned alone -- you must work with others. Despite his best efforts however, the original group that had gathered around the master eventually faded away. Out of town jobs, relationships, starting families, and the constant effort to maintain the physical condition demanded by Kung fu -- all took their toll on this first band of practitioners. Even though they had rented a permanent location for classes and had unprecedented stability by 1975, most of the original group was gone by 1978. Sifu Finley stayed on to teach new students and raise rent money month after month.
After earning his degree in Philosophy and Asian Studies, Sifu Finley worked various jobs for several years. The decision to teach Kung fu for a living was partly unplanned, partly selfish. The Society needed new students to pay rent, and somebody needed to be responsible for them; he was the only realistic choice. He also realized that the only way to further his training and keep up with new material was to work on Kung fu full time. In 1981 Sifu Finley began to teach as a sole proprietor. Thus began his lifelong passion: to bring this most ancient form of martial arts and spiritual growth to his culture. His teacher had run the school in the traditional manner until that time: a secret society with very exclusive membership. The Sifu began the long process of developing a teaching method that would appeal to Western culture and still maintain the system's integrity as a classical art. He scraped the black paint off the windows of the school and opened it to the public. In the two decades since, Sifu Finley has worked constantly to motivate those students who are capable of the rigorous training to enter the Society, and to develop meaningful and beneficial curriculum from the traditional teachings for those who are unable to follow the rigid discipline of Shaolin. As a result, his Tai Chi and Chi Kung curriculums make the health benefits of Chinese physical culture available to the majority of the population.
The first years were hard, and the school barely broke even. The Sifu refused to modify the system to make it more appealing. Still true to the tradition begun by his teacher, he does not require contracts or use the colored belts so beloved by martial arts practitioners in this country. As a result his students are mostly adults and most often those that had previous experience; people who have achieved black belts and seek more than simple Karate forms or who have previously been involved in authentic Chinese martial arts and recognize that the Sifu maintains and teaches a classical system of uncompromised integrity. The forms and the theory speak for themselves.
In 1984 Sifu Finley, then a student instructor in the Society, took a series of tests to gain the rank of Sifu (master instructor). He successfully completed the physical endurance tests, a written test on philosophy and concepts, and performed the dances of power that set this system apart from all others. Grandmaster Ling presented him with a blue sash, a modern innovation on the traditional three sash system of monastic Kung fu (Black = Sifu, Yellow = Disciple, Red = Master). In Hong Kong many traditional systems had begun to issue black sashes for passage of the external phase, since most modern practitioners had insufficient time to reach the level of ability that marked the classical sifu. For the devoted few who did, the blue sash was introduced to designate a Sifu from other advanced students.
With his primary student past the initial hurdle towards mastery, Grandmaster Ling began his gradual withdrawal from teaching and focused his energies on his acupuncture practice and research. Never having taught for money, he had no interest in running a commercial school or dealing with the public. Designated as the head of the system, Sifu Finley became the representative of this ancient system to the general public.
In 1988, a student from Austin sought out the sifu for instruction. Having tried all the teachers in the Austin area, he attended the Tai Chi class and promptly became a student. Sifu Finley soon came to Austin to teach him and his friends, eventually purchasing a house to serve as a studio and East Wind Training Hall was born. The studio was the center for learning and training for a band of hardy practitioners. As competition increased, with more and more self-proclaimed 'kung fu masters' entering the marketplace, the Sifu adamantly refused to change his Shaolin system to make it more commercially attractive. he remains true to the art, himself, and his master.
In 1998, Sifu Finley took the third and final physical endurance test in the Ling family Tiger system. In five hours of physical exertion and fighting, he successfully completed this last physical challenge. He is now eligible to become a disciple of this Shaolin system and learn the final dances of the Tiger. His lifelong goal to preserve this system and learn all of its material is now within sight. His final training in Ling Mo Fa Qi will begin when Grandmaster Ling returns in two years. Meanwhile the daunting task of performing, perfecting, and documenting the many forms he now knows is the primary focus of his work, all the while offering the material to those who seek an authentic path in martial arts and spiritual transformation.
East Wind Training Hall now has a new location and a new future in Austin. Come and see the dances of power revealed.